GENERAL AND OVER DOGS 139 



In a far more chastened spirit must he 

 approach his task who would write on 

 such a subject as shooting the grouse ; it 

 is indeed a well-worn path in which he 

 has to tread, following the footsteps of 

 such exponents of the art as Mr. A. 

 Stuart -Wortley, Sir Ralph Payne- Gall - 

 wey, Mr. J. G. Millais, masters alike of 

 gun, pen, and pencil. 



Yet there is not wholly wanting en- 

 couragement in the attempt : the stream 

 of literature on the subject seems never- 

 ending, and many of the more recently 

 published, and apparently widely read 

 works, dealing with this branch of sport, 

 seem anything but satisfactory or con- 

 clusive. Some devote an entirely dis- 

 proportionate amount of space to the 

 time-honoured controversy of "driving" 

 versus " over dogs," in which, though the 

 writer usually lays great stress on the 

 impartial spirit in which he enters on the 

 fray, it very soon becomes obvious that 

 he has only followed one method himself, 

 of which he has become — shall we say a 



