The
crown on it is scarcely recognizable; and the lettering has
all disappeared except part of the R.
We breakfast in the quaint old Court room. Before us is
the railed-off dais, at the end, where the Verderer and his
assistants sit to administer the law. On the wall behind
them are the antlers of a dozen stags; reminders of the time,
about the middle of the present century, when the herds of
deer were destroyed on account of the continual poaching to
which they gave occasion. Many of the cases that come before
the Court now are of simple trespass.
This quaint old room, with its great oak beam overhead, and
its kitchen grate wide enough to roast a deer--this strange
blending of an hotel dining-room and a Court of Justice, has
nevertheless a link with the far distant past more wonderful
than anything that has come down to us in the ruins of Greece
or Rome.
Look at the simple card that notifies the dates of holding
the Vederer's Court. Here is an old one which the Verderer,
Philip Baylis, has kindly sent to Senator Hoar in response
to his request for a copy.
Pages:
1531
1532
1533
1534
1535
1536
1537
1538
1539
1540
1541
1542
1543
1544
1545
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552
1553
1554
1555