Easter is a time to celebrate new life. The dormant cold of winter has given way to the burst of colour that we so gratefully cherish every spring from the gorgeous daffodils, snowdrops and tulips to the bouncing lambs seen in the fields and the iconic emblem of the Easter Bunny- a beloved creature leaving sweet treats for children over the Easter holiday. But originally, this loveable figure was a Hare, not a bunny. Research into the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (DNHAS) Proceedings has led to some interesting fables about these swift creatures…
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On the 18th of February, 1903, C.W. Dale presented to the DNHAS a exploration into “The Mammalia of Dorsetshire” and Lepus timidus, or the Hare, was one of them. Declared as being “less common in many parts of the county” due to being caught by lurcher dogs on the highways, it did however make a “very clean and interesting pet”.
This odd declaration alludes to the poet William Cowper (1731 – 1800) who Dale claims had three pet hares all with their own tempers and dispositions. Given these hares as young leverets, Cowper named them Puss, Tiney and Bess and they accompanied him throughout difficult times. His love for these long eared companions can be easily discerned through his written words in his 1782 poem “Epitaph on a Hare”:
Here lies, whom hound did ne’er pursue,
Nor swifter greyhound follow,
Whose foot ne’er tainted morning dew,
Nor ear heard huntsman’s hallo’,
Old Tiney, surliest of his kind,
Who, nursed with tender care,
And to domesticate bounds confined,
Was still a wild jack-hare.
Though duly from my hand he took
His pittance every night,
He did it with a jealous look,
And, when he could, would bite.
His diet was of wheaten bread,
And milk, and oats, and straw,
Thistles, or lettuces instead,
With sand to scour his maw.
On twigs of hawthorn he regaled,
On pippins’ russet peel;
And, when his juicy salads failed,
Sliced carrot pleased him well.
A Turkey carpet was his lawn,
Whereon he loved to bound,
To skip and gambol like a fawn,
And swing his rump around.
His frisking was at evening hours,
For then he lost his fear;
But most before approaching showers,
Or when a storm drew near.
Eight years and five round-rolling moons
He thus saw steal away,
Dozing out all his idle noons,
And every night at play.
I kept him for his humor’s sake,
For he would oft beguile
My heart of thoughts that made it ache,
And force me to a smile.
But now, beneath this walnut-shade
He finds his long, last home,
And waits in snug concealment laid,
Till gentler Puss shall come.
He, still more agèd, feels the shocks
From which no care can save,
And, partner once of Tiney’s box,
Must soon partake his grave.
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Returning to Dorset, Dale presents in their report on Dorsetshire Hares the story of an elderly woman in the village of Pulham who would apparently “adopt the form of a hare at times”. The hare is listed as one of the main animals noted in witchcraft and this report continues to tell the tale of this elderly lady and her mystical abilities. On a particular day, a hare broke its leg from “a blow from a stick” and the very next day the old woman was “found in bed with a broken leg”. What is even stranger is that on another day a hare being “pursued by dogs” managed to seek refuge in the old lady’s cottage, took her form and slammed the door on the dogs. This is true fascinating piece of local folklore is an interesting addition to the mystical tales that surround the lepus timidus, a majestic animal that started a beloved Easter tradition.
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This was a guest blog written for Dorset History Centre by Chloe Taylor. If you are interested in contributing a piece for our blog, please get in touch by email: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk