9 y. h/. yV^i/i>^v~" jjmiiiwri — — »>^—»— "»— it— — --'n urn III, ^*> ■DtaJHWWMnaMfa '^f 2-iS't^a^t^e^. _/5Zv??5^' €«TiM- ^i,^/,:,^'Ttf St titi^a^i In TO ^Yi^iiv, uri «^EK oVk o J« uv l^uv IxviVofi.tvnt tv^iaKo(*.i*ovt i/i>iTaQi6i/.itov, aAtaxc/xEvov Im^M^oir' an e^tu Ipuyi- Xenoph. Cyneg. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind. So flew'd, {o funded, and their heads are hung Wiih ears that fiveep away the morning dew ; Crook-knce'd, and dew-lap'd, like Theflalian bulls; Slow in purfuit, but match'd in mouth like bells. Each under each. A cry more tuneable Was never halloo'd to, nor cheerM with horn. Shakespeare's Midfumroer Night's Dream. ERRATA. Page 19, note, line the laft, for p. 14. read p. 76. 20, notej, for p. 112. read 16!. 1 26^ at the end of the note, add — and that they arc par- ticularly fond of cropping the fhrubs Laburijuna and Scorpion Sen^a. T O EDWARD LOVEDEN LOVEDEN, Efq. THESE ESSAYS, ON A FAVOURITE DIVERSION. WHICH HAVE OFTEN AMUSED HIM IK MANUSCRIPT, ARE, AS A TOKEN OF ESTEEM AND REGARD, DEDICATED BY HIS SINCERE FRIEND, AND OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, THE EDITOR. CONTENTS. INrRODUCTION — i Greek Method of Hare Hunting-, from Xenophon 19 Ancient Msthod of Courfingy from Arrian 47 EJfays on Hunting. Ohfervations on Hare Hunting — ■ 6$ Hounds — — 82 the Horfe — —-94 the Huntfman — 97 Six Letters upon Hare Hunting. Letter I. 'The Art and Pleafure of Hunting 1 07 II, Concerning the Sorts of Harriers y and Difference — 114 III. The Sorts and Difference of Hares 125 IV. Some Ferfe5lions of the Hare^ and remarkable ^alities of other Creatures 140 V, Of Trailing and Starting, with Diretlions to the Huntfman 1^6 VL Of the Default, with fome Cau- tions ; alfo of marvellous Tales of Hares at Default 172 Account CONTENTS. Page Account of the Hunting Excurfions of Jfoph Ul Doulah — ' 185 the Chace : A Poem — — 203 Method of deflroying Hares by the Hare-Pipe 291 INTRO- INTRODUCTION. THE following EfTays were given me, many years ago, by a Gentle- man, equally converfant with the fludy of Natural Hiflory and the Diverfions of the Field, as a fmgular Curiolity, which had accidentally fallen into his hands, and which he had tranfcribed : the firft from a MS. the other from a printed Pamphlet, but which was very fcarce. Having fhewn them to moft of my fpdrting Friends, I found them very deiirous of having copies; and imagining, as they give an account of a very popular and manly amufement, . and. invefligate its nature and principles, many <3ther Lovers of the Chace may be pleafed. B with 2 Introduction, with them, I am induced to lay them be- fore the Public in this manner. I know the literary and fpeculative part of Mankind are apt to cdrifider thefe kind of country diverfions in a contemptible light i and, perhaps, they may be inclined to de- fpife any perfon who fhall devote his time to the writing, or even the reading, of a fingle page, on a fubje(^ which they may think only deferving the attention of Grooms, Counti-y 'Squires, and Dog-boys. But this opinion is by no means founded on reafon. A healthy frame of body is to the full as necelTary for our happinefs as a found dif- pofition of mind. The Roman Satiriil joins them together in his prayer, and, in- deed, the latter is never perfectly attainable without the former. Now to gain this in a compleat manner, more exercife is certainly requifitc IntroduSlion, **. requilite than the talked hour of walking or riding, which the Man of Literature or Bulinefs with difficuhy perfuades himfelf to fnatch from his favorite employments. This may, indeed, juft fuffice to keep off the dreadful confequences which muil in- evitably attend an entirely fedentary life j but will never give that ftate of robuil,' and, if you will, of rude health, which na one who ever enjoyed will ever affed: to which he calls I^vevrn^s^t as finding the Game onlyi and following the fcent no farther than the Hare's feat ; and fays, that after he has ilarted her, fhe is purfued by the light; yet this extrad: from Xenophon will fhew, that, much earlier than the time of Oppian, they not only -f- trailed to the Hare by the fcent, but abfolutely depended on that * See the Preface to Somervilk's Chace, at the end of thefe Effays. i Xenoplion particularly dlftinguifhes the trail of the Hare from the fcent fhe leave* whsn running ; the firft he calls sCtcix, the laft ^.'o^atiat. alone 14' IntroduSiion, alone to purfue her flight in cafe flie efcaped the nets ; for the death of the Game being the chief objedt of the chace in the woody and mountainous regions of Greece, it muft be acknowledged that Xenophon advifes means to accomplifh that end, which would fubjed: him to the appellation of Poacher from the modern fair Sportfman. And, as the evidence of * Arrian confirms this, and * Arrian was a military Officer under the Emperor Hadrian : being a follower of Epidletus, as Xenophon was of Socrates, he was fond of comparing himfelf to the illu- ftrious Athenian, writing on the fame fubjefts, and calling himfelf, with no fmall degree of prefumption, the Second Xenophon. He wrote a Treatife on Hunting, intended as a fupplement to that of Xenophon, and which is, in faft, an account of the method of courfmg ufed in his time, in which he fays, " Xenophon, thefon of Gryllus, has given anac- *• count of Hunting, particularly of Hare-hunting, and the •' ufe of that exercife to the art of war ; but as he has taken ** no notice of Greyhounds, which were not then known in *• Greece, I fhall fupply that deficiency." proves IntroduBion-. tg proves that, in the time of Xenophon, Greyhounds were not known in Greece, I ihall tranflate fo much of him as fliews the mode of couriing among the Antient Gauls, which will be found nearly iimilar to that prad:ifed at the prefent time. In regard to my tranllation, I muft beg leave to diifent from the Critical Re- view of this Work on its firil publicatioru J am there cenfured for adopting the techni- cal Hunting Language of the prefent day ; but, befides the curiofity of perceiving that the hunting phrafes, and even the hollows, of the Antient Greek fportfman, exadlly refembled thofe of the modern Englifh one> it will be found impoffible to render the original at all intelligible in a tranflation by any other means. I think the notes on the following pages will fully (hew, that it is very difficult for a general Greek fcholar to translate l6' tnirodu^ion. tranflate a Treatife on any particular Art, without being in fome degree verfed in that Art himfelf. There is, however, perhaps, no nicer point in the purfuits of Literature* than to difcriminate nicely between adopt- ing or rejediing modern phrafes in tranf- lations from the Antieht Writers. It is what we can hardly lay down rules for, though perhaps we may feel the diftinition. To draw inftances from the Military Art. No tranilator would give modern names to the divifions and officers of the Roman ar- mies; he w^ould not call Legions and Co- horts, Brigades and Regiments, or Tribunes and Centurions, Colonels and Captains -, but he would certainly, in defcribing a battle* make ufe of all generally appropriated mi- litary words, as front, rear, march, halt, inftcad of the words ufually applied to the purpofes of ordinary life. ON 0 N HARE HUNTING: FROM X E N O P H O N. flumpe moras : vocat Ingenti clanlore Cithseron," Taygetique canes, domitrixque Epidaurus equorum* Et vox affenfu nemorum ingeminata remugit. Virgil^ [ 19 ] Greek Method (^/'HareHunting, from XENOPHOisf. ' I ^ H E trail of tlie Hare is long during the winter, on account of the length of the nights, and in the fummer, fhort, for the contrary reafon. In the winter there is no fcent early in the morning, when there is either a hoar-froft, or ice ; for the hoar- froft by its proper force colle6ling the warm particles, contains them in itfelf, and the ice condenfes them. When thefe happen *, the dogs with the moil delicate nofes cannot touch before the * A? Kvnc, (Aix.>.nKiu.. " The dogs vvhofe <■' nofes are tender." The common interpretation "that the ♦' doo-s cannot fmell atfuch times nn account of the tendernefs *' of their nofes," is abfolute nonfenfe* How fhould a hoar-froft hurt a hound's nofe fo as to hinder his fmelling, or the tendernefs of the nofe hinder the accuracy of the fenfe ? My interpretation is warranted by the original, and is ex- actly the cafe. Seethe Eflays, p. 14. C 2 fun 20 ilafe iluntingy fun difpel them, or the day is advanced,' Then the dogs can fmell, and the trail yields ' a fcent as it evaporates. The trail is alfo fpoiled by the falling oi? much dew, and by fhowers that happen* after a long interval, which, drawing our imells from the earth, fpoil thie fcent till the ground is dry again. The South winds alfo hurt it by fpreading moiffcure *; but north winds, if not too ' fevere, ftrengthen ' and preferve ito Rains and drizzling mlfts drown it. The moon alio dellroys it by the -f* heat, efpe- cially at the full ; the trail is alfo then moil irregular J, for, delighting in the light, they play together, and ■ throwing them- felves, they make long intervals. And it' becomes alfo perplexed when Foxes have pafled over it before. In the fpring, on account of the mild temperature of the air, the trail would be very ilrong, if the earth, being full of flowers, did not puzzle the dogs, by mix>- • It is exadlly the reverfe in this climate. -)■ This;,- I believe, will not be admitted^ \ See the Effaysj- p. 112^ ing: from Xenophon, 21 ■}vig with it the odour of the bloilbms. la .the fummer it is (light and imperfe particles it contains ; and the fcent itfelf is not only flight, ,but the dogs alfo fmell lefs, on account of the relaxation of their bodies. In the autumn it is pure ; for, of the pro- dudtions of the earth, the cultivated part Is .carried. off, and the weeds are withered, fo it is not a.t all injured by the fcent of the fruits of the earth. In the winter, the autumn^ and the fum- mer, the trail is for the moft part fhraight, but in the fpring it is more perplexed 3 for, though thefe anirnals copulate at all times, they do it chiefly at that feafon, and their neceffary wandering gn that account in fearch of each other occafions it. The fcent of the Hare going to her form lafls longer than that of her courfe when purfued. When fh,e goes to her form flie goes flowly, often flopping, but her courfe when purfued is performed running j; there-., fore the ground is faturated with one, and not filled with the other. The fcent is al- C 3 _ fq 22 Hare Hunting, fo ftronger in woody places than in open ones, for there, fometimes running, and ibmetimes fitting, flie is touched by many things. She makes her feat under, upon, or with- in, every thing the earth bears on its fur- face, near or diliant, fometimes continuing a lon?y time, fometimes a ihort time, fome- times between both ; fometimes throwing hcrfelf as far as flie is able into the fea, or other water, if any thing ftands above it, or grows out of it. * The trail of the Hare is the path iTie takes going to her feat, which,' in cold weather, will generally be in flieltered places, and, in hot, in fliady places. But her * It is impoffible to tranflate this pafTage more literally, as Xenophoii explains one Greek word by another. He had before ufed the word ivvaXoi; to exprefs a Hare going to her feat, in contradllHnftion to her running when purfued ; and which he now explains h ^iv Qv ivvaioq h voiovj/.ivo(; evvw. The Latin tranflator, by not attending ^o this, has made jionfenfe of this paffage. " Lepus cubans eft qui cubile fibi *' ftruit." ♦• A Hare is faid to be lying when fhe is making '' her form." courfe from Xenophorty 23 ^ courfe when purfued is not fo, flie being frightened by the dogs. When flie fits, the lower parts of her joints are covered by her belly. Her fore legs are moil commonly clofe together, and extended, refting her chin on the extremity pf her feet j her ears are extended over her flioulders, and flie particularly covers her tender parts ; her hair is well adapted for a covering, being thick and foft. When (he wakes flie winks her eyelids, but when flie fleeps flie keeps them conti- nually open without motion, having her eyes fixed j fhe moves her jioftrils frequently when fleeping, but lefs often when awake. When the earth begins to vegetate, fhe is found oftener in cultivated places than among mountains ^ but wherever flie fits * t^ej^yipuoc,. The words lytoAoc, and ogo\f.aAoc, relate to the Hare herfelf in this paragraph, and not to her courfe ; but it was impoffible to render 5 ivioaqc, in this fentence without anticipating the definition given in the latter part of it, we having no technical word to exprefs a Hare making her trail, which is the cafe of the Greek word EJnaw when oppofed to J^ofAaro?, and appropriated to this adtion of the animal. The giving the general inftead of the appropriated fenfe occafioned the abfurdity of the Latin tranilation. C 4 OiQ ^4 Hare Huntbig^ file continues even while they are trailing to her, unlefs fhe has been much alarmed in the night, in which cafe fhe will move. She is fo prolific, that at * the fame time fhe will have young ones, be bringing forth others, and have newly conceived. The fcent of young Hares is ilronger than that of full grown ones ; for, their limbs being tender, their whole body drags on the ground, Thofe which are too young the •f' fair Sportfman will fpare. Thofe of a year old will run the firfl: ring very fwiftly, but not at all afterwards, being very acflive, but weak. To take the trail of the Hare the dogs fhquld be drawn J from the cultivated fields upwards; (i, e, towards the mountains 3) but thofe who do not come into cultivated places niuft be tried for in meadows, marflies, * Oppian apd Pliny make the fame remark. Sir Tho- mas Brown, in his Treatife on Vulgar Errors, afferts it from his own obfervation. Fol. Ed. p. 1 18. i" Ot (pi'hax.vvYiyira.i a(pnxj &iu- X As we now try to hit the Hare from where fhe has been at fsed into heaths, covers, &c, by from Xempho7t» 25 by ftreams, on rocks, or in woods. When the Hare is moved there fhould be no hol- lowing, left the dogs, being made * too eager, lliould be hardly brought to find the fcent. When they are found and purfued, they will crofs ftreams, or double, or hide them- felves in deep vallies, and roll themfelves up ', for they are not only afraid of dogs, but of eagles, for they will fometimes carry off Hares under a year old as they pafs over -f- high and expofed places; but larger ones are only taken by the purfuit of dogs. The mountain Hares are fwiftefl:, thofe bred in a plain country lefs fo, but the marfli Hares are the llowefl of any. Thofe who wander in all places are the mofl: dif- ficult to purfue, for they know the neareft ways. They generally run up hill, J or * "'En(pe^ovt<;yiyvoyi.ivt)i, Literally ** becoming mad." This diredlion is one of the canons of modern Hare Hunting. -j- Tec crif**. J X The hind legs are formed remarkably long, and fur- piilied with ftroiig mufcles ; their length gives the Hare a fmgu|ar advantage over its enernies in afcendingfteep places, and fo fenfible is the animal of this advantage, as always to make towards the rifmg ground when i\di.ned..—Pifinant's Brilijh Zoology, on 26 Hare Huntings on level ground ; if they find any uneven ground they run over it in an irregular man- ner, but very feldom run down hill. When they are purfued they are moft confpicuous as they go over plowed land, if they have any red about them, and through ftubbles, on account of their re- ceding the rays of light : they are alfb confpicuous in paths and highways, if they happen to be level ; for then whatever is bright about them appears. They are leaft vifible when they fly to rocks, mountains, rough places, and thick woods, on account of the famenefs of the color. If they perceive the dogs firfl they ftop, and, fitting on their breech, raife them- felves up, and liften if they can hear any noife or opening of the dogs near them, and then turn from the place where they hear it. But if they hear nothing, then of their own accord they will return by the * fame * Wxox TO. xvrx, oix Twv ccvri^v. Ariian has borrowed this exprefiion to defcribe the method of beating for a Hare ill coarilng. way fro?7t Xenophon, 27 way they came, leaping all the way, and keeping in the fame track. * Thofe that are found in open places run the longeft on account of their being more ufed to the light ; thofe in woody places fliortefl, being hindered by the darknefs. There are two kinds of them, one large, mottled with black, and with a great deal of white on the forehead ; the other lefs, of a yellowiih color, and having little white. The tail of one is variegated on every fide, that of the other is -f- more confpicuous from being whiter. The eyes of one fort are yellowifli, of the other greyifh, and the black at the tip of the ears is large in the one and fmall in the other. The fmaller fort are chiefly found in iflai:wis, as well thofe inhabited as uninha- bited, where Hares are in greater plenty * The truth of this fa£t Is known to every Sportfman, but it certainly does not arife from the caufe affigned by Xe- nophon . f Tlci^a.a-Yi^ov. I can find no fuch word in any Lexicon. Leunclave renders it, " Albedine infignis longiore fpatio ;" another commentator, "terfa:" perhaps we fhould read than 2§ Hare Hunting, than on the Continent ; for in moil of then^ there are no Foxes, who deftroy both them and their young, neither eagles, who infefl large mountains rather than fmall ones, and the ifland mountains are generally fmall. And Hunters feldom frequent the unin- habited illands, and the inhabitants of the others are few, and in general not lovers of Hunting, and it is not permitted to carry dogs into the facred iflands i few Hares, therefore, being destroyed, and others con- tinually bred, there muft neceffarily be abundance of them. Their eyefight is by no means fharp ; for their eyes project, and their eyelids arefhort, and not fufficient to protedt the ball, on which account their eyefight is weak and indiflind:. Add to this, that the quantity of fleep this animal takes is by no means beneficial to the fight, and the fwiftnefs of its pace contributes greatly to dazzle it, for flie pafies fwiftly by every objed; before Ihe dif- covers what it is. When fhe is purfued, the fear of the dogs and hunters takes av/ay her prefenceof mind. fro?n Xenophon, ^W ]ftiind, on which' account flie often runs un- knowingly again ft many things, and fome- times falls into the nets. If fhe ran ftraigh't forward thefe things would feldom happen to her ; but running a ring, and loving the places where fhe was bred and has fed, fhe is taken ; for Hares, when followed by the foot, are not often taught by the fpeed of the dogs, but they are taken, contrary to the nature of the animal, by accident ; for no animal of the fame iize equals the Hare for fwiftnefs, her f)bdy being conftrudled in this manner : The head is light, fmall, inclining down- Wards, and narrow in front. The neck lender, round, no! rigid, and of a conve- nient length. The fhoulder-blades upright., and not joined at top, and the legs, which are under them, light and compad:. The breaft not too deeply extended. The ribs Kght and well proportioned. The loin's Found, holk)w, and flefhy. The flanks firpple, and fufficiently k)ofe. The hips found, entirely full, and divided properly at top. The thighs long and compadl,- ex- tended on the outfidc, but the infide not turgid* 3© Hare Huntings turgid. The lower parts fmall, and firm,^ The fore feet very fupple, narrow, and up- right. The hind feet firm, and broad, nei- ther of them Uable to injury by treading on any thing however hard; the hinder legs are much larger than the fore legs, and in- cline a little outwards. The hair fhort and light. It is impoffible, therefore, being fo con- flruded, but that flie muft be ftrong, agile, and very light. As a proof that ihe is very light, v/hen flie goes along without being frightened fhe always leaps, (for a hare walking no one ever faw, or ever well fee,) throwing the hinder feet beyond the fore feety and fhe runs in that manner*. The * Here follow the words Vri'Kdi ^i t5to \» %^or, which have puzzled all the commentators, who have moft of them left them unexplained. Leunclave, however, propofes IrjK^v 3'e Tare h %gsi«, which he boldly inferts in the texts, and fays, *' Senfum autem eft quantum lepus ultra pedes priores in *' curfu pofteriores cbllocet in neccjjitate confpici, quum ea *' premitur," But this fenfe, as he calls it, is abfolutel/ nonfenfe, for Xenophon exprefsly fays fhe goes in this man- ner when Ihe is not frightened, oVav uT^c(ji.a, hcctro^ivr,tui, and furely the fafter fhe goes the lefs opportunity there is of ob- ferving her manner of going. I would prbpofe a reading; not from Xenophon, 31 ^e tail is inconvenient for running, be^ mg not proper to guide the body on account of its lliortnefs : but flie does that with either of her ears 3 and when fhe is near being taken by the dogs, flie lays down one of her ears and ftretches it out toward the fide in which fhe thinks fhe fliall fuffer hurt, by which means fhe turns inftantly, throwing the dogs that are dafhing at her a great way behind. This animal is fo pleafing, that whoever fees it either trailed, or found, or purfued, or taken *, forgets every thing elfe that he is moft attached to. In hunting in cultivated places the Sportfman fliould abftain from damaging the fruits of the earth that are in leafon, and fliould kave -f fountains and ftreams unex- not much more different from the text, viz. ^rMv ^\ tZto U pjiw, i. e. " this difpofition of the feet is manifeft in the •• fnow." And this, becaufe it is the only mean by which it can be obferved, and becaufe Xenophon muft have been particuhirly attentive to this circumllance, he having an en- tire chapter 6n" Tracing . * Where are their forrows, difappbintments, wrongs. Vexations, ficknefj, cares ? AH, all are gone. And with the panting winds lag all behind/ Somerville's Chace. f ilifppofe as being deemed ficred. plored. ^i Hare Hunting, plored, as it is both unbecoming and im- pious, and beiides a violation of the laws in thofe who do it. And when no game is found*, all the hunting apparatus iliould be entirely taken away. The accoutrements of the dogs confifl in a -f- collar, a leather leading thong, and a furcingle to • guard the body. The collar ihould be foft and broad that it may not rub off the dogs hair 3 the leading thong fhould have a knot for the hand to hold by, and nothing more ^ neither do thofe lead their dogs well who make part of the thong ferve for a collar; the furcingle fhould have broad thongs that they may not gall the bel- ly of the dog:}:, and fharp points are fewed on it to preferve the breed. Dogs * A^a^o£ll/ ^^ri To, wegi JtCvsiyicrtov •neina,. Meaning, I fup- pofe, that none of the nets fhould be fufFered to remain on the ground for another day ; which Ihews, that though the Greeks ufed nets and dogs together, contrary to the pradlice of the modern fair fportfman j yet it was not allowable to have fnares fet, except during the chace, ■f At^aia, l^dtTii; r£^f*avat« X This fpecies of policy, fot which we have no name in our language, but which the French call Tinfibulation, from the from Xenophon, ^^ Dogs (hould never be taken out to hunt unlefs they eat their food heartily, for if they do not, it is a fign that they are not healthy 3 neither if there is a high wiftd, for it diffi- pates the fcent and prevents their hunting, neither can the toils or nets ftand. When neither of thefe things hinder, they fhould be taken out every third day. They fhould never be fufFered to hunt Foxes, as that does them the greatefl damage, and * they never are fleady when it is neCeflary. The places of Hunting fliould frequently be changed, that the dogs maybe thoroughly acquainted v/ith the nature of hunting, and the Hunter himfelf with the country. And it is neceffary to go out early in the morning that the trail may not be gone. Thofe who go out late deprive the dogs of the chance of finding a Hare, and themfelves of the fport i neither will the fcent, by reafon of the Latin word infibulo, was not confined to dogs only, but cfed by the ancients to preferve the chaftity of the youth of both fexes. * 'Evtw ^fovT* bVote 7r»e6ij-iv, literally, when it is neceffary^ they never are ready. D the 34 Hare Htm tings the delicacy of its nature, continue in all weather. ****** The *f* Huntfman ihould go out in a light caiy drefs, with fandals on, and a pole in his hand, the man who carries the nets fol- lowing him ', and ihould proceed with filence left the Hare being near ihould hear him and fteal off from her feat. The dogs being brought to the wood fo tied, each feparately, that they may ealily Be let flip, and the nets being pitched, and a man placed at them to watch, the Huntf- man himfelf, taking the dogs with him, goes in fearch of the game, J And vowing a part of his fpoils to Apollo and Diana the Huntrefs, he fhould ****** I omit what immediatdy follows, as It only relates to the manner of pitching the toils. f 'O )tvyYiytTYj(;. The word in the original exaftly cor- refponds with the Modern Huntfman. X The great attention of Xenophon to the fonns of Re- (igton is evident in all his works o let from Xcnophon. 35 let loofe that of his dogs which has the fineft nofe ; if in the winter about fun- rifing, if in the fummer before day-breakj and between thofe times in the other feafons. If the dog picks the trail out * flraight forward from the works the Hare has been making, he fliould flip another ; and, as thefe perfift in the trail, he fhould loofe the teft one after the other without great inter- vals, and fhould follow himfelf, but not too clofely, encouraging the dogs by their names, but not vehemently, left they fhould be too eager before the proper time. They keep running on with joy and fpirit, inveftigating the trail through every turn,- now in circles, now ftraight forward, now obliquely, through thick and thin, places known and unknown, pafhng each other by turns, moving their tails^^ throwing back their ears, and their eyes darting fire, when they are near the Hare, they dif- cover it to the Iluntfman by fhaking vio- lently not only their tails but their whole * ''Og6w» Ik run KTrij}^Ky(MW*r D 2 bodies. ^6 Hare Huntitigy bodies, by ruiliing on in a warlike manner, by trying to furpafs each other in fpeed, by running eagerly together, by now crowd- ing clofe, and then difperfing, and then again rufhing on, till at length they come to the feat of the Hare, and run in upon her. She immediately jumps up and flies, the dogs purfuing * her in full cry, thofe who follow crying out, -^ Halloo, Dogs ! Halloo Rogues ! that's good. Dogs ! that's right, Dogs^ and the Huntfman, wrapping his coat round his hand, and holding his pole, fliould follow the dogs, taking care to keep behind the Hare, and not to head her, which is X unfportfmanlike. The Hare running off, and foon being out of fight, generally comes back again to the place where fhe was found -, the Huntf- man calling to the § perfon at the nets. To * E^ cctiToi vhoi,yfMv TTolijaEi tui/ kvvuv, x^ >c?Myy^v ^Bvyuy "f la xwe;* In) xaKcti' § This is the only fenfe I can make of the words dvotQooii ^\x.imv, as Leunclave reads. The common reading is xo»»o», i. e. the whole field calling out : but then we muft fuppiy fome word to exprefs *' to the man at the nets," to make any fenfe at all of the paffages. him. from Xemphon. ^j liim. Boy! To him, Boy! Now, Boy! Now, Boy ! and he lignifies whether ihe is taken or not. And, if flie is taken in the iirft ring, the dogs are called oft, and they try for another J but, if not, they follow the dogs as fwiftly as poffible *, and do not give her up, but perfevere diligently. And, if he meets them again while they are purfuing her, the Huntfman fhould cry out. Well done. Dogs ! Forward, Dogs ! But, if the dogs are got very forward, fo that he is not able to keep up, but is -f- thrown out, and can neither perceive them near him, nor hear their cry, nor fee them hunting by the fcent, he fliould continue running on, and call out to every one he * This, with the fucceeding account, is a full confu- tation of the notion that the Ancients only ufed fcenting dogs to find the Hare, but never purfued her by the fcent after fhe was ftarted. Neither would Mr. Somerville's friend have made this miftake, had he been as converfant with this accurate defcription of the Attic Xenophon, as he was with the defultory account of Oppian, one of thofe quos Graecia non fuos alumnos Agnovit, in pejus ruentis sevi. P 3 happens 38 Hare Huntlngy happens to come near, and enquire if they have feen the dogs. And, when he finds where they are, if they are fliill on the fcent, he fhould come up to them and encourage them, calUng each dog by his name as often as poflible, and changing the tone of his voice to harfh, or foft, loud, or low, according to the cir- cumflance. And, if the Hare has made her courfe among the mountains, he fhould alfo encourage them by faying, * That'§ good. Dogs ! That's good. Dogs ! but, if they have loft their fcent, he fhould call them back, crying, ^ Halloo back, Dogs ! When they are brought back to the fcent, he fliould draw them round, m.aking many rings. But, if the fcent is quite lofh, he j(hould draw the dogs along by % the nets, and * Es xv^K) E» vKuHi;. Juft as we do when a dog hits the Hare over a .hard highway, or any other place, unfit to re- tain the fcent, as was mod probably the cafe with the rocky pnountains of Attica. Mr. Beckford juflly obferves, it is as difficult to pen a hollow as a whifper. f Ov Tra'xiv « Tra'Xiv u xiIve-, or, as Leunclave reads, •r «f(.7r«Aii'. X J/if/.eioi' 6sVSai rpip^o" iccvru' STor;vot;, in the hunting language of Greece, Signified a rarge of nets by which the woods from Xenophon, ' 39 and fpeak to them, and encourage them, till they hit it off again. When the fcent is very ftrong, they rufh upon it leaping, crowding together, and {looping down, and, fignifying it in this manner by well-known figns, they purfue very fwiftly : but while they thus perfifl in the fcent clofe to each other, the Huntfman muft reflrain himfelf, and not follow the dogs too near, left, through emulation, they fliould over-run the fcent. When they come near the Hare, and difcover it plainly to the Huntfman, he /liould be very careful, that, through fear of tlie dogs, fhe does not ileal off before he comes up j while they, fhaking their tails, joftling one againfl the other, fpringing up often, doubling their tongues, and lifting up their heads towards the Huntfman, dif- cover that they themfelves are certain of the woods were furrounded ; therefore, the trying them round was to find through what mews the Hare had efcaped, or whether fhe had made a fhort turn back, jull as we now try jound the hedge of an enclofed ground. D 4 fcent. 