CHAPTER I. 



THE REAL. 



THERE are two distinct kinds of deer-stalking, 

 the real and the artificial. The first, and of course 

 the most delectable, to be enjoyed, alas ! only by 

 the young, the strong, the active. The second, more 

 or less available to men of all ages short of de- 

 crepitude, but, at its best, only the poor parody of 

 the first. By the real, I mean the pursuit of 

 the perfectly wild animal on its own primaeval 

 and ancestral ground, as yet unannexed and un- 

 appropriated in any shape or way by man ; where, 

 therefore, no permission can be asked, granted or 

 refused ; where the wild illimitable expanse is free 

 to all, human or animal, and the first come is 

 the first served. These portions of the earth's 



