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STA.U* 
mals, are nothing when compared to those from 
man. The men of every age and nation have 
made the chase of the stag one of their most fa- 
vourite pursuits ; and those who first hunted from 
necessity, have continued it for amusement. la 
our own country, in particular, hunting was ever 
esteemed as one of the principal diversions of the 
great. At first, indeed, the beasts of chase had 
the whole island for their range, and knew no 
other limits than those of the ocean. 
In the present cultivated state of this country, 
the stagis unknown in its wild natural state ; and 
such of them as remain among us are kept, under 
the name of red deer, in parks among the fallow 
deer. But they are become less common than 
formerly ; its excessive viciousness, during the 
rutting season, and the badness of its flesh, in- 
ducing most people to part with the species. The 
few that still remain wild, are to be found on the 
moors that border on Cornwall and Devonshire 
and in Ireland, on most of the large mountains of 
that country. 
In England, the hunting the stag and the buck 
are performed in the same manner ; the animal is 
driven from some gentleman’s park, and then hunt- 
ed through the open country. But those who 
pursue the wild animal, have a much higher object, 
as well as a greater variety in the chase. To let 
loose a creature that was already in our possession, 
in order to catch it again, is hut a poor pursuit, as 
the reward, when obtained, is only what we before 
had given away. But to pursue an animal that 
owns no proprietor, and which he that first seizes 
may be said to possess, has something in it that 
seems at least more rational ; this rewards the hunt- 
er for his toil, and seems to repay his industry. 
Besides, the superior strength and swiftness of the 
wild animal prolongs the amusement ; it is possess* 
