HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Sentinel, 1883-03-30, Page 2A
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• 11101)40 &IA oattle, 014cather, .011aok about, ti9e, !ipicat. .bstee grouse aridt• Alas, nZ threw away nothing but Refore• VhristMeeir, 4brd) Blabltadder'S.
ti .113b01.44er-mt vioie loough. Wan as another ItWo haroe. To3vial
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other dairymaids. eacept that ea e were
prettier. -
An ExpitingTirrie for an AMateLir
SpOrtSinan.
• st
(From. Blefokotoe4, Blacctztaer,)
inn a fatter. Or perhaps it would, be.
mare correct to say wag faotoraor, at
the, preSont time I ain without oceapittioa.
One day, two or: three. Yegs .age, get
myself down to inquire carefully into my
Weirs ° The -problem to be .eolved was
not difficult one: %Veen a Avail capital.
ett- which, it is ire:Possible to live -granted .
oettain yearly dedhotion from it to PAY'
*Me Witlf-how long wilt it ha • before
this eapital"vanishea away altogether? I
',build, that this period v.roodd occur
about seven years. • and the.. next day I
announced to my friends that IWae going
01°0h -out for "something to do." I had
AA whit first-rate education:
a king course of ettpeninve echoOle And
*tors had endeti. Oxford, thoeah I left
that nni4ersity". without taking A degree.
IcouId read and write,.and,do easy sums;
by the help of a 144011 and Seat and
. a grammar I Odd' construe all but the-
dest /images in :Tinnier and Thuoy,
OS ;And by making copious use of COW.
nieu spondee adjectivefi, I was cape
of tinning out inimense quantities
•corrently scanning Latin, verse. 14
ilkiends, all • said, "There will be no
'any in a fellow like you getting a good
Berth," ,and 'at. first I shared their oontl,
dance; 'But as time wore . on . my hopes
died away. To begin .with, I considered.
meat oinbarrea. from certain kinds of
Having been 0,0011s,t0Med, to Mtn*
Ally life, to freedom from noise and dirt
and oonfinentent, I 'determined that what:
eier happened,I. would have heating tide
• With anything Nyack. -would necessitate
eiwayA living . troW11.- I had . been
afotnglied for mathematic* in "Smalls"
goad Mods ;" and ,alt the hazy nefions
• out papering rooms, or dividing apples
•
and oranges in certain prciportions annonget
!A: given number of children, ',which (Moe
'11Poseosed inY brain, had lent( age deserted
L, and felt myself unequal both in incli.;
' nation mid capability to • grapple,. with
accounts: I had, 'of course, no money •to
avest in businese,. and ,pride preventekme
• *Om thinking of anything absolutely
, menial. As look back; I 'sornetiMes• won-
. * what Ithad of employment .it was did
incpect to. meet with but indeed,. after a
time, 1 doaaed' to have any • expectations itt
My leart greet eick4krith waiting;
small, Mean, pecuniary troubles hemmed
• nee in. on every side -ever increasing. in
*Verse ratio to • my capital; anxious days
Ibllowed on Weary nights, and theta were
• -1401ese waitings for "something" to iionie.
by the poet. .Theri 'thy friends began to
Obangetheii tone. They seido ,"You really
aught to Make an effort --,we are afraid
zoiir education .bas been but•a poor prepa-
ration for pith. future lite." I never could
.itee that they tOokinuch trouble in looking
. •put•'.for. "things" for me, or indeed'. did
anything. but give advice; but perhaps they..
• !clanked in. secret, and Were ashamed of
their good deeds seeing the light. . '
Whether this was se, or not, there Was.
no visible resalt„find•metters ware their
• Must when receivecran offer from an Old
llraziehester merchant to take .eherge Of it
• small property be owned in Scotland. I•
otet this old gentleman On a railway Jour -
,tray, did him soma small service in looking
, after his lost •Iuggage, and afterwards in it
• moment of confidence told him of some O
„My.. difficultiea, 'Then he Mentioned hie
*Ant of a factor, and asked for references
an to my obarooter and capabilities. I gave
▪ thaisameti•of two old friends;` and the
anstvera they Sent to .his inquiries , per -
gated him so much that herhOwed them
WS inc and naked me whit -they. meant.
