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THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL BUCKHOUNDS. 



Now as to the horses upon which the King, the Master and 

 the hunt servants were mounted when following the Royal 

 Buckhounds, we find occasional mention of the hunters that 

 were bought for this particular purpose in the Accounts of the 

 Masters of the Horse from time to time. Still we cannot 

 conscientiously make any positive deduction as to the exact 

 number of horses employed in this service, or what they cost ; 

 for in many cases some of them were bred or otherwise 

 acquired by the Royal Stud,* and beyond the expenses in- 

 cidental to keeping such therein, nothing further transpires.f 

 With such scant materials to deal with, it would be useless to 

 enter into speculations on this important and interesting 

 adjunct of the Royal Hunt, therefore we must reluctantly pass 

 the matter without further comment. Apart from the 

 ofiiciating staff, some of the old surviving hunt servants con- 

 tinued to enjoy their pensions ; | and upon the whole the 



665 6 



* The King's stables were full of magnificent horses " seized and taken of 

 and from " the unfortunate Papists, who were prohibited by the Penal Laws 

 to have or possess any horse above the value of 5Z. Indeed, it has been a 

 tradition of long standing at the Eoyal Mews that the hunter on which William 

 III. came to grief belonged to this category. 



£ s. d. 

 t Dec. 25, 1692, to June 24, 1700.— John Rawlins, Esq., H.M. sadler, 

 for goods delivered and work done for H. M. hunters and 



padds at Loo and the Hague 



March 22, 1692-3 to March 8, 1701-2.— 4 geldings for the King's 

 huntsmen and others, at several rates . 

 10 horses for ditto, ditto .... 

 15 gelding for ditto, ditto 

 27 horses for ditto, ditto .... 

 1700 to Aug. 1702. — 2 Huntsmens horses . 

 2 bay geldings for the huntsmen 

 1 chestnut gelding for a huntsman 

 1 brown gelding, ditto .... 

 1 horse for a huntsman .... 

 1 grey gelding, ditto .... 



The following horses were bought in Holland in the year 1700 

 horse 364 guilders 8 stivers, 1 ditto, bought of the.Earl of Romney, 330 guilders, 

 1 ditto, 264 guilders, 12 stivers, 1 ditto, 236 guilders 5 stivers. 



J 1689. — The following " Hunting Grooms" to his late Majesty Charles II. 

 were allowed and received a pension of £18 a year, each, in the year 1689, the 

 same to continue during the King's (William III.) pleasure, in whose service 



