184 
This catching the eye of the hare upon its form may 
be fatal when practised by a beast of prey, if it exercises 
upon the victim the same fascination as it did in the 
case of the human eye, in an incident related by Mr. 
Charles St. John :— 
“ I found a hare sitting the other day within five feet of where 
I was standing, and in a very open place. I wanted to show her to 
one of my children who was riding four hundred or five hundred 
yards from the spot ; so I stood still and sent a man to call the boy. 
In the meantime I had to call loudly at, and rate my dogs, four of 
which were hunting about the place, seeing with their quick and 
peculiar instinct that I saw something. The dogs became very eager, 
and it required a great deal of calling to keep them quiet and make 
them lie down for five minutes. When the child came I had to point 
the hare out to him. The poor little animal, notwithstanding all this 
noise, did not move as much as one of her ears, but remained 
perfectly motionless, with her eye fixed on mine. The moment 
I took my eye off her (which I had not done all this time) she darted 
off, and springing through the only spot free from her numerous 
enemies, she was over the brow of the hill in two strides.”—(.Natural 
History and Sport in Moray, p. 2J5—note.) 
We are assured by Somerville that the hare itself seems 
to be well aware that the safety gained by colour-con 
cealment is very precarious. 
“ As wandering shepherds on th’ Arabian plains 
No settled residence observe, but shift 
Their moving camp, . . . 
So the wise hares 
Oft quit their seats, lest some more curious eye 
Should mark their haunts, and by dark treacherous wiles 
Plot their destruction.”—(The Chase. Book ii., lines ig-28.) 
The conjecture that animals are quick-sighted enough 
to see their victims which are supposed to be concealed 
by colour is borne out by actual experience. Mr. Bateson 
in his notes on the protective habits of shrimps and 
prawns, “ states that the wrasse will find a shrimp if the 
least bit be exposed, in spite of its protective coloration.