When I read the lettere' was nrtit surprised '
' ai the •old gentleman'S.- bewilderMent-I
gotta not understand, thein : myself -=that
I.'eould not make out the meaning of
the 'sentrineeri, but•I knew well enough why
Amy:Were So myeteriouslY worded. 7 •It was
carident that My friends, whilst *unWilling
.46 say anything definite against me, Were
determined to take. no responsibility upon
theniselyes • and they had stieeeeded tio
. : xpert-toattaWanyrespontability-tathemi.:
as; make out What they really. meant. They
1d inc afterwarde, (not knowing I had seen
• :the' correspondence) that they had given
ate an exceedingly good character; and I
tiought it best to affect ignorance and
t. tank them, for I did not knOW how long it
•• usight be before should again ref:pure.
their good • officeS-t-enolt as they .were.
'Whether --Mr.- Weatherby WA& was the
• neerchant'e name) was deetrived, Or, -whether
ler Sonia reason or other' he really .took a
Jitney to nisl don't know -he gave me. the
offer of the place; •
. I had the • vaguest ideas of the duties of
, factor: as I. leek batik, I Must &Wass I
was Singularly ignorant of sitarist every -
*ting vrhioh Whinged to such . a post.
*0001 :had spent *oh of my "life in
tire country, I had done soto purpose.
reetild shoot 'little, and was an euthusi.:
• *tic f011ower of kinds Of sports. • But
*ough health; pleasure,ankin soine des°.
Ateroceintries profit, is to be got by means
--Ad-the gunj could not help feeling that a
10raiitical knowledge of its. use is not an
• *dispensable qualification to wfactor mien
Scotland; and, considering the matter
atrefully over, it ieemedinY only one. I
• **out, by-and-by, that it. was part of the
duty Of safttator to leek af ter woode.• I,eould
illetinguiah, as Well as , any Man, the differ-
. sitanil between. a NMI tree andha beech, or
• mien between a lareh and A Scotch fir, But
' a eilver fir and it spruce seemed to me per-
' * body alike; and if Was after carrying
f 14010 little ,sprays of the two 'kinds with
1-0.1eivate Marks of. identity. on Ahern for 4
lIcaig time, and playing a kind of guessing
•iitome with them, thatl was able to rightly
tome theone from the. other. As to being
able' to distinguish between the timber of
tileee trees when • sawn up, I never could,
And never shall, be able to .do it. Bente
;Made of wood are. to be told frona 'Other
Muds by a smell of resin.; but it Scotch
*dor bonnet well go. about sinelling
planks and indeed it is not se ilayekti de
nettirelly as One WOW; think..,I was aware
That an„agesit eborcid be meteor los lugs:nate
with everything connected. with land.h..kt
or lAnder .it-subsoiLa nd crops, and cattle,
and pletiginir.and dairyniaide, and pigeons;
'and / knew about borie of them things..
,
I accepted the offer at Once. In Vile •of
this long lipt of, mgctivon tin,414.calone.r
\
never hesitated foe a moinent. I could not
bear to face the reproaches of my f Honda at
throwing away a salience. I trusted taprae-
: time, to Woks, to luck, to every thhog but my-
self: I remembered that a hundred years,
*hence -anything I Might do Would. have been,' alrections 41.1 to the. twelve head of game
forgotten.. I was eorry for Xr..Weatherby, I was to send Iiiin.. " And litoney, -he
but I closed rabidly ani at ones witill his said, "shoot as few :hen bxrds as you: can..
offer. As I have said, probably ,some pre. .1 won't have. any hen birds, InlIed; we can
judice in my favor, bi some Small eorepas. keep r the wait till they are tender."
sion for my position,. weighed with the lat. "But," I asked, u hey? am I to stelt a cock
ter. Boling tOWIISMan himieid, he fanoied 'from a hen when they are *bog?" *A You
that ill country folk understood- ell about can distgoiell tem," he replied--" you
country matters ,i, and be knew, of course,: ‘ can distisegush them.:, -by -their woolly
he could. easily ,get rid. of Me, if I turned legs." I knew that, he ;knew as. mu&
out an unsatisfactory character, ' about .the sex of Sr. kroaSe as Omit the
* . I felt very. grateful to the old: man. .lie _moral character .of a: Salnioa„ and I chair.
