CIIARBOROUGH PARK. 343 



The most extraordinary methods of killhig deer 

 I ever beheld, I ^vitnessed when at Charborough 

 Park. Mr. Drax holds battues by himself among his 

 deer, and kills all the venison sometimes in one day. 

 The whole herd is feathered and netted into a corner, 

 and then Mr. Drax and occasionally myself have pro- 

 ceeded into the midst of them, at one time to kill all 

 the fawns, at another all the fat bucks, and perhaps 

 a mighty stag or two. The effect of this is, that of 

 course much of the venison has to be given away ; 

 and consequently every gentleman or yeoman to 

 whom a haunch is given, finds himself haunted with 

 a heated joint that must be dressed directly, without 

 a soul to help him in the rare solemnity. Letters of 

 invitation cross each other on the road, each man 

 seeking for a guest, but each guest possessing at one 

 and the same time the very viand he invites his 

 neighbour to discuss. Each man must dine alone ; or 

 if they do not do so, they are obliged for a few days to 

 undergo a surfeit of venison dinners, at last esteemed 

 as no favour at alL With tlie fawns it is the same. On 

 a given day each voter at Wareham surfeits on a fawn, 

 which must be dressed the day he receives it, or in its 

 heated state it would not be good for twenty-four 

 hours. Another sad loss arising from this battue at 

 the deer is, that after a shot or two, when the bucks 

 and stags find themselves penned in, they stab a mul- 

 titude of other deer, and half the venison for the next 

 year is spoilt or maimed. 1 have seen a ball from 

 Mr. Drax's rifle strike down at a time three or four 

 deer that were not venison. Charborough is the only 

 place where I ever saw a battue of this description. I 

 remember the first year that the additional lands were 

 thrown from cultivation into the park, enlarging it I 



z 4 



