EDITOR'S PREFACE 



During the forty years that have elapsed since Dr. 

 Collyns completed the work of which a new edition 

 is now put forth, there have been periods when it 

 seemed probable that the hopes of the Chase of the 

 Wild Red Deer being republished might be grati- 

 fied. Though the present editor joins in the regrets 

 that other sportsmen better equipped than himself 

 for the task have not found themselves able to 

 undertake it, in one case at least the abandonment 

 of the project has proved advantageous. For it 

 was not until it had been abortively suggested that 

 extracts from the diaries of the late Mr. Bisset 

 should be subjoined to a new edition of Dr. Collyns' 

 book, that Mr. John Fortescue set himself to write 

 his admirable volume, Staghunting on Exmoor, 

 which made its appearance in 1887, and brought 

 the chronicles of the famous sport of the West up to 

 the preceding year. 



If in 1886 the Hunt was justly described as thriv- 

 ing, the last fifteen years have assuredly given 



