in winter, which renders them less conspicuous in the snow. Instances have been known of white Hares in South Britain; and the late Mr. Doughty of Leiston, in Suffolk, had plenty of Hares of a much lighter grey than the wild rabbit, and which were of the usual size. In a wood belonging to Mr. Corbet, of Strawbury Park, in Shropshire, a Hare, very nearly of a pure white, was killed in November 1797, which weighed upwards of nine pounds, and a singular account is given for this change of colour, which is imagined to have proceeded from the animal being over heated, to which its terror may be added. About two years since, she was coursed a very long distance by a leash of greyhounds; one of the dogs caught, but died whilst the hare was in his mouth, and she then made her escape; the other two greyhounds were to all appearance dead, but by immediate bleeding and proper treatment, were restored. As a proof of its being the same Hare, half of the scut remained in the dog's mouth that died, and when the Hare was taken, she wanted that part. This Hare was often seen, and was at last killed by a pointer, when upon her form. Her skin is preserved as a curiosity.

In Siberia was once seen by Mr: Muller, two Hares of a jet black, and wonderful fine gloss, and in the winter of 1768, near Casan, a third was taken; these much exceeded in bulk the common kind.

Hares vary in their size; the smallest are in the Isle of Ilay; the largest, (where some have weighed twelve pounds,) in the Isle of Man. They are sometimes met with in England from ten to eleven, but the general weight is from seven to eight pounds and an half.

According to Buffon, Hares are larger and stronger in proportion to the coldness of the country they in

habit.

In their natural state of liberty, they are never fat; but a Hare, when tamed and fed in the house, often dies merely from the load of fat which she acquires. It is said that warreners used to stop the ears of their Hares with wax, and that by thus being freed from the fear of sound, they soon became fat.

The Hare's most favourite food, is pinks, parsley, and birch; in hard weather, haws have been found in their droppings; and in young plantations they are highly injurious, by eating the bark from the trees, which they will do from every sort, except the alder and lime. A Suffolk gentleman in 1798, was obliged to destroy his Hares, near some new plantation, and the amount of what was known to have fallen victims, was five hundred and forty one brace.

The Hare does not pair, but pursues the female by its sense of smelling; they breed during the whole year, except about two months or ten weeks in the severity of winter. The female goes with young one month, usually has two, sometimes three, and very rarely four; but in the spring of 1799, in the orchard of W. Cole, of Helions Bumpsted, in Essex, seven young Hares were found in one form; each was marked with a star of white in its forehead. This mark, according to received opinion, is always seen when the young exceed two in number.

The mother suckles them about

twenty days, after which they separate and procure their own food, making a form or seat sixty or eighty paces from each other; so that when we meet with one young Hare, we are almost certain of finding more within a small distance. According to Buffon, the Hare is the only animal which has hair in the inside of the mouth. The breast of the Hare is narrow, and U 2

at

at the same time the chest is most capacious. During the time of its being hunted, the lungs are in a continual state of violent expansion, and by the frequent inspiration and expiration become in the end so vastly distended, as to require a much larger space than is assigned for the purpose; the chest therefore is fashioned to receive more breath, or give the lungs more room to perform their office, than any other creature.

The superfotation of the Hare is recorded as a rare instance of fecundity. Sir Thomas Brown, in his treatise on Vulgar Errors, asserts this circumstance from his own observation, and Buffon describes it as one of this animal's peculiar properties, and from the structure of their parts of generation, he argues that the notion has arisen of Hermaphrodite Hares; that the males sometimes bring forth young, and that some are alternately males and females, and perform the functions of either sex; but as the Hare breeds frequently in the year, there needs not this property to be suggested or contended for, as a reason for their increase. A brace of Hares, (the doe pregnant when shut up,) were inclosed in a large walled garden, and proper plants supplied for their sustenance. At the expiration of twelve months the garden was examined, and the produce was fifty seven Hares, including the original parents.

