STAG-HUNTING

—is one of the most rapturous and enchanting pursuits within the privilege or power of the human frame and mind to enjoy. As HUNTING , in its general sense, is known to comprise an imaginary view of different kinds under that concise term, so various remarks will be found upon each , under the heads of Chase , Fox-Hunting , Harriers , and Hunting ; rendering unnece ary the introduction of new , or repetition of former matter, more than what may strictly appertain to the distinct sport now before us. Opposite opinions have always been entertained by the advocates for each particular kind of chase, as may have proved most applicable and convenient to their situation, occasions, residence, and time of life. That every description of HUNTING has its proportional attraction to its distinct and different votaries is well known; but the constant struggle for superiority in vindication of their respective sports , has ever been between those who hunt FOX and those who hunt STAG ; each being equally violent in defence of the cause his private or personal reasons prompt him to espouse. Mr. Daniel , in his "Rural Sports," when animadverting upon the STAG , makes the following remarks: "At the present day, as an object of chase to the sportsman, the stag requires but cursory mention: those, indeed, who are fond of pomp and parade in hunting, will not accede to this opinion; but the only mode in which this chase can recommend itself to the real sportsman, is, when the deer is looked for, and found, like other game which hounds pursue. At present very few hounds, except those of the royal establishment, are kept exclusively for this amusement; and were the King once to see a fox well found, and killed handsomely, he would, in all, probability, give a decided preference in favour of fox-hounds; for what a marked difference is there between conveying, in a covered cart, an animal, nearly as big as the horse that draws it, to a particular spot, where he is liberated, and cheerly riding to the covert side with all the ecstacy of hope and expectation!" After quoting a few lines of beautiful imagery from the poetic sublime of Somervile , descriptive of throwing off, the drag, the unkenneling, and breaking covert with fox-hounds, he proceeds thus: "The most impa ioned stag-hunter must confe , that no part of his chase admits of such description. The only variety he can fairly expect, depends upon the wind and the temper of the deer, who, by being either sulky, or not in condition to maintain a contest with the hounds, (to whom he leaves a burning scent, that gives them no trouble in the pursuit,) shortens or extends his gallop; but there is none of the enthusiasm of hunting, which the sportsman feels, when he is following an animal, upon whose own exertions of speed and craftine his life is staked; and where no stoppages, but the checks arising from the two sources above mentioned, intervene." Without the most distant intent of endeavouring to depreciate the noble, exhilarating, delightful, and universally admitted excellence of FOX-HUNTING , (of which, by the bye, no adequate description can i ue from the pen,) such few remarks may be made, as will display the sport of STAG-HUNTING in a different point of view to that in which the writer just mentioned has been pleased to place the picture; and probably rescue it from any little stigma of disgrace , or inferiority , which his promulgated opinion may have stamped upon the canva . There is positively no instance in which the philosophic decision of Sir Roger de Coverley ("much may be said on both sides") could have been more strictly applicable, or more truly verified, than upon the present occasion. The candid, judicious and experienced sportsman will readily admit, that each retains its attractions too powerful to resist, as well as some inconveniencies impo ible to remove: these, however, are reconcile able to the modification of those whose motives induce them to engage in either. Previous to the recital of a chase with the STAG-HOUNDS , a few preparatory and comparative remarks are due to the observations already quoted from the justly popular work of Mr. Daniel . That there are but "few establishments" of the kind is certainly true, and for a most substantial reason; if they were numerous, the question would instantly present itself, from whence are they to be supplied with GAME ? The idea of "the King's giving the preference to FOX-HUNTING , if he had once seen a fox well found , and killed handsomely," is an entire new thought; and affords immediate mental reference to the degradation of MAJESTIC DIGNITY , should it ever be found making its dreary way through the bushy brambles of a BEECHEN WOOD two or three miles in length, following the chase by the reverberating sounds of distant holloas! but without the sight or sound of a single hound. This is a constantly occurring trait in FOX-HUNTING , constituting no small drawback on its boasted perfection . Whichever kind of chase is pursued, the ultimatum of enjoyment is much the same; horses, hounds, air, exercise, health, society, and exhilaration, constitute the aggregate: and TIME , which, to the opulent and independent, seems of trifling value, is to the scientific inquisitant, or profe ional practitioner, neither more nor le than a LIFE ESTATE , no part of which should be wasted or squandered away. The former cla , in general, are industriously engaged in killing time: the latter, who know and feel its worth, are as constantly employed in its preservation. The lo of time in the enjoyment of the two chases, is nearly or full half