Thus much for Turkish archery: and quitting Constantinople, we will once more transport ourselves to the Regent's Park, where, in the pleasantest portion of one of the most delightful suburban scenes ever created by the taste and industry of man, the Royal Toxophilite Society have established their present quarters. The ground, on account of the plantations, is not visible from the road, except on the days of meeting, when the targets, glittering with crimson and gold, are just discernible through the masses of foliage that encircle the spot. Three pairs of earthen butts, surmounted according to ancient usage, with urns of the same material, are ranged on its green closely shaven turf, at the usual distances. An elegant iron railing and gravelled path encloses the whole area, which, except in the space between the targets, is tastefully dotted with clumps of trees and flowering shrubs. The remainder forms a beautiful parterre, embellished with a profusion of flowers; and the whole management reflects much credit on the taste of the Hon. D. Finch, the secretary, under whose direction it was planned, and whose judgment in ornamental gardening appears no way inferior to his skill as an archer.

The banquetting-hall, where the Toxophilites dine, is erected in the genuine old English style of architecture, thus harmonising with an amusement all whose associations are connected with the fashions of a by-gone age.

The interior is fitted up with elegant simplicity. In the centre of the apartment stands a range of oak dining tables, sufficient to accommodate the members on their occasional festivals. To the left on entering, is a lofty antique chimney-piece of oak, with a dial in the centre. The windows, opening on a broad veranda, which encircles the whole edifice, are of richly stained glass, proudly decorated with the heraldic bearings of its founder; his Majesty, the patron; and the Earl of Aylesford, president. They bear in addition the following inscriptions:--

Massive shields of carved oak, emblazoned with devices emblematical of archery, adorn the ceilings of this interesting apartment; and around its walls are placed a range of Aschams[26], ornamented with crest and coronet, as well as the colours and pattern of each archer's arrow-mark. The badge and painting already described, with a portrait of the elder Mr. Waring, are also preserved at the banquetting-hall.

The Toxophilite Society possesses many valuable prizes[27], of which the Queen will annually present one. In 1795, Mr. Palmer, a member, bestowed an elegant silver gilt arrow, on condition that it should be shot for during four successive years. At the expiration of that period, his crest and cipher were engraved on it, and the four archers who had been already successful, again contested its final possession.

The Toxophilite costume, in Sir Ashton Lever's time, was a single-breasted coat, of grass green, with an arrow engraved on the buttons; buff kerseymere waistcoat and small clothes; Hessian boots, hat turned up on the right side, with black feather; belt, bracer, and shooting-glove.

We will now bid them farewell, and transport ourselves to the sunny greensward of Meriden Heath, where

beneath their trysting tree, our presence is anxiously awaited by--

THE WOODMEN OF THE FOREST OF ARDEN.

It was not lawless "minions of the moon," as Falstaff termed his rogueish associates, who resorted to these places of sylvan rendezvous for the distribution of their booty; archers, as well as lovers, had their places of assignation beneath the forest bough. Rangers and woodsmen of the royal hunting grounds also pitched upon a conspicuous oak, growing in some central situation, as a kind of head-quarters. Thither each forester, after his evening perambulation, bent his steps; there he sat down to await his comrades' arrival, and discuss the events which had occurred in reference to their guardianship " of the green hue and hunting." An old comedy, called "The Merry Devil of Edmonton," contains this brief but very pleasant allusion to the foresters' trysting tree:--

Enter BRIAN and his man, with a hound.

This ancient forest of Arden once covered nearly the whole of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and the neighbouring county of Stafford. Thus Drayton:--

The Woodmen assemble within a few miles of Coventry; and exercising a nominal, as their predecessors did a real, authority over vert and venison, their officers receive appropriate designations. Of these, the lord warden is chief. They have likewise master-foresters, verderers[32], and most probably a bowbearer, whose name indicates his duties, and who, in some districts, anciently ranked next to the lord warden, he being the monarch's most favoured attendant during his hunting parades. In the first lieutenant's absence, likewise, his oath of office obliged him to attach every one found trespassing on the timber or the deer, often styled in sylvan parlance, "the green hue and hunting."

George III. was the last of our monarchs who required the performance of this ancient service. When he visited Lyndhurst in state, the Rev. Sir Charles Hill, Bart., attended him as bow-bearer, leading a brace of milk-white greyhounds.[33] Such I have here attempted to describe, appears to have been the ancient vocation of a forester. We will now contemplate him under his more modern guise.

The meetings of the Woodmen, appropriately styled "grand annual wardmotes," are accompanied by all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of archery. The fine band of the Warwick shire militia attends upon the ground, exhilarating the already 'buoyant spirit by strains of martial music. A bugle call announces the opening of the targets, and summonses the archers to the contest; while the united clangor of trumpet and kettledrum proclaims the victor's triumph. Their prizes are various and beautiful, among which, "the bugle horn of Arden" appears to be a special favourite, and always excites more than ordinary emulation.[34] The distance for this prize varies from nine to twelve score yards, which exempts the Woodmen from the operation of a statute alluded to elsewhere.

There are also--

THE MASTER FOERSTER'S GOLD MEDAL, claimed by the first shot in the gold.[35]
THE VERDERER'S SILVER MEDAL,[36]--by the second shot in the gold.
SILVER ARROW,[37]--nine score yards.
DIGBEAN GOLD MEDAL, [38] --OPTIME MERENTI.
DIGBEAN SILVER MEDAL,[39]--BENE MERENTI.

This society was originally established by the Marquis of Aylesford, father to the present lord warden. His Lordship's strength of arm, and the consequent low range of his arrow, has been often a subject of remark; and his vigorous shooting has descended like a heirloom to his successor.

I will now give a list of all, or most, of the original members, commencing with the officers, who gain their rank by a display of superior skill:

In 1786 there were about thirty-six woodmen, besides the these officers; viz.--

Their uniform was a plain frock of Kendal green, with gold buttons bearing an arrow, on which is inscribed the word "arden"; white waistcoat; round hat, and black feather.

A mutual exchange of honours soon ensued between the Royal Toxophilites and the Woodmen of Arden. The former conferred the freedom of their society, with permission to shoot on their ground, &c., by a diploma, elegantly emblazoned, and enclosed in a box of yew. That by which the Woodmen returned the compliment, was received in a box made of the heart of oak, the growth of the forest whence they derive their name.

The following is a chronological list of the archers who have been victorious at their grand annual wardmotes, during a nearly consecutive series of years.