HARE-HUNTING 113 



always reckoned among- the beasts of chase, 



and sometimes as the "king of beasts"; 



her order amongst beasts of venery came 



third or first, according to the fancy of the 



period, but ahvays far ahead of the fox, 



which was vermin. Here is one Hst of the 



" Beasts of venery." " Hart, hinde, hare, wild 



boar, wolf. Beasts for hunting : ye hare, 



hart, wolf, wild boar. Beasts for the chase : 



ye buck, ye doe, fox, marten, roe. Beasts 



which afford greate dysporte : badger, wild 



cat, otter." 



It is interesting, I mean for a fox-hunter, 



to try and discover why the hare was so 



much preferred to the fox by the sportsmen 



of two hundred years ago. One of them 



eives this reason : " The Fox never flies far 



before the Hounds, trusting not on his Legs, 

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