IN FRANCE 213 



panions, or of hitting the right and not a wrong line 

 when he separates from them. 



Accurate knowledge of the slot of the stag 

 to be hunted, acquired if possible before he is 

 roused by prickers and sportsmen capable of utilis- 

 ing it, is therefore insisted upon as being as neces- 

 sary as good hounds to those who would chase a 

 stag to his death. And curiously enough, though in 

 the great forests of France the deer must see less 

 of mankind than they do with us, it is remarked 

 that they constantly seek refuge among the habita- 

 tions of men when they feel' that their end is near. 

 If the last stand is made in water, the hounds 

 generally drown their quarry ; no longer need the 

 hardy sportsmen swim out, sword in hand, to give 

 the death blow ; but if the deer stands to bay on 

 land, they either shoot him or hamstring him with 

 the hunting sword, similar to a bandsman's, which 

 the huntsman and whips carry. This is another remi- 

 niscence of the days when men went to the chase 

 armed as for war, and there are many others about 

 the final ceremonies. The deer is skinned, tne head 

 being left attached to the hide, and the best of the 

 joints are removed ; the skin is then spread over what 

 is left of the carcase, a pricker stands astride of it and 

 holds the head upright, while the hounds are brought 

 up ; they are shown the dead deer, and stopped once 