4P Hare Hunting, jCcent, and at laft * ftart the Hare, and purfue her in full cry. The perfoji Vv'ho flands at the nets gives a particular hollow, to fignify whether fhe runs into them, or efcapes by going beyon4 them, or turning fliort. If ilie is taken, they try for another -, if not, they continue to purfue her, following the inftrudiions al- ready given. But, when the dogs are tired with running, and it begins to be late in the day, it will be neceflliry for the Huntfman himfelf to look for the Hare, flie being nearly run down; and he muft leave nothing unex- plored that the earth produces, left he ihould mifs of her, for the animal will lie \cry clofe, and not get up, both from fear and fatigue. And he £hould bring the dogs forward, encouraging the timid ones much, the eager ones little, and thofe between thefe extremes moderately, till they kill her by overtaking her, or drive her into the j^.ets. * This is from her quat. After from Xenophon. 41 After this, taking down the nets and toils, ^nd calHng off the dogs, he {liould give over the fport, jftaying fomewhere, i^' ?! is the heat of the day in fummer, left the feet of the dogs fhould be fcorched by the way. The beft time for breeding dogs Is In the winter, when the labors of the chace are Qver, the quiet of that feafon, and the ap- proach of fpring, being moft likely to con- tribute to form a generous race, for that time of the year agrees beft with the growth of dogs. The time the bitch is fit to admit the male lafts a fortnight; they fhould then be fluit up with the beft dogs, and in a quiet manner, that they may conceive the fooner : and, while they are with whelp, they ftiould not be frequently taken out, but be often left at home, left the exertion fhould injure them. They go fixty days with their young. The puppies when they are whelped fliould be left with the mother, and not put to another bitch j for the care of others Is pQt fo good for their growth i the milk and even 42 Hare Hunting ^ even the breath of the mother is better for them, and her carefles more endearing. When the puppies can run about, they /hould have milk for the firft year (which is a proper food for them at all feafons), and nothing elfe, for the filling them with too heavy food will diftort their legs, fill their bodies with difeafes, and hurt their infide. Their names fhould be /hort, that they may eafily know them, fuch as, * Pfyche, Thymus, Porpax, Styrax, Louche, Phrura, Phylax, Taxis, Xiphon, Phonex, Phlegon, Alec, Teuchon, Hyleus, Medas, Porthon, Sperehon, Orge, Bremon, Hybris, Thallon, Rhome, Antheus, Hebe, Geneus, Chara, Leufon, Augo, Polys, Bia, Stichon, Spude, Bryas, CEnas, Sterros, Grange, i^ther, Adlis, Alcme, Noes, Gnorne, Stribon, Orme. The bitch puppies fhould be firfl taken out to hunt at eight n^onths old, and the * Thefe names are all di/Tyllables, which is generally the cafe with our prefent names, which they greatly refemble. What is Thymus, but Fury, Hyleus, Dafhwood, Antheus, BJoffom, CEnas, Tipler, Grange, P.atler ? dogs \ from Xenophon, 43 dogs at ten;, but do not let them loofe du- ring the trail, but, keeping them tied in long leather flips, fuiFer them to follow the dogs that are trailing, letting them alfo go over the fcent. And, when the Hare is found, if the puppies promife to have much foot, they ihould not be let flip immediately, but, when the Hare is got fo far as to be out of fight, then they may be let go. For, if thofe, who are high-mettled and fwift of foot, are let go while the Hare is near, and catch a view, being very eager, they will be apt to flrain themfelves before their hmbs have fufficient ftrength 3 therefore the Huntf- man fhould be very cautious of this. But, if they are flow of foot, nothing hinders their being let flip diredly; for, having no hopes of catching their game, they will not be fo eager, but they may be permitted to follow the courfe the Hare takes, by the foot, till flie is fl:arted again, and if flie is taken they fliould be permitted to * tear her. * ** I think it but reafonable to give the hounds a Hare *' fometimes. I always gave mine the laft they killed, if I " thought they dcferved her."— Beckford's Thoughts on Hunting. When 44 Hare Huntings from Xenophon. When they will not keep by the nets, but run ftraggling about, they fliould be called back till they are taught to run up and find the Hare j left, being ufed to hunt without order, they become * fkirters, which is a bad thing to learn. When they '\ find any thing while they are young, it fhould be given them to eat near the nets, that if by reafon of their carelefsnefs they Ihould ftray during the chace, they may return thither, and not be loft ; but this may be omitted when, becoming more eager in purfuing the game, they prefer that to their food. And when they want their food, the Huntfman himfelf ftiould feed them, for they will not regard the perfon who feeds them when they are in no great need of food, but will diligently follow him who gives it them when they are very hungry. ■f For oTa» avaigwKTa*, Leunclave reads Qtax iv^ua-i n. O N O N O U R S I N G FROM A R R I A R — — Canis In vacuo leporem qui Gallicus arvo Vidit ; et hie prsdam pedibus petit ille falutem s Alter inhaefuro fimiTis, jamjamque tenere Sperat, et extento ftringit veftigia roftro : Alter ia ambiguo ell, an fit deprenfus, et ipfis Morfibus eripitur j tangentiaque ora relinquit. Ovid 47 7^^ Ancient Method ^Coursing. from Arrian. ' I ^ H E advantages that arife to mankind from Hunting, and how dear to the Gods, and honourable throughout Greece^ thofe were efleemed who were inftrudted in this Art by Chiron, has been related by Xe- nophon, thefon of Gryllus. He has alfo declared how much this Art conduces to military knowledge^ and what time of life, conflitution, and underftanding, are moft proper for entering on it. He has written alfo concerning Hares, their manner of feeding, and feating themfelves, and how they are to be looked after. He has, be- lides, written about dogs, defcribing which were good for inveftigating the fcent, and which were bad, and how they were to be diftinguifhed both by their fhape and their adions. What he has omitted does not appear 4B Coiirjing] appear to have been occafioned by negli- gence, but from his ignorance of * grey- hounds and of the ufe of Scythian and Libyan horfes. Thefe things I iliall treat of, being of the fame -f- name and country, and from my youth addided to the fame purfuits of War, Hunting, and Philofophy; jufl: as he, when he thought proper to write concerning thofe matters relating to Horfemaniliip, v/hich were omitted by Simo, did not do it by way of entering int6 a competition with X Simo, but that his Treatife might be ufeful to mankind. * Courfing being firfl: ufed by the Gauls, a Greyhound was called Kvuv KihtiKo;, and in Latin Canis Gallicus. ■f Arrian was a military officer under the Emperor Ha- drian. He was a native of Nicomedia, in Bithynia; but, being admitted to the freedom of Athens, being a foldier alfo, and a difciple of Epiftetus, as Xenophon was of So- crates, he was fond of imitating him in his ftyle and manner of writing, as well as in the fubjefts he wrote on, calling himfelf s,tvo(pm h ^ivrt^o^. The Second Xenophon. X Xenophon, fpeaking of Simo, fays, •* Wherever I *' think with him, I {hall not leave it out of my own " Treatife, but the more readily communicate it to my " friends, thinking they will efteem my fentiments more *' worthy of credit for coinciding with thofe of fo fkilful a *' Horfeman. But what he has omitted I Ihall endeavour to " fupply." That from Arriiin. 49 That he was ignorant of the ufe of grey* hounds flands, I think, in need of no proof. For the inhabitants of that part of Europe, where they were bred, were un- known, except chofe places in Italy which the Greeks poflefTed, and thofe with whom they had an intercourfe by means of their maritime commerce ; and that he knew no dogs equal in fwiftnefs to greyhounds is evi- dent from thefe words : * ** Thofe Hares ** that are caught by the dogs are taken, ** contrary to the nature of the animal, by ** accident." But, if he had known the ufe of greyhounds, he would rather have faid this of the dogs, viz. ** That, when ** they let a Hare efcape, it happened, con- ** trary to the nature of the animal, by ac* " cident." For a Hare never can efcape from thofe that are well formed, and of a generous fpirit, unlefs it happens, through the difficulties of the country, either by hiding in woods, or by concealing herfelf in the hollows and caves of the ground, or •" See page 29 of Xenophon's Treatife on Hunting. E. bv 50 CourJJng, by i^iinrilng ibwn ditches. On this account, I fuppofe, Xenophon dwells fo long on the mode of driving the Hare into the nets, and in directing, if fhe avoids them, how to follow and find her again by the fcent, till fhe is taken by being run down and tired. But he never fays, that, to thofe who have good dogs, there is no occafion either for nets, or to try for a Hare again after ef- caping : but he only teaches the mode of Hunting pra(5tifed by the Carians and Cretans; Thbfe Gauls, who only courfe for tlie fport, and not to live by what they catchy never ufe nets. They have alfo a breed of dogs, not lefs excellent in running by the fcent than the Carian and Cretan breed, but of a difagreeable and favage form ; and they give their tongues, and open on the fcent, in the fame manner with the Carians ; but they afe more vehement when they find the fcent. They are too eager on the trail, and fo noify^ that I mufi: condemn them, giving their tongues as freely on the trail as after the Hare is found ; but in following and finding again after llie is flarted, they are no from Arrian. 51 no way Inferior> except in ipeed, to the Carian and Cretan dogs \ fo that, in the winter, it is very well if they * kill one Hare, as they require fo long a time to reft, unlefs fhe is taken by being aftoniflied at the noife they make. Thele are called •f- Segufii, from a part of Gallia, where I fuppofe they are bred, and held in efteem. As for thefe, every thing that can be faid concerning them has already been faid by % Xenophon ; for they have nothing peculiar or different in their manner of hunting or finding, unlefs we were to fpeak of their form, which is hardly worth while, except * In the text of Blancard's Arrian it Is xaTaxJ^-oitv, " if •* they move ;" but he adds in a note, Lege cum libro fcripto xaraxatvoisv. I have preferred the MS. though there is a difficulty in both readings. ** Unlefs Ihe is taken," s\ f^Yi d'/Jv, can only refer to the laft word ; but the making it not unufual for thefe finders, who are allowed to be flower than Xenophon's hounds, to kill one Hare a day, feems ex- traordinary, after what he has faid before. ; f In the text of Blancard's Edition, it is lyt'ir'iui, Egufiir, But he fays, in a note. Sic quoque codex nofter, fed legen- dum Segufii. Segufia -is a town of Piedmont, now called Sufe. H. Stephens propofen Accufii, the antient name for Grenoble being Accufiorum Colonia. E 2 merely 52 Conrfingy merely to fay that they are very ihaggy and ugly, and thofe moil fo that are the beft bred ; therefore, it is a common thing in Galhaj to compare thofe who beg by the highway fide to thefe dogs, for their voice is mournful and plaintive, and they do not open on the fcent as if they were eager and angry with the game, but in a whining and miferable voice, and of thefe nothing has been written worthy of notice. But the fwifter dogs of the Gauls are called, in the Celtic language *, Ver tragi, not from any particular country, as the Cretan, theCarian, or the "f* Laconian, but, as among the * by'sT^ayok, Vetragi. I fuppofe the omiffion of the firft § muft be a miftake, as both Blancard and Hen. Stephens write it Vertragi. Martial mentions a fort of dog, called Vertagus, which brought the Harfe' to his mailer without tearing it, which many greyhounds will do. Grotius calls it VertraKus ; Ainfworth renders it a tumbler, (i. e. a fort of "dog fo called,) from the Latin word verto, to turn. But Arrian puts the matter beyond difpute, by faying it is derived from a Celtic word, denoting fwiftnefs ; and he takes particular pains to evplain this by the analogy of Greek derivations. There can be no doubt of its being a greyhound. t The Spartan dogs were in particular eileem. ^o Shakefpear : " My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind," ^z< '■ Cretan from Arrlan, 53 Cretan dogs, fome are called * DIaponi, from their love of labor, fome -f- Itami, from their eagernefs, and fome % MicSti, from being a mixture of both, fo thefe are named for their fwiftnefs. TJie figures of fuch of thelfe as are of the befl breed, arp very fine, as well with regard to their eyes as to their fhape, their hair, and their color : thofe that are fpotted are moft beaur tifully variegated, and thofe that are of one color are very fmooth and fliining, fo as to afford a mofl pleafing appearance to the Sportfman. The moft opulent and luxurious among the Gauls courfe in this manner. They fend out good Hare-finders early in the morning, to thofe places where it is likely to find Hares fitting, who fend back word if they have found any, and what number; then they go out themfelves, and put them * AtaTTovat. f It«/ic«N X MtxTfitj, i. e. Mongrels. Both Xenophon and Arrian, ■when they fpeak of dogs in general, ufually give a feiriinine ferj^iination. E 3 ^p^ 54 . Conrfmg, up, and lay in the dogs, themfelves fol- lowing on horfeback. Whoever has good greyhounds fhould never lay them in too near the Hare, nor run more than two at a time. For, though the animal is very fwifr, and will oftentimes beat the dogs, yet, when ihe is firil ftarted, £he is fo terrified by the hollowing, and by the dogs being very clofe, that her heart is overcome by fear, and, in the confufion^ veiy often the beft fporting Hares are killed without Ihewing any diverfion , She fhould, therefore, be fuffered to run fome distance from her form and recoiled: her fpirits, ;and then, if flie is a good fporting Hare, ihe will lift up her ears, and ilretch out with long rates from her feat, the dogs di- reding their courfe after her with great ac- tivity of limbs, as if they were leaping, af^. 'fording a fpedacle worthy the trouble that inuil: neceilarily be employed in properly breeding and training thefe dogs, Thofe are the beft Hares that ar« found in open and expofed places, for, being bold, they do not hide themfelves, but feem as it were from Arrian. 55 were to challenge the dogs ; and thefe, when they are followed, do not immedi- ately try to avoid the danger, by running to woods and brakes, though they ihould hap- pen to be near, but take over the open country -, and, when they are contending in fwiftnefs with the greyhounds, if the dogs that purfue them are opt fleet, they moderate their own fpeed according as they are prefled. Bi^t, if they are very fleet, they then run as faft as they can ; and, when running in an open country, if they find themfelves fo prefTed by a good dog, that they perceive his iliadow, they try to throw him beyond them by frequent turns, making for the woods, or the nearefl fhelter they know of; and this is a fure flgn that the Hare is overmatched by the dog. The true Sportfman does not take out his dogs to deftroy the Hares, but for the fake of the courfe, and the contefl between the dogs and the Hare, and is glad if the Hare efcapes j and, if flie flies to fome brake that is top thin tp hide her, and tries to conceal herfelf, and feems to decline the contetl:, h(? will ciill oiF the dogs, efpecially if ll;e has E 4 ^un 1 6 Courfmg, run ivell. I myfelf often, when I have fol- lowed the courfe on horfeback, and have come up time enough to fave the Hare alive, have taken her from the dogs, and tied them up, and let her go : and fometimes, when I have come up too late to fave her, I have not been able to avoid flriking the dogs oa the head for killing fo good an antagonift. In this alone I cannot agree with * Xe- nophon. I wdll allow, indeed, that who- ever fees this animal either found, or run- ning, or purfued, may forget any thing elfe he is moft attached to ; but to fee it taken, is neither g pleafing, nor a ftriking fight, but rather difgufting, and by no means likely to produce the forgetfulnefs of any thing elfe one is fond of. But is it ex- cufable for Xenophon, who was ignorant of the ufe of fwift dogs, to think the taking the Hare ai fo an agreeable fight. I know alfo, that it i§ impoifible for thofe who fee d courfe, to avoid hollowing, without any ^dvjce being given for it, fince it would al- * T=xXek. So the Athenians call rocky places^ that are ftony at bottom, with a very thin covering of earth at top.— —Su I DAS. •f T» erift*. The word is ufcd in this fenfe by Xeno- phon. See p. 25, note f . 1 Arriqndid not always follow this rule. Seep. 56. for from Arrlan, ^g for them to roll on the ground, as we fee horfes do ; for, by that means, they will not feem tired, and, at the fame time, will recover their fatigue, Thofe who have not good Hare- finders, go commonly out, a number in company, on horfeback ; and, coming to a likely place, when they happen to ftart a Hare, let the greyhounds loofe after her. But thofe, who are more diligent after the fport, go out on foot ; and, if any one accom- panies them oa horfeback, it is his bulinefs to follow the dogs when they run, ^ They beat irai ecvTx ^ix Tuv avrvi. Of which Blancard gives the follow- ing extraordinary interpretation : * ' Circumeunt autem *♦ fronte fibi invicem obverfi ; dein refta ad juftum aliquod *' fpatiunj progreffi, rurfus per eadem loca, eodeijique tra-» ♦' mite, iter fleftunt." ** They go round, being drawn up *' oppofiteeach other; and, proceeding ftraight forwards tq ♦* a certain fpace, return to the fame place, by the fame *' way they came," I believe this manoeuvre would be very difficult to execute. To draw up, or march, lir). lAtrunn, was a military expreffion, exaftly equivalent with our faying, in battalion ; that is, with an extended front ; or, in Dr. Hutchinfon's words, *' Exercitum refta fronte et ♦^ bene compofita ducere.'* For the pieaning of imr^B- 6o Coming, beat about, being drawn up in a regular rank ; and, having proceeded in a dired: line to a certain point, wheeling round, they turn about together towards the place from whence they fet out by the fame way they came, leaving, as far as pofTible, no likely place unexplored. If many dogs are taken out, they ihould not be ftationed promifcuoufly j for, when the Hare is ftarted, no one will refrain from (lipping his own dog, each being defirous of feeing his own dog run, and the Hare, confufed and terrified by the noife and number of the dogs, will be taken without fliewing any fport, and the diverfion, which is the chief ^I'flVTj-:, I will take the words of Blanc^rd hlmfelf, in his tranflation of the Tadlica of this author, and in the fame volume : '• K>Vk eil motus qui fit a viris fmgulis ; 'Eirir^otpn " autem eft cum fyntagma totum condenfatum, velut unius •' viri corpus, in haftam vel in clypeum inclinamus." In modern military language the one is a turn, or face^ the other a wheel. The reafon of the wheel is obvious, viz. tliat in returning the way they came, Tra^a r» avrd., ^la tu¥ ecvruv, (a fentence copied from Xenophon, fee p. 26,) they might not exaftly beat the fame traft, but take frefli ground. I need not add, that this is exaftly the way of beating for a Hare in courfmg, both on foot and on horfe- back. objedt. from Arrian. 6 1 object, will be ipoiledi A perfon, there- fore, ihould be appointed to take the com- mand of the fport, arid the greyhounds being in flips, two together, he fhould give thefe orders, ** If the Hare takes this way, " you loofe yours, and no one elfe ; if that '* way, you yours;" and thefe orders fhould be punctually obeyed. The Gauls, fometimes, when courfing, mix their finders with the greyhounds; and, while thefe try, the others are led by the hand at a little diftance, taking care to lead the good dogs where the Hare is moft likely to come, that they may be let gO when fhe runs off, and here the greyhounds fupply the ufe of Xenophon's netSk. But^ by this method, the courfe is irregular, and the Hare^ however flout fhe may be, is fo much alarmed by the cry of the dogs, that, if fhe is not a confiderable way before, fhe is fo confufed, that fhe will eafily be caught j therefore, whoever lets flip a good dog, fhould not do it while flie is aflonifhed, but let her make her firfl ring before he loofes him, unlefs he means to fpoil the diverfion. It is not right to loofe the greyhounds at a young 6^ Courfmgy &'C. a youn^ Hare, which, according to the adviceof * Xenophon, fliould be fpared, and the finders, if poflible, fliould be called off, which is very difficult, as they are not under good command, being eager through hunger -, and Co defirous are they of eating up what they catch, that it is hard to get them off even by beating them with fticks. * T« if^M optowlftjj. Sec Xenophon, p. 24, note f . ESSAYS ESSAYS O K HUNTING. [ 6; ] Observations on Hare Hunting. ABOVE all things the fcent has ever been my admiration. The bulk, fize, figure, and other accidents or qualities of thefe parts or portions of matter that dif- charge themfelves from the bodies of thefe Beads of Game, are fabjed:s much fitter for the experiments and learned defcants of a Philofopher, than a fimple Huntfman. Whether they are to be coniidered as an extraneous ftock or treafure of odoriferous particles given them by Divine Wifdom, for the very purpofe of hunting ? Whether they are proper identical parts of the ani- mal's body, that continually ferment and perfpire from it ? Whether thefe exhalations are from the breath of her lungs, or through the fkin of her whole body ? are queftlons alfo that deferve the fubtlety of a Virtuofo. But fuch obfervations as long experience has F fuggeiled 66 Obfervatiom on fuggefted fo me, I fhall, in the plalneft man-- ner I am able, lay before my readers. That thefe particles are inconceivably fmall, is, I think, manifeii from their vaft num- bers. I have taken hundreds of Hares, af- ter a chace of two, three, four, or ivi^ hours, and could never perceive the leaft difference in bulk or weight, from thofe I have feized or fnapt in their forms : nor could I ever learn from Gentlemen, who have hunted bafket Mares, that they could difcover any vifible wafte in their bodies, any farther than may be fuppofed to be the efFedt of difehar- ging their groiTer excrements. But fuppofing an abatement of two or three grains, or drams, after fo long a fa- tigue ; yet how minute and almofl infinite muft be the divifion of fo fmall a quantity 6f matter, when it affords a fhare to fo many couple of Dogs, for eight, ten, or twelve miles fucceffively : dedudiing, at the fame time, the much greater numbers of thefe particles that are loft in the ground, diffipated in the air, extinguifhed and ob- fcured by the foetid perfpirations of the Dogs, and other animals, or by the very fumes Bare Hunting, 67 fumes and exhalations of the eafth itfelf* That thefd particles are fubjecft to fuch diffipatiotl Or corruption ^ every Sportfman knows ; for as none of them will retaiil their odour after a certain proportionable time, fo it is daily evident, that this time of their duration is very obnoxious to the vi- ciffitudes of the weather i that the fcent of the animal (as well as her more folid flefh) . will lofe its fweetnefs, fooner or later, ac-^ cording to the difpofition of the ambient air. I have frequently heard the good Houfewives complain, that, againfl rain or thunder, their milk will turn, and their larders taint; and I have as often perceived, that, a ftorm approaching, the fcent will, in a moment, change and vanifh. Nor is the fuddennefs of fuch alteration the leafl wonder, if we take into confideration the fmallnefs of the particles. The fame effi- cient caufe may penetrate and corrupt thefe minute corpufcles in the twinkling of an eye, which requires an hour or a day to operate on bodies of greater bulk and fub- ftance; as the fame fire, or aqua-fortis, will diffolve the filings of fteel in an inflant^ F 2 though 68 Objervationi on. though a pound lump of that fame metal is fa long able to relift their violence. That thefe particles offcent are ofan equal (exactly equal) fpecificgravity with the particles of the air, is demonftrated by the falling and rifmg of them in juft proportion to it. I have often fmiled at haily Huntfmen, to hear them rating and curiing their dogs (thatyefterday were the beft in England) for galloping and flaring, with their nofes in the air, as if their game was flown ; for often does it happen that it is in vain for them to feek after the fcent in any other place, the increafing weight of that fluid element having wafted it over their heads. Though, even at fuch a feafon, after the firfl: mettle and fury of the cry is fome- thing abated, the more fteady Beagles may make a fhift to pick it out by the particles left by the brufli of her feet, efpecially if there be not a ftrong, drying, exhaling wind to hurry thefe away after the reft. This often happens in a calm, gentle, fteady froft, when, as I conceive, the purity, coldnefs, or, perhaps, the nitre of the air, ferves to fix and preferve the i^w remaining particles, that they do not eafily corrupt. At ano- tlier Uare Hunting'. 