xvi CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 



the country. He also made provision in his will 

 that the lands which he had purchased for that 

 purpose might be leased on favourable terms. 



The Appendix, in which some little difficulty has 

 been encountered in the endeavour to reconcile 

 certain names of places with modern usage, has 

 been corrected as far as possible ; but where the 

 spelling admits of a doubt it has been suffered to 

 remain as originally printed. 



Turning for a moment to the hounds of the 

 present day as contrasted with those of forty years 

 ago, it may safely be asserted that the pack by 

 which the Exford kennel is now tenanted differs 

 but slightly in appearance and general character 

 from that of Mr. Bisset's first years of control. 

 Rigid adherence to the method of relying entirely 

 on dopf-hounds that have been drafted from fox- 

 hunting establishments solely for size has been 

 rendered impossible by a demand that has grown 

 out of all proportion with the supply. Consequently 

 the standard, of inches, not of excellence, has been 

 somewhat relaxed ; and an infusion of the more 

 sprightly sex has been effected not unsuccess- 

 fully. 



Thus it may be that the vows of celibacy hitherto 

 imposed will be remitted, and that the entries with 



