70 SECOND DIVISION OF THE 



kennel. The door was one night broken open, and every hound, panniers 

 and all, stolen. The thief was never discovered, nor even suspected. 



The use of beagles was soon afterwards nearly abandoned by the intro- 

 duction of the harrier, and by his yielding in his turn to the fox-hound ; 

 but the beagles of Colonel Thornton and Colonel Molyneux will not be 

 soon forgotten. a 



There is, however, a practice which fair sportsmen will never resort to 

 the use of a beagle to start a hare in order to be run down by a brace 

 of greyhounds, or perhaps by a lurcher. The hare is not fairly matched 

 in this way of proceeding. 



THE HARRIER 



occupies an intermediate station between the beagle and the fox-hound. 

 It is the fox-hound bred down to a diminished size, and suited to the animal 

 he is to pursue. He retains, or did for a while retain, the long body, 

 deep chest, large bones, somewhat heavy head, sweeping ears, and mellow 

 voice, which the sportsman of old so enthusiastically described, with the 

 certainty of killing, and the pleasing prolongation of the chace. With 

 this the farmer used to be content : it did not require expensive cattle, 

 was not attended with much hazard of neck, and did not take him far 

 from home. 



Almost every country squire used in former days to keep his little pack 

 of harriers or beagles. He was mounted on his stout cob-horse, that 

 served him alike for the road and the chace ; and his huntsman probably 

 had a still smaller and rougher beast, or sometimes ran afoot. He could 

 then follow the sport, almost without going off his own land, and the 

 farmer's boys, knowing the country and the usual doublings of the hare, 

 could see the greater part of the chace, and were almost able to keep up 

 with the hounds, so that they were rarely absent at the death : indeed, 

 they saw and enjoyed far more of it than the fox-hunter or the stag-hunter 

 now does, mounted on his fleetest horse. 



The harrier was not more than 18 or 19 inches high. He was crossed 

 with the fox-hound if he was getting too diminutive, or with the beagle 

 if he was becoming too tall. 



The principal objects the sportsman endeavoured to accomplish were to 

 preserve stoutness, scent, and musical voice, with speed to follow the hare 

 sufficiently close, yet not enough to run her down too quickly, or without 

 some of those perplexities, and faults, and uncertainties which give the 

 principal zest to the chace. 



The character and speed of the hound much depend on the nature of 

 the country. The smaller harrier will best suit a deeply enclosed country ; 

 but where there is little cover, and less doubling, greater size and fleet- 

 ness are requisite. The harrier, nevertheless, let him be as tall and as 



a Mr. Beckford at one time determined kennel for several weeks before. They 



to try how he should like the use of bea- were consequently so riotous that they ran 



gles, and, having heard of a small pack of after everything they saw, sheep, cur dogs, 



them, he sent his coachman, the person he birds of all sorts, as well as hares and deer, 



could best spare, to fetch them. It was a However, he lost but one hound ; and, when 



long journey, and, although he had some Mr. Beckford asked him what he thought 



assistance, yet not being used to hounds, of them, he said, that they could not fail of 



he had some trouble in getting them along, being good hounds, for they would hunt 



especially as they had not been out of the everything. 



