THE ROYAL HOUNDS. 223 



Lord's table, while one of the guests of high degree, 

 with a sample in the palm of his hand, explains its 

 peculiar virtues to the Lord. 



The " hunte " also produced the scantillon or bit 

 of stick with which he had measured the slot of the 

 hart. 



" And everyone shall say, ' Lo, here is a great hart, 

 and is a deer of high meating and pasturing, go we 

 and move him.' " 



After a mighty consultation of the learned, the 

 Lord or Master of Game gives the order to go and 

 rouse the hart. The procedure at this point differs 

 somewhat in detail, but not in principle, from the 

 practice at the present day. The Master will deter- 

 mine which hounds shall be finders, that is, go with 

 the hunte and lymerer to rouse the hart, which shall 

 be in the first relay or vanchase, which in the middle 

 relay, and which shall be parfiteurs, and they are 

 then sent to fixed points '' by the advice of them 

 that know the country and the flight of the deer." 

 " And then shall the Lord and the Master of Game, 

 if it liketh him better to be at the finding than at a 

 relay, go thither where the deer is harboured." They 

 were to be accompanied by the finders in a hardele 

 in charge of a berner. In the picture they are 

 advancing through fairly open timber, made gay with 

 plentiful foxgloves. The hunte is to set the lymer 

 in the fues or track where the deer entered the 

 covert, and "then shall the Lord, if he can blow, 

 blow three notes, and after him the Master of Game 



