INTRODUCTORY CHATTER. 3 



a day in the forest, there was the sweet pleasure of going 

 over every incident again in thought; I saw the mighty 

 stag as he moved over the green sward in stately pride, 

 I felt anew the hope and the fear and the breathless long- 

 ing, and I once more stood over him as his vast form lay 

 stretched upon the earth in the sunny beech-forest. At 

 that time I lived in such sweet absorbing memories, or 

 in anticipation of what was to come. For a day in the 

 woods, with my rifle over my shoulder and the hope of 

 meeting the red deer, I should have given up anything. 



At last, however, as a matter of course, I grew some- 

 what calmer. My delight was not diminished — it was 

 as great as ever ; but the flutter, and the palpitation, and 

 the burning impatience, were subdued. And indeed 

 there was much need they should be. Then too I be- 

 came initiated in the mysteries of the noble art, and by 

 degrees learned to look on what belonged to it with a 

 more tranquil eye. And when I thought how new and 

 strange all had once appeared to me, how delighted I had 

 been on first stalking through the forest, and how many 

 there were in England to whom such exquisite pastime 

 was quite unknown, it seemed that if I attempted to de- 

 scribe what had afforded me so much pleasure, the sub- 

 ject was one that could not fail to interest others also. I 

 carried this idea long about with me, indolently delaying 

 to execute what I had planned, when behold ! another did 

 what I had only thought of doing, and Mr. Scrope's 

 book on Deer Stalking appeared. At the moment I was 

 about to preach myself a sermon for my indolence, with 

 a wise moral about the evils of delay, etc., but after a 

 time I began to think the evil was not so great after all, 

 and that it was very well as it was ; much better indeed 

 than had two works on the same subject appeared simul- 

 taneously. 



b 2 