was in many ways difficult to deal:with; fully promised. "And, Stoney," he went
and yet, on the whole, I did not get.. on; on, 4 don't disturb 'that stag. I won't have
badly with .bini ; and I May say at once, that pow •dtsturbed. If that Old. scoundrel
though I • have left' his ,servios, I did ,not who lives at" :. (making a fearful mess of
,do so on al:wow:it of any proved incapacity • ther Gaelic nareep., hunts' that stag, I'll
on my Part for the work. My great safe. tarn hire'out of his farm." "But he haa a
guard lay in this fact, that he was infinitely: lease," I ventured to interpose, , "and
more ignorant than I was,. • If all ‘nintters there's thirteen Of It to run, and you
appertaining to land were Greek to me, can't turn him out." Then Mr. Weatherby
they were Chinese or Sanskrit. to him. went off grunting, into the house. The
ge called Istinself 'a Cloth mantifentiver; farmer was a peaceable *olat-fellow, who
but I believe %his . principal busineesk eon. probably had never used a gun in his life
slated inniakiog bags for artificial manures, and the "stag" was a roe which we had piii
thmigh, he linear nothing whatever about Op One day .in going through the wood. •
the various ingredients which filled theta. At last the day of departure arrived. I
I have seen. him earefully exaneine a pile aeoempanied my employers mimes the limb
standing at arstation waiting to be trucked; to the little station, wner0 they Mit the
he used to Part them coroplacentlyi and trait which caught the night mail to the
search, I thought, for ' some mark to idert- eolith. . We had a big boat -load -servants,
tify them by. In his middle age he had .luggage, and Miss, Weatherby -herself no
rented.a email hit of rabbit -shooting near inconsiderable weight. As a hot 'Chance of
Manchester. A year or two before Imet making .hereelf dirisgraeble, . she ordered
him he had bought , a. small property in a Me, rather than asked,-nie, to raw. I think
large ._.Scoto,h, ...county, . and he considered- her heart -softened a-little-1mb as the train
himself somewhat of an authority on *Tort, vaastarting,for she put oat herhand gaff:to.
He may have known something. about rah- say good-bye; but at that moment Lord
its, but he Was certainly singularly 'gar- Blackadder, the rioh owner of *a large deer,
rant of• all Matters connected with g,romp. 'forest in the district, came out Of thebook.
When he.' got it point -he -always started ing office, and shetastily withdrew it, not
off as hard as he • could to it -either by wishing to appear on intimate terms with
the noise he media putting, up the birds, the factor before -that. nobleman. I could,
Or AO arriving ;hi euch it state of breath- net help feeling rather triumphant when
lesehosa that he could do nothing With thegreat maxi shook •hands with me ,(I had
the easiest chance. If he Wounded it hare' had an interview with him on some ques-
(and he. seldor6.killed one:outright) . he titan of a disputed niaroh),' and spok pleas -
used. to loo his „old -setter .after it; and antly to me. "You are going- to he here
nothing pleased him more than a success- for the winter, I suppose, Mr. Stoney. I
billy • concluCted, chase -of this kind, for, as don't intend to kill any more etags this
he Said.. the process Combined the plea. season:- but 'there Will be . some kinds
sure of shooting With the eionitenient of a wanted about Christmas, and I have told
ceurse., And one day on getting a snipe Campbell, the head keeper, to let you know
he sent it Off imniediately to MoLeay's at when they g0 after' them,'" I thought this
Inverness ••to , be .stuffed. „.;This old ,,Man •very kips" of Lord Blacladder, and thanked
Was easily satisfied: two . or.. three head him.. I' Save Miss Weatherby hold • half
per dient. to his own ' on' contented him, Open the door of her carriage; I saw Lord
and halt it dozen made: ' him triumphant; Blaaks,dder bow'tO her and into another'
'but. When, as sometimes happened, . he got corapartinent further down, , and as I
nothing at .614. he -became despendent, and watched the train twisting along the shore
midi Me a kind Of sotapegpat to Vent his, of the loch I rejeiced Within me at ;the little
Magnet on.. One 4ay, he took Me out with Snub,* . • . : . . - ' ' . •
him to . the moor, and Was .at first inutsh, whim the train' wastut-of sight r rowed
exercised to find that in shooting, at any 'home again. I. well remember that row.
tatej was his superior: indeed, I feared The yellow and red and orinnson beeehes and
he . would,- not ask rrae again, • But our • :larches which fringed the shores of •the
united bag was- .naturally, 'heavier . than grOatlich wererepeated in the water with -
his single one. He always immediately out their reflection'Ibeing diettirbed by a
claimed every bird , which•ompe down from ripple. There was it haze in the distance,
it htoodat which we had both. fired; and I the sun Atm°. brightly but with little
never disputed his, right to do -so-4C wios power, and there' was ' a ..pleasant smell Of
Mit for me as a Sootoh ifactor to argiie alitninii and frost, and dead .leaves in the
with My. employer. - When Mr. Weatla air.- I looked With some pride and genii° of
erby found out this he never went On the ,proprietorehip at• the little territory over
hill without me, • • , , which I .twas -to rule undieturbecilor the.
