240 THE RED DEER OF EXMOOR. 



round by Green Ore, avoiding the old lead works by 

 Priddy, and then heading due west over the best 

 stretch of galloping turf in England. Mile after mile 

 he would sweep on with nothing to stop him — not a 

 covert in sight but the little coppices in the combe 

 by Westbury, and the broad marshes of Somerset 

 stretching miles away to the Severn Sea eight 

 hundred feet below him. One cannot, it is true, 

 hunt the stag here to-day, but the Wells Harriers 

 can and do cross this glorious stretch of country 

 at racing pace, as the writer can testify. Can one 

 not imagine the King letting his good horse go his 

 own pace, revelling in the joys of the gallop ? A 

 slight rise is in front of him, and as he reaches the 

 top, a short downward slope of the smoothest and 

 slipperiest of turf leads down to the gorge of Cheddar 

 — fivehundredfeetof sheer precipice. The first hurried 

 snatch at the reins no doubt produces nothing more 

 than a fiing of the head and a little increase of pace ; 

 but the King is a horseman, and takes a sturdy, 

 resolute pull. The horse sees his danger, but he is 

 going fast, and not even a trained polo pony could 

 turn on that slope, and it is only by a frantic effort, 

 ending in a prolonged slide, that he stops on the 

 very brink, forelegs extended, and hindlegs doubled 

 up and crouched under him. 



Such is the tale as it comes down to us. Does it 

 throw any light on the method of hunting in those 

 days ? I think it does. We must remember that 

 the King was the person who was doubtless meant to 



