HUNTING 181 



Harbouring was, of course, a necessity, and 

 this work was done then, as now, by the keepers 

 of the Forest. I found an entry in an old copy 

 of the Diary kept by the steward of the Lord 

 Warden, whose orders the keepers obeyed, to 

 this effect : "April 26, 1848 all the keepers must 

 attend to-morrow morning, Tuesday, April 27, at 

 Bolton's Bench, in their uniform, at 11 o'clock, to 

 attend Her Majesty's Hounds without fail. And 

 the keepers on the lower side must harbour 

 a stag." 



Once again only did the Royal Pack come 

 in 1852 ; for the Deer Removal Act had been 

 passed, and, as far as was possible, the deer were 

 doomed. They hunted for some little time, and 

 took away what they wanted for the stock in 

 the Swinley paddocks. 



After that time the deer, red and fallow, 

 warrantable or " rascall," as the Duke of Bolton 

 phrased it, were hunted, netted, shot, persecuted, 

 and destroyed for the two years during which 

 the official "jehad" lasted. But until this had 

 run its course, nothing in the way of sport 

 revived. 



But as the deer became reduced to very 

 small numbers, the sport of hunting them became 

 apparent. And quite a competition sprung up 

 among the sporting squires of the neighbourhood 



