THE ROYAL HOUNDS. 229 



about the deer he had seen, but was always quite 

 sure it was a "tremendous great stag." Many will 

 remember an occasion on the Quantocks when there 

 being a halloa in the road under Lydiard Hill hounds 

 were taken there, though it seemed an unlikely line ; 

 a large party of people in a carriage described the 

 great stag they had seen with detail, if somewhat 

 excitedly, and were quite certain he had a large 

 pair of antlers. As they had every appearance of 

 sanity, the pack was laid on and hunted slowly over 

 a fallow field towards BishpooL There was a slot in 

 the dusty fallow at which both Anthony and Tucker 

 shook their heads, and not long afterwards hounds 

 ran up to a fine hind. It is wonderful what a lot of 

 people cannot tell the difference between a stag and 

 a hind when they are excited ; therefore the hunts- 

 man of to-day, like his predecessor of five hundred 

 years ago, places small reliance on strange halloas. 



The Master of Game advises that the stag should 

 be induced to break his bay as often as possible so 

 that he shall not hurt hounds, and any relays not yet 

 laid on may come up before the stag is taken. 



When a hunter is lost he should blow the " for- 

 long," another complicated blast, to show that he is 

 lost, and anyone in the rights is to blow the " perfect." 

 " for by that shall he be brought to readiness and 

 comfort who before that did not know where the 

 game or any of his fellows were." 



When the bay has lasted long enough the Master 

 of Game, or chief person up, orders someone to go 



