But sometimes the discovery of a single missing link may elude the searcher for long--if not for ever!--for ancestors have the knack of being exasperatingly obstinate when they determine not to reveal themselves to their descendants. Yet patience and perseverance should in the end out-master this resolution, and during the search, though some very dry reading may have to be undertaken and persisted in, a great deal of interest must also necessarily crop up; for records are by no means altogether dry reading, as the student of affidavits in the Chancery and Exchequer Courts can testify. Besides having to wade through many technical and uninviting-looking documents, the pedigree-hunter may find considerable difficulty in _deciphering_ some of these MSS. The novice, however, need not at the outset trouble himself very much about this (unless he has from the beginning of his search to refer to very ancient documents), because he can prosecute the greater part of his work by means of authorised copies of the required documents, which are usually handed to him in place of the original MSS. But where the latter must be consulted and presents certain difficulties, officials in charge usually show themselves both able and willing to help in the matter. Still, a facility in deciphering old MSS. is a valuable asset to the pedigree-hunter, and may at times be almost a necessity. Where such is the case, he cannot do better than consult a work entitled _How to Decipher and Study Old Documents_,[2] by E. E. Thoyts (Mrs. John Hauteville Cope), which will explain and smooth away his difficulties in a wonderful manner. It has been styled _A Key to the Family Deed-Chest_, and is so in truth. These are some of the difficulties which arise in genealogical searches, but are far counterbalanced by the results achieved. Enthusiasm and patience are certainly necessary qualifications of the successful pedigree-hunter, and endowed with these virtues he has not much to fear, for the driest details seem replete with interest when regarded in the light of dawning discoveries. Nor can a pedigree-hunter work at genealogy alone; many fascinating subjects, such as biography, history, and heraldry, must almost necessarily more or less follow in its train, opening up a vista of further interest and a field for new discoveries. FOOTNOTES: [2] Published by Elliot Stock, Paternoster Row, E. C. CHAPTER XII HOW TO SAVE EXPENSE IN PEDIGREE-HUNTING There is no doubt that if any one wishes to expend a small fortune in record-searching he may find opportunity of doing so; if, on the other hand, even shillings are an object to him, he can carry on his work for very little expense. The English Record Office, with its vast stores of information, is free to all searchers; so are the British Museum Reading and MSS. Rooms; also the other great London libraries.