Weihaiwei, Sept. 24—The hares have come down from the hills again and it is seldom that I can walk in my garden without seeing one: most of them look remarkably thin which is not to be wondered at after the breeding season, not to mention the increased numbers which have to be fed from a food supply much diminished by the summer brought. Ionce said that I would avoid the subject of hares as being of a too controversial nature....but as they will thrust themselves on my notice I must describe what I see. Before proceeding further I wonder if all who are interested in this subject have noted the difference between "couched" and "crouched": the form-to lie down for purposes of slop or concealment, and the latter to squat or lie close to the ground. The hares I have written about were "crouched" not "couched"....and here is the story. Shaving in the early morning, I was astonished to sce a hare—a large skinny creature—squatting in the middle the gravel drive just below my window: i ears were very erect, and when I called to my wife to come and view this unusual
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.