THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 297 



Even to one well accustomed to the sport 

 the business of collaring an old deer when he 

 is " set up " by hounds, is a task that, to do it 

 safely, requires at times all the skill and adroit- 

 ness of a matador ; but to the inexperienced 

 hunter, no matter how quick, active, and strong 

 he may be, the stag, with those long, pointed 

 brow-antlers of his, which he is wont to use 

 with such terrible effect, is an awkward cus- 

 tomer to approach, when driven to his last 

 resource and confronting his foes on some 

 vantage-ground. 



Many a narrow escape has Russell had, first 

 and last, at such times ; but fortune, aided by 

 his physical power and thorough acquaintance 

 with every mode of handling the animal in that 

 the final ceremony, carried him scathless through 

 numerous close and fierce encounters. 



One day, during the mastership of Mr. 

 Stucley Lucas, who, it will be remembered, was 

 the last man to use the fine old-fashioned stag- 

 hounds of that country, he was more than once 

 exposed to imminent peril in saving a peasant, 

 partly intoxicated, from certain death. They 

 had found in Brembridge Wood, near Castle 

 Hill, a noble deer, strong and swift as the winds 

 of the moor, and bearing a grand head with 

 "three upon top" on each horn. After a sharp 

 burst of two and a half hours, they brought him 

 to bay in a small brook near Bratton Mill ; and 



