THE HAUB, 



experience some difficulty in taming the wild little creature, btt 

 KiKDHESS must conquBr. Under the influence of this virtue, 

 ■wolves may be brought to Hok the hand with innocent tongue, 

 and even lions and tigers be made grateful. One of the oldest 

 and most experienced of living hunters says, " without doubt 

 the two most savage beasts in the world — the most crafty and 

 unconquerable — are the wild boar and the panther ;" yet this 

 latter animal was so effectually tamed by Kean the tragedian, 

 as to follow him about like a dog. 



Instances are not wanting of the hare's tamability. Some 

 time ago there was exhibited in Liverpool a troop of performing 

 hares, seven in number. They would sit round a table with 

 napkins tucked under their chins, and partake of dinner in the 

 most decorous manner ; five of them harnessed to a little car- 

 riage, in which sat a little girl, galloped round the circus, while 

 a hare with a cocked hat drove, and a hare in scarlet breeches 

 and powdered wig stood behind. They played a game of hare- 

 hunting; one animal representing the hunted, and the other 

 six the dogs ; the first hare doubling and hiding behind baskets 

 and stuffed sacks, and leaping and dodging in all sorts of ways 

 to throw her pursuers " off the scent," and consented to be 

 touseUed and laid as dead when the make-believe dogs over- 

 took her. Many other tricks were performed by these animals, 

 plainly showing that they are capable of considerable educa- 

 tion. Why not ? Surely they possess all the elements — 

 cunning, impetuosity, daring, and affection; and if the culti- 

 vation of these qualities will not make an animal entertaining 

 and companionable, why, then there is an end of pet-keeping. 



The celebrated poet Cowper kept hares among the pets that 

 cheered the sohtude of his summer residence at Olney. Puss, 

 Bess, and Tiny were the names of the animals whose associa- 

 tion with the poet has rendered them famous. That so gentle- 

 minded a man should have been able to obtain such perfect 

 control over the animals in question is surely proof sufficient 

 that hare-taming is a simple business, after all. 



