234 HARE-HUNTING 



opinions of others, I do not call it hunting to 

 run her to death with twenty-two inch foxhounds. 

 If you ride you must, of course, use a hound of a 

 certain size — say not less than sixteen inches — but 

 you ought to leave the pack almost entirely alone. 

 The greatest charm of this sport is to watch the 

 hound working, and if you are continually inter- 

 fering you will fail to see not only many a clever 

 ruse of the hare to escape, but also the qualities 

 of the different hounds in making equally clever 

 hits. Those who look on harriers merely as an 

 excuse for a gallop, can have no liking for the 

 sport itself, and should follow foxhounds instead. 

 The way I distinguish between the two sports 

 is this : in fox-hunting the riding is an inseparable 

 part of the whole amusement, and in hare-hunting 

 it should be considered only as a means to enable 

 a man to watch proceedings. There are people 

 who are unfortunate enough to live in a country 

 where no fox-hunting can be procured, and they 

 may be forgiven for trying to simulate the joys 

 of the greater sport by a base imitation, but the 

 result is neither one thing nor the other, and they 

 had much better content themselves with the sober 

 delights of a legitimate hare-hunt. 



