246 COOKERY OF THE HARE 



disappointment in no way mitigated by heavy port- 

 wine sauce and red-currant jelly— manly though the 

 effort may have been to think so — it must be admitted 

 that there is a good deal in the contention. Indeed, 

 unless the operation be very well performed the 

 justice of the criticism cannot be questioned ; for it is 

 a fact that while the roasting of all game is a delicate 

 job, needing a watchful eye and great nicety of judg- 

 ment, the roasting of a hare is the most delicate job 

 of all. 



If, however, the selection be made judiciously, 

 the hanging well timed, the preparations for the spit 

 carefully carried out, and the process itself conducted 

 before the fire with sympathy and intelligence, the 

 result will certainly be gratifying. I was once 

 able to prove this. The incident occurred on the 

 Nilgiri Hills in Southern India, where a far better hare 

 is found than on the plains, though inferior no doubt 

 to the English variety, and poorly thought of by many. 

 The question to roast or not to roast was one day 

 earnestly debated between one of the best sportsmen 

 that that charming place has ever known and myself. 

 He — a squarson of the good old type, a friend in his 

 youth of the celebrated Jack Russell, and equally at 

 home whether in the saddle, with the gun, or at the 

 table — maintained that no care in the roasting would 