The property.' Wad. not large considering next nine ' months. ...The stooke were still:
a was in the Hiihkolida.. There Was'a big etanding in the oat -fields close ,doWn by
house, !some fifteen hundred acres 'of moor 'the book: then there . Caine the trimly
and weed,, and two or three small arable' .squired pastures, °aid.' 'Sheltered by. its
Whig Whit .bettieets the tatter' and the broad -belt of .votood:, and above these the
great loch which formed the marsh on one purer, brawn new' With its.sfaded heather,
side. , I entered on My 'duties, with fair .stretched away for miles .011.it joined the
and.. trembling ; lint as time -wore on : I distant haze. ,MY eyes. dwelt longest and
became need" to the.. position, acquired , a With Most affection on this moorland, for.
certain amount . of isohfidence in myself, it Was' there dwelt the eleven grouse and
and, ,on :the 'whOle, managed to •get On. Area hares whiCh I..had been directed to
pretty well. It 'is true I.Made some tern, Slay, .• .. , ' 2 • ! • ' - ' • •
ble mistakeeinistakee. which .oatised me, I had made Many geed resolutions by
to feel uncomfortable then,' but whit% the timel sculled'. the , heavy old tub into
make me blush now when I think of them tthe little • landing-pfacrethat . I would
nOmetimeit in bed. ' T .epoke'. to one of the really work hard:lot.' Mr. Weatherby
tenants: about :petting a...bandage on: the harder than • I had done before -that
fetlock 'r:rf a cow; • 1 very , nearly bought would Make hie, interest my own -7 -that I
gone oats frem another at 7•00.. a quarter; ' would be courteous to cross old Maggie, the
and ,I4 drove alinose, Jnte_leeee'yXte„40„1:seueekee,nee,,that,_Lmcsna...ue
, w . my • eu enan on e
114
• zulgot• •40 Yo4v ).?etiV ,Rona then he added
graciously,. 44 Tou..may shoot rt, grouse and
04 bare, fOr yourselfa .blac hare." 'Whose.'
II,i1T4)1., to, ‹topl .7.,TOZO tcr- o'b.,114.74run.
From Ws :Obeerful, ceantmanee 4714.
inea-
suxe loogaage (when 'put, vat always
sWore.. 4 geed deal) I _felt sure that. the
trade in manure:bags was looking.* Up.
'Before, he left he gcr.ve.- me many farther
'Zike dietinguished north.° politleiab; X
-titgotthcr
water off some lea by Attains .seven • 'feet
deep and ten feet, apart.- As a. rule, X got
out of these holes of error. • • The blank
astenishrneht in the worthy farmer's face,
when roffered him. for his *cern, told mil
had made some mistake; and a-searcih in
Stephen's "Book > of the Farm" made it
plain that such drainage as I contemplated
Verild be equallpbad for the land and the
proprietor. Still nOW. and then I Went toe
far„ and Mr. `Iffeatherby suffered. He was,
however, so ignorant himself that I always
managed without falsifying anything, or
without 'falsifying to any great extent, to
persuade him that,. all. was right -that
matters were as they aught to be., '
In it measure, I. eoen got. rather to like
Mr. Weartherby; He had a. sister who
kept house for him, and . never could
endure bor. She was it Vulgar, conceited
Woman, fond . of snubbing. me whenever
she got a ehance, and- too apt, -I thought,
to treatqruxas it Servant. • Of course I was
it servant in a way; but I knew that both
by birth and education I was her superior.
She Could not keep her h's -their proper
places, much less make laatin. verses ; ithd
thought she might' have shown , a
litbe inore rionsideratiOn: I could not
afford to. quarrel with her openly, and •I
tried with all my might to affect to mis-
understand her sometimes offensive insin-
uations. She made me -go stupid mes-
sages which 'the servants cold just as
well have , carried; and she even ' tried
once to inipress. on her . brother that it wad
'part .of iny duty to get tip and ring the
more -grouse than I had been ordered,.