69 ther feafon, when the air is light, or grow- ing lighter, the fcent mufl proportionably be falling or finking, and then every Dog, though, in the height of his courage, he pufhes forwards, yet is forced to come back again and again, and cannot make any fure advances, but with his nofe in the ground. When circumftances are thus, (if there be not a ftorm of thunder impending to corrupt the fcent, as I faid before,) you may expe6l the moil curious and lafling fport ; Pufs having then a fair opportunity to fliew her wiles, and every old or flow Dog to come in for his fliare, to difplay his experience, the fubtilty of his judgment, and the tendernefs of his noflrils. The moft terrible day for the Hare is, when the air is in its mean gravity, or equilibrio, tolerable moift, but inclining to grow drier, and fan- ned with the gentle breezes of the zephyrs : the moderate gravity buoys up the fcent as high as the Dog's breafl ; the veficles of moifture ferve as fo many canals, or ve- hicles, to carry the effluvia into their nofes ; and the gentle fannings help, in fuch wife, to fpread and difTipate them, that every F 3 Hound, f0 Ohfervatiom on Jiound, even at eight or ten paces diilant^ efpecially on the windy fide, may have his portion, I adviie all Gentlemen who delight in hunting, to provide themfelves with a ba*- rometer, or weather ^-glafs. I am forry to fay, that this inilrviment, though a fine in-r vention, is flill imperfectly underftood by the Philofopher as well as the Farmer; ^nd the index generally aqnexed to it, of rain, fair, fettled fair, &;;c, are impertinent and delulive. If the gravity of the air is the caufe of drought, the latter fhould he in proportionate degrees with the former ; and yet we fee the fudden, or extraordinary ri- fing of the mercury a fure prognoflick of ^n approaching change ; we fee it often continue to fall after the rain is over, and we rpay generally obferve the mofl fettled fair^ and the greateffc rains, both happen when it is in a moderate height, By the accounts I have kept, the mercury is com., monly at the highefl marks in dull cloudy weather, yet does it often fall a great deal fafl:er before a few drops or a dry mifl:, than ^n impetuous rain -, and even continue to do fo Hare Hunting, *^t (o after a hard rain Is over : and what Is more common than to fee it defcend many days together, to ]the terror of the Hufbandman, in hay or corn harveft ; when the confe- quence, at laft, is only a few drops, weighty enough to defcend, though the air was in its utmoft degree of gravity, and the mercury at thirty-one inches. The vulgar folutions of thefe difficulties are infufficient and puz- zling, and veiy inconfifhent with avowed principles : and, in my humbly opinion, there will never appear a certain and fatis- fadiory account of thefe perplexing phaenor- mena, till fome fage Naturaliil fhall give himfelf the trouble of a more full and com- plete Diary, than as yet has been published ; where, together with the degrees of the ba- rometer, thermpmeter, and hygrometer, fhall be taken in, in diilincS columns, the time of the year, the length of the days, the age of the moon, th^ fituation of the wind, with, its degrees of roughnefs, the colours of the clouds at fun rifing and fetting, the manner of flying, chattering, or flocking of birds, and divers other concurring tokens ^nd fymptoms, which may be of great ufe, F 4 in 'fl Obfervations on in conjundiion with the faid inftruments, to fettle and confirm our prognoftication .. In the mean time it muft be confefTed, that this ingenious machine is of great ufe to the obfervant Huntfman ; and when he rifes- in the morning, and finds the air molft and temperate, the quickfilver in his glafs mo- derately high, or gently convex, he has a fair invitation to prepare for his exercife. I know it is a cuftom with our juvenile Sportfmeii to fix the time two or three days before hand to meet a friend, or to-, hunt in fdch or fuch a quarter. But appointed matches of this kind are my averfion and abhorrence: he that will enjoy the pleafures of the chace, mull afk leave of the Heavens. Hunting is a trade that is not to be forced, nor can the beft Cry that ever was coupled, make any thing of it, unlefs the air be in tune. The earthialfo hath no fmall influence on this delicious paftime ; for, though it fome- times happens (according to the obfer- vation above) that the fcent is floating, fo that you may run down a Hare through water and mire, efpecially if you keep pretty clofe after Hare Hunting] y^ after her, without the trouble of ftjopingj yet, at fuch a feafon, the firft fault is the lofs of your Game ; the perfpirations of her body being wafted over head by the gravity of the air, and thofe of her feet being left on elements that abforb or confound them. This laft cafe very often happens at the going off of a froft; the mercury is then commonly falling, and by confequence the fcent finking to the ground. The earth is naturally on fach occafion fermenting, dif- folving, {linking, exhaling, and very po- rous, fo that it is impoffible but moft of the particles mufl: then be corrupted, buried, or overcome by ilronger vapours. It is common to hear the vulgar fay, fhe carries dirt in her heels ; but that is not all, it being very plain, by what has been obferved, that it is not only by the fcent of the foot fhe is fo eagerly purfued. The mention of froft puts me in mind of a particular obfervatiorx of my own making, that may be ufeful or diverting to my Brethren of the Chace : You all make it a great part of your plea- fure to hunt out the walk of a Hare to her feat, and doubtlefs you have often been fur- prizingly ^74 Ohferi}atiom on prizingly difappolnted on fuch occafions. You have many times been able to hunt the fame walk in one part of the fields and not in another ; you have hunted the fame walk at ten or eleven, which gave the leafl fcent 2t {even in the morning ; and, which is moft provoking and perplexing of all, you have often been able to hunt it only at the wrong end, or backwards : after many hours won- der and expectation, cherifliing your Dogs, and curfing your fortune, you are in truth never fo far from your Game as when your hunt is warmeft. All thefe accidents are only the effed: of the hoar-froft, or very grofs dew, (for they never happen other^ wife,) and from thence mufl the miracle be accounted for *. I have already proved that a thaw tends to corrupt the particles, and have as good * " In the winter there is no fcent early in the morning- »* when there is either an hoar-frofl or a hard froft ; the hoar- '* froil, by its force, contracts and contains all the wariii, ■*« particles in itfelf, and the harder froft congeals them. ^f In thefe cafes, the Dogs with the moft tender nofes cannot ** touch before the fun difpels them, and the day is ad- "" vanced ; then the Dogs can fmell, and the trail yields a f^ fcent as it evaporate? ." Xenqphon* reafon Hare Hunting. y§ reafon to maintain that the froft fixes, covers, and preferves them. Whether this is done by intercepting their afcent, and precipitating them to the ground by the grofs particles of frozen dew, or whether by flieathmg them and protetfting them from the pene- trating air, (as the good Wives preferve their potted meats and pickles,) I leave to the Learned ^ but the fac^s are certain, and confirmed by experience. We have, there^ fore, only to take notice, by the way, that the hoar-froft is very often of fhort conti- nuance, changeable, and uncertain, both as to its time and place of failing i and hence all thefe difficulties are eafily refolved. Let the Huntfman, as foon as he is out of bed, ^xaminQ but the glafs windows, which commonly difcover whether any hoar-frofl has fallen, what time it came, and in what condition of continuance, or going off, it is for the prcfent. If it appears to have fallen at two, three, or four in the morn- ing, (fuppofe in the month of October, and other times of the year mufl be judged of by proportion,) and to be going off about break of day, it may then be expected tha^ 7 6 Ohfervations on that there will be a great difficulty, or im- poffibility, of trailing to her feat, becaufe her morning retreat being on the top of the frozen dew, the fcent is either dilfolved, or corrupted, or diffipated, and exhaled. It is true, after fuch a night, the Dogs will find work in every field, and often hunt in full cry, but it will be generally backward, and always in vain ; her midnight ramblings, which were covered by the froft, being now open, frefh, and fragrant. If the faid froft begins later in the morning, after Pufs is ieated, there is nothing to be done till that is gone off, and this is the reafon that we often fee the whole pack picking out a walk at nine or ten in the fame path where Sweet- lips herfelf could not touch at feven. Again, if the froft began early enough, and con- tinues fteadily till you are gotten into the fields, you may then make it good to her feat, as well as at other times on naked ground, though you muft exped: to run a good rifque at the going off of the frolf, according to the obfervations already laid down. It is alfo to be remembered, that there is Hare Hunting. jj is no fmall accidental difference in the very particles of fcent ; I mean that they are Wronger, fweeter, or more diftinguifhable at one time than at another^ and that this difference is found not only in divers, but often in the fame individual creature, ac- cording to the changes of the air, or the ibil, as vv^ell as of her own motions or con- ditions. That there is a different fcent in other animals of the fame fpecies, is evi- dent from the draught Hounds, which were formerly made ufe of for tracing and pur- fuing Thieves and Deer- Healers, or rather from any common Cur or Spaniel, which will hunt out their mafter, or their mailer's horfe diflind:ly from all others : and that it is the fame with the Hare is no lefs vifible from the old Beagles, which will not rea- dily change for a freih one, unlefs fhe (tarts in view, or unlefs a fault happens that puts them in confuiion, and inclines them \n defpair to take up with the next they can come by. That the fame Hare will, at divers times, emit iiner or groHer particles, is equally manifeft to cverv one who fhall obferve the frequent ^8 Ohfer-^afiGHs on fre(}uent changes in one fingle chace, ttie alterations that enfue on any different motion^ and on her degrees of finking. The courfing of a Cur Dog, or the fright from an obvious pafTenger, is often the occalion of an unex- pected fault i and, after fuch an accident, the Dogs muft be cherifhed, and be put upon it again and again, before they will take it and acknowledge it for their game. The reafon is, as I conceive, the change of the motion caufes a change in the perfpiring particles, and as the fpirits of the Dogs are all engaged and attached to particles of luch or fuch a figure, it is with difficulty they come to be fenfible of, or attentive to, thole of a different relifh. You will pardon the expreffion, if I compare old Jouler> in this cafe, to a Mathematician, who is fo intent on the long perplexing ambages of the problem before him, that he hears not the clock or bell that fummons him to a new employment. The alterations in a yielding Hare are lefs frequently the occafion of faults, becaufe they are more gradual, and, like the fame rope, infenfibly tapering and growing fmaller. But that alterations there are Hare Huntings J'gf are every Dog- boy knows by the old Hounds, which ftill purfue with greater earneftnefs,, as fhe is nearer her end^ **" I take motion to be the chief caufe of fhedding or difcharging thefe fcenting par- ticles, becaufe fhe is very feldom perceived whilfl: quiet in her form, though the Dogs are never fo near, though they leap over her, or, as I have often feen, even tread upon her. Indeed, it fometimes happens that fhe is, as we fay, winded where fhe fits. But this may be the effedt of that train of fcent fhe left behind her in going to her chair, or more probably the confequencs of her own curioiity, in moving, and fifing up, (as I have alfo feen,) to peep after and Watch the proceedings of her adverfaries* However, we mufl grant that thefe particles of fcent, though the effecft of motion, are not more grofs and copious in proportion to the increafmg fwiftnefs of the animal, any more than in a watering-pot, which the fwifter it pafles, the lefs of the falling water it beflows on tlie lubjacent plants. It is very plain, the flower the Hare moves, the ftronger and groffer, ceteris pa^ ribus^ So Ohfervations on rlbus, are thefe particles fhe leaves behind her, which I take to be one reafon (befides the cloathing and Shielding of them from the penetrating air by the defcending froil or dew) that the morning walk will give fcent * fo much longer than the flight in hunting. However, it is as remarkable, that theie odorous particles gradually decay and end with her life "f-, becaufe it requires the moil: curious nofes to lead the cry when fhe is near her laft i becaufe flie is fo often entirely loffc at the laft fquat, and becaufe, if you knock her on the head before them, there is hardly one in the Pack that will ftop or take any notice of her. The greateft art and curioHty is difco- vered in hunting the foil, efpecially if fhe immediately fteal back behind the Dogs the * '* The fcent of the trail of the Hare going to her feat ** lafts longer than that of her courfe when purfued : when ** (he goes to her feat Ihe goes flowly, often ftanding flill ; *' but her courfe, when purfued, is performed running ; " therefore the ground is faturated with one, and not filled •* with the other." Xenophon. f This obfervation, which my own experience convinces me is juft, the Reader will find direftly contradifted in the fubfecjuent letters. See Letter VI. fame Mare Hunting. 8 1 fame path flie came \ for it muft require the utmoft fkill to diftinguifli well the new fcent from the old, when both are mixed, obfcured^ and confounded with the ftrong perfpirations of fo many Dogs and Horfes, Yet this we have often feen performed by ready and expert Hunters. However, if the Dogs be not mailers of their bufmefs, or if the air be not in due balance, the diffi- culty will be the greater. The Reader will obferve, that the remarks I have made are generally on the Hare, which, I have faid, is of all others mofl worthy of our fpeculation and enquiry. By analogy the hunting the Deer or Fox will be eafily underftood \ for, though the fcent of thefe is generally higher, more ob- vious to the nofes of the Dogs, and in greater plenty whilfl the particles laft, yet, for that very reafon (floating in the air), they are fooner diffipated, and require a more vi- gorous, though lefs fubtile, Huntfman, as well as fwifter Beao^les, G Hounds,' [ S2 1 Hounds. MY learned: Predeceflbrs have been Ca full and copious in defcriptions of theft Animals, in dire(5tions for mending and improving the Breed,, in giving advice for chuling, pairing,, kenneling, feeding, phyficking, entering, governing, encou- raging, and corre6ling the loud-tongued Society, that there is little left for a new Author, without repetition or impertinence. Let me only admire and adore the goodnefs of our bountiful Father, in furnifhing his children with creatures fo innocently, as well as healthfully, to divert them, in fup- plying us with forces for fubduing and de- flroying thofe beafts of rapine, which would otherwife multiply, to the great dillurbance, danger, and deftrudion of the reft of the Creation. It is a common pradice of our young Students in Philofophy, (for ufe or for di- verfion,) Obfer'Datmts on Hounds, 83 verlion,) either for the love of knowledge, or of mifchief, to fteal or lay hold of their neighbours Dogs, in order to diffed: them. We may hear them often difplaying their fkill, with pert eloquence ; boafting of their difcoveries In the circulation of the blood, the contexture of the mufcles, the progrefs of the nerves, veins, and arteries, and learnedly difcanting on the glands or ftrainers, the imperceptible duds of the la(5teals, as well as the fpiral motion of the bowels. To fuch I recommend a little farther and more particular enquiry into the fpecial formation of thefe creatures. Let them employ their knives, their glafTes, and their pens, to dcfcribe to us ignorant Country 'Squires the organs of found, as well as fcent, in this domeftic animal we iid much delight in. I leave to thefe curious Vfrtuoii to delineate the lamina of the Beagles nofes, with thofe innumerable ol- fa<5tory tubes and pores of all lizes and'' figures, that are fpread over or pafs through them. Let them nicely invefllgate thofe minute fibres which compofe their lunfs, trachea, lips, and palate; thofe veiTels G 2 which §4 Obfervations on which qualify them to emit a voice fo fweef and cheerful, fo proper to give notice of their difcoveries to their mafter, as well a? to call together their ftraggling companions,- to unite their forces. But there is a queftion or two which have been fometimes put me by my inquilitive' Brethren, to which I think it incumbent upon me in this place to give an anfwer. Firfl, I have been alked, what or how many different forts of thefe Animals of Chace were originally created ? What were thofe iirfl: kinds, out of which fo many packs of innumerable fliapes, tongues, fizes, and colours, may be fuppofed to be pro- duced ? My anfwer is fhort and plain, yet fome-= thing fuller than the queftions require : That, in my opinion, not only all Hounds or Beagles, but all Dogs whatfoever, even from the terrible Boar Dog to the little Flora, are all one in the firft Creation ; that every virtue and faculty, fize or fliape, which we find or improve in every Dog upon earth, were originally comprehended in the iirlt parents of the fpecies; and that ^ all Hounds, S§ al! this variety we behold in them. Is either the natural produ(5t of the climate, or the accidental effed: of foil, food, or fituation, or very frequently the ilTue of human care, curiofity, or caprice. Every Huntfman knows that a vaft alteration may be made in his breed, as to tongue, heels, or colour, by induftricufly improving the fame blood for twenty or thirty years ; and what nature can do, (which wifely tends jto render every kind of creature fit for the pountry where it is to inhabiit, or be employed,) is ma- nifeft by this : that a couple of right Southern Hounds, removed to the Nprth, and fuffered to propagate, without art or mixture, in a hilly mountainous country, where the air is light and thin, will, by fen- iible degrees, decline and degenerate into lighter bodies, and fliriller voices, if not rougher coats. The like alterations may be obferved in the breeds of fl^eep, horfes, and other cattle, and indeed in every other fpecies fubjed to the art and inrerefl: of man, and employed to generate at his choice and humour. Even in thofe animals that are feckoned ,am.ong the fera natiira, every G 3 traveller 86 Ohjervations on traveller bears witnefs of a rcniarkable dif- ference, and I hope the Reader will pardon the comparifon if I affirm the fame of man himfelf. That we are all, of every nation and lan- guage, the fons of Adam, we have the tef- t«mony of God, which to honell: Hunters (who are generally of the orthodox party) is of fufficient authority. As to Doubters and Sceptics, I refer them to the ancient Poets, Hiflorians, and Geographers, who will foon fupply them with innumerable arguments and obfervations which unan- fwerably demonflrate thg novelty of the world, the migration of colonies, the gra- dual peopling of the earth, and the pro- pagating and fpreading of the human fpecies from one and the fame original ; and yet what an incredible and monftrous variety is rifen among us, in humour and con- ftitution, as well as fhape and colour ? Who could imagine the thick-lipped Ethio- pian, wool-pated Negroe, the blink-eyed Chinefe, the ftately Spaniard, and the dap- per Frenchman, tq be of the fame pa- rentage ? Or, tQ go no farther thp.n our own natioi^ Hounds, ^y nation and dimate, how Improbable may it feem that the fafhionable Nymph, who is not able to make a vifit of thirty yards with- out a chair or eoach, a 'Squire to lead her, or a cane to fupport her, fhould be caft in the fame mo^.ild with the Farmer's Daughter ? Or that the flurdy Champions of Queen Befs's days, ihould be but the great grand- fathers of that puny race, which is to be feen fwarming in all modern public Affem* blies, unlefs it be at Church ? But is there not a more fubftantial dif- tindion between Curs and Greyhoiinds, Turnfpits and Beagles ? I can hardly grant it ; or, if there be, it will be ealily ac- counted for by the confiderations above, by giving jufl allowance for food and climate, by remembering that thefe animals are fre- quent breeders, that they generate at the choice and difcretion of their mafters, that the fancy or curiolity of the fbns of men have been five thoufand years mixing and altering, improving or fpoiling them. Th^ Butcher fends for the famous Dog with the filver collar to couple with his favourite, and rears up the whelp with blood and G 4 garbage. 88 Ohferisatlom on garbage, to increafe the valour and flrength of this progeny. The Huntfman nourifhes his clofe-begotten Utter with ilieeps trotters, to Invigorate their heels, and Belinda gives her little Oronoko brandy, to make him good for nothing but to look on, to con- trad his growth into a petit epitome of her tres beau Philander. But, notwithflanding the effeds of hu-^ man induftry and contrivance are thus great and numerous, yet they are not infinite j; there is flill a ne plus to which they are llinted, nor can all our devices add one new fpecies to the works of the Creation. Na- ture is flill uniform as to the main ^ the Al- mighty Creator is not to be imitated by fhort-handed mortals : in fpite of art our mules will all be barren -, nor can the mofl cunning projector produce one amphigeneous animal that will increafe and multiply. There appears a difcind; fpeciiic diiference in all living creatures ; the Horfe, the Dog, the Bear, the Goat, however diverfified by art or accident in fize. or figure, will ever difcover fomething that appropriates to them thofe names or characters j and, above all other Hounds, S9 other things, the peculiar appetites and powers of generation will prompt them to own and indicate their relation. This, I conceive, is the moft undeniable argument that all Dogs are of one original fpecies, iince every body knows that no deformity, difproportion, or diflimilitude, can hinder any one of that name from courting, fol- lowing, or accepting the other, nor their mongrel offspring from enjoying the com- mon nature and faculties of the fpecies. But, admitting the diftlndlions of Hounds, Beagles, &c. as they commonly ftand, I have been alfo confulted what particular forts I would recommend for each particular Game in this illand, For the Deer, the Fox, the Otter, &c. every Sportfman knows the breed that is moil proper j but as each o^ them, with a little application, will joy- fully follow the fweet fcented Hare, the query is, what kind is preferable for that delightful e:?cerci.ie ? The moil fatisfadory reply to every Hunter is, that his own kind is bed i but fuch as are fetting up a new cry, I would advlfe to begin to breed on the mlddle-fize Dogs., betwixt 90 Ohfervatiom on betwixt the Southern Hound and the North- ern Beagle. It is true, the finefl: and moil curious fport is generally with the former. Whether it be the particular formation of their long trunks, or the extraordinary moifture that alv/ays cleaves to the nofes and lips of thefe fort of Dogs, I need not enquire in this place, but certain it is that thev are endued with the moil accurate fenfc of fmelling, and can often take and diilin- guilh the fcent an hour after the lighter Beagles can make nothing of it. Their flownefs alfo better difpofes them to receive the commands and dirediions of the Huntf- man, and their much phlegm, (for there feems to be a difference in the coniliitutions of other animals as well as man,) I fay, their phlegm gives them patience to pro- ceed with caution and regularity, to make fure of every ilep as they go, carefully to defcribe every indenture, to unravel each puzzling trick or figure. But thefe grave fort of Dogs are however fitteft for mafiers of the fame temper : as they are able to hunt in cold fcent, they are too apt to make it fo, by their want of fpeed and vigour to pufh forwards^ Hounds, 91 fbrward, and keep it warm; their exadtnefs often renders them trifling and tedious; and they are like feme nice Dames, who fland picking out every duft and mote, whilft they might drefs the meat. By this means, though the hunt be finer, yet the prey (which is by feme thought necelTary to complete the fport) very often efcapes, the length of the chace takes up the time, and expofes them to numerous hazards of loling. The North Country Beagle is nimble and ■vigorous, and does his bufinefs as furioufly as Jehu himfelf can wifh him : he purfues Pufs with the moil impetuous eagernefs, gives her no time to breathe or double, and, if the fcent lies high, will ealily demolish a lealh, or two brace, before dinner *. But f All other kind of Hounds are now entirely laid aUdc by thofe who afFeft to hunt in ftyle, though Somerville gives his teftimony againft this pradtice in the following animated lines : ** A different Hound for every different chace " Seledl with judgment, nor the timorous Hare •* O'er-match'd deflroy, but leave that vile offence " To the mean, murderous, courling crew, intent ** On blood and fpoil ; O blafl their hopes, jufl Heaven '. '* SomervilLe's Chace, this 92 OhfervaftoriiWr this is too much, too fhort, and violent^ nor is fuch fuccefs often to be expedted. For though this kind of Dogs are much in requeft among our younger Gentry, who take out-running and out-riding their neighbours to be the heft part of the fport ; yet it would make one lick to be out with them in a crofs morning, when the walk lies back- ward, or the fcent low or falling. The Huntfman rates, the Groom rides, the ^Squire fwears, the whips crack; war-wing, war-counter, war-{heep, p — take ye, the d— 1 had ye, is the burden of their mufick. Their high mettle makes them impatient to drive the nail as it will go, rather than flay to creep or Hoop, they pufh forward, at every fume they catch, they crofs it, over- run it, hunt backward, or hunt any thing to force a trade : in fhort, in my opinion, it is impolTible to make a good pack of thefe, without the conflant difcipline of the whip, without perpetually hunting them, and hunting them down to tame their fury, and quench their fire. There is yet another fort in great favour with fmall Gentry, becaufe they eat but little : lIoun large thin fhoulders, and high withers, deep cheft, and fhort back, large ribs, and wide pinbones, tail high and ftiff, gafkins well fpread, and buttocks lean and hard : above all, let his joints be ftrong and firm, and his legs and pafterns ihort; for I be- lieve there was never yet a long limber- legged Horfe that was able to gallop down iieep hills, and take bold leaps with a weight upon his back, without finking or foundering. As to all matters of feeding, phyficking, airing, &c. I refer you to the more expert Grooms, or the learned Dod:ors of the Hammer and Pincers. But, as my way in ordering my fteeds is to confult ufe rather than ornament, I always keep them in the open ^6 OBJervations on Horfes^ open air, unlefs the night after a hard chacC t I allow them two or three acres of pafture to cool their bellies, and ftretch their limbs, with a warm hovel to flielter them from a ftorm, a rack, and manger, with proper provilions to keep them in heart, and a frefh fjpring of water in the fame iield, to quench their thiril. I have known a gelding, with this regimen, to be found, frefh, and in full vigour, after ten years the hardefl: hunt- ing ; and I dare promife him that fhall try< to find fuch a one as far beyond the fine- cloathed, thin-fkinned Courfer, cateris paribus, as a rough Plowman is fitter for bufinefs than a foft-handed Beau. Huntsman, t 97 3 Huntsman* IT IS common enough with our youtlg 'Squires to take the firft wide-throatfed Attendant that offers his fervice, and make him his Huntfman, imagining the green coat will qualify him for the ojEhce^ as fome fet themfelves for Dodlors, with no othef recommendation but large eye-brows, and a fet of loud-founding polyfyllabIes» But, as every wood will not make a Mer- cury, much lefs is he fit for a Huntfmaii who is not born with a natural caft and rea« dinefs of mind, and has not improved thoie talents by long fludy, obfervation, and ex- perience. I once had the pleafure of a long con- verfation with a very ingenious learned Gen- tleman, then feventy years old. Having himfelf hunted with all forts of Dogs, and in moll: of the counties in England, he en- tertained me with a moft delightful difcourfe H on gS Obfervatkm on on that fubje£l, and, upon my making hirct a compliment on his perfect knowledge in^ the art, " Oh, Sir," (fays he,) '' the life " of man is too fhort." This fage decla- ration was received as a jeft by fome of the company, but I have lince found it a ferious truth. I am an old man myfelf, the wiles- of the Hare have been all along the fludy of my leifure hours, and yet I am puzzled and- outwitted by the fubtil creature. When I think myfelf fure, fhe often puts fome un- expefted trick upon me, and hardly do I ever lofe her in tolerable fcenting weather^ but, like a General after the lofs of a battle, I can afterwards difcern that it was the ef- fect of fome overlight, or want of pro- vilion for fuch or fuch a contingency. For the conqueft of a Hare, like that of an cnemy^, does not depend on vigorous attacks or purfuits, but there are a hundred acci- dents to which the fuccefs of the field is ob- noxious, and v/hich ought always to be in the head of the Huntfman, if he would come oiF with glory. It is not enough, with good judgment, to cliufe our forces, to raife their courage v/ith. Hunffmen, 99 with wholefome food and frequent exhorta- tions, and to make them fubjed: to the word of command by confcant difcipline and exerclfe, but in time of aftion we ought to be armed with calmnefs snd pre- fence of mind, to obferve the various mo- tions and flratagems made ufe of to defeat us, and furnifhed with prudent forefight and provifion for every new emergency to which the fortune of the day is fubjeft. We muft never forget that every Hare (as we fay of Fencers) has her particular play; that, however, that play is occaiioned or changed according to the variation of wind and weather, the weight of the air, the nature of the ground, and the degrees of eagernefs with which fhe is purfued. Nor are we to be unmindful of the numerous ac- cidents fne may meet with in her way, to turn her out of her courfe, to cover her flight, to quicken her fpeed, or to furnifh her with an opportunity of new devices. I fay, it is not enough to have a general knowledo-e of thefe thino;s before the Game is ftarted, but in the heat of adion, when we are moll tempted to be in raptures with H 2 the 100 Ohfervations