THE KING'S HOUSE 103 



Lord Warden's steward, and do so to this day. 

 They are the real agisters of the Forest, but 

 that office is merged in that of keeper or 

 forester, as it was always called formerly. 



The so-called agisters at present in the Forest 

 merely collect by no means "for the King's 

 use" sundry levies which since 1877 the ver- 

 derers are empowered to make on the commoners 

 alone. They have no pretensions to be Forest 

 officers as defined since the days of the Assize 

 of Pickering, and the real office of the agister, per 

 se, is in abeyance, as it has been for 220 years. 



This is somewhat of a digression from the 

 history of the old King's House to the duties 

 that were performed therein ; but as I am only 

 jotting down reminiscences and researches, and 

 not attempting to write history, I hope to be 

 pardoned if I deal with the various matters just 

 as they spring into my memory. 



The next change I have to record was in 

 the period about 1850, when there arose such a 

 complete reformation and upheaval of the whole 

 New Forest and its system of government. 



In the first place the last Lord Warden of 

 the Forest, H.RH. the Duke of Cambridge, 

 died in 1849, and, since no successor to him has 

 ever been appointed, the office is still in abeyance 

 but never abolished. With him went the office 



