DEER -STALKING. 43 



your face when the deer come more prominently into view. 

 As they always look down hill, greater caution is required 

 than when stalking from above. Should two good stalkers 

 be noticed by deer, one ought always to remain where 

 they were first perceived, the other advancing alone. If 

 the deer are in sight, and not far off, a knowing forester 

 often restrains the eagerness of the novice, by telling him 

 to " coont the grass as they go along ; " that is, to count 

 the deer as they raise their heads for a moment when 

 feeding up. This, by ensuring a very slow advance, 

 doubles the chances of their escaping the notice of the deer, 

 and keeps the young stalker more cool. The forester all 

 the time has his eye on the leading deer. When selecting 

 your hart, raise the rifle most leisurely to the shoulder. 

 If brought up in a hurry, or in the same way that a quick 

 shot takes aim with his fowling-piece, you are almost 

 certain to miss. 



A good forester generally becomes very nervous in the 

 long run, from the bungling of some gentlemen, and the 

 ill-temper of others, together with his constant anxiety to 

 procure them fair chances. 



The quick sight of a skilful forester in first discovering 

 deer will appear miraculous to a stranger to the sport, 

 and, unless quite bewildered, he cannot fail to admire 

 the generalship which follows. The whole ground is as 

 perfectly known to his guide as his own pleasure-grounds 

 to himself. Every hollow, every knoll, is taken advantage 

 of ; every shifting turn of the wind, up the one or round 

 the other, is surely predicted, until, to his own utter 



