132 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



who was better acquainted with his merits, thought otherwise ; 

 and when the bulldog came wagging his tail and jumping up 

 on me, I took him to the track and sent him upon it ; down 

 went his nose and away he went as hard as he could go, and 

 quite silently. The wood was so close and thick that we could 

 not keep him in sight, so I proposed that we should commence 

 our next beat, as the dog \vould find me wherever I was, and 

 the strangers did not seem much to expect any success in 

 getting the wounded stag. During the following beat we saw 

 the dog for a moment or tvtp pass an opening, and the next 

 instant two deer came out from the thicket into which he had 

 gone. " He is on the wrong scent, after all," said the shooter 

 who stood next to me. " Wait, and we will see," was my 

 answer. 



We had finished this beat and were consulting what to do, 

 when the dog appeared in the middle of us, appearing very well 

 satisfied with himself though covered with blood, and with an 

 ugly tear in his skin all along one side. " Ah ! " said some 

 one, " he has got beaten off by the deer." Looking at him, 

 I saw that most of the blood was not his own, the wound not 

 being at all deep ; I also knew that once having had hold 

 of the deer, he would not have let go as long as he had life in 

 him. " Where is he, old boy ? take us to him," said I ; the 

 dog, perfectly understanding me, looked up in my face, and set 

 off slowly with a whine of delight. He led us through a great 

 extent of wood, stopping every now and then that we might 

 keep up with him ; at last he came to the foot of a rock where 

 the stag was lying quite dead with his throat torn open, and 

 marks of a goodly struggle all round the place ; a fine deer he 

 was too, and much praise did the dog get for his courage and 

 skill : I believe I could have sold him on the spot at any price 

 which I had chosen to ask, but the dog and I were too old 

 friends to part, having passed many years together, both in 

 London, where he lived with my horses and used to run with 

 my cab, occasionally taking a passing fight with a cat ; and 

 also in the country, where he had also accompanied me in 

 many a long and solitary ramble over mountain and valley. 



In choosing a young dog for a retriever, it is a great point 

 to fix upon one whose ancestors have been in the same line of 

 business. Skill and inclination to become a good retriever are 



