In a very short time after the expiration of the hour agreed on, his Majesty is seen to approach, attended by the Master of the Horse, and Equerries in waiting; it being the official duty of the Master of the Stag-Hounds to be with them, and ready to receive his Majesty when he arrives. So soon as his Majesty resigns his hack, and is remounted for the chase, the Huntsman receives an injunctive signal from the Master of the Hounds to liberate the deer. The moment which is obeyed, the usual law, amounting to ten minutes, (more or less,) is allowed for his going way: during this interval the sonorous strains of the HORNS, the musical melodious echo of the HOUNDS, the mutual gratulations of so distinguished an assemblage, and the condescending kindness and affability of the Sovereign to the loyal subjects who love and surround him, is a repast too rich, a treat too luxurious, for the side of a fox-hunting covert to be brought into the least successful similitude.
The anxious crisis thus arrived, and every bosom glowing with emulative inspiration, a single aspiration of acquiescence, and a removal of the horse who heads the leading hound, give a loose to the body of the PACK; and superlatively happy he who can lay the nearest to them. Upon the DEER'S going off from the cart, two of the YEOMAN-PRICKERS start likewise, in such parallel directions to the right and left, as not to lose sight of the line he takes so long as they can keep him in view; by which means they get five or six miles forward to assist in stopping the hounds at any particular point where they happen to run up to them: and if it was not for this prudent and necessary precaution, half or two thirds of the horsemen would never see the hounds again in the course of the day.
The joyous burst, and determined velocity of every hound, followed by upwards of a hundred horsemen, all in action at a single view; the spot embellished, or rather variegated, with carriages containing ladies, who come to enjoy the ceremony of turning out; and the emulative exertions of HORSES, HOUNDS, and MEN; afford a blaze of sporting brilliancy beyond the power of the utmost mental fertility to describe. At this moment of rapturous exultation only it is, that the kind of horse indispensibly necessary for this particular chase can be ascertained; for out of a hundred and twenty, thirty, forty, or a hundred and fifty horsemen, seven or eight only shall lay any where near, or within a hundred yards of the hounds; for the longer the burst, the more the slow-going horses tail; so that when the hounds are stopt upon the heath, or in an open country, by the few who are up, lines of horsemen are seen behind, more than a mile in length, getting forward in a variety of directions, bearing no inapplicable affinity to various teams of wild ducks crossing from one country to another. These horses, to whom it is all labour, are so distrest even with the first burst, that if the hounds break away, and the deer crosses the country, they are seldom to be seen at the end of a second. This is a most palpable and incontrovertible demonstration, that any horse may follow, but none, except THOROUGHBRED horses, can go with the hounds.
During the time the chase is suspended, and the hounds are at bay, (which is till the King gets up,) the exhilarating sound of the horns before them, and the clamorous impatience of the hounds to proceed, constitute a scene so truly rich and ecstatic, that the tear of excessive joy and grateful sensibility may be frequently observed in almost every eye. After this relief of a few minutes to both HOUNDS and HORSES, in which they collect their wind, and become proportionally refreshed, the hounds are permitted to break away, which they do with a redoubled ardour, as if it had absolutely increased by their recent restraint. The same scene of racing and tailing continues during every burst to the termination of the chase, the longer which is, the more the field of horsemen become reduced; while the blood horses only move in perfect unison, and, at their common rating stroke, lay with ease by the side of the HOUNDS; and this is the reason why, in long runs, so many are completely thrown out, and left to explore their way in different parts of the country through which the chase has passed. One material difference is known to exist between this kind of sport and every other; the utmost fortitude and indefatigable exertions are here made to save: in all the rest, the summit of happiness, the sole gratification of local ambition, is to kill: so that, at any rate, STAG-HUNTING has the plea of HUMANITY in its favor; in proof of which, the hounds are never known to run from chase to view, but every individual is feelingly alive to the danger of the DEER, who have so largely and laboriously contributed to the completion of his own most ardent happiness: a secret inspiration operates upon every latent spring of human sensibility; and no difficulty at the moment seems too great to surmount, for the preservation of a life in which every spectator feels himself most impressively concerned. This final burst of a chase is most dreadfully severe, particularly if the last mile or two is run in view; when which is the case, the deer exerts all his utmost and remaining power to take the soil, if water is within his reach: this he sometimes does with the hounds so close to his haunches, that it is impossible to prevent their plunging with him into the stream. In such predicament, if it is found impracticable to draw off the body of the hounds, to insure his safety, the Yeoman Prickers, and others, are frequently seen above their middles in water, (uncertain of its depth,) to preserve the life of the DEER, at the hazard of their own. This may be considered, by the recluse and callous Cynic, a degree of valour beyond discretion; but the debt of humanity, like the Hibernian Major's word in the Comedy, is "a DEBT of HONOUR, and must be paid."