between the one and the other: this is a circumstance, however, not likely to attract the serious attention of the gentleman who has thus attacked the " pomp and parade " of hunting the STAG ; for as a clerical character, he had, of course, all the week upon his hands, being particularly engaged only on A SUNDAY . To one of this description, who has most of his time to kill , and very little to employ, a long and dreary day through the gloomy coverts of a dirty country, without a single challenge , or one consolatory chop of drag, must prove a scene of the most enchanting enjoyment; and in the very zenith of exultation , it must be acknowledged by profe ed and energetic FOX-HUNTERS , that riding thirty or forty miles in wet and dirt, (replete with alternate hope, suspense, and expectation,) to enjoy the supreme happine of repeated disappointments, terminating with a blank day , is equal, if not superior, to a STAG HUNT of even the first description. Stag hounds are very rarely kept, and the sport but little known in many parts of the kingdom: those of the most celebrity are the Royal Establishment upon Ascot Heath, in Windsor Forest, (see " King's Hounds ;") the Earl of Derby's, near the Downs, in Surrey; and the Subscription Pack near Enfield Chace. The greatest inducement to hunt with either of which, is, the invariable certainty of sport , that first object of desirable attainment, not to be insured with hounds of a different description; the great gratification of going away with the pack, and covering a scope of country, without perpetual interruption from frequent intervening coverts, where checks, faults, delays, and a repetition of wood riding , so often ensue. Stag-hunting, indifferently as it is spoken of by some, is too severe and arduous for others to pursue: laborious as it is to the HORSE , it is in many cases not le so to the RIDER : difficulties occur which require great exertions in one, and fortitude in the other, to surmount, and none but those can lay at all by the side of the hounds. Rapturously transporting as is the moment of meeting and throwing off with fox hounds, no le so is the a we fully impre ive prelude to turning out the deer. The scene is affectingly grand, far beyond the descriptive power of the pen, and can only be seen, to be perfectly understood. Unle an outlying deer is drawn for, and found in the neighbouring woods, as is sometimes the case, a STAG , HIND , or HEAVIER , is carted from the paddocks of his Majesty at Swinley Lodge, (where they are previously and properly fed for the chase,) and brought at a certain hour, (ten o'clock in the morning,) to the place appointed, of which the surrounding neighbourhood have been sufficiently informed. At the distance of a quarter or half a mile from the covered convenience containing the deer, are the hounds, surrounded by the Huntsman and his a istants, (called Yeoman-Prickers,) in scarlet and gold; a part of these having French horns, and upon which they must be good performers. In a very short time after the expiration of the hour agreed on, his Majesty is seen to approach, attended by the Master of the Horse , and Equerries in waiting; it being the official duty of the Master of the Stag-Hounds to be with them , and ready to receive his Majesty when he arrives. So soon as his Majesty resigns his hack, and is remounted for the chase, the Huntsman receives an injunctive signal from the Master of the Hounds to liberate the deer. The moment which is obeyed, the usual law , amounting to ten minutes, (more or le ,) is allowed for his going way : during this interval the sonorous strains of the HORNS , the musical melodious echo of the HOUNDS , the mutual gratulations of so distinguished an a emblage, and the condescending kindne and affability of the Sovereign to the loyal subjects who love and surround him, is a repast too rich, a treat too luxurious, for the side of a fox-hunting covert to be brought into the least succe ful similitude. The anxious crisis thus arrived, and every bosom glowing with emulative inspiration, a single aspiration of acquiescence, and a removal of the horse who heads the leading hound, give a loose to the body of the PACK ; and superlatively happy he who can lay the nearest to them. Upon the DEER'S going off from the cart, two of the YEOMAN-PRICKERS start likewise, in such parallel directions to the right and left , as not to lose sight of the line he takes so long as they can keep him in view ; by which means they get five or six miles forward to a ist in stopping the hounds at any particular point where they happen to run up to them: and if it was not for this prudent and nece ary precaution, half or two thirds of the horsemen would never see the hounds again in the course of the day. The joyous burst, and determined velocity of every hound, followed by upwards of a hundred horsemen, all in action at a single view; the spot embellished, or rather variegated, with carriages containing ladies, who come to enjoy the ceremony of turning out ; and the emulative exertions of HORSES , HOUNDS , and MEN ; afford a blaze of sporting brilliancy beyond the power of the utmost mental fertility to describe. At this moment of rapturous exultation only it is, that the kind of horse indispensibly nece ary for this particular chase can be ascertained; for out of a hundred and twenty, thirty, forty, or a hundred and fifty horsemen, seven or eight only shall lay any where near, or within a hundred yards of the hounds; for the longer the burst, the more the slow-going horses tail ; so that when the hounds are stopt upon the heath, or in an open