m

EPOSF

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'ftinted for

I !lvit'WOO», GILBERT H- Pll'K !:;

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L. (

THE

SPORTSMAN'S REPOSITORY;

COMPRISING

A SERIES OF HIGHLY FINISHED ENGRAVINGS,

REPRESENTING THE

HORSE AND THE DOG,

IN ALL THEIR VARIETIES ;

. ""^3" c "

BY JOHN SCOTT.

FROM ORIGINAL PAINTINGS BY MARSHALL, REINAGLE, GILPIN, STUBBS, AND COOPER:

ACCOMPANIED WITH A

COMPREHENSIVE HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF EACH,

THEIR USES, MANAGEMENT, AND IMPROVEMENT ;

INTERSPERSED WITH

ANECDOTES OF THE MOST CELEBRATED HORSES AND DOGS, AND THEIR. PROPRIETORS ;
ALSO, A VARIETY OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON TRAINING AND THE AMUSEMENTS OF THE FIELD.

LONDON:
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

MDCCCXLV.

L

TO

SIR THOMAS CHARLES BUNBURY, BART.

AN INDEPENDENT REPRESENTATIVE OF HIS NATIVE COUNTY,

DURING NEARLY FIFTY YEARS,
THE CONSTANT, UNWEARIED FRIEND OF THE POOR,

AND

THE DISTINGUISHED BENEFACTOR OF THE BRUTE CREATION,

TOorfe te motft reapertMlK Betrfcatetr

BY HIS SINCERELY ATTACHED,

AND FAITHFULLY DEVOTED SERVANT,

THE AUTHOR.

3 "596 4

'

WE lay before the public a new work on the exhaustless subject of
SPORTING, and on the nature and management of those domestic animals,
for the value and high qualities of which, this country stands pre-eminent.
We have summoned to our assistance some of the most finished models
of the graphic art, appealing to both the eye and to the mind of the reader ;
and we have little doubt the validity of our appeal will be recognised.

A very small portion of introductory observation will suffice, on a sub-
ject so universally known. Its foundation is that indissoluble chain of
connexion between man and the inferior animals, ordained by a bene-
ficent Providence, for human use and benefit, by which those animals
have been formed with various and suitable qualities for every possible
purpose, and endowed with a sufficient degree of intelligence, but no more,
which might adapt them to our use and convenience. Providence says
plainly to man, JUB tibi erunt artes — be it your duty and your interest,
to subdue the beasts of the field, to discover their innate properties, to
domesticate them, to cultivate and improve them, but above all things,
not to forget that these inferior beings, partaking in degree, of your own
nature, and in great measure, of your intellectual powers, were given for
your use, but not abuse; and that JUSTICE and MERCY are due even to
the beast.

Hence the proper understanding and management of animals, have
formed branches of human science, which are reducible to the following

viii INTRODUCTION.

scientific divisions. ZOOLOGY and NATURAL HISTORY, which deve-
lope the history, orders, classes, and properties of animals. ZOOTOMY,
or brute anatomy. The VETERINARY ART, which teaches the manage-
ment of the larger beasts, whether in health, or in a state of disease.
The Manege, or method of training the horse for parade or war. The art
of TRAINING for the RACE COURSE, a system peculiarly English, and
derived from Classical Antiquity — and finally, to coin a new compound
term for the occasion, ZOO-ETHIOLOGY, or that part of ethics or morality,
which defines and teaches the moral treatment of beasts.

Out of the above divisions, we have selected, as our province, the
SPORTING, VETERINARY, and MORAL, uniting, we flatter ourselves, the
utile with the dulce ; and, by calling in the occasional assistance of anecdote
and character, giving relief to the gravity of solid instruction. Having
exerted ourselves faithfully, we come not without confidence before the
grand Inquest of the public, solicitously expecting that first and greatest
reward of our labours, the verdict of PUBLIC APPROBATION.

CONTENTS.

Page

General Description . ............................. 1

Godolphin Arabian ........ , ..................... 3

Wellesley Arabian .............................. 5

Race Horse ...... .^ ............................... 9

Hunter ............................................ 13

Hackney .......................................... 17

Charger ............................................. 21

Coach Horse .............................. ......... 25

Cart Horse ....................................... 29

Race Horses, Jupiter ........................... 33

— Eclipse ........................... 37

---- - Shakespeare ..................... ib.

---- Childers ........................... 41

--- King Herod ...... , .............. ib.

Ponies .......... . .................................. 45

Ass and Mule .................................... 49

General Description .............................. 55

Bloodhound ............. , ......................... 57

Southern Hound ......................... 59

Page

Stag Hound

63

67

71

75

79

Greyhound

83

87

Irish Greyhound

91

95

Shepherd's Dog

99

Springer

103

Water Spaniel

107

Water Dog

Ill

115

119

Setter

123

Dalmatian, or Coach Dog

127

Newfoundland Dog

133

139

Pugs

145

Bull Dog

151

Mastiff

159

Appendix ,

169

LIST OF PLATES.

Page

Godolphin Arabian 3

Wellesley Arabian 5

Race Horse 9

Hunter 13

Hackney 17

Charger 21

Coach Horse 25

Cart Horse 29

Jupiter 33

Eclipse and Shakespeare 37

f'hilders and King Herod 41

Ponies 45

A *s and Mule 49

Bloodhound 57

Southern Hound 59

Stag Hound 63

Page

Fox Hound 67

Terrier 71

Beagles 75

Harrier 79

Greyhound 83

Italian Greyhound 87

Irish Greyhound 91

Lurcher 95

Shepherd's Dog 99

Springer .., 103

Water Spaniel 107

Water Dog Ill

Spanish Pointer 115

Pointer 119

Setter 123

Dalmatian 127

Newfoundland Dog 133

Greenland Dog 139

Pugs 145

Bull Dog 151

Mastiff.. . 159

THE HORSE.

