DEVON AND SOMERSET. 199 



to Luccombe which befell in Mr. Basset's 

 mastership. 



The stag was a fairly heavy one, with two 

 short points atop on either side and brows and 

 trays. 



A king of the forest lay in his downy couch 

 among the tiny firs that line the sides of the 

 little combe that faces the romantic Doone Valley, 

 on the dull grey morn of Wednesday, Oct. nth, 

 1899, and thus he soliloquised to himself: "I 

 wonder what George Barwick is doing, sneaking 

 about looking at me over the fence ! I suppose 

 he thinks I don't see him, but I do, and if I 

 were anywhere else but here I suppose I should 

 have to make a move. He's alwavs out looking 

 about when he might just as well be at home 

 getting his breakfast, and so is John Lang over 

 at Cloutsham, and Keeper Wensley at Langham, 

 and that other chap, Goss — he doesn't seem 

 to me to belong to these parts altogether by the 

 smell of him. However, I suppose it is all 

 right, but one can't be too careful at this time 

 of the year, when everything smells so plain, 

 and there seem to me to be hounds about 

 most days of the week. What a good job it 

 was I lay so close the other day in Horner 

 W^ood when Anthony came by ; if Td once 

 moved I believe he would have been after me, 

 and I can't run a bit, though I believe I could 

 fight if the worst came to the w^orst. I should 



