CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



' I HAVE had the happiness of being a deer-stalker 

 for more than half a century.' 



These were the words used by the late Horatio 

 Ross, the most famous gentleman athlete and all- 

 round sportsman whom the present century has pro- 

 duced. The occasion was his examination by the 

 Select Committee of the House of Commons on the 

 Game Laws (1872-73), of which I was myself a 

 member, our chairman being the late Mr. Ward Hunt. 

 The reply made by Mr. Ross to the opening question 

 of our chairman sounds simple, and to an ordinary 

 reader of the Blue Book would no doubt be passed 

 over as nothing more than the usual perfunctory reply 

 to a series of questions addressed to persons who give 

 evidence before a select committee. To those who 

 were present and in sympathy with the veteran 

 sportsman, there was something more than mere 

 words. This happened twenty-five years ago, and 



F 