OF all brute animals in a state of association with the human race, the HORSE
occupies the first and most important rank. He forms an indispensable link in
the chain of Creation : without him, nature's system and human enjoyments had
been incomplete. He contributes equally to the services, luxuries, and pleasures
of Man. Whether it be laboriously to till the soil, as an associate with the patient ox,
to carry the heaviest burdens, or to perform the longest and most painful journies,
the Horse is the ready and obedient slave of his master. Nature has endowed
this her favourite animal with a degree of intelligence and a generous inclination
to obedience, which render him highly susceptible of education. His form and
qualities are admirably adapted by the Eternal and Unerring Artist, to the particular
rank he is intended to fill in the scale of being. He is either fashioned to sustain

THE HORSE.

heavy burdens, and to endure the coarsest drudgery, or endued with that just and
beautiful symmetry of form and delicacy of skin, which convey to the critical and
scientific view, ideas of perfection, and which are harbingers of the highest degree
of quadrupedal activity and speed. His full eye beams with mildness and gene-
rosity, or sparkles with the fire of courage, energy, and action. In war, he offers
a dauntless front to the greatest dangers, engaging in the mortal strife and clangor
of battle, unappalled, and as actuated by an undivided and equal interest with his
rider. In the field and on the course, he exhibits a speed, and power of con-
tinuance, a firmness of nerve, a strength of muscle and elasticity of sinew, of which
no other animal of the creation is capable ; bearing his rider along, over plains,
hills, and vallies, as if impelled by supernatural energy : but all descriptions of
the horse must give place to that inspired one of Job, which has elevated and
delighted the minds of men of all ages and all nations :—

" Hast thou given the Horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his
nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength. He
goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted :
neither turneth he his back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the
glittering spear, and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and
rage : neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He sayeth among
the trumpets, ha ! ha ! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the cap-
tains, and the shouting."

Job was a native of those desarts, to which is indigenous that fine and delicate
model of the horse genus, from his superior speed, styled the COURSER. These
beautiful animals are supposed to have originated in the desarts of Arabia, of Bar-
tary, and of some other parts of Africa, and from those to have migrated to the circum-
jacent countries. Granting this to be supposition, it is confirmed by an unbroken
evidence of facts during thousands of years, recourse being invariably had to those
desarts for supplies of this matchless race : but there exists no record of sufficient
antiquity to reach the first example of taming the horse, since the most ancient
histories represent him as already inured to the service of man.

In order to have a clear understanding of the nature of this interesting animal,
it may be convenient to divide the genus (equus caballus) into two original species,
the most opposite indeed to each other, both in form and qualities, namely, the
Southern and the Northern, the fine courser of the Eastern desarts, and the gross,
coarse, and bulky horse of the lowlands of Europe. The former appears as he
came perfect from the hand of nature, independent of the art of man ; and his
activity and high spirit plainly destine him to the saddle, although in his native
regions, where the camel and the dromedary submit to the heavy burdens, he has
also been immemorially harnessed to the war chariot. The latter, a European
species, some of which are almost of elephantic size and weight, calculated chiefly

THE HORSE. 3

for slow draught, are covered with coarse hair and hide, have large, round, and
porous bones, and rugged inductile sinews. These, although large and stately
animals, are seldom found of regular proportions, until improved by human art.
These species in contrast are cited as an appeal to the consideration of those, who con-
jecture with Buffon, that all horses have proceeded originally from one single pair,
and that the specific differences and varieties which we witness, are the mere result
of difference in soil and climate. It seems scarcely possible that two species so
opposite and distinct, as well in external form and size, as internal quality, should
mutually and interchangeably assimilate, through any other medium than that of
intercopulation. The wild horses of South America, even upon the most arid and
desart tracks, give thus far, no countenance to the hypothesis of Buffon, retaining
their original specific distinctions of form, after the lapse of several centuries.
These arguments however, do not militate against the Count's position, that the
light and elegant courser is the natural production of dry soils and warm climates,
provident nature having originally furnished the various soils and climates of the
earth with animals, in size, form, and constitution, suitable thereto. The horse,
under the fostering care of man, will succeed and prosper under all, but the ex-
treme degrees of climate ; the species of the genus are numerous, and the varieties
almost infinite.

From the desarts, then, the nations of antiquity were supplied with a breeding
stock of the most valuable species of the horse ; and Egypt, Persia, Numidia, Mace-
donia, and Greece, are chronicled as famous for the number and excellence of their
cavalry; the latter country, in the Olympic Games, being the first to use the horse
as a courser, and to train him to the race. The vast regions of Tartary have al-
ways possessed a light, sinewy, and blood-like description of this animal ; and those
parts of Europe bordering upon the Eastern countries, have been constantly receiving
improvements in their indigenous breed, from that source. The various commu-
nications also, ancient or modern, between the Eastern countries and Europe,
whether of war or commerce, have served to stock our northern part of the world
with the horses of the East, by which our native breeds have been so changed and
improved; but in Britain and Ireland alone, has the southern species been preserved
in a separate state and purity of blood. The Crusades, no doubt, were the occasion
of importing a great number of horses from the Levant into Europe.

THE GODOLPHIN ARABIAN

Was imported into this country, about five and twenty years after the DARL.EY
ARABIAN. They were the most celebrated and valuable for their blood and high
form, as stallions, which have yet appeared, and are the source of our present
best racing blood. There are sufficient reasons, however, for the supposition, that

c

1 THE GODOLPH1N ARABIAN.

Lord Godolphin's horse was in reality a Barb. The public has been in constant
possession of the true portraiture of this famous horse, so remarkable and striking
in his form; which is not the case, to the regret of all true Sportsmen, with re-
spect to tin- Darley Arabian, of which there now exists, if it yet do exist, but
tin- solitary original picture, at the old mansion of Mr. Darley ; the present pos-
sessor having, it is reported, returned no answer to an application some years
since, t«>r le.i\e to take an engraving- of it for the public satisfaction.

