THE FIVE CHARBOKOUGH BUCKS. 45 



motion, and not singling one out too soon. This was 

 prevented by a good-natured but mistaken desire of 

 Mr. Drax's to assist me, it not being contravened in the 

 wording of the match ; and he therefore, mth two ser- 

 vants, as he thought, aided me in singling out a buck, 

 and of course sent me out a fresh one, instead of the 

 weary and aged one I contemplated. The second 

 contretems was, that, having fixed on the month of 

 November, directly after the rut, I expected to find 

 the deer in the low condition in which for years I had 

 seen them, and taken them, in Charborough Park, for 

 fatting. Instead of this, either among the keepers or 

 elsewhere, the deer had been better kept, — I take it, 

 for the purpose of a better show to the public ; and 

 that, coupled with a mild dry season, put all the deer 

 before me in full and altogether unwonted vigour. 



The first deer was singled out, fresh and hearty, 

 and I was called on to " lay on the dog." I said to 

 myself that the buck should not have left the herd 

 for the next two hours, nor such a buck as he was, 

 if I had been alone, and yet I would have had one 

 out thoroughly within the terms of the match ; how- 

 ever, there stood the buck, and I gave the signal for 

 the course. Had it all depended on me nothing should 

 have left the herd but the old master bucks of eight 

 and nine years old, who had been used up in their 

 revels. Away went dog and deer at the best pace, 

 clean out of sight of the spectators. They left the 

 open and beautifully fair undulations of the plain, 

 and the dog never got up to the buck till he reached 

 the iron or invisible fence on one side of the park, 

 and then when he did so, it was among a clump 

 of newly planted trees, with frames of wood or 

 " pouses" round them, to protect them from the 