Ifiriuffill 'Int, good intentions; I started,
directly I had moored. the boat, to the near-
est ferm•to 'make an appointment for the
next day with the tenant to Measure some
sheep -drains we had been cutting on :the
hill. • He Was working amongst his corn;
and as I went in at the top :of •the • field•I
was greeted and startled by a loud whirr-
ing noisea •dozen grouse had, been feed-
ing on the stubble; aud, they tier' back
on to the moor, following aarefully in their,
skin:luting flight every undulation . of tine
ground. •I went down to Old Rory, the
little farmer, and we chatted together. -for
sore° thine on divers 'matters, but I , made
no appointment with him; I determined,
though I made e feeble struggle in favor Of
the drains, to devote the next day to
grouse. Xy consoles:see told ine• I *Was
wrong in this. It is true, Mr. Weatherby had
not told the not to go out the next day, but
,he had specified the time when he wanted
the gamez-,-a full fortnight hence. I made
anotherattempt, on the road to
myself, and nearly turned_ hack,
after all; to speak'to the farmer; but at
that 'moment I was !passing through the'
Stooks,. and 1 PaVI they were . almost alt
within gunshot ,of the wall. Before going
to bed thatnight, I in ameasureealved my
.conscience by determining that• the grouse,
I Was to slay in the morning' iihould be the
grouse that rightly belonged to me; and no
other; and having made this compel:Ito I
slept the sleep of .the jnet. The morning
was keen and bright ; •there was frost. The
dahlias. in front of the ledge were out
down by it, and the beds • of heliotrope
co eavoutea ol ay) ey y CO• clrive • be was COatemplatreq; and I went -
Everything favored re- found them intdtthe forest far a short vslt, and had a
easily -4 knoolted the, OvOr as bad • rleaSant ti e of itwith tbeipvialgillim 'We
tiover, dextp,, been; •double shots, snap- were on the hills day, slept at nicht f.
-714,7,fro- Ut.M.Frn.ito atalancly. fo4ntedon.fropli
,down canoe a bunch of rich brOWX4 and venierm-steaks, and Konen, and whiskey,:
black and ,ruefiet feathers., I had. no'dog and in the evening 'played "t'cat3h. the ten
except little Skye terrier, anAl Jet I hover with indegeribablidirty pas &' ,earde, cr
lost a When I emptied 'alit the con. " pues in the ()cruse with bonnie,. rosy. •
tents, of the hag. At 4 o'cleck, IveSe ahnost .elieeked maidens. Myeelf got any ,
sick with, fright at the 'display. Six end a ' :for theY always seemed to !come
, belf bracelay before. ine. had Itilledon awkwardly to the placea where I was peat.;
the very 'first day A brace more than the ed.; bat I enjoyed the ""•pnesist the: corner"'
• hill allowance. for the season for idly very pouch. I WaapihOwever, etartled, when
employer and reyoelf. Old ceche,. Not ectying good, by -bye to the. /lead. keeper, at.
they. I had never.thought of the warning , a roma* he 0.04er "X0411 za0,1 be Isaving
that •had:,heers given nan-I .hacl never many birds. Q' your groan' for the season?"
looked for the woolly lep. Here was " Ohl'Oenaphelio" I paid "Aybat Makes. you .
:pretty beginning -a etilious corollary to 'think that l''' s' it's weather," he •
i the reselatione. ricareely twenty-four hours replied.; "these, black • frosts clean bad
old. I had. begun by intending to' shoot for the breeding." This happened 'before •
ono- bird -my lawful bird; then I killed Chrietmas and 1, felt Sure grease Would not
41;nother in lieu ;of My lawful blue hare, be thinking of eineh thing; but there was
and then, --1. was: .very miserable; I felt a queer leek his eye when he spoke
no pleasure at. 14,6king at .the bonnie dead •whigh- Made* Ma, Suepect,.. early as it was,
birds. 1 remembered. hot*: Christopher. that he.bed Paid visit to some black bot,
North had. reenecitated the anipe by blow- ; and I was sorry for this, as Campbell
ing down its nob, and tonged for his power, was reputed a steady mant and much ,
What on earth was I ,t� do with my spoil? respected, by his master on that account -
I put a brace back: into tke .game;bs,g, and. "On, no,'" , he said *again ;, "I'm afraid
• the remaind.er buried oarehillY in a motet you'll no' e Very heavy bag on Rhian
-peat-hageleven " as line grouse ever the*year." • •
man saw: plump, and perfect, plpniage, Summer .drew near. • It was evident r,
and all with •the woolly. legs which. my that was not Altogether hardersed bite .
