204 STAG-HUNTING 



in the water, to shake off the pack, the prickers were 

 recommended to carry with them a handful of boughs 

 to throw down wherever they viewed the quarry, so 

 that the baffled hounds might be taken with certainty 

 to the spot where he was last known to have passed. 

 If a bad check occurred between noon and three 

 o'clock and the hounds were winded, the course 

 advised was to mark the place where they last had the 

 line, and go to the nearest village to refresh them with 

 bread and water ; or if there was no village at hand, 

 the huntsman was to wait under a tree till the heat 

 was passed, blowing his horn at intervals to summon 

 the harbourers and other assistance. Then, when it 

 was three o'clock they could go back to their mark and 

 try to fresh find the stag, the harbourer taking the 

 lead with his lymer, who might now be allowed and 

 encouraged to speak on the line. 



A chase conducted on these principles, even with 

 a pack of fifty couples divided into three or more 

 relays, must generally have lasted some time ; but, as 

 a rule, then as now, it ended in the water, the last 

 refuge of a beaten deer. Nor is it possible to improve 

 on the directions for this difficulty given by Du 

 Fouilloux, wherein he advises that if there are three 

 men with the hounds, one should get forward for a 

 view while the others go one on each bank the men 