The Portrait which accompanies the present description was taken by the late cele-
brated Stuhbs, from an original by a French artist, now in the possession of Lord
Francis (iodolphin Osborne, at his seat at Goginagog Hills. Another, and probably
an earlier Drawing, was made from the life, by Seymour, the most reputed horse
painter of his time. Stubbs's picture gave rise to some unfavourable criticisms by
his brother artists, in respect that the elevation of the horse's crest was excessive,
indeed, totally out of nature; and it was boldly asserted at Stubbs's sale, that the
painter must ha\e dra\\n u|xm his imagination, in order to deck out a horse with
such a lofty and swelling1 forehand. A well-known writer on these subjects, how-
ever, has since made an effectual, because practical defence for Stubbs and the
original draughtsman. This writer states, that he pointed out to the late Mr. Tat-

II and several other gentlemen, a horse, the property of the Duke of Portland,
with a cnM acknowledged by them, to be full as lofty and extensive as that ap-

i in the portrait of the Godolphin Arabian. The late Rev. Mr. Chafin also,
who saw the Arabian frequently in 1751-2, vouches for the correctness of Stubbs's
picture.

This Arabian was fifteen hands in height, of great substance, of the truest con-
formation for strength and action, bearing every indication of a real courser,— a
IIOIM of the desart. His colour was entire brown bay, with mottles on the buttocks
and crest, excepting a small streak of white upon the hinder heels. He was
imported into France from some capital or royal stud in Barbary, whence it was
suspected he \\as stolen, and said to have been foaled in 1724. So little was he
valued m lYance, that, he was actually employed in the drudgery of drawing a
cart in the streets of Paris. Mr. Coke brought him over from France, and gave
him to \\ illiams, master of the St. James's Coffee House, who presented him to
the I', nl of Codolphin. During the years 1730 and 1731, the Arabian served in
that noble Sportsman's stud as teaser to his stallion Hobgoblin, which horse re-
fusing to cover Roxana, she was in consequence put to the Arabian, and produced
a colt foal, tin- famous LATH, the most elegant and beautiful, as well as the best

r (if his linn-. The mutual attachment between the Godolphin Arabian and a
stable cat, is well known. He died in 1753, the most successful as a stallion of
any i ii«.rM-, before or since imported.

THE ARABIAN HORSE.

THE WELLESLEY ARABIAN,

THE present writer having seen this fine horse, can vouch for the truth of
Mr. Marshall's drawing. This horse, in figure, bearing considerable resemblance
to the larger war-horse of Europe, although possessing the delicate skin and
various other attributes of the South Eastern courser, it may be conjectured, was
the produce of some country bordering upon Arabia, where, as in England, the
Arabian or Barbary horse in process of time, acquires an increase of size and fullness
of form, together with a considerable expansion of the hoofs. This is no doubt
the effect of lower and more moist grounds, and more succulent food than can be
found in the deserts, where the dryness and purity of the air and soil compress
the animal body, impart a superior firmness and elasticity to the tendinous and
fibrous system, allowing greater powers in a smaller compass of substance, and
exalting the tone and vigour of the animal spirits. Thence horses are chosen from
the deserts for their fleetness and courage, and those from the mountainous regions
are preferred as coursers. A few of the produce of the Wellesley Arabian were
trained, but not with sufficient success to raise his reputation as a racing- stallion.

It is a curious physico-zoological fact that, the horse was a genus formerly
unknown to that vast portion of the globe, the American Continent and the Is-
lands ; and that the horse found no path through which to migrate thither, until
he was imported by the Spaniards after the subduction of those countries. The
breed soon multiplied far beyond human need, on the rich and productive soils of
those almost unlimited regions, as well as that of horned cattle, which had been
simultaneously imported. In consequence, the animals ran wild, and in the
course of several centuries, have had such a multitudinous increase, as to have lost
all vestiges of private property. The accounts of travellers in South America are
almost incredible, as to the innumerable herds which they saw, and the frequent
danger of being trodden under foot by them. Herds of wild horses are also found
in the vast Tartarian regions, from the East to the borders of Russia. The native
horse of East India, is said to be small, and unendowed with the generous qualities
of the courser, supplies of which latter, however, are constantly passing into that
country.

Importations of the Southern horse have taken place upon the Continent of
Europe, during many centuries, for the purpose of improving the native breed,
as war, carriage, and road horses. In England, such imports had not so early a
commencement, at least from the Levant, most of the breeding stock for the
purpose of improvement, being purchased on the opposite continent : but about

(5 THE WELLESLEY ARABIAN.

the period of the reign of Elizabeth, when horse-racing- had already attracted con-
siderable attention, both in England and Scotland, horses began to be imported
from the East, for that peculiar purpose, as well as for the general one of an im-
provement of the native breeds. At first it is probable that, pedigree and purity
of blood were not objects of such high consideration as they have since been ; but
that any well-shaped and blood-like nag", with good action, served the purpose
either of the breeding stud or the course. Turks, Barbs, Spaniards, Arabians,
Egyptians, and Persians, were imported, without any particular preference^ nor
had the Arabian horses, in those days, acquired that high distinction which they
have enjoyed since the commencement of the last century. The first James, our
first sporting monarch also, purchased of a Mr. Markham, a merchant, an Arabian
horse, at the very considerable price of five hundred pounds. This horse obtained
no reputation, being, it seems, quite unable to race, and the horse coursers of that
day being probably aware that such might be no reasonable objection. The ill
success of this horse brought Arabians into such disrepute, that we read of few in
the scanty annals of the Turf, until the reign of Queen Anne, the last of the
Stuarts, and of our horse-racing sovereigns.