The most moderate chases with the stag extend from an hour and a half to two hours; though from three to four hours is by no means uncommon in the course of the season. Horses too deficient in speed, too heavy in formation, too full in flesh, or foul in condition, frequently fall martyrs to a want of judgment or prudence in their RIDERS during the chase: every man ought to know when his horse is dangerously distressed, and of course should bow implicit obedience to the occasion: there are times when self-denial would add lustre to the brow of a MONARCH; and it never can be displayed with a more humane effect, than when in the defence and preservation of so useful an animal; who, being deprived the privilege of free agency, is not possessed of the power to protect himself: under the influence of which consideration, there is not a SPORTSMAN of EXPERIENCE or HUMANITY existing, who would not philosophically retire with patience from the field, to save the life of a faithful persevering companion, than to see him sink (never more to rise) a victim to inadvertency, folly, or indiscretion. In a severe chase of more than four hours, recited in the former part of the Work, (where the stag was taken at Tilehurst, near Reading, in Berkshire,) one horse dropped dead in the field, another died before he could reach a stable, and seven more in the course of a week. The concluding ceremony of the chase is the preservation of the deer, the baying of the hounds, and the melodious concert of the horns; after which the former are drawn off, and the stag, hind, or heavier, is deposited in a place of safety, from whence he is taken the following day, in a convenient vehicle constructed for the purpose.
The regular hunting days with the STAG hounds of his Majesty, are Tuesdays and Saturdays, from Holyrood Day (Sept. 25) to the first Saturday in May; except in Christmas and Easter Weeks, in each of which they hunt three times. The two grand or most public days, are Holyrood Day and Easter Monday, when the field is uncommonly numerous; particularly if the weather favourably corresponds with the occasion.
STALING
—is the evacuation of urine by either horse or mare, which is at some times partially obstructed, and at others totally suppressed. The secretion of urine may be retarded from a variety of causes; such as injuries sustained in the spine, particularly in the LOINS, near which the kidnies are seated; and these, from their irritability, are also easily susceptible of disease, by which the discharge may be affected. The urine, with a horse or mare in a healthy state, should flow in a moderate stream, of a transparent colour, midway between a brown and red; not inclining to a milky, foul consistence, or tending to a tinge of blood. The evacuation should take place with ease, perfectly free from laborious groanings, and equally so from partial dribblings, or periodical trifling stoppings, which always denote a something imperfect in the secretion, or some obstruction in the urinary passages.
Staling, when the urine is strongly impregnated with appearance of blood, should be early attended to, as it is mostly occasioned by some serious injury to the kidnies, or elsewhere. It is very frequently brought on by hard, long and immoderate riding, or drawing; and may be the effect of a rupture of some blood-vessel, the seat of which it may be impossible to ascertain: if it should be a discharge of nearly pure blood, and that in any considerable quantity, great danger may be apprehended. Bleeding (to constitute revulsion) is a preliminary step to every degree of hope, followed by small quantities of nitre in powder, blended with equal parts of gum Arabic in the same state. Gelatinous fluids, as oatmeal gruel, or malt sweet-wort, with nursing, rest, and small doses of LIQUID LAUDANUM, are the only means to be pursued.