134 



WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



hand ; and the only one of my pets whose inclination to 

 slaughter I cannot subdue, is a peregrine falcon, which never 

 loses an opportunity of killing any duck or hen that may 

 venture within his reach. Even the wild partridges and wood- 

 pigeons, which frequently feed with the poultry, are left un- 

 molested by the dogs. The terrier, who is constantly at 

 warfare with cats and rabbits in a state of nature, leaves those 

 about the house in perfect peace ; while the wildest of all wild 

 fowl, the common mallards and sheldrakes, eat corn from the 

 hand of the " hen-wife." 



Though naturally all men are carnivorous, and therefore 

 animals of prey, and inclined by nature to hunt and destroy 

 other creatures, and although I share in this our natural in- 

 stinct to a great extent, I have far more pleasure in seeing these 

 different animals enjoying themselves about me, and in observing ' 

 their different habits, than I have in hunting down and destroy- 

 ing them. 



