CHAPTER XIII 



THE HARRIER 



WHATEVER the Harrier of the past may have been, 

 to-day the majority of packs are composed simply 

 of small Foxhounds and nothing else. It is rather 

 a pity, when you come to think of it, that old breeds 

 of Harriers which showed such good sport and were 

 distinctive in type should have fallen out of the race. 

 Many people said they were too slow, but it is not 

 fair to bustle poor puss as if she were a fox, for 

 after all the true end of sport is not merely to kill. 

 Hare -hunting may show one hound work to perfec- 

 tion, the beauty of which is marred or entirely lost 

 if the pace is too great. I agree absolutely with 

 Beckford when he writes : "A hare is a timorous 

 little animal that we cannot help feeling some com- 

 passion for at the time that we are pursuing her 

 destruction. We should give scope to all her little 

 tricks, nor kill her foully nor over-matched. Instinct 

 instructs her to make a good defence when not 

 unfairly treated, and I will venture to say that as 

 far as her own safety is concerned, she has more 

 cunning than the fox and makes shifts to save her 

 life far beyond all his artifice." Beckford considered 

 that the hounds most likely to show sport were a 



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