IN THE OLDEN TIME.
193
the "Memoirs of Sir John Reresby, written by himself" (best edition
1875, edited by J. Cartwright), under date, 1663 (p. 57) :—
" This summer the Duke [Duke of York, afterwards James II.] took a fancy
(and sometimes the King) to buck hunt in Enfield Chace, and the Forest, where,
having an excellent horse, I had the honour to attend them sometimes. One day
the horse of my Lord Ogle (since the Duke of Newcastle) tiring, I lent him mine,
and took my man's. The King dined that day at Sir Edward Wroth's lodge, with
the Duke, his brother, the Duke of Buckingham, and made us all sit down that
hunted with him, where he was in good humour, and drunk very hard. Ten days
after, attending the Duke again at the same sport, there being nobody at the death
of the buck but the Duke, one of his equerries, and myself, my horse, by a sudden
turn, riding before his highness, gave me a fall. The Duke was so kind as to ride
after my horse to take him, till some of the Company came to do it. Another
time, the King being in the field, and I following close behind him, a dog roused
a buck out of a bush that leaped over my horse's head, and very near the King's
crupper, and was near touching me with his head."
When he became king, James II. still retained his love of hunting,
and by hard riding tried to tire out his company and alone be in at
the death. Witness the following quaint "gossip" of chasing the
Red-deer in Essex, taken from the "Autobiography of Sir John
Bramston, K.B., of Screens, in the Hundred of Chelmsford, now first
printed from the original MS &c." (Lond. Camden Society, 1845).
The 3rd of May is an odd date to go hunting, as the stags are out of
season then, and the hinds are suckling their calves. I presume
the excuse was that the deer was an outlying one, which would
have been killed by poachers probably if not hunted more legiti-
mately with hounds :—
" The Kinge beinge inuited by the Duke of Albemarle to New Hall to hunt
some out-lyinge red deere, his Majestie went towards New Hall, the 3rd of May,
1686 ; and when he came neere Chelmesford, hearinge the Duke with the hounds
were neere the place where the stagg was harboured, in a wood neere Bicknaker
Mill, his Majestie turned out of the road, and went by Moulsham Hall thither.
for December 23rd, 1854, a picture by Gilbert of the "Merry Monarch" performing the ceremony,
and a veracious ballad by an unknown poet:—
" The Second Charles of England
Rode forth one Christmas tide,
To hunt a gallant stag of ten,
Of Chingford Woods the pride.
" The wind blew keen, the snow fell fast,
And made for earth a pall,
As tired steeds, and wearied men,
Returned to Friday Hall.
" The blazing logs, piled on the dogs,
Were pleasant to behold !
And grateful was the steaming feast
To hungry men—and cold.
" "With right good-will all took their fill,
And soon each found relief;
Whilst Charles his royal trencher piled
From one huge loin of beef,
" Quoth Charles, 'Odd's fish ! a noble dish,
Aye, noble made by me !
By kingly right, I dub thee knight—
Sir Loin henceforward be !'
" And never was a royal jest
Received with such acclaim :
And never knight than good Sir Lorn
More worthy of the name."
And in confirmation of the tradition it was even declared, 30 or 40 years ago, that the very
oaken table at which the jovial monarch sat, could be seen (and perhaps may be seen even to
this day) in the ancient manor-house of the Boothby's!—W.C.