No sooner doth the earth her flow'ry bosom brave,
At such time as the year brings on the pleasant spring,
But _hunts-up_ to the morn the feather'd sylvans sing.
Why is a small hunting horn called a bugle?
Because of its origin from _bugill_, which means a buffalo, or perhaps any
horned cattle. In the Scottish dialect it was _bogle_, or _bowgill_.
_Buffe_, _bugle_, and _buffalo_, are all given by Barrett, as synonimous
for the wild ox.--_Nares' Glossary_.
Why is the stirrup so called?
Because of its origin from _stigh-rope_, from _stigan ascendere_, to
mount; and thus termed by our Saxon ancestors, from a rope being used for
mounting when stirrups began to be used in this island. It is evident,
from various monuments of antiquity, that, at first, horsemen rode without
either saddles or stirrups.
Why are sportsmen said to hunt counter?
Because they hunt the wrong way, and trace the scent backwards. Thus, in
an old-work, _Gentleman's Recreations_: "When the hounds or beagles hunt
it by the heel, we say they hunt counter." To hunt by the heel must be to
go towards the heel instead of the toe of the game--i.e.
backwards.--_Nares_.
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