Early in the reign of Anne, and which forms an epoch in Turf history, the
famous DARLEY ARABIAN was imported. He was sent from Aleppo by Mr. Darley ,
a merchant there settled, who procured him through his connections, from the
Arabian desarts ; and he is one of those few horses, on the purity of the blood of
which we can have a certain reliance. Hence the consequence to a turf breeder,
of attention to the portrait of this horse, which, however imperfect in a refined or
scientific view, doubtless represents a likeness of the animal, and a sufficiently
correct view of his proportions. That he was the sire of that racer of deathless
fame, FLYING CHILDERS, and that his blood has since invariably proved the most
valuable for the stud, form the best evidence of its purity, and that the land in
which he was bred, is the native soil of the genuine courser. The Leedes Arabian
was cotemporary with the Darley, and it is sufficient for his fame as a stallion
to say, that he was the sire of OLD LEEDES.

The great success of Mr. Darley with his Arabian, turned the current of fashion-
able opinion among our English Sportsmen, so much in favour of the horses of that
country, that it became a common inducement to style all horses imported from
the Levant, Arabians, whether or not they might have been really such, or
Persians, Syrians, Egyptians, Turks, or Barbs. This has occasioned notable con-
fusion and uncertainty, but it has been experienced, that the horses of all those
countries are endowed with the properties of the race-horse in certain degrees,
and the blood of our English thorough-bred horse is derived from a mixture of all
those, although doubtless the blood of the Arabian and Barb predominates. The
importation of these southern horses into Europe has proceeded as formerly, to the
present time ; and great numbers have been brought to this country during the

FRENCH AND GERMAN STUDS— TURKMAINATTI. 7

present reign. The late Emperor greatly promoted their introduction into France,
and the German Princes continue to breed from them ; but of late years a decided
preference has been manifested upon the continent, in favour of the English
thorough-bred horse. It is related, on the authority of a certain Prussian Count,
that a German Prince having, with the utmost care and expence, raised a most
valuable breed of horses from a son of that well-known English Racer, MORWICK
BALL, it was one of the first imperial acts of Napoleon, to honour the proprietor
with a military order to have the whole of them marched to France, for his im-
perial majesty's use, which was promptly executed. On the same authority it is
stated, that about thirty years since, an Arabian Jiorse was obtained in Germany,
probably by the way of Turkey and Hungary, which proved superior, for the
beauty, strength, and worth of the stock he produced, to any which had been
before known in that country. The name of this famous stallion was TURKMAI-
NATTI, a name in equal estimation in Germany, with that of the Godolphin Arabian
in England. The valuable stock of this horse has spread over the country ; and
young TURKMAINATTI at present ably supports the honours of his family.

The Arabians of the desart have always been breeders of horses for sale, but can
scarcely be induced to part with their mares at any price. They have three breeds,
or varieties, the inferior of which are those brought to market at a low price, and
which have been most extensively distributed in foreign countries. There is no
reason to suspect any specific difference in these breeds, the whole consisting pro-
bably in accidental superiority or inferiority of form, of which the Arabians, from
the skill and practice of so many ages, derived from father to son, may be pre-
sumed consummate judges. No people on earth can come in competition with
them, for their solicitude and care in respect to the pedigrees of their horses, which
essentially exceed even that, in the same case, bestowed upon monarchs and royal
families. The performance of the marriage ceremony of consummation between an
Arabian horse and mare of the superior or noble blood, must be first of all publicly
announced, that the necessary witnesses, men of the first rank in the country, may
be present to attest the act. The same ceremony is repeated at the birth of the
foal ; and there are numbers of undoubtedly authentic pedigrees, upwards of five
hundred years old. That of the Darley Arabian was said to be one of the most
ancient.

Horses are the chief stock and property of the Bedouin^ or wandering Arab
tribes, wh6 use them in their plundering expeditions, and in the chase, in which
most extraording relations have been made of the vast speed and continuance of
these horses, and of the little sustenance which they have required during the
performance. As oats with us, barley is the horse-corn of the Arabians, with a
little annual soiling of spring grass. No where on earth is the horse treated with
so great consideration, or, as it might be expressed, fellow-feeling, as in Arabia ;
and as a consequence, no horse equals the Arabian in kindness and affection to

8 THE ARABIAN HORSE.

human nature, and in the approach to rationality. The Arab, his wife and
children, his mare and foal, repose together under the same roof, and upon the
same bed. The social and affectionate interchange often happens, that the foal is
i ('stilly upon the bosom of the wife, and the young children sleeping upon the
neck and body of the mare! nor is there the least apprehension that the gentle
and docile animal should overlay or injure her charge. The Arabs do not beat
and abuse their horses like the two-leg*ged brutes of polished Europe, but discourse
and reason with them, allowing them an equal share with themselves of all the
varies of life ; and the event demonstrates their plan, as more just and rational,
far more successful than ours.

Nevertheless the Arab, so kind and considerate to his horse generally, and even
transported with a boundless affection for him, exhibits that anomaly of conduct,
which is a common and prominent infirmity in human nature. The training and
trial of the horse, and indeed the system of horsemanship of the Arabs, are most
severe, and even irrational and cruel, perfectly fitted for the approbation of sucli
^>j)liists as Chatcaubriant : as an example, their mode of trial for a maiden horse
of the highest form, is to ride him during the heat of their African sun, ninety
miles over the burning sands and stones of the desart, without resting, or drawing
drop or bit ! and at the end of that moderate stage, to plunge him up to the chest
in water! if he will then immediately eat his corn, his blood is genuine! The
\rahian horse is not accustomed to trot, but to walk, canter, and gallop. He is
ridden with a sharp bit, which in checking him with a sudden or heavy hand,
fills his mouth with blood, until it becomes thoroughly callous and insensible; and
the eastern custom of suddenly stopping him in his full career, throws such a
\\riu-ht upon his haunches, as either to break him down at once, or at a very
early age.