*Master .eoneidered• the eharacteristie �f crime, forhy the .end of July I could not
cock.: Two pounds' worth of grouse did I sleep at night; and. on the first .day ,of
stick hit° a.. slimy hole, and hate myeell August took • Robert (the pupil) into my
for •cleing ; but .other course layppen 'Oonfidenee He was a nice open lad We
to me. I dared not send thenu away, and had get On together very well, and he
Maggie would have .betrayed 'me if I had seemed thoroughly to appreciate the difes‘
taken them home,' AS I• lay awake that oulties of my situation: • He was quite
night, I felt a great change had come over willing to do anything he could. to help;
my Motel character,. Only a few: hours but for along time I did not see 'how We
had passed since I had been brimming Over .could do anything; and resolved to -let
with *virtuous self -complacency.* A few. matters. take their course. Old Mr. Weath..
liehrs had-ohasiged.74,11:. -I was a poacher; erby had been.: unwell during. the sunnier, •
and. at one time I thought stsy diffiesultiee •..
wouldhe •solved by, his • not being able to
come .north • at all; but shortly before the
12114 he Wrote Saying „he was =oh bet-
ter, and intended ffniching elite in Scot-
land. ' Be added .he was. much • plimeed to, •
see by "the 'papers • that the grouse• in our
district were strong .and plentiful: -.I -wrote.
in a great hurry. to say that this was noti
at allthe case with us, and that the breeding., .
Beam* had been a very bad one (which Was,.
a perfectly true etatement) ; but the letter,
had no effeet in changing his repletion, and
: -
on the 1.011i he and his sister and houselgid
arrived. . • • •
It Was with very different feelings that
I owieniore acted as stroke the faruily4,
boat, and 'started .for he station. • "Oa the,
way I firmly made up my mind to Confesi •
everything. I knew that the grouse all round
were 'plentiful; the oldest inhabitant Could
notremember a better nesting season. But ';
I had acted as the French sportsman did •••
who killed the hares. "Deaden:lone. and.
'fakl,Phonee;" :and`Jeft only. ‘.14g,_yieux.
Achille to breed.. I, had depopUlatke •
ground. • •:
My employer was :ilookiig out Of the .
train as it drew up : • hie' faiie.had-,;lost its
ruddineee, and altogether . he' Was feebler
than when 'I laiit.saw He ' was Very
graciptn4 end deemed to. be delighted to be .
once mr.ire in Scotland. The sight Of his :
gun -eases and riew.esetter almost made me'
eick. There was no tiin.e • then to explain,
matters, and lOng before reached- the., ,
landing-pliiie I once MOCI- changed . ihr;•
mind. I could :not explain ' things. Mr.. •
Weatherby sated many qamitions Wed
the grause„,•and I gave' blurred,'indistinot
answers to some, whilst others pretended.:
not to hear, and labored' most diligently. it
the. oar.: The lapse of knother year had
notim,proved the temper of his Blister, and
whip little.she did ^say waidisagierighle..
Robert and *I had Moved Out citthe big,
house to a• small cottage close' by;: and as
we were-.13itting., by. the sinouldering • peat
•beforra, going to bed • that night I Made a pro-
position to him. There is kind of Sport "
Cum-
berland hardly known in .other to . be witnessed arnotigat .the fella of Cum-. ..
:riounties. Ooneista in 'dragging :a skin
-steeped in annitieed across • country for ten ,
or a 'dozen imileir;:tot dogs to bent. This le
• Milled a hound . trail. It takes place
after wrestling -matches and,pigeOnsheot
ings and .e„_hotVs
'057"alffidy7TpoTkgoving_nerthern.--fariners----
I taltIresb-eit of this,. and asked • him if ho • •
would- be Willing to go . up on the hili early
in the morning of the 12th, and put such a'
akin down here and there; and explained .
to him that the • dogs would ecseht it, and
work about as if after. ganie,Vhilet 58 Mr.