on the found of the horns *, the melody of the cry, and the expecftation of fuccefs, we mufl carry them in our heads ; every fiiep we make we muft calmly obferve the al- terations of foil, the pofition of the wind, the time of the year, and no lefs take no- tice with what fpeed fhe is driven, how far fhe is before, to what place fhe tends ; whe- ther ihe is likely to keep on forward, or to turn fhort behind -, whether flie has not been met by paffengers, frightened by curs, intercepted by fheep j whether an approach- ing florm, a riling wind, a fudden blaft of the fun, the going off of the frofl, the re- petition of foiled ground, the decay of her own ftrength, or any other probable turn of affairs, has not abated or altered the fcent. There are other things flill no lefs ne- ceflary to be remembered than the former ; as the particular quality and charader of each Dog ; whether the prefent Leaders are * I am at a lofs to conceive why this noble appendage toHuntiiig is entirely difufed in this age of expence. Per- haps the French horn may be inconvenient in a Fox chace, b«t furely would be a pleafmg addition to a good pack of Harriers. net Huntfmen. loi not apt to over-run it ; which are moft in- clined to ftand upon the double ; which are to be depended on in the highway, on the ploughed ground, or a bare turf, in an uncertain fcent, in the croffing of frefli game, through a flock of ilieep, upon the foil or ftole-back. The fize alfo and iirength of the Hare will make a difference ; nor mufl the Hounds themfelves be fol- lowed fo clofely, or fo loudly cherifhed when frefh and vigorous, as after they have run oflf their fpeed and mettle, and begin to be tired, I would advife a young Huntfman, when the fcent lies well, always to keep himfelf pretty far behind. At fuch a time, efpe- cially if it be againft the v/ind, it is impof- lible for the poor Hare to hold it forward ; nor has fhe any trick or refuge for her life, but to flop fhort by the way, or path, and, when all are paflr, to ileal immediately back, which is often the occafion of an ir- recoverable fault, in the midfl of the warmefl fport and expectations, and is the beil trick the poor Hare has for her life m, fcenting weather -, whereas, if the Huntf-r H ^ man 1012 Obfervations on man were not too forward, he would have the advantage of feeing her ileal off, and turning her afide, or more probably the pleafure of the Dogs returning and thrufting her up in view. It is very common for the fleet Dog to be the great favourite, though it would be much better if he was hanged, or exchanged. Be a Dog in his own nature ever fo good, yet he is not good in that pack that is too flow for him. There is mofl: times work enough for every one of the train, and every one ought to bear his part; but this is impoffible for the heavy ones to do, if they are run out of breath by the unpropor- tionable fpeed of a light-heeled leader. For it is not enough that they are able to keep up, which a true Hound will labour hard for, but they mufl: be able to do it with eafe, with retention of breath and fpirits, and with their tongues at command. It mufl: never be expeded that the indentures of the Hare can be well covered, or her doubles flruck off, (nor is the fport worth a farthing,) if the Harriers run yelping in a long firing, like Deer or Fox Hounds. Another Hunt [men, lo^ Another thing I would advlfe my friends, is to hang up every liar and chanter, not fparing even thofe that are filly and trifling, w^ithout nofe or fagacity. It is common enough in numerous kennels to keep fome for their mufic or beauty, but this is per- fee4 Obfervatms on Uunffmen, Huntfmen of much better confequence than ilrange companions; for as the ilvill and excellence of thefe animals confifl: in ufe and habit, they fhould always be accuftomed to the fame voice, the fame notes, or hollow- Ings, and the fame terms of chiding, che- riihiag, preffing, or recalling ,* nor fhould the country fellows be allowed, in their tranfports, to extend their throats, It will be taken ill if I iliould alfo fpeak againft the change of game, becaufe mer^ 'Squires would be at a great lofs to kill fome of their time, had they nothing to Jdll, when Hares are out of feafon. How-. ever*, I am well fatisfied that the beft Har-r- riers are thofe that know no other. Nor is it advifeable to let them change for a frefli Hare, as long as they can poffibly follow the pld I nor to take oif their nofes from the fcent they are upon, for the cutting fhorter or gaining of ground. This laft is the common trick with Pothunters ; but as it is Vinfiir, and barbarous to the Hare, fo you will feldom find it of advantage to the Hounds, ^ *^ They ftiould never be fufFered to hunt Foxes, which **■ does them the greateft harm, and they are never ftanch 'f wlieii there is occafion for it. ' ' — X e n o p h o n . SIX SIX LETTERS UPON HARE-HUNTING [ 107 1 LETTER I. TZ^Art^/^^Pleasure^ Hunting. TH E fblicitatlons I have received fo frequently from your Lordfliip to give my fentiments on Hare-hunting, hath at laft induced me to put pen to paper -, but I muft defire you will coniider, that, as little can be faid on the fubjed: with pofitive truth and certainty, great part of v/hat I fhall advance mufl be deemed matter of conjecture; yet fuch as bears ftrong features or refemblance of reality, being founded chiefly on oblervations, made in a long courfe of years and experience. Moft perfons, I may venture to fay all, at one or other time of life, are fond of fome peculiar amufement. Your Lord/hip can- not forget, in our fre(juent debates on diver- fions. io8 Art a?jd Tleafiire fions, I have often declared Hare-hunting has been mine. What contributed to my liking it were, the early impreffions I re- ceived in favour of the fport from a grand- father and father, v^ho made it their particular delight. I confefs to your Lordfliip the being prejudiced fo much in its favour flill, that I eileem few diverfions equal nor any pre-* ferabie to it. The Buck, Stag, Hind, or Fox chace, no doubt have their delights j but of fuch fort as cannot heartily be en- joyed, except by perfons of ample fortune and circumftance, like your Lordfliip ; and fuch indeed do, or feem chiefly to delight in thofe fports, though many that purfue them, on examination of their hearts, I dare fay will be confcious they do it more from a motive of affectation than real love. A lover of Hunting almoil: every man is, or would be thought; but twenty in the field after a Hare, my Lord, find more de- light and fincere enjoyment than one jn twenty in a Fox chace, the former confifting of an endlefs variety of accidental delights, the latter little more than hard riding, the pleafure of clearing fome dangerous leap, the ofliunting, 109 the pride of ftriding the befl Nag, and ihewing fomewhat of the bold Horfeman, and (equal to any thing) of being firft in at the death, after a chace frequently from county to county, and perhaps above half the way out of fight or hearing of the Hounds. So that, but for the name of Fox-hunting, a man might as well mount at his ftable- dtDor, and determine to gallop twenty miles an end into another county. I do not doubt but at the conclufion of fuch an imaginary chace, if he came to his inn fafe, he would enjoy all that firft and chief fatisfadion fe- veral Gentlemen do in their hearts after a Fox chace, from the happinefs of having cleared many double ditches, five-bar gates, and dangerous floughs, without the misfor- tune of one broken rib, notwithftanding two or three confounded falls in taking fly- ing leaps. After a Hare thefe accidents are not ufu- ally met with -, the diveriion is of another fort. When Pufs is ftarted, fhe feldom fails to run a ring ; the firft is generally the worfl (for horfe or foot) that may happen in the whole 110 Art and Pleafure whole hunt. For the fences * once leaped, or the gates once opened, makes a clear paf- fage oftentimes for every turn fhe takes af- terwards. The cafe is otherwife with Stag, Buck, or Fox ; when either is on foot, ten to one, after a few turns, if he does not take end ways, and lead the keen Sportfman into con- tinued new unexperienced dangers. If he is unhorfed, there lies the hero of the day, un- diftinguiflied, unafTifted; if not, he has the pleafure at the end of the chace of finding himfelf a dozen miles perhaps from his own home. The former of thefe advantages made a noble Peer turn off the finefl: kennel Eng- land boafted. The bell: of Conforts to this day deplores her Silurian Prince, who, by a . broken rib, was cut off in the flower of his age. Obferve the nimble Harrier, my Lord, continues the double, on foot or horfeback, according as age, ability, or fortune im- * The fences being leaped can be of no ufe to thofe that - follow ; he ihould have faid, broken down. powers af Hunting, 1 1 1 powers him, enjoys every note of the har- mony, clofely purfues his pack, is feldom thrown out of light or hearing, and, above all, enjoys a hunt delightful, but not dan- gerous,, as the Fox chace, moderate, but not fo laborious, in the courfe of which his fatisfa(5lion is in no fmall degree heightened (whether he purfues, crofTes, or guards the foil,) by the frequent views of the Game. How quick the blood circulates in the vigorous youth, and, at the unexpected fight of the Hare, how nimbly pants the heai^t with furprifing tranfports, till then unfelt ? How are the fpirits cheared, the long con- gealed blood warmed of limping age, the memorable exploits of twenty-fix brought full into view, and feebly mimicked at threefcore and ten ? How are both young and old loft in delightful enchantments, when Pufs has balked the Dogs, dropt the Pack, and on fome rifing hillock plays in fight her little tricks, leaps here, doubles there, now fits an end, liftens, then crouched (as if funk into the earth) deceives the un- experienced eye, and creeps to a quat, Thefe are raptures unenjoycd in Fox or any ti2 Art and Fkafuri any other chaccj but Hare-hunting may be as difagreeable to the Park-keeper, Fo- reller, or Fox-hunter, as the contrary to me, and each may, and no doubt hath, aS much to advance in favour of his amufement as I can poffibly fay of mine; therefore it would be impudent to declaim againft other people's diverfions, to enhance the fatis* fadlion found in mine. It is humour and inclination makes one or other partake of any paflime or not ; and the delight found in purfuing a poor harm- lefs Hare, with a parcel of ugly roaring Hounds, to a man of cold, flow circu- lation, or a fribble of meek effeminate tem- per, may appear, on confideration, inhu- man and barbarous as bull-baiting. The Buck or Blood hound has little to do with the Hare ; the Otter and Fox hound (the ftanch finder excepted) will often join in the hunt, it being very dif- ficult to have a complete kennel of either fort, fo firmly flanch, but many will freely hunt each other's quarry, notwithftanding Gentlemen breed ever fo true, which in a great meafure is owing to fome cafualty in the / of Himflng* 1 1 J the entrance of them, or in their entering themfelves when at keeping. At trying young Hounds, great regard fliould be had to the quarry they are entered at, becaufe a Dog generally prefers the game he was at iirfl: ufed to, and blooded with. This few Sportfmen attend to, but, on the contrary, if they can bring their young Hounds to floop and challenge a Cat, Coney, or Red- herring dragged by a ftring, think them- felves well off with a fine promifing breed. The like may be obferved to fland good, m ibme proportion, with refped; to the ii- tuation. The Dogs that have been entered in, and accuftomed to the Champain coun- try, like hunting there, before the low-in- clofed turf 5 fo low-land Hounds perform better in woodlands and enclofures, than the downs and fandy heaths. The time for entering young Dogs * takes place according to the feafon they are whelped in : in my judgment they fhould be a twelve- month old ; eighteen months is a great age. * " Bitch puppies (hould be firft taken out to hunt at eight *' months old, and Dogs at ten months." — Xenophon. Allowance muft be made for the warmer climate of Greece. I LET- ( «H ] LETTER II. Concerning the Sorts of Harriers^ and Differ e?jce^ TH E Hounds rrioft In uie and prope? for Hare-hunting, may be confined to few forts, and each excellent in nature : to wit, the deep-tongued, thick-lipped^ broad and long-hung fouthern Hounds. The fleet fhurp-nofed Dog, ears narrow and pointed, deep chefted, with thin fhoul- ders, portending a quarter of the Fox- llrain. The rough wire-haired Hound, thick quartered, well hung, not too flefhy (houU dered, together with the rough or fmooth Beagle. Each of thefe forts, as I iaid before, have Different Sorts of Harriers, ii^ have their excellencies, &c. It is not pof- iible, with juflice, to commend one before another, for kind, colour, or fervice, prefer- ence being given according to the humours and inclinations of Sportfmen, the tribe of whom are very numerous, and, of confe- quence, different in opinion. He that delights in a long chace of fix hours, often more, and to be in with the Dogs all the time, let him breed of the fouthern Hounds firft mentioned, or fuch heavy Dogs as Suffex Gentlemen run in the weald. They make good deep bafs mulick, afford great diverfion, and, confidering how dirty the country is, (notwithffanding a hunt often lafts all day long) fatigue the healthy footman very little. In an open country where there is good riding, prefer the fecond fort, with a quar- ter of the Fox-ftrain : thefe fuit the more eager, ad:ive Horfeman, and fpend their tongues generoufly, making delightful har- mony, and at the fame time go at fuch a rate, a Hare durft not play many tricks be- fore them ; they feldom allow her time to loiter; fhe muft run and continue her foiling I 2 or 1 1 6 Different Sorts or change foil, if the latter fhe dies : keep in, Huntfman , freih ground on the turf is in fome degree a continued view, otherwife hang your Dogs, (barring extraordinary ac- cidents of highways and iheep blemifh,) for I would no more excufe the lofs of a Hare on frefh fv/ard, unlefs the Huntfman's fault, which is too often the cafe, than I would a kennel of Fox-hounds lofing Reynard in full chace ; the reafons againft it in both diver- iions are the fame. The How Hounds firft mentioned gene-^ rally pack beft. Of the fecond fort, many not being of equal fpeed, (for it is hard to procure an even kennel of faft Hounds,) will be found to tail, which is an inconve- iiiency ; for the hind Dogs labour on to overtake the leading Hounds, and feldom or ever ilop, nor are of the leaft ufe but to enlarge the cry, unlefs at an over-run, which happens at the top of the morn, for a quarter of a mile together ; then the old Hounds, thrown out or tailed, often come up, and hit the fault off. . The fouthern Dogs are not £o guilty of running a-head^ for as they pack well toge- ther, tfHarriePi. 1 1 7 ther, from their equality of fpeed, (it being eafier to excel the flow than the faft,) at the leaft balk, there are ten nofes on the ground for one. The third fi3ecies of Hounds mentioned I never faw an entire kennel of, being in fome parts not much encouraged : they are of northern breed, and in great efteem, be- ing bold Dogs, and by many Huntfmen preferred for the Otter and Martin : in fome places they are encouraged for Fox-hounds, but bad to breed from, being too fubjedt to degenerate and produce thick, low, heavy fhouldered Dogs unfit for the chace, Beagles, rough or fmooth, have their ad-» mirers ; they fpend their tongues free in tre- ble or tenor, and go a greater rate than the fouthern Hounds, but tail abominably. They run low to ground, therefore enjoy the fcent better than taller Dogs, efpecially when the atmofphere lies low. In an en- clofed country they do beft, as they mufe with the Hare, and at trailing or default, are pretty good for hedge-rows j yet I have feen eighty couple in the field, out of which, \n a winter's fport, I obferved not four I 3 couple 1 1 B Di^'erent Sorts couple that could be depended on, the majo- rity being fo propenfe to challenge feather or fleak ; yet by the affi fiance of a clever Huntfman, and the foil well trod, I have fometimes feen pretty diverfion. Of the two forts I prefer the rough, or wire-haired, being generally good fhouldered Dogs, and well filleted. Smooth -haired Beagles are commonly deep hung, thick lipped, and large noftrilled, but often fo foft, folid, and bad quartered, as to be fhoulder-fhook and crippled the firft feafon's hunt, and have frequently that un- pardonable fault of crook legs, like the Tar- rier, or right Bath Turnfpit. I know admirers of this fort, but they are no favourites of mine 5 few will endure a tolerable hunt, or at default bear hard charging. After two hours running, ob- ferve them crippled and down ; the Huntf- man may go on himfelf, for what afliflance many of them give him ; and it is plain from their form and ihape (for nature makes no- thing in vain) that they are not defigned for hard exercife. So much for Harriers : a deal may be faid for of Harriers] 5"i9 for and againft the feveral kinds ; it is a wide unfettled point to give opinion upon ; but to fum up the whole in a few words, ftanch, true Hounds of any fort are aeli- rable, and whoever has them of pretty equal age and fpeed, with the requilites of packing and hunting well together, whe* ther fouthern, northern, Fox-flrain, or Bea- gle, can boall an invaluable advantage in the diverfion, and which few Gentlemen, let them breed ever fo true, can attain to but \n years. The properties to be confidered in the choice of a Hound, were fettled, my Lord, long before you and I were born, and my opinion can be little more than an acquilition from former Sportfmen. However, prefer the Dog of a middling lize, with his back longer than round, nofe large, with noftrils bold and wide, chefl deep and capacious, fillets great and high, haunches large, ham§ ftraight, the fole hard and dry, ^claws large, ears wide, thin, and deep, more round than fharp, eyes large and protuberant, forehead prominent, and upper lips thick, and deeper than the lower jaw. I 4 The X20 Different Sorts The manner of keeping Hounds in kennel, T fuppofe I am not exped:ed to enter into : be your Huntfman a fellow of very indifferent judgment, and not one of the moft nafly lazy rafcals, he will take care to keep his kennel fweet, his Dogs clean littered, aired, and Avatered, their provifions fufficiently boiled, or rather Hewed. Avoid coarfe, raw, and parboiled fiefli ; nothing fpoils the fa- culty of fcenting more. As to the method of breeding Dogs, I fhall only obferve. Gentlemen cannot be too careful, at the proper fcafon, of the Sires they want the fucceffion from. A very little fpoils the litter, and not- withftanding all the care and vigilance pof- fible, litter after litter fometimes prove falfe and degenerate, from as high bred creatures as any in the kingdom. I kept a Bitch in my chamber from the earlieft tokens of her growing proud, and had her fo clofe warded, I could have taken my oath in all the time fhe never faw any other Dog ; yet the whelps inherited few or none of their Sire's qualities, nay fcarce the colour 3 whence I proved that a Dog and Bitch of Harriers, I2I Bitch of the higheft blood may fail of get- ting tolerable puppies. The like is often experienced among Horfes. How nature errs in this particular (if it may be called an error) I fubmit to fome more experienced naturalift. Talking with a learned Phylician (a great connoilTeur in pointing and fetting Dogs) upon the fubjed: of puppies, he told the fol- lowing marvellous tale of a Bitch he had of the fetting kind. As he travelled from Midhurfl into Hampfliire, going through a country village, the Maitiifs and Cur-dogs ran out barking, as is ufual when Gentlemen ride by fuch places ', among them he obferved a little ugly Pedlar's Cur particularly eager and fond of ingratiating himfelf with the Bitch. The Dodor flopped to water upon the fpot, and whilfl: his Horfe drank, could not help re- marking how amorous the Cur continued, and how fond and courteous the Bitch feem- ed to her admirer -, but provoked, in the end, to fee a creature of Phillis's rank and breed fo obfequious to fuch mean addrefTes, drew one of his piftols and fhot the Dog dead on 122 Different Sorts on the fpot; then alighted, and taking the Bitch into his arms, carried her before him, feveral miles. The Dodor relates farther,, that madam, from that day, would eat little or nothing,, having in a manner loil her ap- petite ; ihe hid no inclination to go abroacj with hermafter, or come when he called; but feemed to repine like a creature in love^^ and exprefs fenfible concern for the lofs of her galknt. Partridge feafon came on, but Hie had nQ nofe 'y the Dod:or did not take the bird be- fore her. However, in procefs of time, phillis waxed proud. The Do6tor was heartily glad of it, and phylically appre- hended it would be a means of weaning her from all thoughts of her deceafed admirer ; accordingly he had her confined in due time, and warded by an admirable Setter of high blood, which the Doctor galloped his grey itone-horfe forty miles an end to fetch for the purpofe. And, that no accident might happen from the carelelTnefs of drunken, idle fervants, the charge was committed to atrufty old woman houfekeeperj and, as abfence frorn patients would permit, th? Dodor of Harriers, 123 Dod:or affiduoufly attended the affair him^ felf. But lo ! when the days of whelping came, PhilHs did not produce one puppy but what was, in all refpedls, the very pic- ture and colour of the poor Dog he had fhot fo many months before the Bitch was in heat. This affair not more furprized than enra- ged the Dodior : for fome time he differed, almofl: to parting, with his old faithful houfekeeper, being unjuflly jealous of her care ; fuch behaviour before fhe never knew from him, but, alas, what remedy ? He kept the Bitch many years, yet, to his infi- nite concern, fhe never brought a litter^ but exadly fimilar to the Pedlar's Cur. He difpofed of her to a friend of his in a neighbouring county, but to no purpofe, the vixen flill brought fuch Puppies. Whence the Do6tor tenacioufly maintained. Bitch and Dog may fall paflionately in love with each other. That fuch creatures, efpecially the fe- male, may at particular times like, or pre-. fer, I grant the Doctor; but how the im- preffion of the Dog (admitting to favour him 124 Different Sorts of Harriers, him there was any) could occafion limlli- tude in the iflue of the Bitch, and for a continuance of years, after the Dog's death, nobody but the Do(5lor is capable of defend- ing, who to this day relates and jullifies; the truth of every circumftance I have men- tioned. So much for Dogs, Harriers efpe- cially. I hope the digreffion will be par- doned, and, if not difagreeable, I Ihall pro- ceed with a page on the Quarr}^ LETTER [ 125 } LETTER III. Tloe Sorts and Difference o/" Hares, being of no lefs Signification than the preceding Letters. A HARE is called by Sportfmen, within the firft year a Leveret, at twelve months old a Hare; at two years old and fo on, a great, a large, or a flam- ming Hare. I never heard them diilin- guifhed by other names, nor do I know more proper. The derivation of the term is not at all momentous to the Huntfman ; he is fenfi- ble when he fees her every body calls fuch a creature a Hare. Your Lordfliip knows the ancients called this animal by various appellations. The 126 Different Sorts The Hebrews call the Hare* Arnebethy which being feminine, poffefled the gene- rality with a notion no Hares were mafcu- line; and the opinion fo much prevailed, that to this day not one man in a thoufand Qcca- * JlIlJ"1i^, the Hare, from Pflh} to crop^ and yi the produce of the earth t thefe animals being very remarkable for deltroying the fruits of the earth. The learned Bo- CHART, who gives this interpretation of the word, excel- lently defends it, by fhewing, from hiflory, that thefe ani- mals have, at different times, defolated the iflands of Aftypa- lasa. Lens, and Carpathus. To this account, for the fake of the learned Reader, I fhall add the following elegant lines concerning thefe animals, from Bargeus Cygneget,, lib. iir. by which it appears they are great devourers of all kind of herbs and veget;ib;es ; " Decerpunt laeti turgentia gramina campi, •*■ Et culmos fegetum, et fibras tellure repofta* *' Herbarum, et lento morfus in cortice figunt *' Arboris, atque udos attondent undique libros; «* Nee parcunt llrato pomarum, aut glandis acervo, "" Aut viciae, aut milio, aut procerae frondibus ulmij *' Prsclpue gratae fylveftria gramina mentha; *' Quajque colunt riguas in culto Sy fimbria valles, *' Et vaga ferpilla, et pulegi nobile gramen •' Percipiunt."— Park HURST, Heb. Lex. I have been informed by a Gentleman of experience and obfervation, that he has found Haws in the droppings of Haies during hard weather, fionally of Hares. \ij iionally talks of a Hare, but fpeaks In the feminine gender, and ufes the epithets Her or She. The Greeks fometimes called the Hare AaQ/w'os, for his immoderate luft -, at other times ITtwI, implying extraordinary fear. The Latins, Lepus quaft kvipes, or Lightfoot, denoting fwiftnefs of feet. As to any real difference in the fpecies *, I confefs myfelf no judge 5 I always found they correfponded in fhape and fimilarity j but to exceed, like other creatures, in fize and abilities, which I conceive proceeds from nothing more than their difference of feed and fituation, and may be ranged under the few diftindtions of the down Hare, the field or enclofure Hare, the marfhy and woodland Hare. The mountain or down Hares feed fhort and fweet, breathe a fine air and enjoy an ex- ♦ Xenophon fays, '* There are two fpecies of Hares, •'one large, mottled with black, and a great deal of white " in the forehead ; the other lefs, of a yellowifh colour, and "' having little white." He alfo obferves, that ♦* moun- '■* tain Hares are the fwiftell, thofu bred in a plain country, '* iefs fo, and marlh Hares the floweftof any." tenfive llS Different Sorts tenlive compafs for exerclfe ; they are found to excel in flrength or celerity, and ftand a hunt longer than any Hares. In dry fea- fons they commonly make excurlions into the vales for diverlion and relief, and I have remarked myfelf, and have learned from Shepherds and Hare-finders, (by fome Wags not unjuftly called* MyoperSy) that Hares are never more plenty on the hills than in wet weather -, the reafon of which is plain, they feed, form, and exercife on drier turf than the vallies afford. Every Down Hare has a multitude of feats, which (as the weather diredts) ilie changes from time to time, and from prac- tice to fome innate principle, returns to again, provided ihe quitted on her own ac- cord and undifturbed. The enclofure, marfhy, or woodland Plares are experienced to be flower, weaker, and more unfit to endure hard hunting than the down Hares, the fituation and manner of their living being oppofite : they reheve on too rank llrong food, and that too near * From Mvii^, winking the eyes, q. d, iwm uwx^' their of Harriers, 129 their forms ; their circle of exercife is more confined, and Hable to difturbance, and the air they breathe is lefs pure and correct, whence proceeds purfinefs and fhort wind. Of this fort are the Hares in the wealds, many of which I have feen when paunched with' ulcerated lungs and unfound. * There is another fort of Hares to be met with (though very feldom) different from either of the kinds mentioned, that wander about like vagrants, living at large, and with indifference, in all places, feating vaftly uncertain, fometimes in the enclo- fure, hedge- row, brake, or flrong covert, at other times in the open common or fields. Thefe are the Hares for diverfion, and moft difiicult to judge off, and dangerous to pur- fue. They ramble through the barn-yard * " Thofe Hares that wander in all places are moll puz- *' zling in the chace, for they know the neareft ways ; they *' generally run up hill or on level ground ; if they find any *' uneven ground they run over it in an irregular manner, ** but very feldom run down hill." — Xenophon. Mr. Pennant, in his Britiih Zoology, remarks, that a Hare^ when ftarted, always makes to a rifmg ground, which he at.