HAKE. 
359 
either above or below the desired point of landing. The other 
hare then cantered back to the hills, (Loudoun’s 4 Magazine of 
Natural History/ vol, v., p, 99.) 
According to Couch (illustrations of Instinct/ p. 177) — 
When followed by dogs, it will not run through a gate, 
though this is obviously the most ready passage ; nor in crossing 
a hedge will it prefer a smooth and even part, but the roughest, 
where thorns and briars abound ; and when it mounts an emi- 
nence it proceeds obliquely, and not straightforward. And 
whether we suppose these actions to proceed from a desire to 
avoid those places where traps may probably have been laid, or 
from knowing that his pursuers will exactly follow his footsteps, 
and he has resolved to lead them through as many obstacles as 
possible, in either case an estimation of causes and consequences 
is to be discovered. 
It is a remarkable thing that both hares and rabbits 
should allow themselves to be overtaken in the open held 
by weasels. I have myself witnessed the process, and am 
at a loss to account for it. The hare or rabbit seems per- 
fectly aware of the dangerous character of the weasel, 
and yet does not put forth its powers of escape. It 
merely toddles along with the w^easel toddling behind, 
until tamely allowing itself to be overtaken. This ano- 
malous case may perhaps be akin to the alleged phenomena 
of the fascination of birds and small rodents by snakes ; 
but in any case there seems to have been here a remark- 
able failure of natural selection in doing duty to the 
instincts of these swift-footed animals. 
We must not close this account of the intelligence of 
the hare genus without alluding to the classical case of 
Cowper’s hares. The following abstract is taken from 
Tegg’s edition of 6 The Life and Works of William 
Cowper,’ p. 633 : — 
Puss was ill three days, during which time I nursed him, 
kept him apart from his fellows, . . . and by constant care, 
&c., restored him to perfect health. No creature could be more 
grateful than my patient after his recovery, a sentiment which 
he most significantly expressed by licking my hand, first the 
back of it, then the palm, then every finger separately, then 
between all the fingers, as if anxious to leave no part of it un- 
