was to go in a gig one hundred miles within the space of sixteen hours. The day was remarkably hot and sultry; notwithstanding which the poor animal performed the merciless task in thirteen hours without eating one grain of corn!—Bath Chronicle, June 18, 1807.
Such are the amusements which, in this age of polish and refinement, are denominated, genteel and noble!
Hunting. It is surprising that Hunting should be termed a manly exercise, for "poor," wretchedly poor, "is the triumph o'er the timid hare!" It should rather be called a wild passion, a brutal propensity, or any thing that indicates it's nature. To give it any connection with reason would be to make a union between black and white. Manliness implies some mode of action, that becomes a man. Hunting might, formerly, have been a manly exercise, when the country was overrun with boars and wolves, and it was a public service to extirpate them; but to honour with the name of manliness the cruel practice of pursuing timid animals, and putting them to death, for amusement, is to pervert the meaning of words. In countries where the inhabitants are harrassed by ferocious animals, there may be some plea for converting the destruction of them into a sport, and a test of courage to accelerate their extirpation; but in this island hunting loses all dignity, and degenerates in to mean cruelty. It is, in fact, real cowardice, because there are none but the most inoffensive and timid of creatures to pursue. The. fox is the most troublesome animal we have, and is, of course, the least exceptionable object of the chase; but, even in this instance, our sportsmen cannot assume the merit of vermin-killers: for tho' some thanks may be due
