HARES, AXD HARE-IIUNTING. 193 



Rouse up the slninh'ring tribe, with heavy eyes, 



Glaz'd, listless, dull, downward they drop their tails 



Inverted ; hif,'h on their bent backs erect 



Their pointed bristles stare, or 'mong the tufts 



Of ranker weeds each stoinach-hcalini; plant 



Curious they crop, sick, spiritless, forlorn. 



These inauspicious days on other cares 



Employ thy precious hours. Somcrvilc. 



It is a curious circumstance that, in some state of the atmosphere, scent 

 has a tendency to rise in the air from tlie ground soon after the hare has 

 passed. Wlien this rising is not excessive, the hounds take it without 

 having their noses down, and arc said to carry it "breast high." But it has 

 been noticed on sucli an occasion, tliat after iiounds have come to a check, 

 and liave been cast forward, back, ami all round, when taken again to the 

 spot at which they tlirew ui), they have immediately spoken to the line 

 straight forward, and carried it breast high as before. Tlie explanation for 

 this can only be, that the scent has risen above them and out of reach, but 

 by the time tlie casting has been finished, and they have been brought back, 

 the scent has again fallen to its normal height above the ground. 



A strong wind will sometimes carry a good scent wide of the line. Most 

 of us have had tiie chance of seeing a hare run along the windward side of a 

 hedge, and when the hounds came up witnessed, with surprise, that they took 

 the line lull cry on the other side of the fence, the scent evidently having 

 been blown through. Therefore on a windy day, wiien iiound.s come to a 

 check, the line may often be recovered by simply turning them up wind. 



After a good run, when hares are approaching the end of their career, 



and when they make short rings, squatting, and letting the hounds hunt up 



to them, tiieir scent appears to be getting exhausted along with their own 



strength ; hunting becomes slow at this time, and there is great danger of 



losing the hare altogether. It would almost seem as if the hare had the 



power of withholding iier scent when hard pressed, and now is the chance 



for the huntsman to show his mettle. Now the old and wary hound, who 



has been quietly keeping in the background, leaving the brunt of the previous 



hunting to his young and impetuous companions, comes to the front with a 



reserve of speed and freshness, ready for the final run-in, which he knows to 



be at hand. 



The struggling pack ! how in the rapid course 

 Alternate they preside, and jostling push 

 To guide the dubious scent ; how giddy youth, 

 Oft babbling, errs, by wiser age reprov'd ; 

 How, niggard of his strength, the wise old hound 

 Hangs in the rear, till some important point 

 Rouse all his diligence, or till the chase 

 Sinking he finds ; then, to the head he springs 

 With thirst of glory fir'd, and wins the prize. 

 ^.^ Somcrvilc. 