Weatherby Was Short sighted; we might be: : •
able to induce him to.believe that the birds ,
had run and ,got Upitarther if thie-
ving carried .Ont • two or three • times, his:
disguet at their, behavior and his weak- •
nese from his 'recent illness, Might prevent
11,41 Ping Out, much more. Bebert, after er
•little demur, • agreed to perform 'his pert ;• '
and the next morning, under the pretext of
gettingeome remedy for toothache; rives*.
to the little tOwn and hisight Botta cif the •_
stron'g-smelling4 drug. • • . • . • :
It, was not With mueln confidetice that *,
etabarked in. this, desperate course, but
was just postable that it might hoodwink • •
Mr. Weatherby. knew his. materna lop-. •
ranee on ell Wafters conneoted withgame.
I bethought triehow; at last eeagee, he had-,
perpetually fired' at slued birds in -mistake
for siniPe:;.: how he had taken &roe for a red...
deer, an old carrion crow for a black miek ;
how, when be had tumbled head over. heels
into' a peethag, and plugged up both bar -
role with black -earth, he had wished to
clear thent by firing his cartridges • and
hew healed only been, saved ..ffoin der;trun•
tion. by my • interposition. I restembered
this,i istddetermisied was worth while.'
to run the risk; I could' not nnake .things;
mueli worse, than. they were I gave the
cshepherd pair of old booth. and half a
'pound of tobacco,' prayed !hisartily ,. for a,
etormy inorrew.and went -to bed in a MOO
'unenviable elate of mind. •
Urseasy snatches •of •eleep were all X wag ',.
able to tecure ;-end at 11 Very early hour
awoke Robert, and -started hint off with
hiH rablAtskin and a-. little ,bottle, giving -
him many , and mieute instructions •as to •
.what he was to do. , . . • •
Ali it my, consotetice had been easy, -
how glad should have been at the Yokel
that morning! It Was ono of those early
autumn 'day g which give premise of beat,:
)1I VV lay ,.tever.,eVerything. - itebert •
. , .
I had betrayed the trust of my master. I
was a ooward for bfirying the birds in a
bog -nay, I almost.. felt as if I 'was, a liar;
for I had half made up my nand, as I
came down the hill, to -apcount for my
many shots by. saying I had been.firing' at
a mark.. No one had .questioned‘rne. • But
then my uneasy eonscier Oa began to inquire
whether the Intention was not of as much
value as •the act;: end While debating this
nice point 1 fell asleep. 7. . 1
It would not be . profitable .in any 'sense
to give adaily amount of what. I did on the
Moor between that da r and the 10th .of
December. 1 was often Malt. ' There Was
net very much work for me MI the .Placar
but to a certain • extent I' neglected what
there was to do if I. thought I should have
any luck °Lithe hill,„' ,I tried sometimesto
resist the ,fasoination Of the sport;lbut I
think I Mark be a little weakiwilled-,-..at.
any tate in that particular direction -for
I.hardly ever did ultimately figlitthe temp-
tation successfully. Perhaps I might have
snceeeded better.. if it had net been for
those fatal stubble.fieids.. The grouse used
to Pomo 'down every • afternoon. and feed;--
cOnfiding ' things !-within gunshot • of the
walls. , About 341..m. they used to ' arrive.
t -not Many, for there were. not many On
the place. About 3.00 they Used •to fly. off
again -sorter of them; .end. some ,Would be
sprawling . on, the crisp . stubble, Or lying
:quiet in brown feathery masses. The end,
of thiekind of thing,w,asithat I 'didseriotis
injury to the Shooting -4 almost destroyed
it., The marches were .narroW,the grouse
naturally firt0 : They. were -exceedingly
greedy birds; like myself., they gave way
readily to temptation, and the peneltythey
paid for their sensuality Wail a hearyone.
I consider, if'the season hadlaiited ten days
or•a fortnight 'longer, that the Tetra• Seoti-
ous *mild his. become extinct so far. as
thatmOOr. was ...concerned. As it was, a
few wary, old cooks 'and, .oine 'smitabrood
alone esoaped., . • - ' . . •
It will naturally be euppened that this
kind ofi*ork could not be, carried on alto-
gether in secret. . 'WOod-pigeens and crows
might account for the firing,' and Iavoided.
the faiin-folk as mach as possible. If ever
I enterjhe' diplomatic,. service, the experi-
ence I gained in dealing, with the people on
this Scotch place -will be invaluable to me.
