280 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN 



at another all the fat bucks, and perhaps a mighty stag or two. 

 The effect of this is, that of course much of the venison has to 

 be given away; and consequently every gentleman or yeoman 

 to whom a haunch is given, finds himself haunted with a heated 

 joint that must be di-essed directly, without a soul to help him 

 in the rare solemnity. Letters of invitation cross each other on 

 the road, each man seeking for a guest, but each guest possess- 

 ing at one and the same time the very viand he in^^tes his 

 neighbour to discuss. Each man must dine alone ; or if they 

 do not do so, they are obliged for a few days to undergo a sur- 

 feit of venison dinners, at last esteemed as no favour at all. 

 With the fawns it is the same. On a given day each voter at 

 Wareham surfeits on a fawn, which must be ch-essed the day he 

 receives it, or in its heated state it would not be good for twenty- 

 fom- hours. Another sad loss arising from this battue at the 

 deer is, that after a shot or two, when the bucks and stags find 

 themselves penned in, they stab a multitude of other deer, and 

 half the venison for the next year is spoilt or maimed. I have 

 seen a ball from Mr. Drax's rifle strike down at a time three or 

 four deer that were not venison. Charborough is the only place 

 where I ever saw a battue of this description. I remember the 

 first year that the additional lands were thrown from cultivation 

 into the park, enlarging it I fear to say how much, but extend- 

 ing its open undulations to such a degree that I christened them 

 " the prairies." We were then to shoot bucks and fawns, which 

 Mr. Drax and myself did till I was really sorry for the indis- 

 criminate slaughter as well as mischief to the stock that such a 

 wild mission occasions, and I ceased to load my rifle. On seeing 

 this Mr. Drax cried out to me, that we had not yet killed as 

 many as last year, therefore to " go on." On this I replied, 

 "Do you forget that you have just thrown into the park an 

 immense extent of additional land ? What is it for, unless you 

 increase the herd ? " I think he said something about " buffaloes 

 or kangaroos," but we did not kill many more. 



While Mr. Drax was in Paris he commissioned me to kill the 

 venison that was wanted, and I took a great deal of trouble not 



