THE ROYAL HOUNDS. 241 



have the best view of the deer and the best start ; 

 yet he does not accompany the huntsman to rouse 

 the deer; he apparently takes the first "relay" to 

 the spot where the stag is likely to cross, while the 

 huntsman and others take the " finders," or tufters, 

 to rouse the stag. We note from " The Master of 

 Game" that this is where he expects the great 

 person to go. That they found several stags, and 

 blew horns and halloaed ; that the King in his 

 impatience laid on to the wrong stag, or merely 

 vauntlayed, is simply an incident. We have the 

 main features of a staghunt. A stag had clearly 

 been harboured, otherwise the huntsman would not 

 have known where to draw, or where to place the 

 King ; secondly, we have the stag roused by tufters, 

 and then the pack laid on. The details may differ, 

 but we can there trace the same principles acted on 

 by King Edmund a thousand years ago as are acted 

 on by the Master of the Devon and Somerset stag- 

 hounds to-day. 



R 



