382 DEER-STALKING CLOTHES 



Next to the rifle and glass, good, loose, and comfort- 

 able clothing is of the greatest consequence, and the 

 greatest comfort and satisfaction are obtainable by going 

 to a good, sporting Highland tailor, such, for instance, 

 as Robert Fraser, who makes for nearly all the High- 

 land regiments, and who can make either a kilt or a coat 

 more suitable for sporting purposes than any of the 

 Southern tailors, whose only idea is to fit their 

 customers with a flattering get-up. I have of late 

 years seen the most absurd exhibitions : dozens of 

 finely-proportioned young Englishmen most elegantly 

 dressed in the most perfectly - fitting clothes and 

 knickerbocker- breeches, the latter being buttoned 

 tightly at the knee. Now such a get-up is precisely 

 the very opposite to that which all practical stalkers 

 make use of. It is iinperative to have perfect freedom 

 when climbing up and descending hills, and the fact of 

 being tied up at the knee prevents any freedom of 

 movement, and is utterly useless save on the back 

 of a hill -pony. If the clothes of a deer-stalker are 

 not light and loose he can neither get his rifle up 

 to the shoulder nor crawl with any degree of comfort, 

 and after the first soaking day his clothes become too 

 tight to move in. The stalker must be dressed so that 

 every garment is two or three sizes too large for him, 

 and his knickerbockers must be quite free at the knees, 

 and not made, to button, if he hopes for comfort; and 

 without comfort he can have very little chance of keep- 

 ing near to his guide, and infinitely less chance of hitting 

 a stag when he is pumped out with tight clothes on. 



I have seen a well-known stalker pull out his knife 

 and rip up a new coat in several places before he 

 attempted to go uphill, nor shall I ever forget the 



