DEER-STALKING AND COURSING 



cate their alarm to him. For this purpose, unbonneted, his 

 hair having been cut close for the occasion, he slowly ascended 

 the rising ground betwixt us and the deer, looking at every 

 step to the right and to the left, and raising himself as if by 

 inches, with his head thrown back so as to bring his eyes to as 

 high a level as possible. Having, at length, caught a view of 

 the deer's horns, he satisfied himself that he had not moved, 

 and having sunk down as gradually and slowly as he rose, that 

 he might not by any sudden movement attract the attention of 

 the deer, he returned to us, and again led the way ; and after 

 performing a very considerable circuit, moving sometimes 

 forwards, and sometimes backwards, we at length arrived at the 

 back of a hillock, on the opposite side of which, he informed us 

 in a whisper, the deer was lying, and that, from the spot where 

 we then stood, he was not distant 100 yards. Most of the party 

 seemed inclined to doubt this information, for they verily 

 believed that the deer was at least half a mile to the right ; 

 but Finlay's organ of locality was so visibly and strongly 

 developed, and his practice in deer-stalking so great, that the 

 doubts of the party were suppressed, if not altogether removed. 

 Buskar, however, soon put the matter beyond question, for 

 raising his head, he bounded forwards, and almost escaped 

 from the person who held him. No time was to be lost : the 

 whole party moved forward in silent and breathless expecta- 

 tion, with the dogs in front, straining in the slips ; and on our 

 reaching the top of the hillock, we got a full view of the noble 

 stag, who having heard our footsteps, had sprung to his legs, 

 and was staring us full in the face at the distance of about sixty 

 yards. The dogs were slipped ; a general halloo burst from 

 the whole party, and the stag, wheeling round, set off at full 

 speed with Buskar and Bran straining after him. 



' The brown figure of the deer, with his noble antlers laid 

 back, contrasted with the light colour of the dogs stretching 

 along the dark heath, presented one of the most exciting 

 scenes that it is possible to imagine. 



' The deer's first attempt was to gain some rising ground to 

 2g 233 



