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| DEER IN PHOENIX PARK.- One of the most charing sights in the Phoenix is the fine herd of deer, descended from the antlered pioneers placed there in 1662 through the whimsical benevolence of Charles II. Although much accustomed to the sight of man, many of them are as wild and timid as the famous red deer that once formed the favorite beasts of chase of the gallant and stalwart Irish chieftains. But many of them are also gentle pets, who will accept bon-bons from the hands of children, and gaze dreamily, with large and lustrous eyes, at every passer-by. At certain periods of the year, not a few of the "bucks" become belligerent, and it is then prudent to heep out of their path and allow the keepers to deal with them. On the first show of viciousness, the stags are placed in durance vile until good will toward mankind again makes itself manifest. Ireland is a country in which deer thrive wondrously. The earliest Celtic immigrants found them there in abundance, and also a gigantic species of elk-the noblest animal the world has seen-which is now, unfortunately extinct. Many of the Irish "noblemen" have large herds of deer in their home parks, and the animals, sometimes, multiply so excessively that they have to be "thinned out" by the firle of the game-keeper. Stag hunts are not infrequent in Ireland but the national equestiran sport is, indisputably, the chasing of "the little red fox." |
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