country, by the few who are up , lines of horsemen are seen behind, more than a mile in length, getting forward in a variety of directions, bearing no inapplicable affinity to various teams of wild ducks cro ing from one country to another. These horses, to whom it is all labour, are so distrest even with the first burst , that if the hounds break away, and the deer cro es the country, they are seldom to be seen at the end of a second . This is a most palpable and incontrovertible demonstration, that any horse may follow , but none, except THOROUGHBRED horses, can go with the hounds. During the time the chase is suspended, and the hounds are at bay, (which is till the King gets up,) the exhilarating sound of the horns before them, and the clamorous impatience of the hounds to proceed, constitute a scene so truly rich and ecstatic, that the tear of exce ive joy and grateful sensibility may be frequently observed in almost every eye. After this relief of a few minutes to both HOUNDS and HORSES , in which they collect their wind , and become proportionally refreshed, the hounds are permitted to break away, which they do with a redoubled ardour, as if it had absolutely increased by their recent restraint. The same scene of racing and tailing continues during every burst to the termination of the chase, the longer which is, the more the field of horsemen become reduced; while the blood horses only move in perfect unison, and, at their common rating stroke, lay with ease by the side of the HOUNDS ; and this is the reason why, in long runs, so many are completely thrown out , and left to explore their way in different parts of the country through which the chase has pa ed. One material difference is known to exist between this kind of sport and every other; the utmost fortitude and indefatigable exertions are here made to save : in all the rest, the summit of happine , the sole gratification of local ambition, is to kill : so that, at any rate, STAG-HUNTING has the plea of HUMANITY in its favor; in proof of which, the hounds are never known to run from chase to view , but every individual is feelingly alive to the danger of the DEER , who have so largely and laboriously contributed to the completion of his own most ardent happine : a secret inspiration operates upon every latent spring of human sensibility; and no difficulty at the moment seems too great to surmount, for the preservation of a life in which every spectator feels himself most impre ively concerned. This final burst of a chase is most dreadfully severe, particularly if the last mile or two is run in view ; when which is the case, the deer exerts all his utmost and remaining power to take the soil , if water is within his reach: this he sometimes does with the hounds so close to his haunches, that it is impo ible to prevent their plunging with him into the stream. In such predicament, if it is found impracticable to draw off the body of the hounds, to insure his safety, the Yeoman Prickers , and others , are frequently seen above their middles in water, (uncertain of its depth,) to preserve the life of the DEER , at the hazard of their own. This may be considered, by the recluse and callous Cynic, a degree of valour beyond discretion; but the debt of humanity, like the Hibernian Major's word in the Comedy, is "a DEBT of HONOUR , and must be paid ." The most moderate chases with the stag extend from an hour and a half to two hours; though from three to four hours is by no means uncommon in the course of the season. Horses too deficient in speed, too heavy in formation, too full in flesh, or foul in condition, frequently fall martyrs to a want of judgment or prudence in their RIDERS during the chase : every man ought to know when his horse is dangerously distre ed, and of course should bow implicit obedience to the occasion: there are times when self-denial would add lustre to the brow of a MONARCH ; and it never can be displayed with a more humane effect, than when in the defence and preservation of so useful an animal; who, being deprived the privilege of free agency, is not po e ed of the power to protect himself: under the influence of which consideration, there is not a SPORTSMAN of EXPERIENCE or HUMANITY existing, who would not philosophically retire with patience from the field, to save the life of a faithful persevering companion, than to see him sink (never more to rise) a victim to inadvertency, folly, or indiscretion. In a severe chase of more than four hours , recited in the former part of the Work, (where the stag was taken at Tile hurst, near Reading, in Berks hire,) one horse dropped dead in the field, another died before he could reach a stable, and seven more in the course of a week. The concluding ceremony of the chase is the preservation of the deer, the baying of the hounds, and the melodious concert of the horns; after which the former are drawn off, and the stag, hind, or heavier, is deposited in a place of safety, from whence he is taken the following day, in a convenient vehicle constructed for the purpose. The regular hunting days with the STAG hounds of his Majesty, are Tuesdays and Saturdays , from Holyrood Day (Sept. 25) to the first Saturday in May; except in Christmas and Easter Weeks, in each of which they hunt three times. The two grand or most public days, are Holyrood Day and Easter Monday , when the field is uncommonly numerous; particularly if the weather favourably corresponds with the occasion. The Sporting Dictionary, and Rural Repository of General Information upon Every Subject Appertaining to the Sports of the Field. By William Taplin. Vol. II.