186 



SPORT IN BUTE. 



A RATHER curious speculation has sometimes amused me. 

 Had rare old Gilbert White been a sportsman instead of a 

 naturalist only, and had he rented grouse-moors, should we 

 have gained or lost most by this metamorphosis ? No doubt 

 1 Selborne,' the most charming and classic of sketches, might 

 have been less perfectly filled up ; but, on the other hand, if 

 the keen and philosophic eye of this magic painter caught but 

 a passing glimpse of what hundreds regard no more than the 

 " idle wind/' what curious theories might have been started, 

 and in what beautiful language would they have been handed 

 down ! 



Power of pitching his tent in the remote wilds, and of 

 removing it as his fancy may prompt, is the great boon given 

 to the sportsman-naturalist by the present universal system of 

 leasing shooting-ground. A goodly number of our keenest and 

 best sportsmen are naturalists also ; and when to this accom- 

 plishment is added an enthusiastic love of scenery, their 

 enjoyments are greatly enhanced. For the last forty-two 

 years I have been one of these autumnal wanderers, and have 

 rented shootings not only in the north, south, east, and west of 

 Scotland, but also in the islands, thus having the opportunity 

 of comparing different districts of the country, and of noting, 

 by the effects of climate, &c., on its various fauna, the slight 

 causes which often diverge into wide results. 



