' The huntsman came home one evening with a large dog badger. It appeared that a hare, which he had been chasing with his dogs, took refuge in a small opening in a bank, which proved to be one of the entrances into the badger's hiding-place. As the hare ran in at one end, the startled badger sprang out at the other, almost into the jaws of the dogs; and was soon despatched by them and by the huntsman's whip. The poor hare also was afterwards pulled out of her hiding-place, brought home in a sack, and, after a few days, produced again to furnish sport (as it was called) for a brace of young greyhounds. But the confinement had so broken the spirits of poor puss, that she became, as might be expected, an easy prey to her pursuers.
' The common dogs of this country are a wretched mongrel race, and a most intolerable nuisance. They are to be seen in the house of every peasant, and crowding the streets of every village, yelping at the heels of every traveller, and flying out upon him, whether in carriage or on horseback or on foot, with great ferocity.
' The greyhounds are of a strong build, and far heavier than the thoroughbred animals seen at the coursing meetings in England. Many of them have long feather on their tails and legs; and these are much superior to the smoother sort, being quite as fleet, and endowed with higher courage and greater powers of endurance. The amusement of coursing is oftentimes greatly impeded by the quantity of rough and sharp stones with which the surface of the soil is covered. Indeed, I one day saw a poor greyhound so mutilated by one of these stones that it was found necessary to destroy him.
* The pointers are, as a class, very inferior dogs. One, indeed, was to be regarded as an exception — a coarse, heavy animal in appearance, but with a most sensitive nose, and excellently trained by his master, the Count's huntsman, who was a keen and sagacious lover of field sports.
' We took this dog one day upon an expedition which to me appeared very like a poaching enterprise. In walking over some marshes at Wiercieliszki, we had seen a great many snipe, some of which Count Bisping was resolved to have. Accordingly, he had a net made of very fine thread, about twenty yards in length and width. We began work about eight o'clock in the morning, the weather being very mild. The dog found the snipe well, standing very staunch. The two men who had the management of the net ran over the place at which he pointed, covering both the dog and game. He took it very calmly, and stayed until the game was captured. I never saw birds lie so close. They would not get up, even when the net was over them. Indeed, we lost several at first, thinking that it was not possible for any birds to be there, and not rise up in alarm; and that the dog must have pointed false. On lifting up the net, away flew two or three birds from the very spot covered by the net, proving the dog's staunchness and the folly of our impatience. The whole arrangement, I must repeat, was very like poaching; bat in this country all is allowable. No net, no snipe, appears to be the rule.
' We were walking in the woods another day with this same dog, in search of blackcock, though we were not allowed to shoot them. The dog came to a good point; and, as we followed him up, away went a hen bird with five young ones, all fine birds. We marked down one of th'e young birds, and went after him; and the dog was soon seen again pointing beautifully. The bird had crept into a small bush by which we were standing; and, on its rising, flew directly in the face of one of our party, who hit at it almost involuntarily with his stick, and it fell into the dog's mouth. I confess, I felt ashamed at this mode of bagging game; but I was told, that, at the present time, the capture of game, by any means, is accounted lawful.