932 The Loch-of Strathbeg. [cuap. xm. 
dead, Mr. Edward.’ ‘Oh, no,’ said I; ‘there are eggs or 
young beneath her.’ ‘ Well,’ he answered, ‘if so, it is cer- 
tainly a very wonderful circumstance; but we shall see.’ 
Then, stooping down, he touched the bird, but she did not 
move. ‘She must be alive,’ he said, ‘because she is warm; 
but she must be wounded, and not able to rise or fly.’ 
‘Oh no,’ I once more said; ‘she has something beneath 
her which she is unwilling to leave.’ The bird allowed him 
to stroke her without moving, except turning her head to 
look at him. On my friend’s dog Sancho coming up and 
putting his nose close to her, she crept away through the 
bushes for some distance, and then took to flight, leaving a 
nest and fifteen eggs exposed to our gaze. Before leaving, 
we carefully closed up the heather again, so as to conceal as 
much as possible the nest and its beauteous treasure; and I 
need not say that we were both delighted with what we had 
seen, Mr. Smith was particularly struck with the incident, 
as he had never seen any thing of the kind before; and he 
remarked, ‘I verily believe that I could not have credited 
the fact if I had not seen it myself,’ and he afterward spoke 
of it with the greatest admiration.” 
Edward also numbered among his friends the Rev. Alex- 
ander Boyd, of Crimond. It was through the Rev. Mr. 
Smith that Edward was first introduced to him. Mr. Smith 
was anxious that Edward should examine and observe the 
birds of Strathbeg, near which the village of Crimond is 
situated. Crimond is about thirty-five miles from Banff, ten 
miles from Peterhead, and about seven from F; raserburgh. 
The loch of Strathbeg was at one time of limited extent. 
It was connected with the sea at its eastern extremity; but 
a hill of sand having, about the beginning of last century, 
been blown across the opening during a furious east wind, 
‘the connection between the loch and the sea was closed, and 
it became a fresh-water loch, as it remains to this day. The 
scenery in the neighborhood is by no means picturesque; 
but the loch is very attractive to sportsmen, in consequence 