'

THE RACE HORSE.

THE RACE HORSE.

THE THOROUGH-BRED HORSE, or RACER, like the GAME COCK, the BULL
DOG, and the PUGILIST, are the peculiar productions of BRITAIN and IRELAISD,
unequalled for high courage, stoutness of heart, and patience under suffering.
The term thorough-bred, in Britain and Ireland, indicates the horse to be either a
remote or immediate pure, unmixed descendant of the South Eastern courser, Ara-
bian, Barb, Turk, Persian, Syrian, Egyptian, or of the conterminous countries ; the
preference for antiquity and purity of racing blood being always due to the produce
of the Arabian and African desarts. The modern English race horse resembles most
the Arabian, in the general outline of his figure, his limbs, the form of his head, and
in his countenance ; but from the great care and high keep which he has enjoyed
in this country through so many descents, he is of far greater height and bulk
and equally superior powers. Art is the handmaid and improver of nature ; and
notwithstanding* the boasted speed of animals in the natural state, there is no doubt
of the superiority of the trained courser. Thus the British race horse, even at an
equality of size and power to carry weight, is far more swift and more stout, in the
turf phrase, more lasting, than the natural courser of the desart of the oldest
pedigree. Such is the universal experience from trials in this country, and such
would in all probability be the result, were the rival horses taken young, and
trained and tried upon an equidistant and neutral soil. This opinion may not
altogether coincide with the sentiments of those, who have been accustomed to read
and swallow without investigation, those proper supplements to the Arabian Nights,
relations of the speed and extent of the journies performed in a given time by
Arabian horses : a little aid may be given to the judgment of these gentlemen, by the
suggestion that, in the desart, are no mile posts, no clocks or watches, wherewith
to measure time, no clerks of the course to start the horses, nor judges to drop the
flag at the ending post ; but that the jockey himself is often the only spectator and
detailer of his horse's performance ; and that in all the Eastern writings, ancient
or modern, exaggeration is the predominant figure.

In the early periods of the turf, recourse must have been had for racers to
foreign horses, and to the bastard breeds, as they were then styled, or mixtures
between foreigners and the lightest native breed of the country. Spanish
jennets, the descendants of Barbs, were trained : in short, any well-shaped nag
with good action in the gallop, was deemed a racer. The idea of thorough-breed
and its peculiar qualities, had not then taken place, but was afterwards gradually and
experimentally developed. The mild climate and gramineous soil of this country,

10 THE RACE HORSE.

always congenial with the nature of the horse, were found highly to improve in
size and powers, the progeny of the horses of the South ; and thence, aided by
the systematic care of our turf breeders, has arisen the British race horse, in the
state of beauty, symmetry, and perfection, which we now witness ; and the supe-
riority of which, all the world acknowledges and admires. This species had pro-
bably arrived at perfection, a hundred years since, in the instance of FI.YING
CHILDERS, since the speed of that wonderful animal has never been exceeded,
nor does it seem within the experienced powers of nature that it ever should.
From that period, the greatest attention has been paid to pedigree, and to pre-
serving the racing breed pure and unmixed. Accidental mixtures there certainly
have been, for such are upon record ; but they have been comparatively few, mere
drops of common, in the grand stream of pure and high racing blood. Such crosses
have heen occasionally apparent in the form and qualities of the produce, perhaps
for several generations ; but they have been obliterated by time, and are not dis-
coverable in the remote descents. Within the above period, but not very lately,
the phenomenon has now and then appeared of a horse not thorough-bred, proving-
a winning, even a capital racer. But such exceptions will not induce experienced
Sportsmen to infringe the general rule, by breeding from, or training horses for
the course, which are not thorough-bred. The same rule holds, however ano-
malous it may seem, with respect to foreign horses of the purest blood, from which
our thorough-breed is derived. None of them, and the experiment has often been
repeated, whatever be their age, size, or condition, are able to contend upon the
course, from a race of one hundred yards to one hundred miles, with their relatives
and brethren in blood, the race-horses of this country.

The latest intelligence respecting the horses usually imported from the Levant
is to be found in the Travels of Count Forbin, who inspected in Syria, not probably
with the eye of a jockey, several beautiful Arabian horses. He has given the
modern names of the different varieties of the courser in that country, which do
not agree with those formerly published by travellers. The highest formed and
most valuable breed he terms O(EL-NAGDY : they are brought from Bassora,
whence it is probable they are of the same blood as the famous Darley Arabian.
The present price of such of the best size and form, is ajxmt eighteen hundred
pounds sterling each ; and two or three years since, a mare of this race was sold at
St. Jean d'Acre, for nearly double that sum. It is well known, that scarcely even ex-
treme distress will induce the Arab breeder to part with a mare of this ancient
IK ( , nor have we any authentic account of such a one reaching this country.
Soon after the campaigns in Egypt, a British officer of high rank being at Aleppo,
was informed of the distress of a breeder and dealer from the desart, said to possess
the finest, shaped mare and of the oldest pedigree in Arabia deserta. Application
for purchase, at almost any price, was ustantly made through an interpreter.
The an^uer, partly in the form of another question, was as follows — " Wouldst

THE RACE HORSE. H

thou, under the goadings of evil fortune, sell thy mother ? — Neither will I sell
my mare.'* The second race of Guelfe, formerly pronounced Jilfi, comes from
Yemen in Arabia Fcelix, price about eight or nine hundred pounds sterling. The
race of Secluony, from the eastern part of the desart, is of somewhat less price. That
of Ocel-MeJhi is more slight, figury, and higher upon the leg, generally purchased
by the Turks, and in all probability, the same variety, in former days, imported
by our breeders under that name ; for example, the Helmsley, Lister, and Byerley
Turks : their price about six or seven hundred pounds. The Ocel-Sabi, of inferior
form, but the same variety, may be bought at about three hundred pounds ; and
the Ocel-Tre'idi, a race the lowest in the estimation of the Arabian dealers, and
said to have a taint of restiveness in them, at about two hundred pounds each.

