THE FATHER OF MODERN HUNTING 



no doubt had warrant for this episode, but one fancies 

 that George II. was not often thus wont to balk his 

 hunt of their hardly earned kill. 



From the royal chase Somervile passes to hound 

 breeding, and the walking and entering of the puppies, 

 winding up his fourth and last book with a most 

 spirited and exact account of an otter-hunt. It is mani- 

 fest that he must have been especially fond of this 

 pastime, as he was of hare-hunting. His descriptions 

 of the amphibious chase are unmatched ; there are 

 many beautiful pictures in this part of the poem, and 

 the last scene is thus described : 



"Again he vents; 



Again the crowd attack. That spear has pierced 

 His neck : the crimson waves confess the wound. 

 Fix'd is the bearded lance, unwelcome guest, 

 Where'er he flies : with him it sinks beneath, 

 With him it mounts, sure guide to every foe. 



. Lo ! to yon sedgy bank 

 He creeps disconsolate : his num'rous foes 

 Surround him, hounds and men. Pierc'd thro' and thro', 

 On pointed spears they lift him high in air ; 

 Wriggling he hangs, and grins and bites in vain : 

 Bid the loud horns, in gaily-warbling strains, 

 Proclaim the felon's fate ; he dies, he dies." 



Spears, it may be noted, which were used so freely in 

 Somervile's time, have for the last two generations 

 been banished from the sport of otter-hunting, and the 

 quarry is now killed by the hounds alone. 



It is a' melancholy fact that Somervile, towards the 

 close of his career, fell upon somewhat evil times. He 

 hunted up to the very last year of his life, it is true ; 

 but his over-kindness of heart and a too exuberant 

 hospitality led him into extravagances which crippled 

 his estate and embittered his mind. His kinsman Lord 

 Somervile came to his rescue, and a family arrange- 

 ment was made by which, in consideration of advances 



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