himself for about half an Hour, when being kill'd, and brought out by the Help of a Boat, the Huntsmen sounded the French Horns. The Skin was taken off, and the Carcass given to the Dogs. His Majesty, the Duke, and the Princess Royal hunted on Horseback; her Majesty and the Princess Amelia hunted in a Four-wheel'd Chaise; and the Princess Carolina in a Two-wheel'd Chaise; and the Princesses Mary and Louisa were in a Coach. Several of the Nobility attended, and among them Sir Robert Walpole, clothed in green, as Ranger. When the Diversion was over, their Majesties, the Duke, and the Princesses, refreshed themselves on the Spot with a Cold Collation (as did the nobility at some Distance of Time after), and soon after Two in the afternoon return'd for Hampton Court.' 1 The Monthly Chronicle, 1728, vol. i. p. 180. CHAPTER II THE RED DEER'S LIFE THE habits of most wild quadrupeds are liable to be largely modified by local circumstances. The red deer conforms to the general rule. The immense forests of Germany, some of which abound in deer, are as dissimilar as possible from many of the stony wildernesses in which most of our Scottish stags take their pleasure. There is a weird, uncanny feeling about the pet corries of our Highland deer. You may tramp through the midst of them for miles, without observing any more stirring sign of life than the whirr of a startled grouse or the hasty scamper of a blue hare. Only here and there, but always at pretty long intervals, does a green brae crop up, as though to redeem the landscape from the reproach of absolute sterility. The ground is often too bare to feed hardy black-faced wedders to a profit. Now, one may feel half bewildered in the mazy depths of a forest in Germany; but the deep woods afford us assurances of animal life in the tracks of roes, of boar, and other wild creatures, not to mention the steady drilling of the pied woodpecker, or the noisy clamour of some party of jays engaged in the congenial task of mobbing an unlucky grey shrike that has strayed into their domain. We must recollect that deer, even in Scotland, live under very various conditions. Some animals pass much of their existence in the midst of sheltered woods. Others spend their entire life under the open sky, with no protection from the burning rays of the August sun but such as they find in the beds of tall bracken, screened from the driving hail and winter rain only by low stone walls or natural barriers of rock. It must, then, be allowed that no one is likely to lay down hard and fast canons as to the traits of deer, without risking unfavourable criticism. Broadly speaking, heavy and long continued falls of snow usually induce deer to leave high, exposed plateaux; for the lower grounds afford much greater comfort under such unfavourable circumstances. Even full-grown stags have been found to perish in deep snow drifts in the north of Scotland. It is not surprising, therefore, that many deer should endeavour to secure winter quarters on the slopes of mountains, which are less exposed than the tops of the hills which they are so partial to in the summer. All the same, deer are wonderfully hardy animals, and can often shift for themselves under the most unfavourable circumstances. Our Martindale deer, for instance, do not really seem to suffer from a low temperature if adequate supplies of food are forthcoming. They contrive to scrape the snow away with their fore-feet even when a really heavy fall has taken place. Especially happy are they, if, in such a predicament, they can obtain access to a bed of nettles; for they are partial to the roots of that plant. In this connection it should always be borne in mind that the condition of deer is largely governed by the character of the food supply which they command. One of the chief reasons for the remarkable development of heads on the Continent is to be found in the 'Browse' which forest deer enjoy. Blasius states that in Germany the dietary of the stag varies seasonally. In spring beech mast and acorns are eaten. In winter the bark of trees, lichens and moss, all go to make up the bill of fare. Certain species of fungi are found in the stomachs of deer. Young shoots are rarely neglected. In the case of a forest like Martindale, where there is no other wood than stunted hazel or wind-twisted thorns and alder, the deer are forced to subsist throughout the year on an admixture of short sweet |