September 3, 1849.
At a quarter-past
eleven we drove (the three gentlemen going in another carriage) to
the road along which we went with Lord Portman the other day, and up
to a small path, where I mounted my pony, Albert and the others
walking. We came to Geannachoil and Albert was much pleased with the
splendid view. The lights were most beautiful, but the. heat was
overpowering, and the sun burning.
We turned to the right when out on the moors, where I got off and
walked; and we seated ourselves behind a large stone, no one but
Macdonald with us, who loaded the guns, and gave notice when
anything was to be seen, as he lay upon the ground. The gentlemen
were below in the road; the wood was beat, but nothing came, so we
walked on and came down a beautiful thickly-wooded glen; and after a
good deal of scrambling to get there, and to get up one side of the
glen, we sat down again. We then scrambled over to the opposite
side, where we again concealed ourselves; in this beat Albert shot a
roe, and I think would have shot more had they not been turned back
by the sudden appearance of an old woman, who, looking like a witch,
came along through the wood with two immense crutches, and disturbed
the whole thing. Albert killed the roe just as she was coming along,
and the shot startled her very much; she was told to come down,
which she did, and sat below in the glen, motionless, having covered
her head with her handkerchief. When two of the beaters came down
and were told to take up the roe, they first saw the old woman, and
started, and stared with horror—which was very amusing to see. I
rode a little way afterwards, and then we seated ourselves behind a
bush, in the rear of the wood, close to the distillery; but this
beat brought nothing. Albert killed a young black cock before we
came to the second beat. We were home at a quarter-past three
o’clock. |