The glorious uncertainties of turf-breeding and horse-coursing are these —
Racing depends upon blood and a just conformation in all the parts contributory
to action. Yet the best bred and finest formed horse may fail to prove a racer,
even to the common standard ; and the most successful racer of his year may
utterly fail as a stallion ; of these facts the examples are numerous < These how-
ever are exceptions to the general rule, which must ever be the guide of the
breeder and trainer. There is scarcely, perhaps no instance of full brothers or
sisters being both capital runners. One shall be of the highest form, the other
barely able to win a leather -plate. Perhaps blood, that is to say, favourite or
fashionable blood, has been too much depended upon by our breeders, to the neglect
of form, both in the horse and mare.

Our English thorough breed, although it has acquired so great additional size
and bulk, has, in no respect, degenerated ; yet it has received very small supplies
of original blood from the East, within the last seventy or eighty years. Perhaps
no such renovation may be ever again needed. Since the Godolphin Arabian, we
have scarcely imported one horse from the Levant, which may be deemed a capital
stallion ; and the new blood, as it used to be called, is at so low an ebb of repute,
that few breeders will send a mare to a foreign horse. The immediate produce of
those, from our best mares, can seldom race ; in which case, and if we must wait
for the third or fourth generation, we might perhaps, with equal or greater hope
of success, breed from our own three part bred stock. The test of superiority and
worth in a foreign stallion is, that his immediate get have proved racers. The
Arabians were perhaps among the most successful of the new blood, each getting
two or three middling racers ; and even CJiillaby got a winner, although some of
his stock, colts and fillies, yearlings and two-year olds, sold from five crowns to
seven pounds ten shillings a-head. This Chillaby, the property and favourite of
Mr. Jennings, was called the Mad Arabian, afterwards purchased for the Circus,
at the opening of that theatre, and there tamed by Hughes, the well-known
Riding Master. We saw him at Clay Hall, in Essex, chained like a wild beast.
When he first arrived there, in order to make proof of his ferocity, they placed a

D

12

THE RACE HORSE.

malken in his paddock, dressed in mans1 apparel, which the horse instantly ran at,
kicked, and tore to pieces with his teeth. He was yet, like the Godolphin Arabian
to his cat, and O'Kelly's Dungannon to his lamb, strongly attached and extremely
kind to a lamb, which we saw in a very hot day watching" and butting the flies
from off the horse's shoulder.

K LEANOR is one of the highest-bred mares of this country, and was a true
runner. In the year 1801, she won, in a high form, the DERBY STAKES at
Epsom, and the OAKS, or Filly Stakes, the following day; being the first racer
that has won the two, in all the years since the commencement of those Stakes.

With respect to TRAINING the Race Horse, and considering the too recent acci-
dents, ( \( n at .present, of breaking down from excess of work, Cltifney's remarks
an- l>y no means out of season, but in truth may be extended to farther circum-
stances of the case. When a horse is first taken into work, after having had a long-
rest, his carcase is large and heavy, and the practice is to put a great weight of
clothes njK)ii him, and to order him to take long sweats. But the horse, in this
early stage of his training, is the least able to bear weight of clothes, or to run a long-
sweat : for l)eing yet full of flesh, and his body heavy ; this, added to the weight
of clothes, occasions great stress upon his sinews, inflaming them and making them
full and weak to the degree, that they are liable to be forced out of their place,
l)\ his «-a 11 ops being a little too fast or continued too long.

THE HUNTER. 13

THE HUNTER.

THE antiquity of the CHASE, and the history of that " mighty hunter before
the Lord," Nimrod, are so well known, that any reference or quotation would be
superfluous. Modern English Hunting, like Horse-coursing, is a peculiar system ;
indeed, they seem to have taken rise together, at some period almost immediately
subsequent to our national dissentions, or Wars of the White and Red Rose ; pre-
viously to which, our hunting, like that still prevailing upon the continent, was
of a military complexion, and often consisted of the pursuit of dangerous wild
animals, then to be found in this country, the wolf and the boar. Hunting is no
longer a military parade with offensive weapons, but a jovial assembly in the
field, of Nobles, Gentry, and Yeomanry of property ; the former attended by their
servants ; all in neat, close, and elegant riding dresses ; the huntsmen with their
horns, and the whippers-in upon their game and seasoned hunters. The object of
the present hunting system is simply a pursuit, or race between the hunting horse and
hounds and the beast of chace, under certain fair and equal laws and regulations.

The ENGLISH HUNTER is generally a horse between fifteen and sixteen hands
in height, from the half-bred to the thorough-bred species ; and ought to be of a
lofty forehand, and shoulder well formed for action, with wide and substantial
loins, moderately short legs and pasterns, and sound feet. The fashion of riding
full-bred and speedy horses, so prevalent of late years, was equally prevalent in
the beginning, indeed original in the system. But this chiefly takes place in
light land counties. Upon strong and heavy soils, a powerful well-shaped half-bred
horse may perform satisfactorily, and make a good figure ; but upon light lands
and downs, the speed and rate of the high-bred courser are too much above his
powers, and he cannot long hold way in such superior company. On a general
consideration, the three part or seven-eighth bred horse is best adapted to the
purpose of hunting, since, at the same time, acknowledging the superiority of the
thorough-bred horse, it is so extremely difficult to obtain him of a sufficiently fixed
and substantial form.

