The Greyhound now pursues the tim'rous Hare,
And shoots along the Plain with swift Career;
While the sly Game escapes beneath his Paws,
He snaps deceitful Air with empty Jaws;
Enrag'd, upon his Foe he quickly gains,
And with wide Stretches measures o'er the Plains;
Again the Cunning Creature winds around,
While the fleet Dog o'ershoots, and loses Ground;
Now Speed he doubles to regain the Way,
And crushes in his Jaws the Screaming Prey.
Many packs of hounds were advertised for sale during Anne's reign—not such large packs as we now have, but small packs, with which a man could then show sport, and yet the keeping of which need not be costly. Two or three are given for example's sake: 'Any Gentleman that hath a mind to purchase a good pack of cloddy strong Hounds, fit for any Country, from 15 couple to 10, may be accommodated,' etc. 'There are to be dispos'd of 18 Couple of Hare Hounds, well siz'd and well mark'd, at reasonable rates.' 'There are 9 Couple of good Fox Hounds (with a Tarrier) (4 Couple being stanch finders) to be sold at a very reasonable Price. These Hounds are as proper for Deer as Fox.' 'Lost the 16th Instant from the Earl of Litchfield's Foxhounds in some Woods near Crawford in Kent, a small White Beagle, with Red Spots on her Ears, and a short Tail, (being a Tarrier),' etc.
There were cockney hunts, with deer, both at Hampstead and Muswell Hill, and live deer were bought and sold commonly; indeed there is one advertisement which has a touch of old Leadenhall Market about it. 'Any person who has Beagles, Foxes or Hares to dispose of, may hear of a Purchaser by giving Notice to the Porter at Sion Chappel near Hamsted.'
One sport then in vogue must not be omitted from the list—otter-hunting.
If you'd preserve a num'rous Finny Race,
Let your fierce Dogs the Rav'nous Otter chase;
Th' amphibious Creature ranges all the Shores,
Shoots through the Waves, and ev'ry haunt explores:
Or let the Gin his roving Steps betray,
And save from hostile Jaws the Scaly Prey.
Angling was extensively practised, with almost the same appliances and tackle as now, even down to the wicker creel at the side. Will Wimble 'makes a May fly to a Miracle; and furnishes the whole country with angle rods.' Isaac Walton had not long been dead (Dec. 15, 1683), and his disciples in the 'Contemplative Man's Recreation' were many and experienced. Hear what Gay says about making a fly to suit the water:—
Oft' have I seen a skillful Angler try
The various Colours of the treach'rous Fly;
When he with fruitless Pain hath skim'd the Brook,
And the coy Fish rejects the skipping Hook,
He shakes the Boughs that on the Margin grow,
Which o'er the Streams a waving Forrest throw;
When if an Insect falls (his certain Guide)
He gently takes him from the whirling Tide;
Examines well his Form with Curious Eyes,
His gaudy Colours, Wings, his Horns and Size.
Then round his Hook a proper Fur he winds,
And on the Back a speckled Feather binds.
So just the Properties in ev'ry part,
That even Nature's Hand revives in Art.
Hawking, too, was a sport not then extinct, the land not being so parcelled into fields, and fenced in, as now; so that the flight of the birds could be easily followed. The birds were startled by five or six spaniels trained to the work. Here is a description of one lost by the Earl of Abingdon: 'a small black and white Hawking Spaniel, his Hair not very long, more black than white, long Back, with a thick Head.' In brook-hawking, men used to beat the rushes with poles, and they also hawked partridges and pheasants. The latter are depicted in the engraving as being poked off their roosts with poles.
They went bat-fowling with the same nets as are now used, and they also netted partridges at night, with the aid of a lanthorn. In wild-fowl shooting they also used a horse for stalking. There were decoys for ducks, and we get an insight as to how they were managed. 'These are to give Notice, that if any Person that understands the management of a Decoy, wants a place, he may have one about 40 Miles from London provided he brings a Certificate from the last Master he served as to his ability ... he shall have as good Wages as is usually given, or a third Bird, as he shall agree when he seeth the Decoy.'
It was not every person that might shoot game: 'The first of them, says he, that has a Spaniel by his Side, is a Yeoman of about an hundred Pounds a Year, an honest Man; He is just within the Game Act and qualified to kill an Hare or a Pheasant; he knocks down a Dinner with his Gun twice or thrice a week; and by that means lives much cheaper than those who have not so good an Estate as himself. He would be a good Neighbour if he did not destroy so many Partridges; in short he is a very sensible man; shoots flying; and has been several times foreman of the Petty Jury.'[387] This Game Act, which he was just within, was the 3rd James I. cap. 14, clause 5, which says that no one not having forty pounds per annum, or 200l. worth of goods and chattels, may shoot game; and should they do so, 'then any person having lands, tenements or hereditaments, of the clear yearly value of one hundred pounds a year, may take from the person or possession of such malefactor or malefactors, and to his own use for ever keep, such guns, bows, cross-bows, &c. &c.' and this Act was in force till 1827, when it was repealed.