50 DAYS OF DEER- STALKING. 



ous herd of deer seemed to be directed in all their motions 

 by one stately animal among them ; they all walked, 

 stopped, or turned as he did, they all followed him. The 

 Queen was delighted to see all the deer so attentive to 

 their leader, and upon her pointing it out to the Earl of 

 Atholl, who knew the nature of the animal well, having 

 been accustomed to it from his youth, he told her that they 

 might all come to be frightened enough by that beautiful 

 beast. ' For,' said he, ' should that stag in the front, which 

 your Majesty justly admires so much, be seized with any fit of 

 fury or of fear, and rush down from the side of the hill, where 

 you see him stand, to this plain, then would it be necessary 

 for every one of us to provide for the safety of your Majesty, 

 and for our own : all the rest of those deer would infallibly 

 come with him as thick as possibly they could, and make 

 their way over our bodies to the mountain that is behind us." 



" This information occasioned the Queen some alarm, and 

 what happened afterwards proved it not to be altogether 

 without cause, for her Majesty having ordered a large 

 fierce dog to be let loose on a wolf that appeared, the 

 leading deer, as we may call him, was terrified at the sight 

 of the dog, turned his back and began to fly thither whence 

 they had come ; all the other deer instantly followed. 



" They were surrounded on that side by a line of High- 

 landers, but well did they know the power of this close 

 phalanx of deer, and at speed ; and therefore they yielded, 

 and opposed no resistance ; and the only means left of 

 saving their lives, was to fall flat on the heath in the best 

 posture they could, and allow the deer to run over them. 

 This method they followed, but it did not save them from 

 being wounded ; and it was announced to the Queen that 

 two or three men had been trampled to death. 



" In this manner the deer would have all escaped, had 

 not the huntsmen, accustomed to such events, gone after 

 them, and with great dexterity headed and turned a detach- 

 ment in the rear : against these the Queen's staghouuds and 

 those of the nobility were loosed, and a successful chase 

 ensued. Three hundred and sixty deer were killed, five 

 wolves, and some roes ; and the Queen and her party 

 returned to Blair delighted with the sport." 



