THE OLD TIMES, 39 



light weight and a good horseman ; he knew his way 

 better than any one over the great tracts of moss- 

 covered bog, which existed then to a far greater 

 extent than now on certain parts of the moor, and he 

 was thoroughly familiar with the runs of the deer and 

 their ways generally. Hence his name invariably 

 appears as one of the few at the end of some extra- 

 ordinary chase, and more than once it is related that 

 " Boyse was the only one with them." For the rest, 

 tradition hints that poor John was a better sportsman 

 than parson, and adds that he was known as " Stag- 

 hunter Boyse." Nevertheless all lovers of stag- 

 hunting are under obligations to him for his chronicle ; 

 and it is not uninteresting to know that the parsons of 

 that time, as of the present, loved a gallop over the 

 forest. According to tradition, the clerical division 

 appeared at the cover side in sober black ; but each 

 several divine had a white flannel jacket strapped on 

 to his saddle which he exchanged for the black one 

 when the pack was laid on. And so the reverend 

 gentlemen rode the chase, changing their coats once 

 more when it was over that they might give offence to 

 no man. 



The last of this good old race, the Rev. John Rus- 

 sell, died only a few years ago, and with him perished 