- tributes to the length of her hind legs, K in t^O T)ifferent Sort's in the night, and dirregard the gaunt growl- ing MaftifF, traverfe the orchard and gar- , den, intrepid and fearlefs, explore the dan- gerous pond head, nor dread the roaring waters, regale on the virgin grafs, or ten- der clover, or young turnip, or (as fome hidden caufedireds) negledt them all,- fon- der to bark, or browfe the budding twig. When ftarted, they feldom keep any cer- tain ring, but drive on irregularly, trying all forts of ground, the turf, the hard high- way, the watery puddle, or dry dufty fallow, and lead the weary Sportfman many a pain- ful flep, and through many a dangerous pafTage. Thefe are the old Witches, that afford inexhauftible fubjedts after Hunting, that make the glafs pafs brifk about, the cheeks glow, chins wag, and every faultering tongue provoke, that the whole edifice re- founds the continued boifterous roar, impa- tient each to over hunt or recount his part. The inexperienced audience, to every ora- tor by turns, attention deal ; but if the Huntfman deigns the view to hollow, or foil over hunt again, fudden filence reigns, ^- and of liar ri en. 131 and ravifhed with the deafening clamour of the purfuit, with eager infatuation, all ap- plaud, and the moft apocryphal tales affent to and believe ; whilft he ! wretch arbi- trary, (though illiterate) with ignorance and pride, native to himfelf, afcribes fome pafTages, notable in the chace, to his own good judgment and underftanding ; others, lefs remarkable, to the poor Hare's contri- vance and cunning. As I am entered upon the fubjed: of Hares, it may not be impertinent to ob- ferve, how kind Providence has been in the formation of this animal ; and it is v^ell, indeed. Nature has been fo beneficent, there being fcarce a creature breathing, wild or domeftic, but is an enemy to the poor defencelefs Hare. Birds of the air, as well as beafts of the field, feem in per- petual war with her. The very reptile Ad^ der v^^ill kill the old Hare, paffive and de- fencelefs in the combat : nor does the Le- veret feed the fmall circle about its little home, fecure and unmolefted by the defpi- cableBat and Owl. Wherefore, as the moil proper means for prefervation, (amidfl K 2 fuch 1^2 Different Sorts fuch a numerous tribe of enemies) Nature has kindly endowed her with a temper ex- ceffive timid, continually watchful, and liilening, and ever eager, even to rafhnefs, to turn from the moft trifling approach of danger -, all her dependence being in that talent alone, and which the wife Contriver of all things has ordained every part to afiifl: and compleat. If not unworthy, pray take a furvey of this little creature ; this wonder of animals : not more the charm and delight of the Sportfman, than his Bea- gles; No creature in the univerfe leaves a more grateful enchanting fcent, than the Hare j the fmell of the Martin is not more ravilhing to the Hounds. Pleafe to view his fliort round head ; look how extremely proper and excellently fafhioned it is for flight. Was he to maintain himfelf, or feize his food by means of celerity, a longer nofe and head would have been much more expedient and neceffary. See how long the ears, how large and open, how fixed on the head, and when pricked how clofe together point, nicely calculated to hear the enemy at a diflance, and of Harriers] 5rj| and receive timely warning of the leaft ap-* proach of danger. ' The eyes ingenioufly placed on each fide, divided by the whole breadth of the fore- head, not fituated in the front like a Dog or Cat's eyes, to fee only the fegment of a circle forward, but lidevt^ays, to obferve al- mofl a whole circle, being formed fo as to turn any way, to fpy impending dangers from all quarters *, and fecure himfelf in time. A farther remark, and worthy ob- fervation, is, the creature, waking or lleep- ing, perpetually watches j his eyes being continually open, and fo protuberant, round and large, the lids are far too Hiort to co- ver them even when at fleep. View the breaft, how narrow, and at the fame time how deep and capacious the chefl ', for as the lungs are in a continual ftate of violent expanfion's, during the time he is hunted, and, by the prodigious fre- quent infpiration and expiration, become in * Xenophon, who is minutely accurate in his defcrlptlon of this animal, obferves, that*' when fhe wakes fhe winks *-^ her eyelids, but when fhe fleeps flie keeps them continu* H ^Ily open, without motion, having her eyes fixed." K 3 the 134 Different Sorts the end fo vaftly diftended, as to require a much larger fpace than is affigned for the purpofe, the chefl: therefore is fafhioned to receive more breath, or give the lungs more room to perform their office, almofl than any creature. Take notice of the back, how ftraight, and rather long for covering more ground in running, and well filleted or double- reined, forflrength in the performance. The fcut fhort and high, haunches wide, large and finewy, legs ftraight and propor- tionably long, with fuch feet no creature in the animal creation can boafl. Now I have mentioned the feet, permit me to obferve a common notion, I might fay an error, there being feveral egregious ones about Hares ; but the following, I don't doubt you have not only heard but read of | and that is, if you afic feveral Sportfmen, why a low-land enclofure, or marfh Hare, endures not Hunting fo long as the hilly or up-land Hare, the anfwer frequently is, that the former generally fill themfelves too full of pafture before they form, and that, by fre- quent treading on the foft turf and moift paths. cf Harrier}, I35 paths, they become far more tender-footed, and unfit to bear hard running, than the up- hill Hare, that ufes the hard highways and dry turf, which is to be met with, three parts of the year, on the downs or hilly land. As to the iiril: of fuch Hunters, or Writ- ers fo feeming plain reafons, I beg their pardpn, but moft abfolutely difagree with their opinion, it being more plain and natu- ral to believe, fuch Hares never fill them- felves too full, as they call it. Unerring Nature, doubtlefs, inftruds them better than to over-eat themfelves, or gorge {o much to retard them in their celerity, which is their only defence and prefervation j it cannot be I am pofitive. The poor fearful creatures fatisfy Nature, and no more; their time of feeding begins according to the fea- fon, and ends about the certain time i after- wards a proper fpace is duly employed in drying, airing, exercifmg, and fporting, till the approach of morning warns them to feek or return to their proper retirements. They do not glutton on their food, like the wife Heads that hunt them. Eat, for K 4 the ■ 136 Different Sorts the cheer Is dainty, we may meet with none hke it to-morrow. But rather, too often before Nature is contented retire, mo- lefted and alarmed in the night, to fome ad- joined thicket, and there iinifli their repafl, on the fhaded fpray or four herb ; happy in their fafety and fohtude. Or fometimes, as Nature dictates, when the fouthern tempeft pours down the dreadful torrent, or the chilling north fpreads the furface with his filvered mantle, fit clofe in form, till better times enfue 3 content with no repaft. Whether this opinion with thofe Sportf- men who j udge of Hares immoderate eat- ing by themfelves, and becaufc they have experienced an impediment in their heels, from a crammed belly, think Hares meet with the fame, may be of any weight, I can- not fay, nor do I care : I have a better opi- nion of honefl faithful Nature's didiates, than their idle whims and notions. As to the other part offered, that low-land Hares are tender footed, I proteft, I fmile at the thought of fuch a fhallow opinion. Ten- der feet in Dogs are owing to the foftnefs of their foles, or that flefhy fubftance called the of 'Harriers . 1 37. the ball or toes of the feet. This tender- nefs is natural to fome, and is a fault in the breed, one of their excellencies being (as be- fore mentioned) hard dry foles : in others it proceeds from difufe, in which it is foon remedied ; moderate exercife every day will foon bring the feet into order, and make them fufficiently hard, to endure diverlion. But as to the Hare being tender in her feet, a little obfervation may convince fuch cafuifts of their miftake -, Nature having been in this particular iingularly liberal to the poor Hare, by fupplying her with fuch feet, as are abfolutely free from, and not fubjed; to tendernefs ; or fcarce fufcep- tible of hurt, fo as to incommode, or re- tard her in running. Pray obferve what a fmall web there is between the claws, and the admirable de- ficiency of foles or toes underneath ! With fubmiflion, what hath fhe to fear then from the flinty highway, the uneven fevere frofty path, the poignant bramble, or piercing black-thorn ? Nothing — the balls of her feet being fupplied, inftead of hard ilefh, ijS Different Sorts iiefli, with a ilrong coarfe fur, fuited fo charmingly for the purpofe, that fhe treads foft, run what road fhe will ; and never eaficr, or more to advantage, than on the hardeil beaten path, or ftony rugged road. The very furface that cripples a Dog, £he glides over with eafc and pleafure.' Take notice in a frofl, for the reafons ad- vanced, what advantage flie has in run- ning, fuperior to moft creatures ; whilft the generous fteed founders with mode- rate gallops, and the fleet Greyhound flarts his claws, and tears his foles to pieces, on the rugged frofly paths, fhe treads foft, as if fhe went on woolpacks, or re- bounds and leaps upon her very claws. View her again on the merry highway, though file fkims over the clay and puddle, lik an arrow from the bow, yet leaps fo tender, the furface is fcarce brufhed by her tread. But enough, I fhall only farther advance to fuch tender footed brethren one reafon, and a true one, why a low-land Hare, or by what appellation they chufe to diflinguifh her, may on experience prove lefs of Harriers, 139 lefs fit to labour, or hard Hunting, than the up-land Hare, inftead of a too great plenitude or tendernefs of feet, is occafion- ed from the too ftrong or rank feed, (I don't mean the quantity but quality) and confined circle for exercife ; whence pro- ceeds Ihort wind and purfinefs^ LET. [ HO ] LETTER IV. So7m PerfeBions of the Hare, a7td remarkable ^alities of other Creatures. N'OTWITHSTANDING the argu- ments already made ufe of, in de- fcribing feveral parts of the Hare, and how each is adapted to contribute towards the prcfervation of the whole ^ methinks I hear you fay. What ! is this extraordinary crea- ture fo complete as to have no fault ? Does this wonder of animals fuffer no in- conveniency from any of thofe fine parts ihe is compofed of ? Few creatures in the ani^ mal, or other creation, are formed abfo- lutely perfed: and free from blemiili. How comes the Hare fo frequently to lofe her life. Perfe^ions of the Hare^ '&c, 141 life, and in fuch a fimple manner ? How happens (lie fo often to run headlong into vifible danger ; into the Traveller's open arms, or Houfe-cur's jaws, without dif- cretion enough to turn to right or left, to avoid fuch accidents ? To this may be anfwered, the poor Hare is far from being without failings, nay, on the contrary, hath numberlefs imperfec- tions. The very excellence of running from, or avoiding one danger, notorioufly drives her head-long into another, till ilie meets her ruin. She is too often llupid and fenfelefs of the danger that lies moft ap- parent, and plain as pofTible, which has occalioned innumerable arguments among Huntfmen, and many reafons have been given for it by Naturalifts _; to you I fub- mit the following : Firft, I beg to obferve, notwithilanding the defcription given of Hares ears, and how advantageoufly fituated, there is an incon- veniency attends them, which perhaps ne- ver happened within the conlideration of fe- veral good Sportfmen. It is natural for mankind, who have never refiedted on the matter. 142 PerfeSfwns of the Harey matter, to think, becaufe they have an ear on each fide the head, and can liftcn to a Kennel of Hounds, whether they run to right or left, ilraight forward or backward, that a Hare can do the fame : upon my word thofe who think fo are egregioufly miftaken ; a Hare under purfuit has the fad- defl imperfed: affiftance from her ears ilraight before or iideways, that can pof- fibly be, her chief excellence being only in a fenfibility of the founds that lie behind her. This is the perfection and primary caule fhe owes her prefervation to, her ta- lent of running being only a fecondary qua- lity. It is this ability warns her in time to Ileal from form, and deceive the creeping Poacher ; by this blefTmg fhe outilrips the fleet Greyhound, attentive to the noife of every flretch, and found of every pant : or when llarted by the fagacious Pack, to con- tinue her courfe, with refolute expedition, till quite free from their clamour ; yet, at the fame time, mifapprehenfive, and deaf to the noife of enemies before, alone intent, and all her faculties employed, on that fm- gle and ^lualities of other Creatures. 143 gle point of hearing, and running from the danger that purfues. I {hall be laughed at, perhaps, by half the Hunters in England, for advancing fuch a feeming improbability -, but upon my word it is true. Talk with any anatomift, that has infpedled the ftrudture of this creature's ears, and he will give you reafons in juftification of what I have laid down. As the only prefervation a Hare has is flying from danger, how natural and plain is it for a common underflanding to recon- cile the necellity of her being endued with fuch a proper affifling fenfation, whereby Ihe may receive timely information of the diftant or near approach of the enemy. Without fuch quicknefs of hearing from behind, a Hare might run blind, or to death, after fhe was out of harm's way, for want of being fenfible of it. I challenge all the Huntfmen in Great Britain, that are of veracity, to fay, a frefli Hare, ftarted or courfed, ever flops or turns her head to look back : how is flie fenlible, then, fhe is clear from the enemy that purfued her ? She has no '144 Ferfe5iio7is of the Hare, no eyes backwards. True, but Ihe has ears that anfwer the purpofe. I have heard it confidently maintained by feveral, and have read in Authors, who were more Huntfmen in fpeculation than pradiice, that a Hare's ears lead the way when Ihe is hunted: " With one," (fay they,) " flie hearkeneth to the cry of the ** Hounds, and the other ftretched forth *' like a fail, to promote her courfe." Ri- diculous notion ! Whenever fhe pricks her ears an end, or draws one a-part or more forward than the other, it is to hearken more diilind; and nice on that lide the forwardefl ear is, and not like a fail to promote her courfe. Had nature defigned any fmgular aid to her feet from flretching forth the ears, fhe would have fupplied her with two pair; one to lie fiat on the fhoulders for listening, whilft {hQ failed by the other; and fhe never would have more occafion for both than when feverely courfed, at which time the ears ihe has may be obferved to lie flat on her neck ; and though flie is obliged, on this occauon, to play all her tricks to efcape, to try and ^aliiies of other Creatures. 145 try the wind every way for advantage, yet, in all the ihifts fhe makes, I never obferved this quaUty of failing by the ear, both being fVriiflly engaged on receiving the fmalleft found of the Greyhound behind, by which ihe accordingly, more or lefs, retards or in- creafes her celerity. There is nothing more plain and certain, than that Providence hath endued every creature with fome ex- cellence peculiar to itfelf : to one, endow- ments proper for prefervation and defence ; to another, means neceffary for the attain- ment of food and nourishment. Afk a Country Fellow at dufk of the evening, why yon Owl fits on the barn door, or perches upon the gate-poft, rail, or beam ? He will prefently inform you, he is watching for a Moufe. But a man that is no very eminent Naturalift knows the Owl is hearkening rather than looking for a Moufe; for Owls have ears, and delicate ones, I alTure you, on which they depend for their fuftenance, in an equal, nay greater degree than the eyes. Their ears give them the iirft and earlieft notice of the motion of prey, L long 146 Perfedtions of the Hare, long before it comes into view for the eyesr to diftinguifli it. Yet, though it may be o^ranted Owls hearken, as well as look for prey, I would not have you think, becaufe they have ears, they hear all manner of ways. No, they have no good ufe of them, but from what happens beneath ; their hearing is very imperfed; before, or fide- ways, nor have they any advantage at all in hearing what happens above. Admit they had, to what ufe or purpofe would it tend ? They have not the leaft hope or expectation of Mice hanging over their heads, but the contrary. All creatures, as I faid before, boaft fome peculiar excellence. The crafty Fox that fcouts about, and hath various means of acquiring fubfiftence, depends greatly on a talent of hearing from above faperlor to moil, and equal to all creatures. What principle do you imagine diredts him on his patrols, to lurk underneath, or climb the pear or plumb tree where the poultry rood ? Not fo much his eyes as his ears : a feather is fcarce moved but he hears it. On the other hand, the vigorous wild or Pole- and ^lalities of other Creatures, 1 47 Pole-cat's bleffing confifls in hearing di- rectly forward, deaf as an Adder (when he is prowling) to prey or danger behind. I offer this not as conjecture, but matter of certainty, the animal's ears being con- ftruCted for fuch Angularities, efpecially the ** pafTage directing to xhQOspetrofujn, which, " in an Owl's ear, is produced father out *' above than below, for the greater and ** better reception of found from below : *' in a Fox, exadily the contrary, and calcu- " lated to intercept the niceft noife from ** above : in a Cat, far behind, to take the ** forward found : but the ear of a Hare is ** fupplied with a tube directed extremely ** backward." As I already faid, fhe dreads no danger fo much as what lies behind her, therefore her ears are capable, by reafon of fuch backward tubes, of receiving the fmalleft found that happens from that quar- ter. I could inflance notable differences in the ears of other creatures, but it being fo- reign to my purpofe, fhall proceed to another well experienced deficiency of the poor Hare, which is her want of light. L 2 Almofl J 48 PerfeSlions of the Hare, * Almoil every one has experienced that a Hare fees very imperfect ftraight forward ; a fad inconveniency, you will fay, not to fee well, nor hear the immediate danger that is feemingly fo plain. Why really fo it is, and the means of lliortening her little life, frequently much fooner than the moft vio- lent hunt would do. I have often heard fay, when a Hare has been knocked down, or catched by a Dog relaid, that fhe ran herfelf blind, which is a notion of the niofl vulgar and illiterate fpecies. Some maintain Hares to be of the tribe of nocflurnal animals, that cannot fee well in the day, their eyes being much the fame as Cats or Owls, and of a contexture fuf- ceptible of far nicer touches of the rays of light, than creatures more habituated to day-light. It is true, I am no Oculifl:, nor compe- * •* When fhe is purfued, the fear of the Dogs and " Hunters takes away her prefence of mind, on which ac- *' count (he often runs unknowingly againft many things, *■• and fometimes falls into the fnare."— Xenophon. tent and ^mlities of other Creatures, 149 tent judge of the ftrudure of eyes ; but if common reafon may be attended to, (which every man has a right to offer,) it is natural to conjecflure, night or day is indifferent to the Hare, and that fhe only prefers the for- mer to reUeve in, it being the mofl peace- able time, and freefl from danger. The difadvantage of wanting quick fight before, in my opinion, may chiefly be accounted for from the fituation of the eyes being fixed in the head, at a diftance far from each other, like Horfes j and to fee forward perfed:, re- quires fome fuch contrivance as the eye- leathers that Waggoners have at their horfes collars, the better to occafion the eyes be- ing direded more forward than backward ; for as they are formed to turn in the fock- ets all ways, forward to the nofe, upward, downward, or back toward the fhoulders, it needs no great ^nd of philofophy to judge, that by fo milch as the eyes are turn-r ed out of the centre of light to look up- ward, fuch a proportion is wanting to fee downward ; and fo much as they are flrain- ed toward the nofe to fee forward, fo much is required for light backward, fuppofing L 3 the 150 PerfeSlions of the Hare, the head to be fteady and fixed, which is the cafe with the Hare that runs fafl: ; at other times fhe turns and manages her head as £he pleafes. But, in an even pofiiure of the body, the eyes appear fituated to fee quickeft and beft full on each fide. Whence it arifes, that the reafon a Hare, when hunted or courfed, fees not fo clear diredlly forward, is, that being chiefly intent and apprehenfive of the danger behind, fhe em- ploys all her fcnfes, all her judgment, to efcape that danger; and, the m.ore effed:ually to accomplifh it, depends not alone on the ears, but, by endeavouring to fee it, flrains her eyes as backward as poffible, according to the degree of terror fhe is in ; infomuch, that for want of a due proportion of the eyes employed before, fhe becomes in a manner blind to the enemy that lies fo ap- parent. Any perfon may experience truths of this fort that will caft his eyes upward, downward, or from fide to fide ; he will foon find, when he points them one way, how imperfed: his fight is the other. Whether a Hare's eyes receive any incon- veniency from being fo large, full, and con- vex. and ^mliiics of other Creatures, 151 vex, I do not pretend to determine. Ocu- iifls fay, fuch eyes, at proper difliances, fee objed:s (in proportion to the degree of con- vexity) more perfect and large than thofe lefs convex -, or if the eyes fuffer damage, by being expofed night and day to dufls and infedts, becaufe the Hds do not cover them completely, I know not ; but be what will the caufe, it is certain, Hares do not fee fo perfed: before as fide-ways, or aflant. And indeed. Nature in fome meafure has compenfated this want, and iikewife that of hearing, by a moft incomparable (tn^Q of fmellins: : I do not mean the fort of fmell- ing peculiar to Hounds, but a fpecies that Sportfmen term winding j being that qua- lity, when a Dog holds up his nofe, which he winds carrion by, or a fpringing Spaniel the bird when fliot : a Hare has this talent in nice perfection. Take your fland in a mofl private corner, if ihe has the wind, you will feldom fee her but at a diftance ; and though you may happen to fpy her far off, making boldly towards you, mark her, in due time fhe will break the road, and take fome other track. Yet I muil obferve, L 4 nptwith- 1^2 Perfeciions of the Hare, notwithllanding this happy endowment fe- cures her from the lurking Poacher, it often fails to fruftrate the fnarer's deeper defigns : he, crafty knave, turns this perfe6tion ad- vantageoufly to his purpofe; for having found where a Hare relieves, and being un^ prepared with engines, the reeving purfe^ net, or elaftic wire, to fecure every muefe and track, ambiguous which to prefer, breathes but on the turf, or fpits his faliva on fome neighbouring clod or ftone, or bending fpray. Madam, on return, dif- dains thofe roads, fenfible of the ilain -, Others to purfue, that harbour certain death : fatal retreat ! Thej-e falls expe- rienced Pufs ! (pride of the fair Sportfman) undiftinguifhed and unknown !--rMethinks I hear you commiferate her, but how fliould it be otherwife ? Can aninials explore in- fidiou^ fjian's defigns, or pervade his crafty wiles ? A word on thp breeding of Hares, and I fhall proceed to the feveral parts of hunt- ing them. Some are of opinion Hares pro- pagate but once a year ; I am inclined to think;, from February to the end of harveft, they and ^alkies of other Creatures. 153 they breed often, otherwife I cannot account for the plenty there are. The Does bring two, and frequently but on^. I have feen three, but very rare. I once difcourfed as arrant a Pot-hunter as ever England bred, that lived on the bor- ders of South Wales, and had not fcrupled to kill a Buck or Doe at any feafon for fifty years together, who affirmed he never faw or killed a female Hare that had, or gave fuck to three, in his life. The Doe makes choice of fome thick dry brake, high grafs, clover, or ftanding corn, to kindle in ; her paps come for- warder under her belly than almoft any quadruped ; fhe does not long fuckle her young I if fhe did, and had many, the udder would be drawn too big, and lie inconve- nient in running, She brings forth different from the Coney, her offspring being com- pletely furred and quick-fighted the in- llant they are dropped. It is a remark at the death of a Leveret, if there are white hairs on the forehead, there is another of the fame breed j I have {t^n three found by the harveft-men near of a fi^e, and not one of them had a flar ; where- 154 Perfedfions of the Hare, wherefore I am inclined to believe it a vul- gar error. Three Leverets were the moft in number I ever faw, that in appearance were the fame kindling. I have heard among Sportf- men (remarkable for the marvellous) of fix or (tvQVL young ones at once, but, from fuch ffcrangers to truth, I never could bring myfelf to credit it. A certain Baronet, long lince dead, delighted in getting a fet of Huntfmen and Fifhermen together, than both of whom there are not greater liars under the canopy of Heaven, purely for the fatisfadiion of out-lying them. It is a received opinion among Natura- lifls, that a Hare feldom lives above (tw&n years, efpecially the Buck, and that when either is killed, another comes and occupies the place ; whence happens the Proverb, ^he more Hares you killy the more you will have to hunt -, for when Buck and Doe live undiilurbed together a little tim.e, they fuf- fer no flranger to refide within their li- mits *. There * I am furprized the Author did not here introduce the no- tion, mentioned by Xenophon, and confirmed by Pliny, of Hares and ^alities of other Creatures. 155 There is alfo a well experienced truth, that fome places are remarkable for being feldom without Hares, and others (though as likely in human conjecture as poffible) feldom with any. Whether it is any par- ticular excellence in the feed, lituation for forming advantageoufly for warmth, hear- ing, or feeing, that induces them to prefer certain parts to others, or that, on the death of a Buck or Doe, another fucceeds, and they pofTefs their ufual circle, I do not pretend to reconcile. So much for Hares, Now for the Dogs and Huntfman, both of whom it will be necelTary to fuppofe in the field, whether kennel or pack does not fig- nify -f : it mufl be underftood in the lan- guage of Hunters, it is a kennel of Hounds, but twenty or a hundred couple of Beagles make but a pack. Hares conceiving again before they bring forth their firft young. Sir Thomas Brown, in his Treatife on Vulgar Er- rors, (a Work in which he would be naturally cautious of introducing the marvellous,) aflerts this circumftance from his own obfervation. f This is a diflindlion entirely obfolete. LETTER [ '56 I LETTER V. Of Trailing and Starting, with Directions to the Huntsman. HARE-HUNTING commeiices about Michaelmas, and fhould end (would Gentlemen encourage the breed) the middle of February. As I have fuppofed the Huntfman abroad, and Dogs caft off, we may as well imagine one or othet has made a challenge. For trailing no rules can be laid down with certainty ; it depends on the judgment of the Huntfman, and his juft knowledge of the feveral good and bad properties of hjs Dogs. A kennel of the beil Hounds in Great Britain are not (I may affirm can- not be) all alike : fome are good for trail- ing Trailing and Starting, &c, 1 57 ing and ftarting -, others excellent when the Hare is on foot ; others again, for hit- ting off defaults, running the double, or hot foil, or making good the hard ways. Some Huntfmen, the inftant they find where a Hare has relieved, trouble them- felves not at all about trailing to her, but proceed with the company to threfhing the hedges for a wide compafs, many of whom, being fo fparing of their pains, as often beat over, as beat a Hare up. For my part, trailing fairly and ftarting, I think, the niceft part of the whole paftime, provided wind and weather permit. It is an undetermined point at trail or cold hunting, whether the Dogs challenge from any particular effluvia that tranfpired from the feet of a Hare, or remains of breath, that in her feeding and exercife intermixed with and foiled the pafture and herbage. Was it from the foot alone, themoift path would be ealier to challenge upon than the ver- dant fward. I have heard fturdy Cafuifts on both fides, but fo void of fenfe and rea- fon, little more than the llrongeft arm has determined the point. In my opinion, not- with (landing J 5 S trailing and Startlngy withflanding the majority may be againR- me, I confefs myfelf prejudiced in favour of the latter. If the Hounds challenge on the relief, it is a point of judgment not to let them puz- zle and flick, but to rate them together, and to make it good round the fences the fooner the better. Now the Huntfman mufl depend abfolutely upon his Dogs -, the tender nofed Hound generally hits it iirll, and is very often unjuflly deemed a babbler, becaufe a tougher Dog does not make good what he opens upon i whereas the difference too often is, that one Hound's nofe is fo exquifitely delicate, as to enjoy a fcent twice as flale as another. Obferve Damfel, or loquacious Dainty, open cheerily, the whole pack run in, not one, for want of equal talents, approves. But as they proceed to warmer fcent, if Truman or Ruler (ftanch old Counfellors, never known to give opinion, but certainty, the efFed: of long experience) gravely un- dertake to perufe the cafe, and, on due coniideration, challenge, but in fingle notes, the whole kennel (in fcience Brethren and CoUegues) with DireBiotts to Huntfmen. 