The Hare lives six or or seven ve years, and comes to maturity in less than one; the young are known by the easy breaking of the under jaw bone, and the same process will determine the age of rabbits. The feeling and situation of the joint of the fore-leg, as described when treating upon the rabbit, will shew the young from the old Hare. The cleft in the lips spreading very much, and the claws being blunt

and rugged, and the ears dry and tough, are likewise signs of age. On the contrary, when the ears tear easily, the cleft of the lip is narrow, and the claws are smooth and sharp, the Hare is young. The body will be stiff, and the flesh of a pale colour when newly killed; if limber, and the flesh turning black, it is stale.

The Hare is applied to uses very different from what it formerly was. Our ancestors deemed it impious to taste its flesh; their descendants, on the contrary, brave pains and penalties to obtain it for their tables. The Romans reckoned a young Hare a great delicacy, and the wing the best part; our modern Gourmands (especially of the city) do not give their suffrages in favour of any particular joint; the largest Hare is, by them, usually considered the best

(To be continued.)

THE HYDE PARK DISASTER. An Etching from a design of SARTORIUS THE YOUNGER.

THE

HE accident which befell a gentleman of the name of Dozer in Hyde Park, on Sunday the 29th of November, and which is described in our last Magazine, page 55, gave adoption to the design from which the above-mentioned etching is taken the account referred to, was not a newspaper production, but written by a genileman who was present, and an eye witness to the accident. Should this plate meet commendation equal to that of a horse falling from a precipice given in our Magazine for October last, the artist who gave the design, and the engraver who finished it, will have little cause to complain of the want of that fair proportion of public approbation, to which their respective merits entitle them. COVENT

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.

Saturday, December 18, 1802.

THE

HE laudable exertions of the Manager of this popular The atre, justly entitle him to universal approbation and patronage. Ever eager to treat his audience with something novel and meritorious, he readily adopts, and produces such new pieces, as are offered by the best dramatic writers; then, with a liberality equal to any Mecenas of antiquity, apportions his rewards to the comparative merits of each piece. Thus, while he evinces himself a noble patron to the man of talent, he gratifies his audience, and exalts his own interest. When we contemplate the numerous class of human beings who are dependent on his judgment for livelihood and comfort, we cannot with-hold the meed of praise, nor can we reflect on the pleasure and amusement experienced at his Theatre, without feeling some obligations to the Manager. To elucidate the foregoing remarks, we need only instance the Opera of this evening, and its ingenious author. Mr. T. DIBDIN, with genius and talents singularly adapted for dramatic writing, with "wit at will," and powers remarkably prompt, and ready in the production of the witty, and pathetic, English ballad, found a discriminat ing patron and friend in the above gentleman. The latter has brought forward the writer's pieces with energy, and the former has proved himself worthy of his and the public's approving encouragement.

The Opera of this evening is the avowed production of this author, who has already treated the public with" Five Thousand a Year," and also instituted a 66 School for Prejudice," where " The Jew and Doctor" may take lessons, and " A Horse and Widow" will be taken in.

The first Scene presents a romantic view of a village, in which the adjacent mansions of the two families, whose quarrels give a title to the piece, are beautifully pourtrayed; in the fore-ground is a rustic bridge, and a cascade in motion. The piece opens with an assmblage of sportsmen, anglers, and huntsmen, one of whom (Squire Foxglove) relates that Sir Peppercorn Crabstick has broken off a match between his daughter Caroline and Charles the son of Mr. and Mrs. Supplejack, because the latter, proud of her own honourable origin, has looked down upon the newly acquired title and fortune of Sir Peppercorn, whose greatest pride is to own his obligations to trade, and the successful efforts of his own indefatigable industry. In their mutual anger, the heads of the two families introduce new plans of marriage for their respective offspring. Lady Selina Sugarcane, the chattering widow of a West India nabob, is brought from town as a match for Charles, and Miss Caroline is destined by her father to meet the addresses of Matthew Mushroom, Esq. a rich Yorkshire clothier, who is preferred by Sir Peppercorn for his great fortune, and for the obscurity of the family he springs from. Charles,

however,