BUNCOMBE, the subject of the opposite plate, is a good model of the hunter
nearly thorough-bred ; whilst the servant is mounted upon a shewy figure of the
three-part bred hunter. In Duncombe we discover a broad and substantial loin,
with the muscular swell in the shoulder and quarter, and solid substance of the
thigh and fore arm, which indicate a well-bred horse in good hunting condition..

I 1 THE HUNTER.

HUNTING is obviously one of the most severe labours of the horse, yet one that
is so generally attractive to him, that there are well authenticated anecdotes of old
hunters inspired by the music of their fellow -sportsmen the hounds, breaking
posture over the most dangerous fences, following the chase, and coming first in
at the death ! The present writer had a mare which performed this, taking a most
<!(•>] >erate leap over a lofty -pointed paling, on the other side of which was a well,
which it is almost a miracle that she cleared. The joints of a horse cannot be
sufficiently fixed until six years old, to go through with safety a season's hunting ;
although at five he should be cautiously and moderately used in the field. His
education consists chiefly in being taught to leap the bar, standing, since gene-
rally, all horses will take a flying leap, in some form or other. The practice of the
i.i: APING UAR furzed around, is well known ; but some grooms are too harsh and
hasty with the young horse, whence many of irritable tempers can never be after-
wards made staunch leapers.

The Irish horses are renowned as leapers, both standing and flying, to be attri-
buted in some measure to their form, sharp and frigate-built, but more to the
indefatigable training bestowed upon them, and to the desperation of Hibernian
riders, which has often ended in the ruin of the horse, and not seldom to the
breaking of the rider's bones, or of the master-bone — his neck. Two Irish grooms
were drinking at a public-house door, one upon his master's hunter, then in
• •isc : the bet of a cup of whiskey was made, that the horse could not clear a
m lo-h horn-in o- wall. The height of it, viewed from a horse's back, was tremen-
dous: nevertheless, full to the brim, both of right Irish mettle and of whiskey,
Patrick offered the leap standing to his nag; the horse was as truly Irish as his
rider, but had drank no whiskey; therefore, after a little hesitation, he reluctantly
n fused the offer; on which the half-mad groom, turning the horse about, and
cantering him to a considerable distance, turned him again, and with his riding
switch up about the horse's ears, ran him at the wall. The generous horse,
a>h;m..<l to refuse a second time, made a desperate leap; but being incapable
of o'ertopping such an altitude, his forefeet struck against the summit ; yet the
violence of his exertion carrying him over, he grounded on the other side on his
head and fore-quarters, both his fore legs being broken in the fall. Most unfortu-
nately, for the example sake, the fellow escaped with only a few contusions. The
wretched horse, from the absence of his proprietor, was kept several days in tor-
ture, l>efore he was shot. Who would have wondered, had the master proved
«'M'">llv mad with his servant, and shot him also! As a memento and caution to
y.Hinir in. -n, the following unfortunate fact, within the writer's personal knowledge
merits a place here. Mr. 8. an Essex Yeoman of considerable property, about
one and twenty years of age, jolly and good-natured, and on the point of matri-
mony, was riding his hunter over the farm. Jn stooping to unfasten a five-barred

THE HUNTER. 15

gate, his heel touched the horse's side ; the obedient hunter, mistaking- it for a
signal to take the gate, made his leap whilst it was swinging, and his hinder legs
being entangled, he came down upon his unfortunate master's body, and crushed
him instantly to death ! It was full an hour before any witness arrived ; and the
noble and generous horse was standing close by his dead master, as if sensible of
and lamenting his fate !

We must indulge in yet one more example, which appertains to the gallant
subject of leaping. Some gentlemen, in the present season, being shooting in
Cambridgeshire, on the estate of Lord Francis Godolphin Osborne, the noble and
liberal successor of the proprietor of the famous Godolphin Arabian, they accident-
ally put up a herd of cows, which in great fright took full speed, the course
which led to a five-barred gate^ when, to the astonishment of the sportsmen, the
foremost cow of the hunt leaped and cleared the gate as neatly as the staunchest
hunter. An old and experienced writer describes the cow as the best, if not the
highest of standing leapers, and advises grooms to teach their horses at the bar,
to clear their hinder quarters in the leap, like a cow.

TRAINING the hunter is a simple process, all that is required being to bring
him into good wind, without, at the same time, reducing him too low in flesh,
or injuring his sinews; since, on a long chace, more especially over a heavy
country, a horse needs the aid of his full bodily strength, and of his unimpaired
tendinous and muscular powers. It is extremely dangerous to ride a horse
over the country, which is weak in his joints, or has the common hurt in his
back sinews ; but the danger is tenfold, in taking a flying leap upon such a
horse, where the opposite descent is considerable, and the stress upon his lower
limbs in his landing, with a heavy weight upon his back, must be excessive.
Training must commence with two or three doses of physic, should the horse be
gross, and not have been previously trained. A young horse, in his first training,
will require most work ; but it is an error of the surest side, rather to under-do
this business, than exceed, because, if a horse come into the field rather under-
worked, being full of good meat and heart, the easy remedy is to favour and ride
him carefully the first week or two -, but should your training groom set you upon
a horse harrassed and weakened by too much exercise, he will get worse as the
season advances, and perhaps be totally ruined by the end; exclusive of the pro-
bable disgrace of failing you in a long a.nd important day. Old hunters from
spring grass, which they ever ought to enjoy, can scarcely be trained too lightly ;
the true test is, that their wind in its course be free and unembarrassed ; to that
point, however, their exercise must at any rate extend. The lighter the horse's
clothing the better, in view of the heats and colds he must necessarily undergo
in the chase. An early morning's gallop, at a good steady stride, but not speedy,
of a mile or two, with a canter after water in the afternoon, is sufficient for

10 THE HUNTER.

the hunter, and two months ought to bring him into good condition. A young
horso may have, once a week, a tolerably sharp rally for one or two miles, a
method which should never be practised with a seasoned hunter, to which, indeed,
walking exercise may be often substituted for the gallop.

