Page:King Edward VII. as a sportsman by Watson, Alfred Edward Thomas.djvu/48

 and at Balmoral King Edward entertained a succession of man-parties, which always included the Minister in attendance, and generally a certain number of both active and retired naval and military officers. Those who have had the privilege of being there as guests will not easily forget the share of sport that was so generously extended to them by their Royal host. Stalking, deer-driving, grouse-driving, fishing, and golf were all in the order of the day, and for the older men, whose sporting days were over, there was that cheeriest of functions, the luncheon on the hill, in the interval of the deer-drives. Perhaps nowhere in the domain of sport did King Edward feel more thoroughly in his element than he did when, seated in the heather and surrounded by his guests, he could breathe the keen Scotch air that he always loved, and enjoy to the full the matchless scenery of the slopes of Lochnagar.