KING'S HOUNDS
.—His Majesty's STAG HOUNDS pass under this denomination, as a part of the royal establishment continued in every successive reign without variation. The kennel in which they are kept is situate near the RACE COURSE upon Ascot Heath; at the distance of two short miles from which is Swinley Lodge, the official residence of the Master of the Stag Hounds, an appointment seldom conferred but upon one of the peerage, and is considered an office of honor, with a salary of 2000l. per annum. The presence of the Master of the Stag Hounds in the field is not a matter of necessity, but choice, except when his Majesty hunts, and then his personal attendance is indispensible; his badge of office is a pair of gold dog couples, which hang suspended from a belt on his left side. The HUNTSMAN has a handsome residence at the kennel, with a salary of 125l. a year; to whom there are six assistants, (called YEOMEN PRICKERS,) each having a salary of 104l. with the royal livery richly ornamented, and an annual supply of saddles, bridles, horse-cloths, and the necessary stable appendages; but they find their own horses.
The hunting season commences on Holyrood-Day, the 25th of September, and continues every Tuesday and Saturday till the first week in May; with the exception of Christmas and Easter weeks, when they hunt three times in each. Holyrood-Day, and Easter-Monday, are the two grand days of the year for company, when the field is exceedingly numerous. His Majesty has also a PACK of HARRIERS, which are kept at the Little Park Lodge near Windsor, and with these he hunts constantly in Windsor Great Park, and the surrounding neighbourhood; they are, however, a private concern of his Majesty's, and not included in the regular Crown establishment.