CHASING THE ROE 55 



ing through the woods and coming upon the 

 deer at shorter distances and quite undisturbed, 

 it is easy enough to put a small bullet in a fatal 

 spot. Even if a buck is startled by seeing you 

 before you catch sight of him, he is so curious 

 that he is almost sure to stand to look round 

 after running a few steps, sufficiently long to 

 give you a good chance. Mr. Egremont Las- 

 celles, who used to be particularly fond of a 

 still stalk, and was most successful at the sport, 

 told me a curious incident which occurred to 

 him when after roe. He came upon a buck 

 standing in an open space in one of the Pol- 

 talloch woods, and saw that it was looking at 

 him. He advanced cautiously with his rifle 

 cocked to see how near to it he could approach, 

 and, to his unbounded surprise, it allowed him 

 to walk right up to it, take it by the horn, 

 and put the knife into its throat. Of course, 

 he supposed that it had been wounded, or that 

 there was something the matter with it, but it 

 turned out to be in perfectly good condition, 

 with all its organs healthy, and without a sign 

 or symptom of so much as a scratch. 



The wood immediately behind Poltalloch House 

 has been long maintained as a complete sanctuary 

 for roe, no shot being fired at them there. As a 

 consequence, they have always been both numerous 

 and tame there. It is hardly possible to pass 

 through any of the short walks behind the garden 



