KEPLENISHING THE DEEE IN THE PAEKS. 175 



H.M. own use, 211. 10s. And, for the fees paid in the Exchequer 

 to the accountants and tellers upon receipt of the money 

 charged upon this account, and for a copy of the Letters 

 Patents, and two impressed rolls, 18/. lis. "In all the afore- 

 said several charges and disbursements according to two 

 accounts upon oath, the first made by both the said account- 

 ants upon their oaths jointly, taken before Sir Christopher 

 Turnor, Knight, late one of the Barons of H.M. Court of 

 Exchequer, the 2oth day of May, 1663, and the other made 

 by the said John Cary alone upon his oath, taken before 

 Mr. Baron Spelman the 14th day of February 1G77-8 (after 

 the decease of the said Sir William St. Ravy) as by the said 

 several accounts together with the several bills, acquittances 

 and other vouchers maintaining the same appeareth the sum 

 of 980/. 2s. ofZ." 



Besides the deer mentioned in this document occasional 

 supplies were given to the King by many noblemen and 

 gentlemen, of which the particulars need hardly be gone into 

 here. An informal close time, comprehending a period of from 

 three to five years, was ordered to be observed in all the 

 Boyal forests, during which it was decreed that no fallow or 

 red deer were to be killed therein. 



During the reign of the Merry Monarch there are very few 

 specific references to be found relating to the operations of the 

 Boyal Buckhounds in the hunting field. In the seasons 

 immediately ensuing after the Restoration, the scarcity of deer 

 must have somewhat impeded sport with this particular pack. 

 In those days the King was not impartial to the pleasures of 

 the chase, in which he not only held his own but moreover 

 distanced the field.* He was a thorough good horseman, but 

 preferred to display his prowess in the saddle on the fiat. He 

 bred, run, and rode his own racehorses. Later in his reign he 

 attained notoriety " on shanks' mare," his favourite morning 

 walk being from Westminster to Hampton Court. His 

 recommendation to the Prince of Denmark was : " Walk with 

 me, hunt with my brother, and do justice to my niece." His 



* Pejnjs' Diary, August 10, 1661. 



