THROUGH FIRS AND HEATHER. 313 



in the hollow of the small waves that are generally 

 seen here, the water being so much exposed, the 

 feathers on his back are invisible. When he rises 

 on the crest of the waves, his pure white breast 

 falls in with the sparkling light ; so that this bird, 

 so conspicuous when in a case, is to all intents and 

 purposes, when on the water, invisible, even with 

 the aid of good glasses. Very frequently the fowler 

 only knows he is near by his shooting from the 

 water like a rocket, high up and far out of shot, and 

 away. 



There are old men living in the district we have 

 visited that remember the last of the wild deer. 

 The forest laws were keen in the old days, and they 

 have been no less keen in the present century; 

 But those who killed the deer without asking any 

 man's permission had wits as keen as the forest 

 laws that were made for their protection. Poor 

 men have loved the wild deer equally as well as the 

 Red King did, who lost his life hunting by a deer- 

 arrow. The whole of this country was at one time 

 a vast deer-forest, reaching from Hampshire to 

 Surrey and Sussex. It is deer - country, it has 