1 59 Collegues) from every quarter hurry, and with general yelp confirm the found re- port ; whilfl the afTiduous Huntfman, glad at heart, in oratory of his own, proclaims it good. It is furprizing what a notable confi« dence prefides among Hounds, in propor- tion to the reality of each other's affurancesc The moft rigid fincere perfon upon the earth cannot deteft or lefs credit the noto- rious cheat or liar, than a ftanch Hound one that opens falfe, or fpends his tongue free to little purpofe. You may tell me the comparifon is un- natural ; but what can be more like the Hound that fticks a long time and conti- nues opening upon one fpot, than the man v/ho is a tedious while telling a Canter- bury tale, or talks perpetually upon part of a fubjed:. What like the Babbler more than he who prates and rattles upon all fubje6t£ with confidence, and underflands no one. The notes of the Hounds are certain lan- guage in the ears of the Huntfman^ and wliat l6o 'Trailing and Starting^ what he depends upon more than the judg- ment of all his friends in the field. According to the length of time a Hare has been gone to form, do they more or lefs afTure him of their likelihood to ftart. At the mofl: diftant part of her morning's ex- ercife, where the tendered nofed Dog can but touch of the fcent, the true mulical Hound opens fingle j perhaps a long hold- ing note, or (according to the Dog) only what fome people call a chop. As they gather on towards her, each old Sophifter confirms his firft opinion by an additional note, and doubles his tongue. When near her form, and the fcent lies warm and flrong, all double and treble their notes. Beware of the counter-trail, which may happen when Dogs are cafl off, fo as to challenge about the middle of her works, ©r nearer the form than the feed ; there the fcent lies fo equal, that the Dogs, over ea- ger and bufy, often hit the heel-way, or draw amifs : this the Huntfman murt: judge of by the notes his Dogs firfl chal- lenge in. ¥! they double and carry it on counter. with DireBio72S to Huntfmen^ 1 6 r counter, they will foon fignify their error, by opening only iingle j for inftead of the fcent lying hotter, and encreafing upon their nofes, it is the contrary, and dwindles to no fcent at all. Young Hares tread more deep and heavy* than old ones, becaufe the younger they are the weaker the joints. At full moon, they make mod: work, and go a great dif- tance, relieving upon any fort of feed, ef- pecially that which grov/s within fliade of the hedge- rows and trees. At this time Buck and Doe ofteneil: alTociate together. Another point mufl be obferved, that all Hares do not leave an equal degree of fcent. The down Hares leave the leaft. Inclofure, woodland, and m.arfhy Hares the moft, efpeclally flie that forms in the plafhy ground, or near the river fide or wet ditch ; fhe leaves a ftrong fcent, being com- monly diflempered and unhealthy. * *' The fcent of young Flares Is ftronger than that of ** full grown ones, for their limbs being tender, the whole ** body drags on the ground. — At full moon the trail is •* moil irregular ; for rejoicing in the light, they play toge- •* ther, and throwing themfelves, make long intervals.'* — Xenophon. M The 1 62 Trailing and Starting^ The reafon low-land Hares fmell ftronger than the down Hares, proceeds from the fuperior ranknefs of their food, and the effluvia in woods and inclofures, being far better defended from wind and air than on the bleak downs. All Hares leave more fcent going to than from relief, and never fmell fo ftrong as when they pafture on young corn ; which requires fo little confideration to account for, I ihall for brevity's fake omit it, and return to the Huntfman, whom we will fup- pofe on good trail, and the Hounds doub- ling and trebling. About this time I fuppofe he is endea- vouring to judge whereabout fhe may iit ; if he is clever and lucky in this particular, it not only proceeds from eileem, but that defirable token of it field-money, which makes many a man negled: his Dogs, too much, in good trail, to myope about in the hedges and brakes, in expedation of a fo- ho ! ' To efpy a Hare no rules can be laid down, fhe generally forms uncertain ; whoever looks for her muft have the idea of mth DireBions to Huntfmcn, 163 of a Hare feated ftrongly pidured in his mind. They very feldom chufe to form in high woods in autumn, becaufe the leaves, acorns, and beech-maft, are continually fall- ing J and in wet weather drops from the trees diilurb them. They rather prefer the dry brake, hedge, or ftubble. In January, February, and March, Gen- tlemen hunt in fome parts till the twenty- fifth ; they feat moft uncertain, and wander fuch a vail: circuit, an indifferent Huntf- man may trail all day long, and not ftart. What adds to their uncertain forming, be- fides the feafon of bucking, is, they are fo liable, under warm dry hedges and bram- bles, to be peftered with Pifmires, or mo- lefted with Vipers, and fuch vermin, that they prefer the open fields and plowed lands. Let us imagine, that by this time the Huntfman has cried So-ho ! Obferve how the Heroes prefs together, and parley over the imagined vidim. Pride of their eager hearts, and glory of the field ! How each (ere fhe leaps from form) wifely pronounces or fize or gender. The unexperienced M 2 youth. 164 trailing a?2d St artmgy youth, with eyes convulfed, and phyz dif- tort and pale, in imperfedt, hafty ftammers, proclaims a flamming Bitch -, whilft fome graver Sire (whom age and experience bid be pofitive) with paralytic nods, and afped: four, portending contradidlion, affirms fhe is fmall and young. Learned fage ! Others, in joyful confuiion, amaze, and fufpence, fcarce diftinguifh whether it is a Hare or not. The Huntfman, on whom for fupe- rior knov/ledge each dependent is, from maxims of his own, arbitrarily decides the fex. But to fuch Wifeacres, who pretend with certainty, from the whitenefs of one part, or rednefs of another, to diftinguifli Buck from Doe, it may be faid, there is but male and female; and the man who ne- vtv faw a Hare in his life, but declares his opinion at random, it is a tofs up if he is not as often right as the wifeft of them. But to proceed, as we have imagined a fo-ho ! we may as well fuppofe flie is a(5lually on foot. Hark ! the hills and woods refound the loud acclaim. Now the leaden -heeled Hind and brawny Peafant, with hob- nailed fhoone, labour o'er with DireSlions to Uuntfmen, 16^ o'er the clod ; the infecfl world tremble at their tread, the hardy Woodman fpeeds from toil, the Plowman quits the uniinifh« ed furrow ; all fcamper o'er the plain, mul- tiplying as they go : fome armed with clubs or flaves, in leathern jerkins clad 1 others the flail or dung-fork wield, and in. frocks of white or azure hue (fuccindl for fpeedj terrific feem. Each generous heart difdains to lie behind. Nov/ no diftindtion rules. The King, the Keifer, the Lord, the Hind, Fellows alike, and Competitors in the field. Now, Huntfman, lay in your Dogs well, and rather whifper than bellow to them, till they undertake it, and go on full cry. Follow yourfelf at a due diftance, and, as occafion requires, re-cheat them ; if you have not a horn, call them two or three times together, foftly ! foftly ! for nought but general emulation reigns. Sire with Son, and Son with Sire contend ; im- petuous drive the Dogs. Beware the un- experienced Sportfman, whether on foot or horfeback -, be fure check his forwardnefs. Many people think a chief part of hunting -confifts in hollowing loud, and running M 3 or i66 Trailing and Star ting ^ or riding hard ; but they are miftaken, and fuch perfons, gentle or fimple, muft not be offended if the Huntfman fwears at them, he has a right to do fo. No tongue can be allowed but his, nor, at this time, no foot more forward than his own. A clofenefs on the Dogs, it is well known, hurries them too much, being apt of themfelves, in their firfl heat of mettle, to over-fhoot the Game. Many hours fad fport has happened from driving the Hounds too faft, and confounding them with the hollowing of the company, or a noify block- head of a Huntfman or Whipper-in. As Pufs takes her circuit, judgment is often made of her gender. A Buck gives fufpicion by beating the hard paths, ftony highways, and taking a ring of a large ex- tent in proportion to the compafs of his feed and exercife, which may be gueffed at, from the quantity of ground the Dogs trail- ed over : it being worthy of notice, that, in th^ progrefs of the chace, a Hare v^ill go over great part of the trailed land, and vifit her works of the preceding night and morn- ing, unlefs ihe takes endways, which^ after a ring with TiireBiom to Huntfmen, \6j a ring or fo, a Buck is apt to do, and loiter a vaft way on frefh ground, without offering to return. The Doe now and then doubles in a (hort Ipace, and feldom holds an end, unlefs knit, or at the end of the feafon has kin- dled. At fuch times fhe often runs forward, and fcarce ever returns to her young, or ef- capes with life, being naturally weak and unfit for fatigue. Yet, notwithftanding all that can be ad- vanced, both fexes regulate their condudt much according to the feafon and weather. After a rainy night, in a woody country, neither Buck nor Doe cares to keep the co* vert, the wet and drops that hang on the fprays offend them ; therefore they hold the highways or flony lanes, for as the fcent naturally lies ftrong, they beat the roads that take the leaft : not that a Hare judges upon what foil the fcent lies weakeil, it is her ears that chiefly direct her ; for the Hounds being oftener at default on the hard paths than the turf, ihe finds herfelf not fo clofely purfued, by being not much alarm- ed with the continued cry of the Dogs at M 4, her 1 68 Trailing and Starting, her heels. The larger the cry, the more fhe is terrified, and failer flie fpeeds, the cer- tain effed of which is a heart broke fooner than with a kennel, in number and good- nefs equal, that fpent their tongues lefs free. The fame principle direds her to feek the covert in autumn, when the ground is dry, and wind bleak and cold at north or eaft ; then Pufs runs the paths that are co- vered with leaves, which are fo continually falling and blowing about, the beft Hounds can make but little of her -, therefore her alarms being not of long continuance, but feldom and fhort, fhe refls contented where jhe is leaft difturbed. If a Hare is trailing to form, on that de- pends great part of the fuccefs of the hunt ; if fhe is beat up, the firft ring is a founda- tion for the fucceeding paftime, all the tucks and doubles fhe afterwards makes, be- ing, in a great meafure, like the firil. According to the ground (he runs, the Fieldmen are to ftation themfelvesj no two are to fland prating together ; let each pur- fue the method he thinks befl for afTifting the with DireSlions to Huntfmen. 169 the Dogs, and his own diverfion. This is the time to give proof of good judgment. If any perfons are lying back, or guarding the foil, I recommend flanding alone, quiet and private as poffible. Above all, obferve the wind. Whoever fits in the wind, hun-. dred to one he does not fee the Hare, unlefs, at a great diftance, fhe drops back, or leaps afide, for the reafons before obferved. On fight of the Hare, and llie happens to quat, fiience will be an argument of great prudence ; if the Dogs are at default, let them remain fo : but if fhe goes forward, and will fpeed, the Ungle view hollow, if the Huntfman is within hearing, is allowable, in order to encourage and give him infor- mation what part fhe bears for. Beware, above all things, the vile prac- tice of hollowing off the Hounds, to lay them in after a view 3 leaving unhaunted ground is the worfl thing can poflibly hap- pen. Befides, it not only fpoils the Dogs, and accufloms them at every fault to liflen for the hollov/, but it is foul fport and con- demnable. I hinted fome time pail, the Huntfman fhould. I70 Tl'r ailing and Starting, £hould, by all means, go on the iirft ring ; a deal depends on his knowledge of it in the courfe of Hunting -, and as he follows, it cannot be amifs to fmooth here and there with his foot* feveral parts of the circuit the Hare makes, efpecially under gates, ftiles, entrances and endings of bye-lanes and highways, as often as time and the foil will admit. By this means (if fhe doubles) he will certainly prick her upon fome of thofe pla- ces again and again, and be of fingular ufe to the Hounds in drawing the hot foil. As he pricks her, let him brufh it out and re- fmooth the places. This is the beft me- thod of treading a foil, and if done with judgment, no Hare that holds her foiling can efcape, if the Huntfman is allowed to put it in practice. It is a rule among Sportfmen, when a Hare runs the double, to fet people to it backwards, in order to meet, and oblige her * Thefe letters, which feem calculated for fome very lifongly inclofed country, agree with Xenophon's account of hunting in the mountainous and woody country of Greece j the horfe in. boilkfcem entirely to be ufelefs. with DireSfions to 'Huntfmen. 171 to take frefli ground ; the confequence of which often has been, that having met and hooped her, fhe has redoubled back a few rods, and leaped off into fome hedge or brake, and there quat^ till the Dogs (confounded in the miHfl: of two equal burning heats) T.afs her and come to the dead default. Now the judgment of the Huntfman, and ilanchnefs of the Hounds, are to be appro- ved ', but thefe I ihall referve for the next chapter. LETTER [ 172 ] E T T E R VI. Of the Default, with fome Cau- tions; alfo of ^marvellous Tal^^ of Hares at Default, THE chief con fiderat ions at default are, how long the Hare has been on foot, and how far the Hounds make it good? If ihe has not been run half her time (as near as judgment can be made), the Huntfman muft try expeditiouily a wide circle, changing his Dogs hard and quick on the highways,- and fo perfiil in trying circle within circle, till he returns to the place the Dogs threw up at. On the other hand, if file has been drove hard three parts of her time, or is near dead run, fhe will only leap off a few rods, and quat, until one or other of Default, with Cautions, &c. 173 of the Dogs jumps upon her. Therefore, in fuch cafe, the Huntfman needs only to try a fmall circle, not nimble, but flow and fure, with great caution and care ; for the compafs being fo little, he has no occafion to draw Co hafty about as if twice as large. Take heed of talking too loud to the Hounds ; I have heard fome fellows in an harfh tone, inftead of cheriihing, rate and confound them ; there are Dogs of fhy fearful tempers that v/ill fcarce bear fpeak- ing to. Give me a fellow of everlafting patience and good temper, that does not hunt becaufe it is his buHnefs, but loves it naturally ; one with a moderate voice and clear, thatfpeaks to an old Hound at default, quick, but not noify, and cheriihes him nimbly, very often, and in a tone that en- forces life and courage, and compels him to iloop perpetually. Beware unhaunted ground ; the inconve- niency attending it will be too apparent. Avoid likewife the prevailing fault of leaving the recovery to endeavour to prick; it is not the Huntfman's bulinefs, but the com- pany's in the field ; therefore he fhould not, upon 174 Default y with Cautionff upon any account, attempt it : for whilft lie is myoping about, the Dogs throw up, not one in twenty has his nofe to the ground. If it happens to be a long dead default, pay fome regard, Huntfman, to the tender-nofed babbling Dog you difregardcd in the morning; the delicacy of his noftrils may be fufceptible of the fcent a long time later than a ftancher Hound. You have feid, fuchand fuch a Dog deferves hanging; Le will open at nothing at all, fay you : but beware, my friend, if it is not the contrary, and owing to his fuperior excellence of fcenting; for, as I have already obferved, a Hare that relieved at twelve at night, the tender Hound you condemn will challenge cheerily next morning, and in the prefent difheartening cafe, if he does but open, it may encourage fome ftancher Hound to run in and ftoop ; which, after a long tedi- ous default, he would not otherwife do. I have known Huntfmen fo diHrefled, to make their Dogs try and floop (when it has \>^&vi found w^hich way the Hare has baulked them,) that they have rung an old Hound's ears fo cleverly, he has roared as if he had hit a?2d marvellous ^ales of Hares . ly^ hit upon a burning fcent, which has invited the pack together, and given them fuch ipirits, every Dog has ftooped and tried it. How numerous are the marvellous ftories of Hares at default, tending chiefly to ag- grandife their extenfive capacity and cun- ning. Some we read of, when hard preiled, that have ftarted frefh Hares, and quatted in their forms -, others climbed upon quickfet hedges, and ran a long way upon the top, then leaped off, and baulked the Dogs, Some have made to furze-bufhes, and leaped from bufh to bufh, like Squirrels from fpray to fpray, by which means the Hounds have been at irrecoverable defaults. Becaufe I never experienced fuch craft and policy, it would be wrong to deny the reality of it: but, faith, I fmile to read or hear of Hares that played fuch pranks with defign or on purpofe. I have ktn. inftances of their dropping back, and feating again in the fame forms ; alfo of vaulting, running through houfes, creeping into fheep-cotes, and, in open countries, of holding the fheep-blemifh, and intermixing with the flock ; but moft of 176 T)e faulty with Cautions ^ of thole tricks are done when a Hare is har- raffed out of her fenfes, and not by pure contrivance and defign. I will venture to affirrri, if a Hare has any cunning at all, flie never fhews it {q much (being never more fafe) than Vi^hen fhe continues the foil, or traverfes her ring over and over. I laugh at the fimpleton, that does not confider it is a poor Hare's extraordinary fear, not the efFcdl of judgment, that drives and provokes her to fuch rafh and danger- ous attempts, and fhall think the man fliallow brained himfelf that contends for tlie contrary. On recovery, judgment may be made from the time the Hare has run, and time ihe has quat, how long fhe may be likely to ftand ; the Huntfman is never to quit the default, v/hilfl day-light and weather per- mit : if the Hare is not killed or taken up, there is no good reafon why it is not to be hit oif ; and it fliould be a ftanding maxim, that it is ever as eafy to recover a loft Hare as to flart a frelh one. By a long quat^ after a moderate hunt, a Hare and marvellous Tales of Hares , lyj Hare often becomes ftiff, therefore the Hunters fhould prefs in upon the Dogs, efpeclally in covert : many Hares are eat up by the Hounds for want of forming fome fuch judgment, and then the fimple Huntf- mian damns and fwears at the Dogs ; where- as his own defert fliould be a cudgel for his ftupldity, the Hounds being entitled to every Hare they hunt ; it is the chief re- ward of their labour and merit. It is diverting to hear country fellows, on light of a Hare, cry out flie is all over in a fweat, which is a monflrous ignorance. The mofl indifferent Sportfmen know to the contrary, the leafl proof not being to be found on the niceft examination, no more than of a Dog or Cat's fweating. There is another prevailing notion^, very vulgar, much talked of, and lefs underftood, that the longer a Hare has been hunted, the weaker the fcent grows. I never found fuch an alteration ; and, if any judgment is allowed to be made from the behaviour of the Hounds, the old ftanch Dogs will be found to rate on, towards the conclulion of * See the former EiTay, p. So. N the jy^ Default y iDith Cautions, the hunt, with additional vigour, not from decay of fcent, but the contrary j whence they become, every inch they go, more fen- lible of their near approach to the Hare, than all the Hunters in the field. But ihould it be maintained, the fmell does really decreafe, the more a Hare is prefled, what can it be owing to ? To lay it down as fadt, without offering fome rea- ibn, is certainly a very arbitrary determina- tion. Is it becaufe ihe is run out of wind? If that is allowed, Cafuifts, who maintain Hounds hunt the foot, mufl give up the ar- gument : for what reafon can be affigned why a Hare's it^ty immediately before her death, do not leave as ilrong and equal fcent as at flarting. Hares, or other creatures, hard run, perform their infpiration and expiration very quick, at leafh fix times in proportion for once they otherwife would, if cool and not urged. Now, if fix expirations, under ievere purfuit, are equal to one, when a Hare is jufl ftarted, what difference can there be in the fcent ? It may be alledged, the fcent lies ilronger at and marvellous Tales of Hares, 179 at iirfl, becaufe it makes its return from a full ftomach, or that at ftarting, the lungs having not fuffered much diftention, flie breathes freer, which, by running low to the earth, intermixes better with the herbage. On the other hand, that a Hare long hunted runs high, and of courfe emits her breath farther off from the furface, therefore more liable to be fooner feparated, and overcome by wind and air. To the firft part I anfwer, the fafter a Hare runs, the longer ftretches ; therefore the lower fhe lies to the ground, but the farther the Hounds are behind ; and her breath (though expired ever fo free) re- mains a long time, in proportion to the diftance, before the Dogs come up to enjoy it. In the fecond place, the hard hunted Hare makes her ftretches ihorter, which brings her body naturally more upright and high from the furface, and the fcent hereby is more liable to be fooner overcome by wind and weather. But, then, as /he breathes quick in proportion, as I juft faid, and Hiortens her pace in a fenfible degree, N z the i8o Default, with Cautions , the Hounds, fo much as flie fhortens, fo much do they haften, being drawn on by an increafing fcent, even until Madam feels them at her heels. Another reafon, more natural and eafy than either of the aforefaid, why a Hare, towards the end of the hunt, is often diffi- cult to be killed, is, that if fhe holds her circuit, fhe confines her works in a much ihorter compafs, doubles here and there over and over; {hifts, redoubles, and tries all places for reft and fecurity, making a deal of foiling in a little fpace, which variety of equal fcent puzzles the Dogs exceedingly. But this is difcourfe the illiterate Huntf- man troublea himfelf little about, his chief iludy and height of genius extending little farther than to that moft defirable excellence of hollowing loud, and winding the ilraight horn, and talking to his Dogs in an unin- telligible jargon, that a Hottentot would blulli to be mafter of. So much for Kare-hunting. If you meet with any of my fentiments that agree with your own, or that give the leafl fatis- fadory information, I am fatisiied. You know and marvellous Tales of Hares. 1 8 1 know I live in the woodland country, and write like fuch a one; my Huntfman is obliged to be always on foot, and a nimble one. The properties requilite to make a good one, are, as before is hinted, everlafting patience, indefatigablenefs, a good heel, to- lerable mufical voice, and a natural love for Hounds and Hunting. Lying tongues the honefteft carry, but if they do not impofe on their Maflers it may be pardoned. Hare- hunting is a fine recreation, and, for innu- merable reafons, worthy of being followed, but often fuch hard exercife on foot, that were boys put apprentice to it, not one in fifty would ferve out his time. N -J AN A N ACCOUNT OF THE HUNTING EXCURSIONS O F ASOPH UL DOULAH, Vifier of the Mogul Empire, and Nabob of Oude. B Y / WILLIAM BLANE, Esq^ Who attended in thefe E.vcurfions in the Years 2785 and 17B6, N 4 { »85 ) AsopH Ul Doulah's Hunting Excursions. THE Vifier always fets out upon liis annual hunting party a foon as the cold feafon is well fet in ; that is, about the beginning of December ; and he flays out till the heats, about the beginning of March, force him back again. During this time, he generally makes a circuit of coun- try from four to fix hundred miles, always bending his courfe towards the fkirts of the Northern Mountains, where the country^ being wild and uncultivated, is the moft proper for game. When he marches, he takes with him, not only his houfehold and Zenana *, but all his Court, and a great part of the inhabi- ^ The Seraglio. tants tS6 'AfiphVlBoulaJf^ tants of his capital. Befides the immediate attendants about his perfon, in the various capacities of Rhidmitgars*, Frafliesf, Chob- darsj, Harcaras§, Mewatics •[ , &c. which may amount to about two thoufand> he is at- tended in camp by five or fix hundred horfe, and leveral battahons of regular fepoys, with their field-pieces. He takes with him about four or five hundred elephants ; of thefe fome are broke in for riding, fome for fighting, fome carry baggage, and the reft are refervedfor clearing the jungles || andfo- refts of the game : of the firft kind, there * Footmen, or valets-de-chambre. «|- Servants whofe bufinefs is to pitch tents in the field, and in the houfe to fpread the carpets, &c. and keep the apar ments clean. X Servants who carry a filver mace In front of the pro- cefiion, who attend at the door to announce ftrangers and vifitors, and who are fent upon meflages of ceremony. § Servants employed for meflages, and to procure in- telligence. ^ A fe£l of Hindoftan foldiers, principally employed as miards. 1! Defert and uncultivated places, whether covered with long grafs or reeds, or with brufh-wood, or forefts. are Hunting Excurfions, 187 are always twenty or thirty ready t:aparifon- ed, with Howdahs * and Amarys -f-, that at- tend clofe behind the one he rides upon him- felf, that he may change occafionally to any of them he Hkes ; or he fometimes permits fome of his attendants to ride upon them. He has with him about five or fix hun- dred fumpter horfes, a great many of which are always led ready faddled near him ; many of them are beautiful Perfian. horfes, and fome of them of the Arabian breed ; but he feldom rides any of them. Of wheel carriages, there are a great many of the country fafhion drawn by bullocks, principally for the accommodation of the * The fame as Amarys, but without a canopy. -f- AnAmaryis the machine faftened upon the back of the ele- phant for riding in. It is generally made of wood, painted and gilded. It is of a fquare form, with ledges about eight inches high^ and in two divifions, tlie largeft before, and a fmall one behind for a fervant : the firil divifion is from three to four feet wide, with cufhions and bedding in it ; and the whole is covered by a canopy, fupported with eight ftand- ards, and covered with Englilh broad cloth, either plain 243 A wide circumference ; full many a league In compafs round ; woods, rivers, hills, and plains. Large provinces ; enough to gratify Ambition's highefl aim, could reafon bound Man's erring will. Now fit in clofe divan The mighty chiefs of this prodigious hoft. He from the throne high- eminent preiides. Gives out his mandates proud, laws of the chace, From ancient records drawn. With rev'rence lovVj And proftrate at his feet, the chiefs receive His irreverfible decrees, from which To vary, is to die. Then his brave bands £ach to his flation leads ; encamping round. Till the wide circle is compleatly form'd. Where decent order reigns, what thefe command Thofe execute with fpeed, and pundtual care 5 In all the ftridteft difcipline of war : As if fome watchful foe, with bold infult. Hung low'ring o'er their camp. The high refolve^ That flies on wings thro' all th' encircling line^ Each naotion fleers, and animates the whole. So, by the fun's attradive pow'r controll'd. The planets in their fpheres roll round his orb. On all he fliines, and rules the great machine. Ere yet the morn difpels the fleeting mifts. The fignal giv'n by the loud trumpet's voice^ Now high in air th' imperial flandard waves. Emblazon 'd rich with gold, and glitt'ring gems 5 And like a flieet of fire thro' the dun gloom R 2 Streaming 241- Somervile*s [sEcojJd Streaming meteorous. The foldiers Ihouts, And all the brazen inftruments of war. With mutual clamour, and united din, Fill the large concave ; while from camp to camp They catch the varied founds, floating in air. Round all the wide circumference, tygers fell Shrink at the noife, deep in his gloomy den The lion ftarts, and morfels yet unchew'd Drop from his trembling jaws. Now all at once Onward they march embattled, to the found Of martial harmony ; fifes, cornets, drums. That roufe the fleepy foul to arms, and bold Heroic deeds. In parties here and there Detach 'd o'er hill and dale, the hunters range Inquifitive ; flrong dogs that match in fight The boldeft brute, around their maflers wait, A faithful guard. No haunt unfearch'd, they drive From ev'ry covert, and from ev'ry den, The lurking favages. Inceffant (houts Re-echo thro* the woods, and kindling fires Gleam from the mountain tops -, the foreft feems One mingling blaze : like flocks of Iheep they fly Before the flaming brand : fierce lions, pards. Boars, tygers, bears, and wolves ; a dreadful crew Of grim, blood-thirfly foes : growling along, They flalk indignant ; but fierce vengeance flill Hangs pealing on their rear, and pointed fpears Prefert immediate death. Soon as the night Wrapt in her fable veil forbids the chace. They BOOK.] Chace. 