Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/397

A 11 C H E 11 Y en a field or, with the motto "propatria duke periculum," and on the other a St Andrew, with a large thistle above his head, with the motto, "Nemo me impune lacessit." King William IV. presented the company with a new stand of colours in 1832. The one banner combines the old ones, and the other has the Royal Scottish arms, with the words " King s Body Guard for Scotland/ The following are the noblemen who have held the office of captain-general since 1G7G : 1G76-1703, John, second earl of Atholl. 1703-1714, Sir George Mackenzie, first earl of Cromarty. 1715 1720, David, third carl of "Wemyss. 1724-1743, James, fifth duke of Hamilton and Brandon. 1743-1756, James, fourth earl of Wemyss. 1756-1778, Charles, third duke of Queensberry. 1778-1812, Henry, third duke of Buccleuch. 1812-1819, Charles, fourth duke of Buecleuch. 1819-1823, John, fourth earl of Hopetoun. 1824-1830, James, third duke of Montrose. 1830-1838, George, ninth earl of Dalhousie. 1838- The present duke of Buccleuch. Most of the prizes shot for by the Royal Company are held for a year by the winner, and in some cases he receives a grant of money to enable him to affix a silver or gold medal with his name and crest inscribed thereon to the prize. The only prize which becomes the winner s absolute property is one of 20, presented annually by her Majesty to be expended in the purchase of a piece of plate. This prize was first given by the Scottish privy council at the very beginning of the company. It was not, however, con tinued for many years, but was revived by his Majesty George III. in 1788, and has since been shot for regularly. The following is a list of the principal prizes shot for by the company : 1. Musselburgh Silver Arrow, given by the magistrates of that town, and first shot for so far back as 1603. Now the competition is confined to members of the Royal Company, but at that time it was probably open to all comers. 2. Peebles Silver Arrow, shot for at that town. This arrow bears medals extending back to 1626, but it was not shot for by the Royal Company until 1786. 3. Silver Arrow presented to the company by the magistrates of Edinburgh in 1709, and shot for from that time. 4. Selkirk Silver Arrow, first shot for by the company in 1818, but in itself a very ancient Srize. 5. Silver Punch Bowl and Ladle, subscribed for by mem- ers in 1720, and having the. gold medal of the winner of each year attached. 6. Dalhousie Sword, a richly ornamented Indian eword, presented by captain-general the earl of Dalhousie, in 1833. 7. The Hopetoun Royal Commemoration Prize, a handsome silver vase and gold medal, presented by captain-general the earl of Hopetoun, to commemorate George IV. s visit to Scotland in 1822. 8. Spens Anniversary Medal, shot for in honour of the memory of Dr Nathaniel Spens, an old and favourite member in the end of last century. 9. Prize given by the town of Biggar. 10. Silver Arrow, presented by the magistrates of Montrose. All these prizes are shot for in the field at a distance of 180 yards. There is, how ever, 11. St Andrew s Cross, presented in 1801 by Sir George Mackenzie of Coul, Bart. ; shot for at 200 yards. There are two prizes shot for at 100 yards, namely, 12. A Gold Medal made out of "pagodas," being part of the money paid by Tippoo Sultan at the treaty of Seringapatam, presented by Major James Spens in 1793; and 13. A Silver Bugle Horn, presented in its present shape in 1830, by Sir Henry Jardiue, Knt. , but shot for for some time previously in a less handsome form. There are three prizes shot for at butts, at a circular piece of card-board four inches in diameter, at a distance of 100 feet. The most ancient of these is 14. The Goose Medal, or the Goose. The old mode of competing for this was by building a live goose in a turf butt, the head only being exposed to view, and lie who hit the head and killed the goose was entitled to have her. < )f course, this barbarous practice has been long discontinued, though it remained till after the middle of last century. In place of the goose s head, a small glass globe is put into the centre of the card- ward mark on the^butt, and he who breaks the globe with his arrow igo for --. _ ^ ~- L fv *"J L *J ) "-^*~v* tvy itn 01 a high pole. Ho who brought the bird down was adjudged victor. t having been found inconvenient to shoot for the prize in this manner, it is now competed for in the ordinary fashion at butts. 16. A Gold Medal, held for a year by the person making the greatest aggregate score ou three appointed days. The affairs of the company are managed by a council of seven, who are elected by the whole company annually. Although the company has a right, as a body, to elect their own officers and admit new members, yet both those powers have for many years been left in the hands of the council. Tho fees of entry to the Royal Com pany are 25, and the entrant has also to be balloted for by the council. There are several "uniform" dinners held in the course of the year, which are very popular both with members and their friends. Smaller and less pretentious, though not less pleasant, are the "match" dinners held once a month by the shooting members, after a friendly match shot at rovers or butts. The average number of members belonging to the Royal Company is between 500 and COO. The ROYAL TOXOPHILITE SOCIETY is now established at the Archers Hall, Inner Circle, Regent s Park, London, where it has a handsome building for the use of its mem bers, and ample shooting ground. It was founded in 1781 by Sir Ashton Lever, and represents the two ancient bodies, " The Finsbury Archers" and " The Archers Company of the Honourable Artillery Company," and possesses, among other plate, the large silver shield given to the Archers Company by Queen Catherine of Braganza (consort of Charles II.), and also silver arrows of the same and of earlier periods. The Royal Toxophilite Society have occu pied their present ground (about six acres in extent) since 1832, when they obtained possession of it from the Woods and Forests, and erected on it their " Archers Hall." The entire cost of the building, laying out the grounds, furnish ing, and finishing, amounted to 4548, 9s. 6d. The society has for many years enjoyed special royal patron age. King George IV., who was fond of archery, shot, when Prince of Wales, with the members in their gardens at Leicester House, and on his becoming patron of the society in 1787, it assumed the title of "Royal," by which it has ever since been distinguished. King William IV. was also its patron, as was the late Prince Consort. The Prince of Wales is at the present time the patron of the society, of which the earl of Dudley is the president. The WOODMEN OF AKDEX hold their meetings at Meriden, in Warwickshire. The society was revived, after a long interval, in the year 1785. The number of members is limited to 80; but the standing rules relating to the election of a member were, by general consent, suspended in the case of the late Sir Robert Peel. This occurred at the jubilee festival in 1835. The earl of Aylesford is lord warden of the society, whose shooting grounds, which are in the forest of Arden, consist of about 12 acres of land. A forest hall was erected in 1844. The Woodmen, exer cising a nominal, as their predecessors did a real authority, over vert and venison, give appropriate designations to their officers. Of these, the lord warden is chief ; and they have likewise master foresters and verderers. At the grand target, or annual wardmote, whoever hits the gold first is styled (for the year ensuing) Master Forester ; and whoever gains the second gold becomes the Senior Verderer for the same period. In 1787 the silver bugle horn of Arden was presented to the society by the earl of Aylesford; it is never shot for at a less distance than nine score yards, which may be extended to twelve score. In 1788 the countess of Aylesford presented to the society the " silver arrow, " to be annually shot for at nine score yards. Gold and silver medals are also presented to the master forester and senior verderer ; and there are the Digbean gold medal, optime merenti, the possessor of which ranks as Captain of Numbers, he having gained the greatest number of prizes at the grand target; and the Digbean silver medal, bene merenti, which confers the Lieutenancy of Numbers upon the member who gains the next greatest number of prizes. The winners of these medals, which are shot for at 1 00 yards, take rank, for the year thereafter, next to

the senior verderer.