Show ed ETON T UA M V SPORT T BRUTAL ne if L T arval i i cruelty in weekly run of hounds and horses canon defends the practice declaring that he thinks it good and keeps crusading spirit from undesirable activities london almost under the walls of eton college a scene was enacted recently which tor for sheer brutality it would be hard to beat A hard bard pressed hare which tho the boys of the college had been hunting bunting with a pack of hounds for beagles maintained at the college for this purpose twice swam the river with the pack close behind and a halt hundred boys yelling like sends alendo on the banks and was in n the act of swimming it a third time when it was pulled under and killed amid the enthusiastic cheers of the young Eton ians lans who of course are mostly the sons of noblemen and oth sr r aristocrats and form the nucleus of df the ruling class of the future in this country this termination to the regular weekly run of the eton beagles was waa a little more brutal than usual but not much more rhe file eton beagles which are supported by subscriptions nearly always succeeded ln in killing as the phrase goes when the carcass carcass of at the slaughtered hare la is whirled triumphantly antly round the head of the chief boy bov whip and torn to pieces by the yelping pack amid whoops of triumph from a gloating field A similar triumph ot at the anton beagles it may be remembered was recalled by that noble sportsman lord rossmore in his recent book of reminiscences in these words one of the prettiest things I 1 ever saw was a hare bare very hard bard pressed that took to the water and swam right out into the middle with all the hounds after her but she was unfortunately tuna tely so beat that she was drowned from sheer exhaustion halt bait way across the latest exhibition of brutality at eton has shocked humanitarians and an influentially signed petition was presented the other day to canon Lyt Lytte tehon Kon the reverend head muster master of eton college begging him to do away with the pastime of hare bare hunting at eton on the ground that I 1 its Is effect la Is to stimulate cruelty among the young this by the way is by no means the first arst petition of the kind that has been laid before a head of the famous college with a similar ob eject others in the past having been signed by herbert spencer sir frederick treves sir A conan doyle the late lord wolseley and other famous men but all without avail after due reflection canon lyttelton who himself Is the son of a lord has replied to the petition in a letter in which lie he declines to do away wit with the beagles and an all exceedingly re mar marli ablo Lable letter it Is to begin with this man of god who before becom ing head master of eton was the i honorable cation canon of st albans albana 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 Englis lf boys many educators are not without misgivings giVings at the almost in ost unnatural gentleness ol of r the mod ern schoolboy compared with bs forefather how flow insignificant then says the tb e canon must the influence of this kind of hunting bo be in the tha op opposite p ost t e direction the reverend canon ends his letter by da claring that as tar far as possible all cruelty has been banished from the hunting and killing of hares by the eton boys needless to say his apologia as it la is termed has called forth a broadside broa dalde of withering sarcasm one ona oft of those hoso who pay their compliments in the canon in no uncertain terms Is sir philip burns burne jones while among the reverent verena re headmaster s critics are several old Eton ians lans one of whom after recalling lord Roas Ross morea mores pretty sight remarks my ldean how the youth if f the nation should be brought up and why I 1 am in fit hearty sympathy with canon Lyttel tona tons reasoning lot let him go on us an lie ho is going then he will run nia no risk of 0 offending lord nung bung or sir garglas midas or other influential people who have their sons sona nt at eton I 1 was wan nearly seyen seven years there myself and was never troubled by any stupid humanitarian teaching |