245 They pitch their tents, in even ranks, around The circling camp. The guards are plac*d, and fires At proper diftances afcending rife. And paint the horizon with their ruddy light. So round fome ifland's ihore of large extent, Amid the gloomy horrors of the night. The billows breaking on the pointed rocks. Seem all one flame, and the bright circuit wide Appears a bulwark of furrounding fire. What dreadful bowlings, and what hideous roar, Difturb thofe peaceful fhades ! where erft the bird That glads the night had chear'd the lift'ning groves With fweet complainings. Thro' the (ilent gloom Oft they the guards affail ; as oft repell'd They fly reludlant, with hot-boiling rage Stung to the quick, and mad with wild defpair. Thus day by day they ftill the chace renew ; At night encamp ; till now in ftraiter bounds The circle leflens, and the beafts perceive The wall that hems them in on ev'ry fide. And now their fury burfts, and knows no mean ; From man they turn, and point their ill-judg'd rage Againft their fellow brutes. With teeth and claws The civil war begins ; grappling they tear. Lions on tygers prey, and bears on wolves ; Horrible difcord \ till the crowd behind Shouting purfue, and part the bloody fray. At once their wrath fubfides ; tame as the lamb The lion hangs his head ; the furious pard, Pv 3 Cow'd 246 Somerviles [second Cow'd and fubdu'd, flies from the face of man, Nor bears one glance of his commanding eye. So abjed; is a tyrant in diftrefs. At ]aft within the narrow plain confin'd, A lifted field, mark'd out for bloody deeds, An amphitheatre more glorious far. Than ancient Rome cou'dboaft,they crowd in heaps^ Difmay'd, and quite appall'd. In meet array Sheath'd in refulgent arms, a noble band Advance ; great lords of high imperial blood. Early refolv'd t' aflert their royal race. And prove by glorious deeds their valour's growth Mature, ere yet the callow down has fpread Its curling fhade. On bold Arabian fteeds With decent pride they fit, that fearlefs hear The lion's dreadful roar j and down the rock Swift-fhooting plunge, or o'er the mountain's ridge Stretching along, the greedy tyger leave Panting behind. On foot their faithful flaves Widi javelins arm'd attend 5 each watchful eyo Fix'd on his youthful care, for him alone He fears, and to redeem his life, unmov'd Wou'd lofe his own. The mighty Aurengzebe, From his high-elevated throne, beholds His blooming race ; revolving in his mind "What once he was, in his gay fpring of life. When vigour ftrung his nerves. Parental joy Melts in his eyes, and flufhes in his cheeks. I^^ov/ the loud trumpet founds a charge. The fliouts Qf BOOK.] Chace. 247 Of eager hofts, thro' all the circling line. And the wild howlings of the beafts within. Rend wide the welkin ; flights of arrows, wing'd With death, and javelins launched from ev'ry arm. Gall fore the brutal bands, with many a wound Gor'd thro' and thro'. Defpair at laft prevails, When faintinor nature fhrinks, and roufes all Their drooping courage. Swell*d with furious rage. Their eyes dart fire ; and on the youthful band They rufli implacable. They their broad Ihields Quick interpofe ; on each devoted head Their flaming falchions, as the bolts of Jove, Defcend unerring. Proftrate on the ground The grinning monfters lie, and their foul gore Defiles the verdant plain. Nor idle {land The trufty flaves ; with pointed fpears they pierce Thro' their tough hides, 01 at their gaping mouths An eafier paffage find. The king of brutes In broken roarings breathes his laft ; the bear Grumbles in death ; nor can his fpotted ikin, Tho' fleek it Ihine, with varied beauties gay. Save the proud pard from unrelenting fate. The battle bleeds, grim Slaughter ftrides along. Glutting her greedy jaws, grins o*er her prey : Men, horfes, dogs, fierce beafts of ev'ry kind, A ftrange promifcuous carnage, drenched in blood. And heaps on heaps amafs'd. What yet remain Alive, with vain aflault contend to break Th' impenetrable line. Others, whom fear Infpires with felf-preferving wiles, beneath R 4 The 24? Somerviles [second The bodies of the flain for fhelter creep. Aghaft they fly, or hide their heads difpers'd. And now perchance (had Heav'n but pleas'd) the work Of death had been compleat, and Aurengzebe By one dread frown extinguifh'd half their race : When lo ! the bright Sultanas of his court Appear, and to his ravifh'd eyes difplay Thofe charms, but rarely to the day reveal'd. Lowly they bend, and humbly fue, to fave The vanquifh'd hoft. What mortal can deny When fuppliant beauty begs ? At his command, Op'ning to right and left, the well-train'd troops Leave a large void for their retreating foes : Away they fly, on wings of fear upborne, To feek on diftant hills their late abodes. Ye proud opprefTors, whofe vain hearts exult In wantonnefs of pow'r, 'gainfl the brute race. Fierce robbers like yourfelves, a guiltlefs war W^age uncontroU'd : here quench your thirft of blood 5 But le^rn from Aurengzebe to fpare mankind, BOOK BOOK.] Chace, 249 BOOK THE THIRD, ARGUMENT. OF King Edgarj and his impofing a Tribute of Wolves Heads upon the Kings of Wales : From hence a Tranfition t-> Fox- Hunting, which is defcribed in all its Parts. Cenfure of an over-numerous Pack. Of the feveral Engines to deftroy Foxes, and other wild Beafts. The Steel-trap defcribed, and the Manner of ufmg it. Defcription of the Pitfall for the Lion ; and another for the Elephant. The ancient Way of Hunting the Tyger with a Mirrour. The Arabian Man- ner of hunting the wild Boar. Defcription of the Royal §cag-chace at Windfor Foreft. Concludes with an Addrels to his Majefty, and an Eulogy upon Mercy. Xn Albion's ifle when glorious E^lgar reign'd, He, wifely provident, from her white cliffs Launch'd half her foreft, and with numerous fleets Cover'd his wide domain •, there proudly rode Lord of the deep, the great prerogative Of Britiih monarchs. Each invader bold, Dane and Norwegian, at a diftance gaz'd, And, difappointed, gnalh'd his teeth in vain. He fcour'd the feas, and to remotefl: fhores With fwelling fails the trembling corfair fled. Rich commerce flourifli'd, and with bufy oars Palh'd the refounding furge. Nor lefs 3t land His 2^o Somervile's [third His royal cares ; wife, potent, gracious prince ! His fubjedts from their cruel foes he faved, And from rapacious favages their flocks. Cambria's proud kings (tho' with reludtance) paid Their tributary wolves ; head after head. In full account, till the woods yield no more, And all the ravenous race extindt is loft. In fertile paftures more fecurely graz'd The fecial troops ; and foon their large increafe With curling fleeces whiten'd all the plains. But yet, alas ! the wily fox remained, A fubtle, pilfVing foe, prowling around In midnight Ihades, and wakeful to deftroy. In the full fold, the poor defencelefs lamb, Seiz'd by his guileful arts, with fweet warm blood Supplies a rich repaft. The mournful ewe. Her deareft treafure loft, thro' the dun night Wanders perplex'd, and darkling bleats in vain ; While, in th' adjacent bufli, poor Philomel (Herfelf a parent once, till wanton churls Defpoil'dher neft) joins in her loud laments. With fweeter notes, and more melodious woe. For thefe nodturnal thieves, huntfman, prepare Thy fharpeft vengeance. Oh ! how glorious 'tis To right th' opprefs'd, and bring the felon vile To juft difgrace ! Ere yet the morning peep. Or ftars retire from the firft blufti of day. With thy far-echoing voice alarm thy pack. And roufe thy bold compeers. Then to the copfe. Thick BOOK.] Chace, 25$ Thick with entangling grafs, or prickly furze. With filence lead thy many-colour'd hounds. In all their beauty's pride. See ! how they range Difpers'd, how bufily this way and that They crofs, examining with curious nofe Each likely haunt. Hark ! on the drag I hear Their doubtful notes, preluding to a cry More nobly full, and fwell'd v^ith ev'ry mouth. As ftraggling armies, at the trumpet*s voice, Prefs to their ftandard ; hither all repair. And hurry thro' the woods ; with hafty ftep Ruftling, and full of hope 5 now driv'p on heaps They puih, they ftrive j while from his kennel fneaks The confcious villain. See ! he fkulks along. Sleek at the fhepherd's coft, and plump with meals Purloin'd. So thrive the wicked here below. Tho' high his brufn he bear, tho' tipt with white It gaily Ihine ; yet ere the fun declin'd Recall the (hades of night, the pamper'd rogue Shall rue his fate revers'd ; and at his heels Behold the juft avenger, fwift to feize His forfeit head, and thirfting for his blood. Heavens ! what melodious ftrains ! how beat our hearts Big with tumultuous joy ! the loaded gales Breathe harmony •, and as the tempeft drives From wood to wood, thro' ev'ry dark recefs The foreft thunders, and the mountains fhake. Xhe chorus fwells ; lefs various, and lefs fweet The 2^2 Somervile 's [third The thrilling notes, when in thofc very groves The fealher'd chorifters falute the fpring, And ev'ry bufti in concert joins ; or when The matter's hand, in modulated air. Bids the loud organ breathe, and all the pow'rs Of mufic in one inftrument combine. An univerfal minflrelfy. And now In vain each earth he tries, the doors are barr'd Impregnable, nor is the covert fafe ; He pants for purer air. Hark ! what loud fhouts Re-echo thro' the groves ! he breaks away, Shrill horns proclaim his flight. Each flraggling hound Strains o'er the lawn to reach the diftant pack, 'Tis triumph all and joy. Now, my brave youths, Now give a loofe to the clean, gen*rous fleed ; Flourifh the whip, nor fpare the galling fpur ; But in the madnefs of delight forget Your fears. Far o'er the rocky hills we range. And dangerous our courfe ; but in the brave True courage never fails. In vain the ftream In foaming eddies whirls •, in vain the ditch Wide-gaping threatens death. The craggy fleep. Where the poor dizzy (hepherd crawls with care. And dings to ev'ry twig, gives us no pain ; But down we fwcep, as floops the falcon bold To pounce his prey. Then up th' opponent hill. By the fwift motion flung, we mount aloft. So Ihips in winter-feas now Aiding fink Adown the fteepy wave ; then, tofs'd on high, Kide on the billows, and defy the ftorm. What BOOK.] Chace. 253 What lengths we pafs ! where will th-e wand'ring chace Lead us bewilder'd ! Smooth as Iwallows fkim The new-fhorn mead, and far more fwift, we fly. See my brave pack ! how to the head they prefs, Juftling in clofe array, then more diffufe Obliquely wheel, while from their op'ning mouths The vollied thunder breaks. So when the cranes Their annual voyage fleer, with wanton wing Their figure oft they change, and their loud clang From cloud to cloud rebounds. How far behind The hunter-crew, wide-{l:raggling o*er the plain ! The panting courfer now with trembling nerves Begins to reel j urg'd by the goring fpur, Makes many a faint effort : he fnorts, he foams ; The big round drops run trickling down his fides. With fweat and blood diftain'd. Look back and view The flrange confufion of the vale below, Where four vexation reigns. See yon poor jade ! jn vain th' impatient rider frets and fwears. With galling fpurs harrows his mangled fides ; He can no more : his fliff, unpliant limbs Pvooted in earth, unmov'd and fix'd he ftands. For ev*ry cruel curfe returns a groan. And fobs, and faints, and dies. Who without grief Can view that pamper*d fleed, his matter's joy. His minion, and his daily care, well cloath'd. Well fed with ev'ry nicer cate ; no cofl, No labour fpar'd ; who, when the flying chace Broke 2^4 ^omervils's [third Broke from the copfe, without a rival led The num'rous train : now a fad fpedtade Of pride brought low, and humbled infolence. Drove like a pannier'd afs, and fcourgM along ! While thefe with loofen'd reins, and dangling heels. Hang on their reeling palfreys, that fcarce bear Their weights ; another in the treacherous bog Liesflound'ringhalf ingulph'd. What biting thoughts Torment th'abandon'd crew ! Old age laments His vigour fpent : the tall, plump, brawny youth Curfes his cumb'rous bulk, and envies now The Ihort pygmean race, he whilom kenn'd With proud infuking leer. A chofen few Alone the fport enjoy, nor droop beneath Their pleafing toils. Here, huntfman, from this height Obferve yon birds of prey ; if I can judge, 'Tis there the villain lurks ; they hover round And claim him as their own. Was I not right ? See ! there he creeps along ; his brufh he drags. And fweeps the mire impure ; from his wide jaws His tongue unmoiften'd hangs ; fymptoms too fure Of fudden death. Hah ! yet he flies, nor yields To black defpair. But one loofe more, and all His wiles are vain. Hark ! thro' yon village now The rattling clamour rings. The barns, the cotj, And leaflefs elms, return the joyous founds. Thro' ev'ry homeftall, and thro' ev*ry yard. His midnight walks, panting, forlorn, he flies 5 Thro* ev'ry hole he fneaks, thro* ev'ry jakes Plunging BOOK.] Chdce. i^^ Plunging he wades befmeared, and fondly hopes In a fuperior flench to lofe his own : But faithful to the track, th* unerring hounds With peals of echoing vengeance clofe purfue. And now diftrefs'd, no Ihelt'ring covert near. Into the hen-rooft creeps, whofe walls with gore Diftain'd atteft his guilt. There, villain, there Exped: thy fate deferv'd. And foon from thence The pack inquilitive, with clamour loud, Drag out their trembling prize, and on his blood With greedy tranfport feaft. In bolder notes Each founding horn proclaims the felon dead. And all th'affembled village Ihouts for joy. The farmer, who beholds his mortal foe Stretch'd at his feet, applauds the glorious deed. And grateful calls us to a fhort repaft : In the full glafs the liquid amber fmiles, Our native produdt. And his good old mate With choiceft viands heaps the lib'ral board. To crown our triumphs, and reward our toils. Here muft th' inftrudive Mufe (but with refpe And hunger keen, and pungent thirft of blood, Rouze up the flothful bead, he (hakes his (ides, Slow-rifing from his lair, and flretches wide His rav'nous paws, with recent gore diftain'd. S The 2^8 Somervile's {tniikti The forefts tremble, as he roars alou45 Impatient to deftroy. O'erjoy'd he hears The bleating innocent, that claims in vain The lliepherd*s care, and feeks with piteous moan The foodful teat-, himfelf, alas! defign'd Another's meal. For now the greedy brute Winds him from far; and leaping o'er the mound To feize his trembling prey, headlong is plung'd Into the deep abyfs. Proftrate he lies Aftunn'd and impotent. Ah 1 what avail Thine eye-balls flafhing fire, thy length of tail. That lalhes thy broad fides, thy jaws befmear'd With blood and offals crude, thy Ihaggy mane The terror of the woods, thy ftately port. And bulk enormous, fince by ftratagem Thy ftrength is foil'd ? Unequal is the llrife. When fov'reign reafon combats brutal rage. On diftant Ethiopia's fun-burnt coafls. The black inhabitants a pitfall frame. But of a diff'rent kind, and diff'rent ufe. With flender poles the wide capacious mouth, • And hurdles flight, they clofe; o'er thefe is fpread A floor of verdant turf, with all its flow'rs Smiling delufive, and from ftrittefl: fearch Concealing the deep grave that yawns below. Then boughs of trees they cut, with tempting froit Of various kinds furcharg'dj the downy peach, Thecluft'ring vine, and of bright golden rind The fragrant orange. Soon as ev'ning grey Advances jBooK ] Chace, 259 Advances flow, befprinkling all around With kind refrelhing dews the thirfty glebe, The (lately elephant from the clofe fhade With ftep majeftic flrides, eager to tafte The cooler breeze that from the fea-beat Ihore Delightful breathes, or in the limpid ftream To lave his panting fides ; joyous he fcents The rich repaft, unweeting of the death That lurks within. And foon he fporting breaks The brittle boughs, and greedily devours The fruit delicious. Ah ! too dearly bought 5 The price is life. For now the teach'rous turf Trembling gives way, and the unwieldy beaft^ Self-finking, drops into the dark profound. So when dilated vapours ftruggling hsave Th'incumbent earth; if chance the cavern'd ground Shrinking fubfide, and the thin furface yield, Down finks at once the pond'rous dome, ingulph'd With all its tow'rs. Subtle, delufive man t How various are thy wiles ! artful to kill Thy favage foes, a dull, unthinking race. Fierce from his lair fprings forth the fpeckled pard^ Thirftingfor blood, and eager to deftroy ; The huntfman flies, but to his flight alone Confides not: at convenient diftance fix*d, A polifli'd mirrour flops in full career The furious brute : he there his image views j Spots againft fpots with rage improving glow ; Another pard his briflly whifkers curls. 26o Soniervile's [xHlRi? Grins as he grins, fierce-menacing, and wide Diftends his op'ning paws ; himfelf againfl Himfelf oppos'd, and with dread vengeance arm'd. The huntfman now, fecure, with fatal aim Direds the pointed fpear, by which transfix'd He dies, and with him dies the rival fliade. Thus man innum'rous engines forms, t'affail The favage kind : but moft the docile horfe. Swift, and confederate with man, annoys His brethren of the plains ; without whofe aid The hunters arts were vain, unfkill'dto wage With the more adive brutes an equal war : But, borne by him, without the well-train*d pack, Man dares his foe, on wings of winds fecure. Hirn the fierce Arab mounts, and with his troop Of bold compeers ranges the defer ts wild : "Where, by the magnet's aid, the traveller Steers his untrodden courfe, yet oft on land Is wreck'd, in the high-rolling waves of fand Immers'd and loft ; while thefe intrepid bands, Safe in their horfes fpeed, out- fly the ftorm. And fcouring round make men and beafts their prey» The grifly boar is fingled from his herd, As large as that in Erimanthian woods, A match for Hercules. Round him they fly In circles wide; and each in pafling fends His feather'd death into his brawny fides. But perilous ih' attempt. For if the fteed Haply too near approach, or the loofe earth His BOOK.] Chace, 261 His footing fail, the watchful, angry beaft Th* advantage fpies, and at one iidelong glance Rips up his groin. Wounded, he rears alott. And, plunging, from his back the rider hurls Precipitant j then bleeding fpurns the ground. And drags his reeking entrails o'er the plain. Mean while the furly monfter trots along. But with unequal fpeed j for ftill they wound. Swift-wheeling in the fpacious ring. A wood Of darts upon his back he bears ; adown His tortur'd fides the crimfon torrents roll From many a gaping font. And now at laft Staggering he falls, in blood and foam expires. But whither roves my devious Mufe, intent On antique tales, while yet the royal flag Unfung remains ? Tread with refpeflful awe Windfor*s green glades ; where Denham, tuneful bard, Charm'd once the lift'ning Dryads with his fong Sublimely fweet. O ! grant me, facred fhade. To glean fubmifs what thy full fickle leaves. The morning fun, that gilds with trembling rays Windfor's high tow'rs, beholds the courtly train Mount for the chace, nor views in all his courfe A fcene fo gay : heroic, noble youths. In arts and arms renown'd, and lovely nymphs. The faireft of this ifle, where beauty dwells Delighted, and deferts her Paphian grove For our more favour'd fhades : in proud parade Thefe ihine magnificent, and prefs around S 3 The 262 Somervile's [third The royal happy pair. Great in themfelves, They fmile fuperior ; of external fhow Regard iefs, while their inbred virtues give A liiftre to their pow'r, and grace their court With real fplendours, far above the pomp Of eaftern kings in all their tinfel pride. Like troops of Amazons, the female band Prance round their cars, not in refulgent arms Asthofe of old; unfkill'd to wield the fwordj Or bend the bow, thefe kill with fureraim. The royal offspring, faireft of the fair. Lead on the fplendid train; Anna, more bright Than fummer funs, or as the lightning keen. With irrefiftible effulgence arm'd, Fires ev'ry heart. He muft be more than man. Who unconcern'd can bear the piercing ray. Amelia, milder than the blulhing dawn. With fweec engaging air, but equal pow'r, Infenfibly fubdues, and in foft chains Her willing captives leads. Illuftrious maids. Ever triumphant ! whofe vidtorious charms. Without the needlefs aid of high defcent. Had aw'd mankind, and taught the world's great lords To bow and fue for grace. But who is he, Frefh as a rofe-bud newly blown, and fair As op'ning liliies, on whom ev'ry eye With joy and admiration dwells? See! fee! ^e reins his docile barb with manly grace, Ts it Adonis for the chace array'd ? BOOK.] Chace, 263 Or Britain's fecond hope ? Hail, blooming youth \ May all your virtues with your years improve, Till, in confummate worth, you fiiine the pride Of thefe our days, and to fucceeding times A bright example. As his guard of mutes On the great Sultan wait, with eyes dejedt Andfix'd on earth, no voice, no found is heard Within the wide ferail, but all is hufh'd, And awful filence reigns j thus ftand the pack Mute and unmov'd, and cow'ring low to earth. While pafs theglltt'ring court, and royal pair: So difciplinM thofe hounds, and fo referv'd, Whofe honour 'tis to glad the hearts of kings. But foon the winding horn, and huntfman's voice. Let loofe the gen'ral chorus j far around Joy fpreads its wings, and the gay morning fmiles. Unharbour'd now the royal flag forfakes His wonted lair ; he Ihakes his dappled fides. And tofles high his beamy head, the copfe Beneath his antlers bends. What doubling ihifts He tries ! not more the wily hare j in thefe Wou'd flill perfift, did not the full-mouth 'd pack With dreadful concert thunder in his rear. The woods reply, the hunters chearing fhouts Float thro' the glades, and the wide foreil rings. How merrily they chant ! their noftrils deep Inhale the grateful fleam. Such is the cry. And fuch th' harmonious din; thefoldier deems The battle kindling, and the flatefman grave S 4 Forgets 264 Somervile*s [third Forgets his weighty cares ; each age, each fex In the wild tranfport joins j luxuriant joy. And pleafure in excefs, fparkling exult On ev'ry brow, and revel unreftrain'd. How happy art thou, man, when thou'rt no more Thyfelf ! when all the pangs that grind thy foul. In rapture and in fweet oblivion loft, Yield a (hort interval, and eafe from pain ! See the fwift courfer ftrains, his fhining hoofs Securely beat the folid ground. Who now The dang'rous pitfall fears, with tangling heath High-overgrown ? Or who the quiv'ring bog Soft-yielding to the ftep ? All now is plain. Plain as the ftrand fea-lav'd, that ftretches far Beneath the rocky fhore. Glades croffing glades The foreft opens to our wond'ring view : Such was the king's command. Let tyrants fierce Lay wafte the world 5 his the more glorious part To check their pride, and, when the brazen voice Of war is hufli'd, (as erft victorious Rome) T' employ his ftation'd legions in the works Of peace J to fmooth the rugged wildernelsj To drain the ftagnate fen, to raife the Hope Depending road, and to make gay the face Of nature with th' embellifhments of art. How melts my beating heart ! as I behold Each lovely nymph, our ifland's boaft and pride, Pulh on the gen'rous fteed, that ftrokes along O'er rough, o'er fmooth, nor heeds the fteepy hill. Nor BOOK.] Chace. 265 Nor faulters in th* extended vale below j Their garments loofely waving in the wind, And all the flufli of beauty in their cheeks ! "While at their fides their penfive lovers wait, Dire<5t their dubious courfe ; now chill'd with fear Solicitous, and now with love infiam'd. O ! grant, indulgent Heav'n, no rifing florm May darken with black wings this glorious fcene ! , Shou'd Ibme malignant pow'r thus damp our joys. Vain were the gloomy cave, fuch as of old Betray'd to lawlefs love the Tyrian queen. For Britain's virtuous nymphs are chafte as fair, Spotlefs, unblam'd, with equal triumph reign In the dun gloom, as in the blaze of day. Now the blown ftag, thro' woods, bogs, roads, and ftreams. Has meafur'd half the foreft ; but, alas ! He flies in vain, he flies not from his fears, Tho' far he caft the ling'ring pack behind. His haggard fancy fl:ill with horror views The fell defl:royer j ftill the fatal cry Infults his ears, and wounds his trembling heart. So the poor fury-haunted wretch (his hands In guiltlefs blood diftain'd) fl;ill feems to hear The dying fhrieks j and the pale threat'ning ghoft Moves as he moves, and as he flies, purfues. See here his flot j up yon green hill he climbs. Pants on its brow awhile, fadly looks beck On his purfuers, cov'ring all the plain , But, 266 Somerviles [thirI) But, wrung with anguifh, bears not long the fight. Shoots down the fteep, and fweats along the vale : There mingles with the herd, where once he reign'd Proud monarch of the groves, whofe clafhing beam His rivals aw'd, and v^hofe exalted pow'r Was ftill rewarded with fuccefsful love. But the bafe herd have learn'd the ways of men, Averfe they fly, or with rebellious aim Chace him from thence : needlefs their impious deed. The huntfman knows him by a thoufand marks. Black, and imboft j nor are his hounds deceiv'd ; Too well diilinguifli thefe, and never leave Their once-devoted foe j familiar grows His fcent, and Itrong their appetite to kill. Again he flies, and with redoubled fpeed Skims o'er the lawn ; ftill the tenacious crew Hang on the track, aloud demand their prey. And pufli him many a league. If haply then Too far efcap'd, and the gay courtly train Behind are cafl:, the huntfman's clanging whip Stops full their bold career ; pafllve they fl:and, Unmov'd, an humble, an obfequious crowd. As if by fl:ern Medufa gaz'd to llones. So at their gen'ral's voice whole armies halt In full purfuit, and check their thirfl: of blood. Soon at the king's command, like hafty fi:reams Damm'd up awhile, they foam, and pour along With frefli recruited might. The fl:ag, who hop'd His foes were loft:, now once more hears aftunn'd The BOOK.] Chace, 26 f The dreadful din ; he fhivers ev'ry limb. He flarts, he bounds ; each bufh prefents a foe. Prefs'd by the frelli relay, ho paufe allow'd, Breathlefs, and faint, he faulters in his pace, And lifts his weary limbs with pain, that fcarcc Suftain their load ; he pants, he fobs appall'd ; Drops down his heavy head to earth, beneath His cunnb'rous beams opprefs'd. But if perchance Some prying eye furprize him ; foon he rears Ere£l his tow'ring front, bounds o'er the lawn With ill-diflembled vigour, to amufe The knowing forefter, who inly fmiles At his weak fhifts and unavailing frauds. So midnight tapers wafte their laft remains. Shine forth a while, and as they blaze expire. From wood to wood redoubling thunders roll, And bellow thro' the vales ; the moving ftorm Thickens amain, and loud triumphant fhouts. And horns fhrill-warbling in each glade, prelude To his approaching fate. And now in view With holbbling gaii^nd high, exerts amaz'd What ftrength is left : to the laft dregs of life Reduc'd, his fpirits fail, on ev'ry fide Hemm'd in, befieg'd ; not the leaft op'ning left To gleaming hope, th' unhappy's laft referve. Where fhall he turn ? Or whither fly ? Defpair Gives courage to the weak. Refolv'd to die. He fears no more, but rufties on his foes. And deals his deaths around \ beneath his htt Thefc 268 Somervile's [third Thefe grovelling lie, thofeby his antlers gor'd Defile th'enfanguin'd plain. Ah! fee cliftrefs'd He flands at bay againft yon knotty trunk. That covers well his rear; his front prefents An hod of foes. O! fhun, ye noble train. The rude encounter, and believe your lives Your country's due alone. As now aloof They wing around, he finds his foul uprais'd To dare fome great exploit : he charges home Upon the broken pack, that on each fide Fly diverfe j then as o'er the turf he ftrains. He vents the cooling ftream, and up the breeze Urges his courfe with eager violence : Then takes the foil, and plunges in the flood Precipitant ; down the mid-ftream he wafts Along, till, (like a Ihip diftrefs'd, that runs Into fome winding creek,) clofe to the verge Of a fmall ifland, for his weary feet Sure anchorage he finds, there fkulks immers'd. His nofe alone above the wave, draws in The vital air ; all elfe beneath the flood Conceal'd, and loft, deceives each prying eye Of man or brute. In vain the crowding pack Draw on the margin of the ftream, or cut The liquid wave with oary feet, that move In equal time. The gliding waters leave No trace behind, and his contrafted pores But fparingly perfpire : the huntfman ftrains His lab'ring lungs, and puffs his cheeks in vain : At 1 fiobK.] Chace. 