270 Mr. Hardy on the Wolf in Scotland. 



splendid hunting matches, in which the wolf figures con- 

 spicuously. Dorvadille or Dornadilla, the fourth king of the 

 Scots, "set all his pleasure on hunting and keeping of houndes 

 and greyhounds, ordayning that every householder should 



find him twoo houndes and one greyhounde If a hunter 



chaunced in following the game to lose an eye or a limme, so 

 that he were not able to helpe himselfe after that time, he 

 made a statute that he should be founde of the common trea- 



sory He that killed a wolf should have an oxe for his 



paines. This beast indeede the Scottish men even from the 

 beginning used to pursue in al they might devise, bicause the 

 same is suche an enimie to cattayle, wherein consisted the 

 chiefest portion of all their wealth and substance."* These 

 are a portion of the hunting laws of the ancient Scots, which 

 according to Buchanan, were observed to his day.f Ederus 

 the fifteenth king's " chiefe delighte was altogyther in hunt- 

 ing and keeping of houndes and greyhoundes, to chase and 

 pursue wild beastes, and namely the woolfe the herdsmans 

 foe, by meanes whereof his advancement was muche the more 

 acceptable amongest the nobles, who in those dayes were 

 whollye gyven to that kynde of pleasure and pastyme."J A 

 little before the falling of king Carat ake (whom Boece iden- 

 tifies with the British Caractacus, who died a.d. 54,) "into 

 the handes of the B-omaines, there were sundrye straunge 

 syghtes scene in Albion, as fighting of horsemenne abroade in 

 the fieldes, wyth greate slaughter, as seemed on bothe par- 

 tyes ; and forthwyth the same as vanyshed away, that no ap- 

 pearance of them coulde any where be perceyued. (Here we 

 have the record of an Aurora Borealis.) Also a sort of woolves 

 in the night season set upon such as were keeping cattayle 

 abroade in the fieldes ; and carried away one of them to the 

 woodes, and in the morning sufiered him to escape from 

 amongest them againe." To impress this significant fact a 

 figure is given of a wolf running oiFwith a sheep. || Ferqu- 

 hard II., was a prince so very wicked, that Colman the Lin- 

 disfarne bishop, who had returned to Scotland in his reign, 

 threatened him with divine vengeance. " And sure his 

 wordes proved true : for within a moneth after, as the same 

 Ferquhard followed in chase of a wolfe, the beaste being en- 

 raged by pursuite of the houndes, flew back uppon the king, 

 and snatching at him, did wounde and byte him righte sore 



* Holinslied's Scotland, p. 13, Ed. 1577 



t Aikman's Buchanan, i. p. 161. 



t Holinshed, p. 27. |1 Ibid. 



p. 40, 41. 