Audi used to oreuch; tali° down, to assi-
milate my shape to that i•of cii tree, to pay
.partioular attention to the, color of back-
aiiintlitillieriu. ''-'-wainnavrelay a
. .
.pretty-good-Lidea-of--what-weut on otrthe
moor. • But!. the shepherd :hated Mr.
Weatherby, who had called him a dardned
old Woman one day, when certain holes in
his little hut's walls :had been pointed out
and:cOmplained of; and 1 used to give him
tobacco and whiskey sometimes and let
him help himself 'liberally ' to !fireiveod.
This . run-was:7-13016th and • reputedly
devout; he had an acrid and severe coun-
tenance, and he was wifeless... Tina latter
etate greatly encietitegc,i4 me to hope that
he would be silent. ; • . '. • . ° '
I harried the placetheanefully;•and ,what
grouse were left had good' cause to bleat
the Bun Which. rose on the ilth of •Decem-
ber. As 'for the "stag,", I not him one
evening when .coming .hOine 'rein the hill
in the dusk, and fired two barrels of .snuoll-
shat at him; and. the peer beast was found
e week after in the wood, dead wasted.
So came Christmas; after which festive '
period • spent , by ,• me, rather dipmellY . in
thinking .of my. sins, and wondering
-whether I tifierild kr found,- out, I get a
conipanioa at the lodge, 'I advertised in
the Field for a' pupil; and. though When, 1 -
got an application I was almost 'frightened:
at my audacity, the man who made it
came. Perhaps he was hired' by the good
fishing Which .formed part of the-advertise-
merft„„, For a, time I tried to Make him' do.
a little Work.' I set him down te theestate.
account -book one day, and persuaded . him
to make .4 copy. of it, as an example of
what such things., should be; but he
detected a Mistake in my adding up in the
second or third nae, and after that I left
him alone so far as money • inattera were
big bell which was suppesed to rouse the . ,were' withered and blaeketed. I knew that concerned. • We both fished eiood deal in
honsehold-but he stood.. my friend in, hp on the motif 4ttbe .heather would be dry the lodh,land in the small barn which ran
this matter, and *though, as a• rule, pretty in an hour; ' anclulter having devoured through the property; and I should . have
I
'much, under the influence :of his. deter, hastily my oat cake and bacon breakfast, I had a pleasant spring; if it had not been for
peremptorily vetoed her suggestion... ,,, . ehouldered my gun and was Off-feeling,far the fact that Hummer came •next. As the
I took pp my .abede in Scotland in -ita- more eager about this, my first ' attempt months Sped On, I became* more and more
nary; in Augtuit the Owner and hie family so/us, than4, had ever :done .when.ebting as • alarmed: As a'proof of heWeasy,it is for
arrived; and about the end a Septomhee begcarrier and dog -beater to Mr. Weath. a tolerebry virtuous young man to beco‘rne
he announced. to, Me pet he should be orb,: by telt' WAs. far up on the. moor:, at abort notice' sorhothing distinctly the
obliged to ent his. Stay shorter than lieliad tbe Men were Working anionget the Sleeks, reverse, / may mention that at one time 1
intended and go eolith immediately. • „ and there was 'nothing there. By eleven / seriously Contemplated setting the'beather
'I' Stoneyi" (that.ismy name) he 15014one had :killed my grouter ; the day was young. on firejust before the season for` miiirburn
ganOheSter at °nee and - as it late lb. the: bread to which My bird had beleingek
the season, i shall' hardly' come book jay like stohes.tand yet my work was OVer.
again this year. X 01164 like6y6n to 14ed I ought to . have thrown • all my 'oartridgeri
me a .boi of ganae about. the mia,At .61 into a peitt.hog and rim hens° AS hard as I
" bitsitte re e&
me, to. ,ge to
.10
the best part o'f the dreeed was untouched, ended -of course aceidentally-and hdr.11.-" i ilitetrwt4.1:arOnadd a,' toosocrtoplriebcitsittlyrs jahdeo•odfrOgSortaesdaJnIthe:
"ing the whole of it; but I discovered in tirde j
that ouch an sot is looked on by the law as I and'eparkling spider webs, . • ft
e, criminal offence, and Is punished. by au. T re was `the UStlai delay in welting 1%.*
. long term of •ireprisOrtment. - f sta the pout' collecting of cartritlife-
. .
tts
• • f
•