CHASE OF THE WILD RED DEER 121 



having once come forward and been returned to 

 Parliament for that division of the county), 'and 

 I 'II stop a gap again. Rather than allow the sport 

 to perish, or stand in peril of destruction, I will keep 

 the pack at my own expense, except while they are 

 actually engaged in deer-hunting, and you shall keep 

 the surplus of subscriptions towards liquidating the 

 debts due to you.' On this arrangement the country 

 was hunted up to 1847, and the debt reduced to 

 ^"75, which has never been liquidated. The thanks 

 of all sportsmen are due to Mr Fellowes for thus 

 lending his aid in the hour of need. His period of 

 management was distinguished by many a good run ; 

 but I must remark that the omission to observe the 

 good old rule of ' tufting ' for the deer, and a 

 practice of drawing coverts with the whole pack, 

 occasioned the death of many an ' unwarrantable ' 

 stag, as well as of deer out of season, and caused 

 considerable dissatisfaction among the landed pro- 

 prietors who countenanced the ancient sport, and 

 lent their aid to the preservation of the deer. 

 During the early part of Mr Fellowes' mastership, 

 Tom Snook acted as huntsman, and during the 

 latter part Roots had the command, and John 

 Dunn (the present Lord Portsmouth's huntsman) 

 whipped in. 



