EDITOR'S PREFACE xiii 



still alive, but of those who have passed away the 

 names of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., Sir 

 Frederic Knight, K.C.B., and Mr. Froude Bellew 

 are especially notable. Of these gentlemen, Sir 

 Thomas Acland lived till 1898. Though not a 

 hunting man he was a staunch friend to stag- 

 hunting, and it was on portions of his vast estates 

 that the persecuted deer found sanctuary, which is 

 still accorded to them by the present bearer of the 

 title. Sir Frederic Knight had on the demise of 

 his father succeeded to the properties of Exmoor 

 Forest and Brendon, both of which at his death in 

 1897 passed to the Fortescue family. Up to 

 within a few years of his last illness he was fre- 

 quently to be seen in the hunting-field, mounted on 

 his long-tailed horse of some seventeen hands ; he 

 was in his younger days the hardest of riders. Of 

 Mr. Froude Bellew it may be said that he com- 

 bined a most accurate knowledg-e of all matters 

 appertaining to the chase with an unflagging zeal 

 for the cause of stag-hunting ; he was ready with 

 aid at a time when affairs were at their worst. 



But, though these and many other names may 

 be deservedly familiar to the stag-hunter, after a 

 perusal of Dr. Collyns' book one cannot but per- 

 ceive, as it were by some power of second sight, 



