PARTICULAR ANIMALS. 131 



any comparison with the ease and swiftness with 

 which the winged tribes cleave the air ; especially 

 when the extreme fatigue, lassitude, and debility, that 

 follow such exertions in a horse, are taken into the 

 question. " But," continued he, " in order to give 

 you a more accurate idea of the surprising capacity of 

 birds to pass over a vast space in a short time, I will 

 relate the gradations of motion in different animals, as 

 I heard them from a gentleman who still preserves a 

 taste for the almost-forgotten diversion of hawking, 

 and who has paid particular attention to the present 

 subject. At a Newmarket coursing meeting, the fleet- 

 est horse in training was taken out, and a hare being 

 found at a few miles' distance from any cover, the very 

 best brace of greyhounds were let out of slips. It was 

 a dry morning in March, when hares are supposed to 

 be most swift. The greyhounds were never able to 

 turn the hare, which is a proof that her speed was 

 superior to theirs. The jockey who rode the horse 

 was one of the most skilful of his profession, and of 

 a remarkably light weight. His account of the pur- 

 suit, in the language of sportsmen, was, that he 

 could live, or keep up with the dogs, but could not 

 draw or get nearer the hare ; nay, he acknowledged 

 that she continued to gain upon him.* Babbits never 

 venture far from their burrows, but it is well known 



* Sir John Seabright favoured me with the above information. 



