HARES AND RABBITS. 243 



der which swam across the water, as he had probably done 

 many times before. It was remarkable that the hares had 

 remained on the shore nearly half an hour, one of them 

 occasionally examining, as it would seem, the state of the 

 current, a*nd ultimately taking to the sea at that precise period 

 of the tide called slack water, when the passage across could 

 be effected without being carried by the force of the stream 

 either above or below the desired point of landing. The 

 other hare then cantered back to the hills." 

 A Hunted The following story of a hunted hare is from 

 Hare. The Annals of Sporting, " for May 1822 : Two 

 years ago, a doe hare produced two young ones in a field 

 adjoining my cottage; and the three were occasionally seen, 

 during the summer, near the same spot. But the leverets 

 were, I have reason to believe, killed at the latter end of 

 September of the same year; the old doe hare was also 

 coursed, and making directly for my cottage, entered the 

 garden, and there blinked the dogs. I repeatedly afterwards 

 saw her sitting, sometimes in the garden, (which is one 

 hundred and ten yards by forty-three,) but more frequently 

 in the garden-hedge. She was repeatedly seen by greyhounds 

 when she sat at some distance, but uniformly made for the 

 garden, and never failed to find security. About the end of 

 the following January, puss was no longer to be seen about 

 ,the garden, as she had probably retired to some distance 

 with a male companion. One day, in February, I heard the 

 hounds, and shortly afterwards observed a hare making towards 

 the garden, which it entered at a place well known, and left 

 not the least doubt on my mind, that it was my old acquaintance, 

 which, in my family, was distinguished by the name of Kitty. 

 The harriers shortly afterwards came in sight, followed Kitty, 

 and drove her from the garden. I became alarmed for the 

 safety of my poor hare, and heartily wished the dogs might 

 come to an irrecoverable fault. The hare burst away with 

 the fleetness of the wind, and was followed breast high, by 



