40 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN. 



ears lopped forward, he shut his mouth, twisted his 

 tongue round his lip, and churned his teeth, those 

 invariable signs of mischief, and was on the eve of 

 another chai'ge, when Ben jumped bang m on the 

 dog and clasped him in his arms. At the moment I 

 expected to see the stag send his antlers into my 

 servant as well as Smoker ; but, as if astonished at 

 the act, the deer stood stock still, staring at his foes 

 as they rolled in the stream before him. We saved 

 Smoker and secured the stag. I shall never forget 

 the pain my poor favourite suffered all that night in 

 my room at Benham. The horn had pierced the 

 back, just missing the backbone, and every motion 

 caused the dog the most excruciating pain. Sir 

 George Berkeley, who was then at Benham, was as 

 kind to my favourite as he would have been to me or 

 any one that had been hurt ; and, thanks to his kind- 

 ness, and the facilities offered to me in my attendance 

 on Smoker, the dog recovered. A year or two follow- 

 ing. Smoker, in company with two other of my deer 

 greyhounds. Smut and Lion, was set to catch a large 

 stag in Hampstead Park, who again run him through 

 the shoulder, but eventually was killed by Smoker, 

 ere I could save him. The dog was roused into a state 

 of fury, and, instead of the ear or forearm, which 

 latterly was a favourite hold of his, he seized the 

 stag by the throat and injured the windpipe. Lion 

 was afterwards killed by a stag, and so was Smut. 

 The wound that killed the latter, proves the severity 

 of a stag's kick. The liind foot struck her flush on 

 the quarter or great muscle of the thigh, and, large 

 as the stag's foot was, it went, like a half-exploded 

 cartridge, clean through the limb. The integuments 

 were so torn and lacerated that she died from morti- 



