HARRIERS AND BEAGLES 271 



pack goes for the foxhound-harrier, not only because 

 they are more easily procured, but because of their 

 greater speed. When the field is mounted a quick 

 gallop with a good deal of jumping is thought to be 

 better fun than a long, slow hunt, which includes a 

 great deal of hound work, and thus it happens that two- 

 thirds, or perhaps even more, of the harrier packs are 

 now purely of foxhound blood. 



''a personal narrative" 



Perhaps we can give some idea of the change which 

 has occurred by drawing upon our memory for hare- 

 hunting reminiscences, and we can claim over forty 

 years' experience in this direction. Beginning then in 

 the early sixties, the first pack we saw were the beagles 

 which were then kept by the members of Durham Uni- 

 versity. These were what would now be called a very 

 scratch lot, as they varied in height from fourteen to 

 eighteen inches or more. They were mostly followed on 

 foot, and the huntsman generally ran with them, though 

 he was occasionally mounted, as were, at times, some 

 of the field. As a boy at Durham School we had the 

 chance of seeing these little hounds twice a week — on 

 the two half-holidays in fact — and rarely missed an 

 opportunity of hunting, though at times meets were 

 too far away. On Sundays we often visited the 

 kennels, which were within a mile of the school, 

 and thus early in life became conversant with hounds 

 on the flags. The feeder, "old Peter" we used to 

 call him, was an enthusiast, who would discourse 

 for hours on the merits of his favourites. And in 

 the winter vacation, when members of the University 



