"The prudent huntsman, therefore, will supply 

 With annual, large recriiits his broken pack 

 And propagate their kind: as from the root 

 Fresh scions still spring forth, and daily yield 

 New blooming honours to the parent-tree." 



Somervile. 



XXVII 



WILD STAG HUNTING IN FRANCE 



A DAY WITH THE MARQUIS DE CORNULIER^S FRENCH HOUNDS — 

 TAKING THE STAG IN A LAKE — A MOST EXCITING DAY's 

 SPORT. 



rilHE wild stags of France are very similar to the wild red 

 ■*■ deer of the Devon and Somerset country in England. 

 They are much larger than the common red deer of North 

 America, and but little smaller than the elk of the Rockies, 

 which animal they resemble very much. 



They are located, and the chase is started with a few hounds, 

 joined by relays as the stag gets well away, very much as 

 already described in the chapter on Wild Boar Hunting. 



Through the kindness of Baron de Dorlodot, the writer was 

 enabled to participate in the chase with two celebrated packs of 

 staghounds in France. 



Our first day to stag was with the celebrated pack of pure 

 French hounds, owned by the Marquis de Cornulier. These 

 were certainly the most musical pack the writer has ever heard. 

 They are said to have originally been produced by a cross 



