HAEE. 359 



-either above or below the desired point of landing. The other 

 hare then cantered back to the hills. (Loudoun's * Magazine of 

 I^atural History,' vol. v., p. 99.) 



According to Couch ('Illustrations of Instinct,' p. 177) — 



When followed by dogs, it will not run through a gate, 

 though this is obviously the most ready passage ; nor in crossing 

 a hedge will it prefer a smooth and even part, but the roughest, 

 where thorns and briars abound ; and when it mounts an emi- 

 nence it proceeds obliquely, and not straightforward. And 

 whether we suppose these actions to proceed from a desire to 

 avoid those places where traps may probably have been laid, or 

 from knowing that his pursuers will exactly follow his footsteps, 

 and he has resolved to lead them through as many obstacles as 

 possible, in either case an estimation of causes and consequences 

 is to be discovered. 



It is a remarkable thing that both hares and rabbits 

 should allow themselves to be overtaken in the open field 

 by weasels. I have myself witnessed the process, and am 

 at a loss to account for it. The hare or rabbit seems per- 

 fectly aware of the dangerous character of the weasel, 

 and yet does not put forth its powers of escape. It 

 merely toddles along with the weasel toddling behind, 

 until tamely allowing itself to be overtaken. This ano- 

 malous case may perhaps be akin to the alleged phenomena 

 of the fascination of birds and small rodents by snakes ; 

 but in any case there seems to have been here a remark- 

 able failure of natural selection in doing duty to the 

 instincts of these swift-footed animals. 



We must not close this account of the intelligence of 

 the hare genus without alluding to the classical case of 

 Cowper's hares. The following abstract is taken from 

 Tegg's edition of ' The Life and Works of William 

 Cowper,' p. 633 : — 



Puss was ill three days, during which time I nursed him, 

 kept him apart from his fellows, . . . and by constant care, 

 &c., restored him to perfect health. No creature could be more 

 grateful than my patient after his recovery, a sentiment which 

 he most significantly expressed by licking my hand, first the 

 back of it, then the palm, then every finger separately, then 

 between all the fingers, as if anxious to leave no part of it un- 



