PROFESSIONAL AID NECESSAR Y AT TIMES 307 



them who may feel jealous or that his trade is being 

 taken from him. To excite such a feeling in the mind 

 of a stalker would be fatal, for he finds the brains re- 

 quired for the undertaking. It is the lairds who are 

 the jealous people, not the stalkers. 



I do not wish the reader to infer that I am so foolish 

 as to advise a stranger to go into a forest for the first 

 time and take the command, for this would be absurd, 

 and it is quite time enough to stalk alone when the 

 deer are sighted, and the peculiarities of the ground, 

 which at times it is impossible to see correctly with a 

 glass, have been explained. The best plan is to have 

 the stalker immediately behind, and not to leave him 

 unless the stalk is an easy one and the ground known. 

 It is just as great a mistake to be self-sufficient at deer- 

 stalking as at any other sport, for if fifty years were 

 spent at it there would be ever something fresh to 

 learn, especially in some parts where the wind is at 

 times a foul problem ; so the beginner must be con- 

 tent to stalk for many a day in leading-strings before 

 he can presume to dispense with the assistance and 

 instruction of a guide, and if after a short time he 

 is anxious to try an easy stalk alone, he may be sure 

 that the good nature of his instructor will not hinder 

 him. A successful stalk of this description affords joy 

 unspeakable. Nowadays there is far too much stress 

 laid on the firing the shot, and this is neither genuine 

 nor satisfactory sport. A youngster, and even many 

 ladies, can do this as well and better than many 

 men, and can brag about having killed so many 

 stags. When a beginner at the sport leases a forest 

 he should stalk his own deer, for there is no excuse for 

 his inability to make himself perfectly acquainted with 



