54i2 MODERN FARRIER. 



them, you spoil them. Hounds cannot be perfect 

 unless used to one scent, and one style of hunting. 

 Harriers run fox in so different a style from liare, 

 that it is of great disservice to them when they re- 

 turn to hare again. It makes them wild, and 

 teaches them to skirt. The high scent which a fox 

 leaves, the straightness of his running, the eagerness 

 of the pursuit, and the noise that generally accom- 

 panies it, all contribute to spoil a harrier. 



It is a fault in a pack of harriers to go too fast : a 

 hare is such a little timorous animal, that we cannot 

 help feeling some compassion for, at the very time 

 when we are pursuing her destruction : we should 

 give scope to all her little tricks, nor kill her foully 

 and over-matched. Instinct instructs her to make 

 a good defence, when not unfairly treated ; and, as 

 far as her own safety is concerned, she has more 

 cunning than the fox, and makes many shifts to 

 save her life, far beyond all his artifice. 



They who like to rise early, have amusement in 

 seeing the hare trailed to her form : it is of great 

 service to hounds : it also shews their goodness to 

 the huntsman more than any other hunting, as it 

 discovers to him those who have the most tender 

 noses. 



JNIr. Beckford, however, thinks that hare-hunting 

 should be taken as a ride after breakfast. Hare- 

 finders, in this case are necessary : it is agreeable to ' 

 know w4iere to go for diversion, and not beat about 

 for hours before it is found. It is more material 

 with regard to the second hare than the first, for if 

 the rider be w^armed with his gallop, waiting long 

 in the cold afterwards will prove as unwholesome as 

 it will be disagreeable. Whoever does not mind 

 tliis, had better let his hounds find their own game ; 

 they will certainly hunt it with more spirit after- 

 wards, and he will have a pleasure himself in expec- 

 tation, which no certainty can ever give. Hare- 

 finders make hounds idle; they also make them 



