226 HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS 



good sportsmen in their day, and saw and enjoyed 

 many a cheery hare hunt. This old print must, I 

 think, be a rare one. I have only once come across 

 it. Certainly we men of the twentieth century are 

 far more sensible in our sporting dress than were our 

 forefathers of the late Georgian and early Victorian 

 period. 



With harriers, the costume of the field is very much 

 of the " go as you please " order. The tall hat — that 

 fetish to which fox-hunting men still bow the knee — 

 is seldom exhibited, and tweeds are much more fre- 

 quently seen than anything else. For running on foot, 

 tweeds, knickerbockers, and stockings, or knicker- 

 bocker-breeches and gaiters, a flannel shirt, and a 

 cloth cap are by far the most useful outfit. Ladies — 

 who enjoy sport with foot-harriers, beagles, or bassets 

 as much as any man — are now more suitably equipped 

 than they used to be. In a wet country, where dykes 

 were frequent, I have noticed that a girl, the best lady- 

 runner I ever saw out with a foot-pack, had adopted 

 putties, which seemed a sensible precaution. It is 

 astonishing how ladies in these days will brave weather, 

 mud, hills, ploughing, and other obstacles in their 

 determination to see sport. It is by no means an 

 uncommon thing now to see a lady in at the death of 

 a hare, which has been fairly run down by foot-harriers 

 or beagles. 



For the pedestrian, the cost of hunting with a pack 

 of foot-harriers is, beyond a trifling subscription — say 

 £i IS., which ought in fairness to be paid, if the sports- 

 man goes out often — practically nil. A packet of 

 sandwiches suffices for lunch, and a drink on the way 

 home is the only occasion for which the hand need go 

 to the pocket. Occasionally, with foot-packs, a cap 

 mEy be taken for the. huntsman and whip ; on such 



