248 COVERT-SIDE SKETCHES. 



the part of the huntsman, and perseverance on that of the 

 hounds, for he will not only take soil as the stag does, but hide 

 himself so cunningly, and lay so close, that you may pass close 

 by him again and again. Captain Lovell, when he can account 

 for his deer, is always more anxious to save his life than kill 

 him ; but I doubt, myself, if a buck really, once hardly pressed, 

 recovers enough to be any more use — at any rate for a very long 

 time. I know it is so with red deer, and, I believe, Cooper, who 

 was so long head keeper, shared this opinion with regard to bucks. 

 A friend of mine, at the end of a long chase, once saw the 

 hunted buck standing under a tree ; a couple of hounds ran up 

 to him, but never bit him ; he went on, made a bound into the 

 ride, and fell over dead, without a mark on him. This makes me 

 think that, when a deer is once run up, the knife should do its 

 work. From an hour to an hour and a half, or an hour and 

 forty minutes, is not an uncommon time for deer, as they are 

 now in the forest, to stand before hounds ; and a man must be 

 fastidious indeed who is not satisfied with that time, passed 

 amidst these beautiful glades, with all the freshness of an April 

 day around him. In fact, the beauty of the forest must be seen to 

 be appreciated at such a time, for vegetation is early there, and 

 every tree is then putting forth its loveliest and freshest green. 

 These meets are also, like that of the Devon and Somerset at 

 Cloutsham Ball, often made an excuse for a kind of picnic by 

 the neighbourhood, where the locality is suitable, and all kinds 

 of vehicles, from the four-in-hand to the humble village cart, 

 are brought into requisition to convey people there, who, if the 

 run is a good one, will probably see little after the buck is 

 roused, and the hounds laid on, or they may, under other cir- 

 cumstances, play the proverbial part of lookers-on, and see most 

 of the game. Buck-hunting in the New Forest has revived one 

 of our most ancient sports, and one which, I hope, wiU not 

 easily be let drop again. Public opinion every day becomes 

 more awakened to the importance of recreation and amusement. 

 It has already so far asserted itself that there is little chance of 



