THE CASE OF THE HARE.t
SIR H. RIDER HAGGARD is a master of the art of writing im- pressively : he has seen much of the life of the English countryside, and he knows how to introduce just that amount of imam litotes which strengthens a difficult case. So that when lie sets himself the task of writing, under the title" The Mahatma and the Hare," a " dream story," which is in effect an essay on the cruelty involved in certain forms of sport, particularly the hunting and coursing of hares, wo may guess a little what to expect. And most certainly we may agree with Sir H. Rider Haggard, and still acknowledge the illogical course in which our reasoning may take us. There is no more animal suffering involved in killing a rabbit, for instance, than in killing a hare, but somehow the hare makes her own appeal — equally destructive though she may be as regards crops and vegetables. A bare in a kitchen garden does more damage than half a dozen rabbits, and yet the present writer, to take an individual example, would look at the destruction done by the hare with interest rather than annoyance. The rabbits would have to be shot ; the hare, if she could be found, would bo driven through an open gate. We may some of us, again, detest the idea of a hare being chased by hounds, and yet we may honestly regard beagling as a healthy sport for schoolboys. Or we may hate what we consider the cruelty of coursing, or of otter hunting, and still may recognize that some of those who course bares and hunt otters are better fellows than we are. There is something illogical in all these attitudes, but illogical opinions can be held nevertheless with sincerity and with respect for the creeds of others. We recommend Sir H. Rider Haggard's kindly and appealing essay to those who, possibly lacking strong opinions of their own, may wish to see a good case well put.
• Chirac, Porcelain and Hard Slonea. By Edgar Goror and J. P. Blacker. 2 vole. London: Bernard Quaritch, LE10 10s. act.) t The Mahatma and the Hare. By U. Bider Haggard. London: Long-inane and Co. (.2s. ed. net.]
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