269 At length a blood-hound bold, ftudious to kill, Andexquifite offenfe, winds him from far j Headlong he leaps into the flood, his mouth Loud-op'ning fpends amain, and his wide throat Swells ev'ry note with joy j then fearlefs dives Beneath the wave, hangs on his haunch, and wounds Th' unhappy brute, that flounders in the fl:ream. Sorely diftrefs'd, and ft:ruogling flirives to mount The fl:eepy fliore. Haply once more efcap'd. Again he fl:ands at bay, amid the groves Of willows, bending low their downy heads. Outrageous tranfport fires the greedy pack ; Thefe fwim the deep, and thofe crawl up with pain The flipp'ry bank, while others on firm land "Engage j the ft:ag repels each bold aflault. Maintains his pofl:, and wounds for wounds returns. As when fome wily corfair boards a fliip Full-freighted, or from Afric's golden coafl:s. Or India's wealthy fl:rand, his bloody crew Upon her deck he flings i thefe in the deep Drop fliort, and fwim to reach her fteepy fldes. And clinging climb aloft, while thofe on board Urge on the work of fate ; the mafter bold, Prefs'd to his lafl: retreat, bravely refolves To fink his wealth beneath the whelming wave, His wealth, his foes, nor unreveng'd to die. So fares it with the flag j fo he refolves To plunge at once into the flood below, Himfelf, his foes, in one deep gulph immers'd. Ere 270 Bomerviles [third Ere yet he executes this dire intent, In wild diforder once more views the light j Beneath a weight of woe, he groans diftrefs'd : The tears run trickling down his hairy cheeks ; He weeps, nor weeps in vain. The king beholds His wretched plight, and tendernefs innate Moves his great foul. Soon at his high command Rebuk'd, the difappointed, hungry pack Retire fubmifs, and grumbling quit their prey. Great prince ! from thee what may thy fubjeds hope. So kind, and fo beneficent to brutes ? O mercy, heav'nly born ! fweet attribute ! Thou great, thou beft prerogative of pow'r ! Juftice may guard the throne, but, join'd with thee^ On rocks of adamant it ftands fecure. And braves the ftorm beneath : foon as thy fmiles Gild the rough deep, the foaming waves fubfidc;, And all the noify tumult finks in peace. BOOK BOOK.] Chace. nji BOOK THE FOURTH. ARGUMENT. OF the Neceffity of deftroying fome Beafts, and prefervlng others for the Ufa of Man. Of breeding of Hounds ; the Seafon for this Bufmefs. The Choice of the Dog, of great Moment. Of the Litter of Whelps. Of the Number to be reared. Of fetting them out to their feveral Walks, Care to be taken to prevent their Hunting too foon. Of entering the Whelps. Of breaking them from running at Sheep. Of the Difeafes of Hounds. Of their Age. Of Madnefs j two Sorts of it defcribed, the Dumb, and out- rageous Madnefs : its dreadful EfFeds. Burning of th6 Wound recommended as preventing all ill Confequences. The infeflious Hounds to be feparated, and fed apart. The Vanity of trufting to the many infallible Cures for this Ma- lady. The difmal EfFefts of the Biting of a Mad Dog up- on Man defcribed. Defcription of the Otter Hunting. The Conclufion. Wi HATE'ER of earth is form'd, to earth returns Diflblv'd : the various objedts we behold, Plants, animals, this whole material mafs. Are ever changing, ever new. The foul Of man alone, that particle divine, Efcapes the wreck of worlds, when all things fail. Hence great thediftance 'twixt the beafls that periHi And God's bright image, man's immortal race. The 272 Somer'vile's [fourth The brute creation are his property, Subfervient to his will, and for him made. As hurtful thefe he kills, as ufeful thofc Preferves ; their fole and arbitrary king. Shou'd he not kill, as erft the Samian fage Taught unadvis'd, and Indian Brachmans now As vainly preach ; the teeming rav'nous brutes Might fill the fcanty fpace of this terrene. Incumbering all the globe ; Ihou'd not his care Improve his growing flock, their kinds might fail, Man might once more on roots and acorns feed. And thro' the deferts range, fhiv'ring, forlorn. Quite deftitute of ev'ry folace dear, And ev'ry fmiling gaiety of life. The prudent huntfman, therefore, will fupply With annual large recruits his broken pack. And propagate their kind : as from the root Frelh fcions ftill fpring forth, and daily yield Kew blooming honours to the parent-tree. Far (hall his pack be fam*d, far fought his breed. And princes at their tables feafl thofe hounds His hand prefents, an acceptable boon. Ere yet the fun thro' the bright ram has urg'd His lleepy courfe, or mother Earth unbound Her frozen bofom to the weftern gale ; When feather'd troops, their focial leagues diflblv'd, Seledt their mates, and on the leaflefs elm The noify rook builds high her wicker neft; Mark well the wanton females of thy pack, That BOOK.] Chace, 273^ That curl their taper tails, and frifking court Their pyebald mates enamour'd ; their red eyes Flafh fires impure ; nor reft nor food they take. Goaded by furious love. In fep'rate cells Confine them now, left bloody civil wars Annoy thy peaceful ftate. If left at largCj The growling rivals in dread battle join, And rude encounter. On Scamander's ftreams Heroes of old with far lefs fury fought For the bright Spartan dame, their valour's prize. Mangled and torn thy fav'rite hounds fhall lie, Stretch'd on the ground ; thy kennel ftiall appear A field of blood : like fome unhappy town In civil broils confus'd, while difcord fhakes Her bloody fcourge aloft, fierce parties rage. Staining their impious hands in mutual death. And ftill the beft belov'd and braveft fall : Such are the dire effedts of lawlefs love, Huntfman ! thefe ills by timely prudent care Prevent : for ev'ry longing dame feled: Some happy paramour ; to him alone In leagues connubial join. Confider well His lineage ; what his fathers did of old, Chiefs of the pack, and firft to climb the rock, Or plunge into the deep, or thread the brake With thorns lTiarp-poinred,pla(h'd, and briars in woven. Obferve with care his fhape, fort, colour, fi^e. Nor will fagacious huntfmen Icfs regard T His 2 74 Somervile 's [fourth His inward habits ; the vain babbler Ihun, Ever loquacious, ever in the wrong. His foolifh offspring Ihall offend thy ears With falfe alarms, and loud impertinence. Nor lefs the fbifting cur avoid, that breaks Illufive from the pack ; to the next hedge Devious he flrays, there ev'ry mufe he tries j If haply then he crofs the flreaming fcent. Away he flies vain glorious, and exults As of the pack fupreme, and in his fpeed And ftrength unrivall'd. L.o ! caft far behind His vex'd affociates pant, and lab'ring (train To climb the flcep afcent. Soon as they reach Th' infulting boafter, his falfe courage fails, Behind he lags, doom'd to the fatal noofe. His mailer's hate, and fcorn of all the field. What can from fuch be hop'd, but a bafe brood Of coward curs, a frantic, vagrant race ? When now the third revolving moon appears. With fharpen'd horns, above th' horizon's brink. Without Lucina's aid, exped: thy hopes Are amply crown'd ; ihort pangs produce to light The fmoking litter, crawling, helplefs, blind. Nature their guide, they feek the pouting teat. That plenteous Hreams. Soon as the tender dam Has form*d them with her tongue, with pleafure view The marks of their renown'd progenitors. Sure pledge of triumphs yet to come. All thefe Seled with joy j but to the merc'icfs flood Expofe BOOK.] Chace, 275 Expofe the dwindling refufe, nor o'crload Th' indulgent mother. If thy heart relent. Unwilling to deftroy, a nurfe provide, And to the fofter-parent give the care Of thy fuperfluous brood ; Ihe'U cherifh kind The alien offspring ; pleas'd thou (halt behold Her tendernefs and hofpitable love. If frolic now and playful they defert Their gloomy cell, and on the verdant turf. With nerves improv'd, purfue the mimic chace, Courfing around ; unto thy choiceft friends Commit thy valuM prize ; the ruftic dames Shall at thy kennel wait, and in their laps Receive thy growing hopes, with many a kifs Carefs, and dignify their little charge With feme great title, and refounding name Of high import. But cautious here obferve To check their youthful ardour, nor permit The unexperienc'd younker, immature. Alone to range the woods, or haunt the brakes Where dodging conies fport : his nerves unftrung^ And ftrength unequal, the laborious chace Shall flint his growth, and his rafh, forward youth Contract fuch vicious habits, as thy care And late correction never fhall reclaim. When to full ftrength arrived, mature and bold. Conduct them to the field ; not all at once, But, as thy cooler prudence Ihall dired:. Select a few, and form them by degrees T 2 To 276 Somervile'i [FouRTii To flrlderdifclpline. With thefe confort The ftanch and fleady fages of thy pack. By long experience vers'd in all the wiles And fubtle doublings of the various chace. Eafy the leflbn of the youthful train. When inftincft prompts, and when example guides* If the too forward younker at the head Prefs boldly on, in wanton fportive mood, Corredt his hafle, and let him feel abafh'd The ruling whip. But if he ftoop behind In wary modeft guife, to his own nofe Confiding fure, give him full fcope to work His winding way, and with thy voice applaud His patience, and his care : foon Hialt thou view The hopeful pupil leader of his tribe, And all the lift'ning pack attend his call. Oft lead them forth where wanton lambkins play^ And bleating dams with jealous eyes obferve Their tender care. If at the crowding flock He bay prefumptuous, or with eager hafte Purfue them fcatter'd o'er the verdant plain ; In the foul fad: attach'd, to the ftrong ram Tie fafl the rafh offender. See ! at firft His horn'd companion, fearful, and amaz'd. Shall drag him trembling o'er the rugged ground : Then, with his load fatigued, fliall turn a-head. And with his curl'd hard front inceffant peal The panting wretch, 'till, breathlefs and aftunn'd, Stretch'd on the turf he lie. Then fpare not thou The ibook;] Chace. 277 The twining whip, but ply his bleeding fides Laih after lafli, and with thy threat'ning voice, Harlh-echoing from the hills, inculcate loud His vile offence. Sooner fhall trembling doves, £fcap'd the hawk's fharp talons, in mid air, Aflail their dang'rous foe, than he once more Difturb the peaceful flocks. In tender age Thus youth is train'd ; as curious artifts bend The taper, pliant twig •, or potters form Their foft and dudtile clay to various fhapes. Nor is't enough to breed ', but to preferve Muft be the huntfman's care. The ftanch old hounds, Guides of thy pack, the' but in number few, Are yet of great account •, Ihall oft untie The Gordian knot, when reafon at a (land Puzzling is loft, and all thy art is vain. O'er clogging fallows, o'er dry plafter'd roads. O'er floated meads, o'er plains with flocks diftain'd Rank fcenting, rhefe muft lead the dubious way. As party-chiefs in fenates who prefide. With pleaded reafon and with well-turn'd fpeech Condudt the flaring multitude ; fo thefe Diredtthe pack, who with joint cry approve. And loudly boaft difcov'ries not their own. Unnumber'd accidents, and various ills. Attend thy pack, hang hov'ring o'er their heads. And point the way that leads to death's dark cave. Short is their fpan ; few at the date arrive Of ancient Argus, in old Homer's fong T 3 So 27S SomervIIe*s [fourth So highly honour'd ; kind, fagacious brute ! Not ev'n Minerva's wifdom cou'd conceal Thy much-lov'd mafter from thy nicer fenfe. Dying his lord heown'd, view'd him all o'er With eager eyes, then clos'd thofe eye«i, well pleas'd* Of lefler ills the Mufe declines to fing, Nor ftoops fo low ; of thefe each groom can tell The proper remedy, ButO \ what care ! What prudence can prevent madnefs, theworft Of maladies ? Terrific peft ! that blafls The huntfman's hopes, and defolation fpreads Thro' all th' unpeopled kennel unreftrain'd. More fatal than th' envenom'd viper's bite ; Or that Apiilian fpider's pois'nous fting, Heal'd by the pleafing antidote of founds. When Sirius reigns, and the fun's parching beams Bake the dry gaping furface, vifit thou Each ev'n and morn, with quick obfervant eye. Thy panting pack. If, in dark fullen mood. The glouting hound refufe his wonted meal. Retiring to fome clofe, obfcure retreat, Gloomy, difconfolate ; with fpeed remove The poor infedious wretch, and in ilrong chains Bind him fufpe6ted. Thus that dire difeafe, Which art can'c cure, wife caution may prevent, But this negledted, foon expedt a change, A dilmal change, confuiion, frenzy, death. Or in fome dark recefs, the fenfelefs brute Sits fadly pining: deep melancholy. And ROOK.] Chace, 279 And black defpair, upon his clouded brow Hang low'ring ; from his half-op'ning jaws The clammy venom, and infeftious froth, Diftiiling tall j and from his lungs inflam'd Malignant vapours taint the ambient air. Breathing perdition : his dim eyes are glaz'd. He droops his penfive head, his trembling limbs No more fupport his weight ; abjedt he lies. Dumb, fpiritlels, benumb'd, till death at laft Gracious attends, and kindly brings relief. Or if outrageous grown, behold, alas ! A yet more dreadful fcene ; his glaring eyes Redden with fury, like fome angry boar Churning he foams, and on his back txtdi His pointed briftles rife ; his tail incurv'd He drops, and with harfh broken bowlings rends The poifon-tainted air, with rough hoarfe voice IncelFant bays, and fnuffs th'infedious breeze i This way and that he flares aghaft, and darts At his own fhade ; jealous, as if he deem'd The world his foes. If haply tow'rd the ftream He caft his roving eye, cold horror chills His foul ; averfe he flies, trembling, appall'd. Now frantic to the kennel's utmoft verge Raving he runs, and deals deilrudtion round. The pack fly diverfe ; for whate'er he meets Vengeful he bites, and ev'ry bite is death. If now perchance thro' the weak fence efcap'd. Far up the wind he roves, with open mouth T 4 Inhales 2 8 o Somervile's [fourth Inhales the cooling breeze, nor man nor beaft He fpares implacable. The hunter-horfe. Once kind alTociate of his fylvan toils, (Who haply now without the kennel's mound Crops the rank mead, and lift'ning hears with joy The chearingcry that morn and eve falutes His raptur'd fenfe,) a wretched vidim falls. Unhappy quadruped ! no more, alas ! Shall thy fond mailer with his voice applaud Thy gentlenefs, thy fpced ; or with his hand Stroke thy foft dappled fides, as he each day Vifits thy Hall, well pleas'd ; no more Ihalt thou With fprightly neighings, to the winding horn. And the loud-op'ning pack in concert join'd, Glad his proud heart. For oh ! the fecret wound Rankling inflames, he bites the ground and dies. Hence to the village with pernicious hafle Baleful he bends his courfe : the village flies Alarni'd ; the tender mother in her arms Hugs clofe the trembling babe ; the doors are barr'd. And flying curs, by native inftindt taught. Shun the contagious bane j the ruftic bands Hurry to arms, the rude militia feize Whate'er at hand they find; clubs, forks, or guns, From ev'ry quarter charge the furious foe. In wild diforder, and uncouth array. Till now with wounds on wounds opprefs'd and gor'd, At one ihort pois'nous gafp he breathes his laft. Hence to the kennel, Mufe, return, and view "With heavy heart that hofpital of woe; WheF§ BOOK.] Chace, 281 Where horror flalks at large, infatiate death Sits growling o'er his prey : each hour prefents A diff'rent fcene of ruin and diftrefs. How bufy art thou, Fate ! and how fevere Thy pointed wrath ! The dying and the dead Promifcuous lie J o'er thefe the living fight In one eternal broil ; not confcious why. Nor yet with whom. So drunkards, in their cups. Spare not their friends, while fenfelcfs fquabble reigns. Huntfman ! it much behooves thee to avoid The perilous debate. Ah! rouze up all Thy vigilance, and tread the treach'rous ground With careful ftep. Thy fires unquench'd preferve. As erft the veftal flame ; the pointed fleel In the hot embers hide •, and if furpris'd Thou feel'ft the deadly bite, quick urge it home Into the recent fore, and cauterize The wound •, fpare not thy flefli, nor dread th' event : Vulcan fliall fave, when ^fculapius fails. Here Ihou'd the knowing Mufe recount the means To flop this growing plague. And here, alas ! Each hand prefents a fov'reign cure, and boalls Infallibility, but boafts in vain. On this depend: each to his fep'rate feat Confine, in fetters bound ; give each his mefs Apart, his range in open air ; and then If deadly fymptoms to thy grief appear. Devote the wretch, and let him greatly fall, A gen'rous vidtim for the public weal. Sing, zBz Somervile's [rouRTii Sing, philofophic Mufe, the dire effeds or this contagious bite on haplefs man. The ruftic fwains, by long tradition taught Of leeches old, as foon as they perceive The bite imprefsM, to the fea-coafts repair. Plung'd in the briny flood, th' unhappy youth Now journeys home fecure ; but foon Ihall wiih The Teas as yet had cover 'd him beneath The foaming furge, full many a fathom deep. A fate more difmal, and fuperior ills. Hang o'er his head devoted. When the moon, Clofing her monthly round, returns again To glad the night; or when full-orb'd fhe fhines High in the vault of heav'n ; the lurking pefl Begins the dire aflault, Thepois'nous foam. Thro' the deep wound inftill'd with hollile rage. And all its fiery particles faline. Invades th' arterial fluid, whofe red waves Tempeftuous heave, and, their coheflon broke. Fermenting boil ; inteftine war enfues. And order to confufion turns embroird. Now the diftended veffels fcarce contain The v;ild uproar, but prefs each weaker part. Unable to refift, the tender brain. And ilomach, fuffer moft ; convulfions fliake His trembling nerves, and wandering pungent pains Pinch fore the fleeplefs wretch ; his flutt'ring pulfe Oft intermits ; penfive and fad he mourns His cruel fate, and to his weeping friends Laments in vain i to hafty anger proncj Refents BOOK.] Chacel 283 Refents each flight offence, walks with quick ftep. And wildly {lares ; at laft with bounc'lefs iWay The t} rant frenzy reigns. For as the dog, (Whofe fatal bite convey'd th' infedious bane,) Raving he foams, and howls, and barks, and bites. Like agitations in his boiling blood Prefent like fpecies to his troubled mind ; His nature and his adtions all canine. So (as old Homer fung) th'affociates wild Of wand'ring Ithacus, by Circe's charms To fwine transformed, ran gruntling thro' the groves. Dreadful example to a wicked world ! See there diftrefs'd he lies ! parch*d up with thirft. But dares not drink; till now at laft his foul Trembling efcapes, her noifome dungeon leaves. And to fome purer region wings away. One labour yet remains, celeftial maid \ Another element demands thy fong. No more o'er craggy fteeps, thro' coverts thick With pointed thorn, and briars incricare, Urge on with horn and voice the painful pack ; But ikim with wanton wing th' irriguous vale. Where wincing ftreams amid the fljw'ry meads Perpetual glide along, and undermine The cavern'd banks, bv the tenacious roots Of hoary willows arch'd ; gloomy retreat Of the bright fcaly kind, where they at will On the green wat'ry reed their pafture graze. Suck the moift foil, or llumber at their eafe, Rock'd ,5184 Somervile'i [fourth Pvock'd by the reftlcfs brook, that draws aflope Its humid train, and laves their dark abodes. Where rages not oppreffion ? Where, alas ! Is innocence fecure ? Rapine and fpoil Haunt ev'n the loweft deeps •, feas have their Iharks; Hivers and ponds inclos'd, the rav'nous pike 5 He in his turn becomes a prey, on him Th' amphibious otter feafts. Juft is his fate Deferv'd: but tyrants know no bounds; nor fpears That brittle on his back, defend the perch From his wide greedy jaws; nor burnifh'd mail The yellow carp; nor all his arts can fave Th' infinuating eel, that hides his head Beneath the flimy mud j nor yet efcapes Thecrimfon-fpotted trout, the river's pride. And beauty of the ftream. Without remorfe. This midnight pillager ranging around, Infatiate fwallows all. The owner mourns Th' unpeopled rivulet, and gladly hears The huntfman's early call, and fees with joy The jovial crew, that march upon its banks In gay parade, with bearded lances arm'd. This fubtle fpoiler of the beaver kind. Far off perhaps, where ancient alders fliade The deep ftill pool, within fome hollow trunk Contrives his wicker couch ; whence he furveys His long purlieu, lord of the flream, and all The finny Ihoals his own. But you, brave youths, Dilpute the felon's claim ; try ev'ry root, And BOOK.] Chace> 2S5 And ev*ry reedy bankj encourage all The bufy-fpreading pack, that fearlefs plunge Into the flood, and crofs the rapid ftream. Bid rocks, and caves, and each refounding fhore. Proclaim your bold defiances loudly raife Each chearing voice, till diftant hills repeat The triumphs of the vale. On the foft fand See there his feal imprefs'd ! and on that bank Behold the glitt'ring fpoils, half-eaten f^fh. Scales, fins, and bones, the leavings of his feaft. Ah! on that yielding fag-bed, fee, once more His feal I view. O'er yon dank rufhy marfh The fly goofe- footed prowler bends his courfe. And feeks the diftant fliallows. Huntfman, bring Thy eager pack, and trail him to his couch. Hark! the loud peal begins, the clam'rous joy. The gallant chiding, loads the trembling air. Ye Naiads fair, who o'er thefe floods prefide, Raife up your dripping heads above the wave. And hear our melody. Th' harmonious notes Float with the ftream; and ev'ry winding creek And hollow rock, that o'er the dimpling flood Nods pendant, ftill improve from fliore to fliore Our fweet reiterated joys. What fliouts ! What clamour loud! What gay, heart-chearing founds Urge thro' the breathing brafs their mazy way ! Not choirs of Tritons glad with fprightlier ftrains The dancing billows, when proud Neptune rides In triumph o'er the deep. How greedily They ^S6 Somervtle^s [fourth They fnufFthe fifhy fteam, that to each blade Rank-fccnting clings ! See 1 how the morning dews They fweep, that from their feet befprinkling drop Difpers'd, and leave a track oblique behind. Now on firm land they range ; then in the flood They plunge tumultuous i or thro* reedy pools Ruftling they work their way : no holt efcapes Their curious fearch. With quick fenfation now The fuming vapour (lings ; flutter their hearts. And joy redoubled burfts from ev'ry mouth. In louder fymphonies. Yon hollow trunk. That, with its hoary head incurv'd, falutes The paffing wave, mult be the tyrant's fort. And dread abode. How thefe impatient climb, While others at the root incelTant bay : They put him down. See, there he dives along I Th' afcending bubbles mark his gloomy way. Quick fix the nets, and cut ofl his retreat Into the fhelt'ring deeps., Ah, there he vents ! The pack plunge headlong, and protended fpears Menace deflrudion ; while the troubled furge Indignant foams, and all the fcaly kind Affrighted hide their heads. Wild tumult reigns, And loud uproar. Ah, there once more he vents! See, that bold hound has feiz'd him; down they (ink. Together loft ; but foon (hall he repent His rafli affault. See, there efcap'd he flies, Half drown'd, and clambers up the flipp'ry bank With ouze and blood diftain'd. Of all the brutes. Whether BOOK.] Chace, 22 j Whether by nature form'd, or by long ufe. This artful diver beft can bear the want Of viral air. Unequal is the fight Beneath the whelming element. Yet there He lives not long •, but relpiration needs At proper intervals. Again he vents ; Again the crowd attack. That fpear has pierc*d His neck ; the crimfon waves confefs the wound. Fix'd is the bearded lance, unwelcome gueft Where-e'er he flies; with him it finks beneath. With him it mounts j fure guide to ev'ry foe. Inly he groans, nor can his tender woun.i Bear the cold ftream. Lo ! to yon ledgv bank He creeps difconfolate ; his num'rous foes Surround him, hounds,and men. PiercM thro'and thro*. On pointed fpears they lift him high in air ; Wriggling he hangs, and grins, and bites in vain ; Bid the loud horns, in gaily-warbling ftrains. Proclaim the felon's fate ; he dies, he dies. Rejoice, ye fcaly tribes, and leaping dance Above the wave, in (Ign of liberty Reflor'd ; the cruel ryrant is no more. Rejoyce fecure and blefs'd ; did not as yet Remain fome of your own rapacious kind •, And man, fierce man, with all bis various wiles. O happy! if ye knew your happy (late, Ye rangers of the fields ; whom nature boon Chears with her fmiles, and ev'ry elea;ent Confpires to blefs. What, if no heroes frown From 288 Somer'viles [fourth From marble pedcftals, nor Raphael's works, Nor Titian's lively tints, adorn our walls ? Yet thefe the meaneft of us may behold. And, at another's coft, may feaft at will Our wond'ring eyes ; what can the owner more ? But vain, alas ! is wealth, not grac'd with pow'r. The flow'ry landfkip, and the gilded dome, And villas op'ning to the wearied eye, Thro' all his wide domain ; the planted grove, The flirubby wildernefs, with its gay choir Of warbling birds, can't lull to foft repofe Th' ambitious wretch, whofe difcontented fout Is harrow'd day and night ; he mourns, he pines. Until his prince's favour makes him great. See there he comes, th* exalted idol comes ! The circle's form'd, and all his fawning ilaves Devoutly bow to earth ; from ev'ry mouth The naufeous flatt'ry flows, which he returns With proniifes, that die as foon as born. Vile intercourfe ! where virtue has no place. Frown but the Monarch, all his glories fade ; He mingles with the throng, outcaft, undone. The pageant of a day ; without one friend To footh his tortur'd mind ; all, all are fled : For tho' they bafk'd in his meridian ray. The infedts vanifli as his beams decline. Not fuch our friends ; for here no dark defigny No wicked int'reft bribes the venal heart ; But inclination to our bofoms leads. And BOOK.] Chace, 289 And weds them there for life i our focial cups Smile, as we fmilej open, and unreferv'd. We fpeak our inmoft fouls; good humour, mirth. Soft complaifance, and wit from malice free, Smooth ev'ry brow, and glow on ev'ry cheek. O happinefs fmcere ! what wretch wou'd groan Beneath the galling load of powV, or walk Upon the llipp'ry pavements of the great. Who thus cou'd reign, unenvied and fecure? Ye guardian pow'rs who make mankind your care, Give me to know wife nature's hidden depths. Trace each myfterious caufe, with judgment read Th' expanded volume, and fubmifs adore That great creative will, who at a word Spoke forth the wond'rous fcene. But if my foul. To this grofs clay confin'd, flutters on earth With lefs ambitious wing; unfkili'd to range From orb to orb, where Newton leads the way; And view with piercing eyes the grand machine, Worlds above worlds ; fubfervient to his voice. Who, veil'd in clouded majefty, alone Gives light to all ; bids the great fyftem move. And changeful feafons in their turns advance, Unmov'd, unchang'd, himfelf : yet this at leaft Grant me propitious, an inglorious life. Calm and ferene, nor lofl: in falfe purfuits Of wealth or honours ; but enough to raife My drooping friends, preventing modeft want. That dares not afk. And if, to crown my joys, U Yc i^o Somervik's Chace. Ye grant me health, that, ruddy in my cheeks, Blooms in my life's decline-, fields, woods, and ftreams, Each tow'ring hill, each humble vale below. Shall hear my cheating voice, my hounds Ihall wake The lazy morn, and glad th* horizon round. METHOD [ 29^ J Method of dejlroying Hares by the Hare-Pipe. THE following extradt from Mr. Chand- ler's Travels in Greece, at the fame time that it ihews that the country of Xenophon is ilill famous for Hare-hunting, and that the modern Athenians have not degenerated from their illuftrious anceftors, at leafl; in their love for that diveriion, defcribes a mode of killing hares formerly pra(ftifed by poachers in this kingdom, vi^hich w^ill explain the meaning of hare-pipes 3 a device mentioned in old law books and deputations to game - keepers. Though Chandler doth not explain it to be an imitation of the call between male and female in breeding feafon, yet his narrative clearly af- certains it, by dating the particular month in which it is pradiifed, and that one killed by })is company was big with young. " Hares are exceedingly numerous. Call- ing is pradtifed, in ilill weather, from the lat- ter end of May to about the middle of Auguft. Three 292 Method of deflroying Hares, (^c. Three or four men in a company ftand filcftt and concealed in a thicket, with guns pointed in different directions. When all are ready, the caller applies two of his fingers to his lips, and fucking them, at firil: flowly, and then fafter, produces a fqueaking found ; when the hares, within hearing, rufh to the fpot. In this manner many are flaughtered in a day. One of my companions, with Lombardi, a Turk and Greek or two, who were adepts, killed eleven, among which was a female big with young. Thefe animals are faid to alfem- ble together, to leap and play, at the full of the moon j and, it is likely, the fhepherds, who live much abroad, obferving and liftening to them, learned to imitate their voices, to de- ceive, and make them thus foolifhly abet their own deflrudion." NEW NEW BOOKS printed for John Stockdalej Piccadilly. I. 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