THE STAG. 73 



that all monstrosities are the perfectly natural result 

 of obstructed development, so, too, is it evident that 

 a monstrous formation of the horn of the staof is a 

 symptom of such obstruction and the way in which it 

 shows itself; and, like the abnormal birth, is the neces- 

 sary and legitimate consequence of a certain preceding 

 contingency. 



A stag's antler, as may be seen in the specimens here 

 given, will grow to an enormous size. The beams are 

 thick, the sprays long, and those of the crown manifold. 

 It has been said also that from some accident, while in a 

 growing state or occasionally from an apparent freak of 

 nature, they take a fantastic shape. But in these devia- 

 tions from the normal standard a certain law is never 

 transgressed. In humanity it is the same. We find 

 men whose stature so surpasses the ordinary standard as 

 to be gigantic ; other individuals so small as to be dwarfs. 

 A limb too or a sense will sometimes be entirely want- 

 ing ; a member be stunted or of unusual size : but the 

 general ruling law is never so disregarded as to show us 

 a man with a leg growing where the arm should be ; with 

 eyes or nose placed at the back of the head instead of 

 in front. 



The ramifications of the antler may be strangely 

 twisted, or there may happen to be none at all where we 

 expect to find them ; and the beam be thus like a bare 



