STAG, OR RED DEER.—The STAG and HIND are the _male_ and _female_ of this tribe, as the BUCK and DOE are of the _fallow_ deer. The latter are mostly the natives of parks, and bred for domestic purposes, producing venison for the table; the former are the majestic inhabitants of those extensive and sequestered tracts called FORESTS and CHACES, where they are preserved as more peculiarly appropriated to the pleasures of the chase, in which even his MAJESTY, with his hunting retinue, condescends to engage. The STAG, individually surveyed, is one of the grandest and most stately figures in the animal creation; his very appearance instantly exciting attention and admiration. Naturally disposed to solitude, he never obtrudes upon the haunt of man, but revels in the remote and obscure shades of abstrusity. When caught sight of amidst the umbrageous stillness of his abode, the grandeur, lofty look, and commanding aspect, of his first survey, cannot be encountered without the most aweful and impressive sensations. With ample power to oppose, he has pliability to submit, and, after a few moments interview, deliberately retires to his protecting covert, seemingly more _surprized_ than _alarmed_ at the sight of the HUMAN SPECIES.
In the dignity of his deportment he stands unrivalled, and may, with allegorical propriety, be considered the hereditary MONARCH of the WOODS, as every other animal is observed to give way upon his approach. In his peaceable and undisturbed retirement, he is perfectly tranquil and inoffensive, displaying no antipathy or opposition to those who come not in _hostility_ to him. His form is the most sublime and beautiful that can possibly be conceived; the elegance of his figure, the commanding effect of his stature, the flexibility of his frame, the elasticity of his limbs, the velocity of his motion, and the proportional immensity of his strength, in addition to the impression made upon the mind by the magnific grandeur of the antlers, branching from his brow, all seem uniformly calculated to render him an object of the most serious and pleasing attraction.
The RED DEER, formerly so plentiful to be found in different remote parts of ENGLAND, the Highlands of SCOTLAND, and the Lake of Killarney, in IRELAND, are greatly reduced, and but very rarely to be found in a wild and unpreserved state in either. This must of course be attributed to the more advantageous distribution and cultivation of land, and the improved state of every country. STAGS, or HINDS, were then found _singly_, and hunted or pursued by those who happened to find them; but now in the Forest of Windsor, and the New Forest in Hampshire, where they are bred and protected for the ROYAL CHASE, they assemble together; and upon Ascot Heath, near Swinley Lodge, (the official residence of the Master of his Majesty's Stag Hounds,) may be seen the largest herd in the King's dominions.