4 ORNITHOLOGICAL RAMBLES. 



dresses extending as low as they might be expected to 

 do at a much earlier period of the season. 



On the morning of the 25th I proceeded up the 

 Caledonian. I have hitherto never been further north 

 than this point. The effect as we entered Loch 

 Lochay was exceedingly grand ; and the swirl of its 

 limpid waters, caused by the progress of the vessel, 

 was all that broke the placid stillness. The rain had 

 ceased for a while, and the long fleecy clouds that 

 rested upon the mountain- tops were beautifully re- 

 flected in the water below. At Fort Augustus, where 

 the steamer remains three-quarters of an hour on 

 account of having to pass through the lochs, the 

 famed Gordon Gumming, the African lion-hunter, had 

 erected his museum. This I visited in common with 

 several of the passengers, and inspected his trophies of 

 the chase. Mr. Gumming received me with much 

 cordiality, and paid every attention to my inquiries. 

 He took a great interest in my present tour, and was 

 good enough to show me his collection of eggs, each of 

 which was specially chosen on account of its peculiar 

 markings or brilliant colour. The eggs of the eagles 

 and hawks were very perfect and beautiful specimens, 

 while those of the razor-bill and guillemot would have 

 elicited the admiration of the most disinterested spec- 

 tator. The well-known variety that exists iu the eggs 

 of these birds, not only in the blotches or streaks upon 

 individual eggs, but also in the general or ground 



