236 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



a rushing noise, and a large body passed close to me ; and the 

 monarch of the clouds alighted at once on the sheep, with his 

 broad breast not fifteen yards from me. He quietly folded up 

 his wings ; and, throwing back his magnificent head, looked 

 round at the ravens, as if wondering at their impudence in 

 approaching his breakfast-table. They kept a respectful silence, 

 and hopped a little farther off. The royal bird then turned his 

 head in my direction, attracted by the alteration in the appear- 

 ance of the ground which he had just noticed in the dim morn- 

 ing light. His bright eye that instant caught mine as it 

 glanced along the barrel. He rose : as he did so I drew the 

 trigger, and he fell quite dead half a dozen yards from the 

 sheep. I followed Malcolm's directions, who had predicted 

 that one eagle would be followed by a second, and remained 

 quiet, in hopes that his mate was not within hearing of my 

 shot. The morning was brightening, and I had not waited 

 many minutes when I saw the other eagle skimming low over 

 the brow of the hill towards me. She did not alight at once. 

 Her eye caught the change in the ground or the dead body of 

 her mate, and she wheeled up into the air. I thought her lost 

 to me, when presently I heard her wings brush close over my 

 head ; and then she went wheeling round and round above the 

 dead bird, and turning her head downwards to make out what 

 had happened. At times she stooped so low that I could see 

 the sparkle of her eye and hear her low complaining cry. I 

 watched the time when she turned up her wing towards me, 

 and fired, and dropped her actually on the body of the other. 

 I now rushed out. The last bird immediately rose to her feet, 

 and stood gazihg at me with a reproachful, half-threatening look. 

 She would have done battle, but death was busy with her ; and 

 as I was loading in haste, she reeled and fell perfectly dead. 

 Eager as I had been to do the deed, I could not look on the 

 royal birds without a pang. But such regrets were now too 

 late. Passing over the shepherd's rejoicing, and my incredible 

 breakfast, I must return to our great adventure. Our line of 

 march to-day was over ground so high that we came repeatedly 

 into the midst of ptarmigan. On the very summit. Bran had 

 a rencontre with an old mountain fox, toothless, yet very fat, 

 whom he make to bite the dust. We struck at one place the 

 tracks of the three deer, but of the animals themselves we saw 



