Ch. II. SINCE THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 45 



who bought out his lordship's life in it Clipston Park, wherein he had 

 formerly taken much delight (it being seven miles in compass, rich of wood, 

 watered by a pleasant river, running through it, full of fish and otters [?] ; 

 as also well stocked with deer and all sorts of game), was quite defaced, there 

 being not one timber tree left in it, which were the tallest in the country, 

 and valued at 20,000/. When he beheld the ruins of this seat, though he 

 was remarkable for his patience under misfortunes, he was observed to be 

 much troubled ; but only said, ke was in hopes to have found it not so much 

 defaced, d.nd gave present orders for repaling it.'" 



A little before this period, we have the following notice of Kirtling, 

 commonly called Catlige or Catlage, in Cambridgeshire, on the borders of 

 Suffolk, at that time the seat of Dudley Lord North, and of the manner of 

 hunting the buck there : — ' At Kirtling was a very large and well-stocked 

 Deer Park ; and at least twice a week in the season, there was killing of a 

 deer ; the method there was for the keeper, with a large cross-bow and 

 arrow, to wound the deer, and two or three disciplined park-hounds pur- 

 sued till he dropped.'^ 



This continued a common method of taking deer in parks till the middle 

 of the eighteenth century, though hunting them with buck-hounds as well 

 as coursing with grey-hounds was also practised generally, as appears by 

 the prints in ' The Gentleman's Recreation,' printed in 1721. 



Another method, which appears to have been founded on the German 

 fashion, is thus described in the Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany, who visited England in 1669: — 'On first entering the park 

 (Hampton Court), he was met by Prince Robert (Rupert), who was like- 

 wise come thither for the diversion of seeing the hunt. After the usual 

 compliments. His Highness went forward. Prince Rupert remaining in the 

 place appointed for him under the shade of a tree, on a stage a little raised 

 from the ground, which is the same where the King stands to see this amuse- 



' Collins's Historical Collections of the Noble ' Lives of the Norths, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 47. 



Families of Cavendish, &c. Fo. 1752, p. 42. 



E 



