BEASTS OF THE CHASE. THE STAG. 55 



was making. Moreover, the whipper-in could go on with the 

 hounds in the event of their having outpaced the huntsman. 

 The office of a whipper-in is a very important one, and if he 

 is really fond of the sport, his opportunities of observation ought 

 to enable him to act the part of huntsman with success. 



It is quite necessary that the huntsman and whipper-in to a 

 pack of staghounds should have two horses out, for it is im- 

 possible that any man can do his work efficiently on a day of 

 average sport with one horse, however stout the animal may 

 be. Speed, as has been before asserted, is an essential attribute 

 of the staghound. It is no less so of the hunter. If hounds 

 are fast, horses must be fast. But, on the Exmoors, this maxim 

 is so universally accepted that there need be no fear of a good 

 local sportsman, like Lord Ebrington, mounting his men on 

 horses that are deficient in speed or stoutness. In fact, one 

 week's experience on the moors would be sufficient to convince 

 anyone capable of forming a reasonable judgment that horses of 

 high quality are indispensable factors in a stag-hunting establish- 

 ment. Much care ought to be exercised in the selection of 

 horses with long clean shoulders, short backs, and very hard 

 and sound feet ; for if they are not properly constructed in 

 these points they cannot go up and down hill, and over rough, 

 rocky ground, at the necessary speed. 



We must now break off, and make the best of our way to 

 the meet at Cloutsham, or we shall not be able to give an 

 account of the doings of the redoubtable Arthur and his pack 

 on this second day of October. The second horsemen, aware 

 that no time is to be lost, are jogging over Exford Bridge, 

 having a vivid recollection of the long and steep hill that has 

 to be climbed before the moorland ridge is reached, so we 

 shall follow them until the hounds overtake us. Every promise 

 of sport is present A soft and somewhat damp breeze is 

 coming from the east, but there is yet no sign of fog or rain. 

 The heather is at its best. It is true that the bloom has 

 partly fallen, but the delicate colouring of what remains lends 

 a rare attractiveness to the scene. Coming from all quarters 



