24 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



Here is another portrait, that of one of the lesser 

 gentry, flourishing in the middle of the eighteenth 

 century. It is given by Daniel, in his " Rural Sports," 

 published in 1801. " It may be excused," saj'^s Mr. 

 Daniel in his excellent book, "if the digression be 

 continued for the purpose of sketching a Sportsman 

 of the last age, as it may shew, that however we may 

 have excelled in fashionable manners, it has been at 

 the expense of abolishing a class of Men, who formed 

 no inconsiderable link of the chain between the Peer 

 and the Peasant in this Country. This Character, 

 now worn out and gone, was the independent Gentle- 

 man, of three or four hundred pounds a-year, who 

 commonly appeared in his Drab or Plush Coat, with 

 large silver buttons, and rarely without Boots. His 

 time was principally spent in Field amusements, and 

 his travels never exceeded the distance of the County 

 town, and that only at Assizes and Sessions, or to 

 attend an Election. A Journey to London was, by one 

 of these Men, reckoned as great an undertaking, as 

 is at present a Voyage to the East Indies, and under- 

 taken with scarce less precaution and preparation. At 

 Church upon a Sunday he always appeared, never 

 played at Cards but at Christmas, when he exchanged 

 his usual beverage of Ale for a Bowl of strong Brandy 

 Punch, garnished with a toast and Nutmeg. 



"The Mansion of one of these 'Squires' was of 

 plaister, or of red brick, striped with timber, called 

 Callimancho work, large casemented Bow windows, 

 a Porch with seats in it, and over it a Study ; the eaves 

 of the house were well inhabited by Martins, and the 



I give, in Appendix A, a curious poem on Hare-hunting, 

 dated May 1660. It has some quaint poUtical allusions, 

 but was evidently written by a man who understood the 

 chase of the hare. 



