The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-07 00:00:00

BALZAC.

The great enchanter was one of the oiliest and commonest
looking mortals I ever beheld; being short and corpulent,
with a broad florid face, a cascade of double chins, and
straight greasy hair. The only striking feature in that
Friar Tuck countenance was his eye; dark, flashing,
wicked, full of sarcasm, and unholy fire.
It is hardly fair, perhaps, to take exception to the
labour of one who has strived so successfully to
afford his readers amusement, yet some of the twee-
dotes here collected, aithough very well for collo-
quial gossip, are hardly worthy the honour of print-
ing for publication.

Natural Ilistory and Sport in Moray. Collected
tiara the Journals and Letters of the late
Charles St. John, Author of " Wild Sports of
the Highlands." One Vol., pp. 325. Edinburgh,
Edmonstcn and Douglas.
The editor very truly remarks in the preface to
this work, that no encomium of his could so
effectually recommend this volume to a large class
of readers, as the knowledge that the text consists
entirely of the observations and notes of Charles
St. John—" a name dear to the lovers of Nature
and manly sport." To all such, this new volume
will be right welcome, and will prove a rare treat.
These " notes" are arranged according to the
months of the year—thus, for January. we have an
account, among other things, of wild ducks and
their habits; in February, we read of the activity
and calming of the Roebuck ; in March, we learn
about Swans, Wild and Tame, Trout and Pike, &c.,
but the list is far too numerous to particularise—
containing all the denizens of field and flood, together
with the birds of the air frequenting the North.
In August, of course, we have an interesting account
of the Grouse, from which we select a passage as
one the theme of which renders it just now particu-
larly appropriate :
The rage for grouse-shooting, at present so great, is not
likely to change, like many other fashions. The fine air,
the freedom, the scenery, and all the other agrements
acompanying this amusement must always make it the most
fascinating kind of sport in the way of shooting which the
British isles or indeed almost any country can afford. The
bird, too, in beauty and appearance is not to be equalled.
In fact, as long as grouse and heather exist, and the nature
of man is imbued with the same love for sport and manly
exercise as it now is, grouse-shooting will be one of our
favourite relaxations from the graver cares of life.
Although, like others, I am excessively fond of this sport,
yet I care little for numbers of slain; and when following it
independently and alone, am not occupied solely by the
anxiety of bagging so many brace. My usual plan when I
set out is to fix on some burn, some cool and grassy spring,
or some hill summit which commands a fine view, as the
extremity of my day's excursion. To this point, then, I
walk, killing what birds come in my way, and after resting
myself and dogs, I return by some other route, Undoubtedly
the way to kill the greatest number of grouse is to hunt one
certain tract of ground closely and determinedly—searching
every spot as if you were looking for a lost needle, and not
leaving a yard of heather untried. This is the most killing
system, as every practised grouse-shooter knows; but to
me it is far less attractive than a good stretch across a
range of valley and mountain, though attended with fewer
shots. lam also far more pleased by seeing a brace of
good dogs do their work well, and exhibiting all their fine
instinct and skill, than in toiling after twice the number
when hunted by a keeper, whose only plan of breaking the
poor animals in, is to thrash them until they are actually
afraid to use half the wonderful intellect which nature has '
given thew.

The grouse (Lagopus Scoticus) is peculiar to the British
islands. There is a kind of grouse in Forway which nearly
resembles it, but is sufficiently unlike and distinct not to be
confounded with it. The grouse needs no description, its
general appearance being known to all. It would be diffi-
cult to describe the plumage exactly, as scarcely any two
grouse of mature plumage are quite alike. They vary from
every shade of reddish brown to nearly black. The
plumage of the young bird is generally much the same in
all specimens, but after their first moult this difference of
colour takes place. The colour and markings of the eggs
are equally varied. Notwithstanding the immense numbers
killed by gun, net, and snare, not including those which
fall a prey to crows, hawks, foxes, and other vermin grouse
are still numerous enough to be a source of great profit in
the way of rent to the proprietors of the heath-clad moun-
tains of this country. Tb at they are not already extinct in
most districts is owing, I truly believe, to the preservation
carried on by those who rent the shootings.
The nest of the grouse is placed in a tuft of heather ; it
contains from eight to ten beautiful eggs, spotted and
marked in manner characteristic of the bird itself, though
differing very much in colour. They are thickly spotted
with reddish brown of different shades, The old birds are 1

very attentive to, and careful of the young brood, and re-
main with them till the following spring. On the approach
of, and during wet and rough weather, grouse pack, as it is
called, that is, assemble in large companies. They are
then very wild, and ii is quite usele-s for the sportsman to
follow them. His best chance of filling his bag on these
occasions is to pay no attention to the " packs," but to
hunt for scattered single birds and pairs, a few of which
are always to be found. When the heather is wet it is also
of little use attempting to shoot grouse, particularly at an
advanced period of the season. The 12th of August is,
generally speaking, too early to commence regular grouse-
shooting. The 24th would be a better day to appoint. The
early period being only fit for those who shoot for the news-
paper, as certain sportsmen seem to do whose names appear
every season as having murdered some marvellous number
of grouse on the 12th. One grouse in October is a more
satisfactory prize to the real lover of grouse. shooting than
12 can be on the first day of the season. By October the
grouse, instead of being,' as in August, a half-plumaged
and often half.grown bird, is one of the finest and most
game-looking birds in the world. Since my recollection
of grouse they have very much changed their manner of
feeding. The small crops of oats which year after year
encroach on the moor lands have taught these birds to
appreciate corn as their food instead of the tender heather
shoots on which formerly they fed. Now, instead of find-
ing the crop of the grouse full of this latter food you find
that they have been feeding on oats like a pheasant or barn-
door fowl. As long as anything is to be found on the
stubble the grouse come from long distances every evening
and morning to feed on them. Early in the season, too, they
feed in great numbers in the standing corn. Great num-
bers are destroyed by means of snares in the corn-fields,
particularly while the sheaves of oats are left on the
ground.

It is often asserted that the black game drive away the
grouse; but I am not at all of that opinion; I do not consider
that they at all interfere with each other. The same de-
scription of ground is not liked by both kinds of birds.
The blackcock prefers rocky hill-side, with plantations and
boggy pieces of ground, clothed with coarse grass and dif-
ferent kinds of plants; while the grouse delights in wide
open tracts where the heather is not too rank, and where
there is plenty of young heath, on the shoots of which they
can feed. Burning the heather judiciously and at proper
reasons is of great service to grouse, as it gives them heather
of different age--the young to feed on, and the older parts
for shelter.

Not the least attractive chapter of this delightful
work is the memoir of its author, a memoir filled
with most interesting details of his happy but brief