i86 ROYAL ROCK BEAGLE HUNT. 



of business were not accustomed to enjoy the pleasures of the chase ; 

 probably their presence would hardly have been tolerated. In our own day, 

 and more especially with the R.R.B., beaglers are mostly engaged in business 

 or professional pursuits, and look to the Saturday afternoons for their chance 

 of sport. There are ma.ny J>ros and co/is which can be predicated in respect 

 to both early morning and afternoon meets, and it may prove interesting to 

 set some of them in review. 



'Tis instinct that directs the jealous hare 

 To chuse her soft abode. With steps reversed 

 She forms the doubling maze ; then ere the morn 

 Peeps thro' the clouds, leaps to her close recess. 



Where flowers autumnal spring, and the rank mead 



Affords the wand'ring hares a rich repast, 



Throw off thy ready pack. See where they spread 



And range around, and dash the glitt'ring dew : 



If some staunch hound, with his authentic voice 



Avow the recent trail, the jostling tribe 



Attend his call ; then with one mutual cry 



The welcome news confirm, and echoing hills 



Repeat the pleasing tale. See ! how they thread 



The breaks, and up yon furrow drive along ! 



But quick they back recoil, and wisely check 



Their eager haste : then o'er the fallow'd ground 



How leisurely they work, and many a pause 



Th' harmonious concert breaks, till more assur'd. 



With joy redoubled the low valleys ring. 



What artful labyrinths perplex their way ! 



Ah ! there she lies. Suiiicrvih. 



As hares feed during the night and return to their forms in the early 

 morning, the true method of finding a hare, by questing, is possible when 

 the meet is fixed for the morning. Then the hounds in drawing usually 

 come upon a trail, and hunt up to the hare, putting up their game them- 

 selves, instead of having it found for them by the " field." This is good for 

 the hounds, and is especially good training for young hounds just entering 

 for the pack. For some reason or another, which has never been satisfac- 

 torily explained, scent is much better in the morning, and usually gets worse 

 as the day wears on. 



These reasons are sufficient in themselves to make early morning meets 

 desirable, and it is customary with us, before the regular season commences, 

 to have a few of these meets for the benefit of the hounds, and some of the 

 keener sportsmen ; but as a regular thing this would not do, and we must 

 rest content under the disadvantages, in these respects, of hunting later in 

 the day. To those men who lead what is called a sedentary life, hard 

 physical exercise before breakfast would be injurious, and few would like to 

 have a really good run of eight or ten miles under these circumstances. The 



