The Springfield herald., 1913-07-04
Cruelty in we1liyy Run Of Hounds
and Horses.
Canon Defends the Practice, Dselar.
Ing That He Thinks II Good and
Keeps crusadIne Spirit From
Undesirable Activities.

London.-Almost under the walls OF
Eton college scene was enacted re-
Gently, which, for sheer brutality. 1t
would be hard to beat. A hard press
ed hare which the boys Of the college
had been hunting with pack Of
hounds (for beagles), maintained at
the college for this purpose. twice
swan the river with the pack close
behind and half hundred boys yell
Ing like fiends on the banks, and was
in the act of swimming 1t third time
when 1t was pulled under and killed
amid the enthusiastic cheers of the
young Etonians who, of course, are
mostly the sons of noblemen and 9TH
er aristocrats. and form the nucleus
OF the ruling class Of the future in
this country.
This termination to the regular
weekly run Of the Eton beagles was
little more brutal than usual, but
not much more. The Eton beagles.
which are supported by subscriptions.
nearly always succeeded in killing. as
the phrase goes. when the carcass OF
the slaughtered hare is whirled tri-
umphantly round the head of the chief
boy whip and torn to pieces by the
yelping pack, amid whoops of tri-
umph from q gloating field. A SINH
lar triumph of the Elton beagles, 1t
may be remembered. was recalled by
that noble sportsman. Lord Ross
more. in his recent book of reminis-
cences in these words:
"One of the prettiest things l ever
saw was hare. very hard pressed,
that took to the water and swan
right out into the middle with all the
hounds after her. but she was, unfor-
tunately. 80 beat that she was
drowned from sheer exhaustion half
way across"
The latest exhibition of brutality
at Etonl has shocked humanitarians.
and an infuentially signed petition
was presented the other day to Canon
Lyttelton, the reverend head master
of Eton college, begging him to do
away with the pastime of hare hunt
ing at Elton, on the ground that its ef-
feet Is ito stimulate cruelty among
the young" This, by the way, Is by
no means the first petition Of the kind
that has been laid before head Of
the famous college with a similar OBJ
ject, others in the past having been
signed by Herbert Spencer. Sir Fred
erick Treves, Sir A. Conan Doyle. the
late Lord Wolseley and other famous
men. but all without avail.
After due reflection Canon Lyttel-
ton, who himself is the son Of a lord.
has replied to the petition in letter
in which he declines to do away with
the beagles. and an exceedingly re-
markable letter 1t is. To begin with
this man Of God. who before becom-
ing head master CT Eton. was the
honorable canon of st. Albans. and
who is the author. among other books.
of one called Studies in the Sermon
of the Mount" asserts that far from
there being an increase of cruelty
among English boys. many educators
are not without misgivings at the al
most unnatural gentleness of the mod
ern schoolboy compared with his fore
father"
How insignificant. then" says the
canon, must the influence Of this
kind of hunting be In the opposite d.
rection."
The reverend canon ends his letter
by declaring that, ''as far as possible,
all cruelty has been banished" from
the hunting and killing of hares by
the Eton boys. Needless to say. his
stunning apologize, rs 1t Is termed. has
called forth broadside Of withering
sarcasm. One of those who pay their
compliments in the canon In no uncer-
tain terms Is Sir Philip Burne Jones.
while among the reverend headmas-
ter's critics are several old Etonians.
one of whom, after recalling Lord
Rossmore's pretty sight" remarks:
That's my idea of how the youth
of the nation should be brought up.