Sporting scenes and country characters . en accustomed to hunt withher Majestys hounds, it will be scarcely necessary toenter into a detailed account of the wonderful per-formances of the Ripley deer; but to those who mayonly recollect to have heard of his fame, some par-ticulars may be interesting. The sketch from picture is a faithful representation of his pecu-liar form and shape, and was probably taken about1830, when he was seven years old. This deer wasbred in Windsor Great Park, and at the age of a fewdays was made a havier,—to which early operation mustbe attributed the circu
Sporting scenes and country characters . en accustomed to hunt withher Majestys hounds, it will be scarcely necessary toenter into a detailed account of the wonderful per-formances of the Ripley deer; but to those who mayonly recollect to have heard of his fame, some par-ticulars may be interesting. The sketch from picture is a faithful representation of his pecu-liar form and shape, and was probably taken about1830, when he was seven years old. This deer wasbred in Windsor Great Park, and at the age of a fewdays was made a havier,—to which early operation mustbe attributed the circumstance of his never having hadhorns; and, possibly, the very peculiar and immensedevelopment of muscle which he exhibited in afterlife. His head and neck were beautifully small; and,being without horns, he was repeatedly mistaken for ahind ; his countenance was singularly intelligent; and his STAG HUNTING. 127 thighs and hocks, latterly, as large as those of manythorough-bred horses. When matured, liis shape was iSc&v-c^AV—-?. faultless; but at three years old he was very unsightly,and so unlike a ninner, that, on the 2()th of October,1827, he was turned out of the paddocks at Swinley,before the whole pack, nearly in view, for the ])urpose 128 STAG HUNTING. of blooding the younger hounds, after what was ex-pected would be a short run. In this maiden effort,however, he disappointed the calculations of his pur-suers ; and, after running upwards of thirty miles inthree hours and a half, was taken below Henley, ata distance of more than twenty miles, in a direct linefrom the place of starting. On the 17th of Decemberin the same year, he was again taken in Oxfordshire,after a severe run. In the early part of February,1828, he gave a most surprising run of three hours,from the New Lodge at Winkfield, to Ripley in Surrey;from which days sport he derived his name. From thisperiod, for ten successive seasons, he was hunted threeor four times a year, invariably giving good runs, and
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectf, booksubjecthunting
