appointed to carry on the hunt during the minority of his son, and once more, about 1830, when the then Duke of Rutland resigned and 'became a mere subscriber,' the hounds were lent to Lord Forester and another to carry them on until the Marquis of Granby came of age, which would have been in three or four years' time; but, as a matter of fact, the late Duke of Rutland did not take to them until the year 1857, when he inherited the title. Still, the temporary masters were but warming-pans, pending the happening of a certain event; but now the severance from the family is complete, save for the subscription, which is doubtless forthcoming from the Castle. Sir Gilbert Greenall has pluckily stepped into the breach, and we may expect that he will worthily uphold the traditions of this historic hunt."

CHAPTER III.

THE STAGHOUND.

As this hound is neither more nor less than a foxhound under another name, but trained for a different purpose, I would rather he followed the latter than preceded him, though older associations and modern customs might entitle the so-called staghound, or buckhound, to the premier position.

He has been used, or, at any rate, a somewhat similar animal to him has long been used, for staghunting, and we are told by historians that, in the times of the Normans, villages were depopulated, and places for divine worship overthrown, in order that the nobles might have their parks in which to keep their deer. Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, was one of these, and, according to Stowe, the first of its kind in England. So great a hold had hunting on those whose position allowed them to enjoy the pastime, that Edward III., when at war with France, took with his army a pack of sixty couples of staghounds; and in the reign of Elizabeth a pack was

kept at Simonsbath, Somersetshire, which hunted the red deer on the moor by the Barle, just as it is hunted to-day. But it is not my province here to enter into the ancient history of each variety of dog, and, so far as the staghound is concerned, I must be contented with thus briefly drawing attention to his ancient lineage.

Although some hundred years or so ago there was every appearance of a speedy decline of staghunting, owing to enclosures, high fencing, and similar sport to be obtained by other means, the retrograde movement was retarded. At the At the present time there are eighteen packs of staghounds in England and seven in Ireland, a considerable increase on what has previously been. Owing to the working of the Ground Game Act, which, in many parts of the country, has almost exterminated hares, those who followed the latter with harriers had to give up hunting or seek a fresh quarry. The latter was mostly done, and deer, "carted" otherwise, have thus become a common chase. The chief packs which have so changed of late are Sir John Amory's, in Devonshire; the Oxenholme, Westmorland; and Mr. Allen-Jefferys', Somersetshire. Sport with the carted deer is pretty certain, as when one hind or stag will not run as she or he ought to do, another is speedily provided,

which it is hoped will take a straighter line, affording the hounds an opportunity for hunting, and, what in modern times is unfortunately considered of more importance, give horses a chance to gallop and exhibit their jumping powers at the fences, or their amiability in the lanes or on the roads.

As a loyal subject, I ought to make some mention here of Her Majesty's Staghounds or Buckhounds, kept by the State, which, kennelled at Ascot, hunt the country round about, where the overworked city man seeks to regain his failing health by a gallop over a highly cultivated country. The Royal pack of forty couples, as at present constituted, may be said to date back to 1812, when the Goodwood foxhounds were presented to the Prince Regent, as they were faster than the old-fashioned, lemon-pied Southern hounds or talbots, the original constitution of the pack.

Of the original hounds, much has been written, and in 1895 Mr J. P. Hore published his "History of the Royal Buckhounds." Without quite agreeing with all the painstaking compiler tells us as to the antiquity of the hunt, there is no doubt buckhunting was a Royal sport even as early as the time of Edward III. In Queen Anne's time there were two packs, and when Elizabeth reigned, the hounds cost the national exchequer £164 6s. 7d. They cost

more now. However, it would be out of place here to enter fully into the history of this Royal pack, and those who yearn after more knowledge of this kind can easily gain it from other sources. At the time I write, hounds are well matched and most uniform, the dogs standing about 24 inches, and the "ladies" 22 inches at the shoulder.

The above measurements may be taken as about the standard heights of the staghound, though the Devon and Somerset, which hunt the wild deer on Exmoor and on the Quantock Hills, are rather larger. The rough country of coombes and thick gorse necessitates as big a hound as can be obtained, so 25 to 26 inches is the standard Mr. R. A. Sanders, the present master, seeks to acquire, and he uses entirely dog hounds, drafts from various foxhound kennels. Not more than one bitch has been in this pack for a dozen years or so, and no puppies are bred by the hunt.

There is no doubt that the chase of the wild red deer is glorious sport, and the genuine lover of hunting, one who likes to admire hounds work, and the cleverness of the horse, cannot do better than run down to Dulverton in the season, and see how the Devon and Somerset hounds can go. Long stern chases are common with them, and the forty minutes bursts in the Midlands after the fox, give