The Steeple-Hunt is well known to be a match or sweepstakes across the country,
over hedge, ditch, and gate, between two or more Sportsmen upon their hunters.
This very ha/ardous adventure, not \ery common in modern times, has been once
repeated, since the instance related in the Britisli Field Sports, on which the follow-
ing remarks were made. Some hold these heroes in hig'h estimation, and aver that,
their example is a great excitement to courage and gallantry, and the contempt of
' whatever may befal ;' others insist that, foolhardiness never shews a salutary ex-
ample ; that, nmi^lit is never in danger, and that it is of the smallest possible con-
sequence to the world, whether a man of this kidney break his neck, or return with
it whole. Leaving the decision of this knotty point to casuists, clerical and lay, I
simply state the facts. \Ve have had occasional, but few revivals of this old prac-
tice, the chief misery of which is, the risk of crippling and condemning to a painful
existence, the noblest ami best animals in the country.

THE HACK OR HACKNEY. 17

THE HACK OR HACKNEY.

A HACK, in our modern stable phrase, signifies a ROAD HORSE, and not merely
a horse let out to hire, as some of the uninitiated suppose. The British and Irish
Hackney, with respect to his proper average height, is from fourteen hands one
half to fifteen hands one half : beyond the latter, unless the rider be also a topper,
he had need carry a pocket ladder for mounting convenience. With respect to
DENOMINATIONS, the term of poney is applied to all horses beneath thirteen hands
in height ; from thirteen to fourteen hands, a galloway ; at fourteen hands, ahorse:
a cob is a short, cloddy hackney : a Merlin is a Welsh poney or galloway, from a
certain part of the principality, where Old Merlin, many years after his racing
services had been completed, covered a great number of the small country mares,
and left a peculiar and valuable race to posterity.

The Hackney, like the Hunter of the present day, is always a horse with some
portion of racing blood, the whole English race, even to the cart horse, being
more or less imbued, and equally improved by it. Thus our road horses are half,
three parts., seven eighths, or thorough-bred. The two latter degrees are, in several
respects, less fitted for the purpose of travelling the roads than the former ; chiefly
on account of the tenderness of their legs and feet, their longer stride, and straight-
kneed action, not so well adapted to the English road pace — the trot. Never-
theless, bred hacknies are elegant and fashionable, and, when good canterers,
pleasant to ride ; insomuch that, a certain colonel of the Guards of former days
insisted, there was the same difference to be felt in riding a bred hack and one
without blood, as between riding in a coach and in a cart. One good property in
the thorough-bred road horse is, that he seldom shies, many of them never.

The Road Horse should have a considerably lofty, yet light forehand or crest,
a deep and extensive shoulder, well raised at the withers, straight back with sub-
stantial loins and wide fillets, the croup not suddenly drooping, nor the tail set on
low. The head should not be thick and fleshy, nor joined abruptly to the neck,
but in a gradual or taj>ering form ; the eye full, clear, and diaphanous. The fore
arms and thighs, with plenty of muscular substance, should be of reasonable
length, but the legs should, at no rate, be long. Much solid flat bone beneath the
knee, is a great perfection in a hackney ; and the feet, standing straight, turning
neither in nor outwards, should be of tough, dark, shining horn, the heels wide
and open. The saddle-horse's fore-feet should closely approach each other, the
wide chest being rather adapted to the collar. Nor need any apprehension be
entertained from this near approximation of the fore feet, of the horse's cutting in

18 THE HACK OR HACKNEY.

the speed, or knocking his pastern joints, since those defects arise almost invariably
from the irregular pointing of the toe, inwards or outwards, and for which, neither
a wide chest nor the most skilful farriery, has ever yet provided a sufficient re-
medy. A saddle horse of any description can scarcely go too close before, or too
wide behind.

Perhaps the best pedigree for a road horse is, that he is bred from hackney
stock on both sides, more particularly for a trotter. The BREAKING and education
of our road horses are too generally incomplete. A good mouth should be secured,
neither hard and insensible, nor too exquisitely sensible ; which latter extreme
causes the horse to ride loose necked, and his head, in the language of a practical
author, to vibrate like a pendulum. The nag should be set moderately upon his
haunches, as in the Riding School, which will enable him to carry his fore-
quarters lightly and pleasantly to the rider, and also to descend a hill with more
ease and safety ; the doing which in perfection, is one of the highest qualities in a
hackney. The horse being low or ill-formed in the shoulders, that the saddle
will ride forward; or, in the horseman's phrase, cock-throppled, which is to say,
having the crest reversed, that a martengale be required to keep his head in
its proper place, are great, and being irremediable defects, should be guarded
against in breeding*, by attention to the well-known principle — like produces
like. In these confirmed cases of mal-conformation, there are no remedies worth
regard, but the martengale and the crupper ; and however unfashionable the
hitter, it is still preferable to the insecurity of riding upon a saddle gradually
shifting towards the horse's neck, there being no eminence or form of withers
a<: pted to its support in its place. The natural paces of the horse are WALK,
rut **, CANTER, and GALLOP • and in this country, the artificial paces of PADDING
and RACKING have long since been out of use * yet cantering is with us almost an
art icial pace, our road horses being so universally accustomed to the trot, that few
will canter handsomely and steadily. The reverse of this is actually the case in
other countries, where horses, from disuse of the trot in work, almost forget that
natural pace. In breaking the colt, it should not be neglected, as it usually is,
to teach him a handsome, safe, and steady canter, more especially if he naturally
incline to that pace, so useful and pleasant in a variety of respects : for example,
as a lady's pad, or summer hackney ; and in case of the horse having much blood
and delicacy, an occasional canter of a few miles, being a great relief from the
»haking of the hard road in a trot. Nor is there any ground for the common
apprehension that, being* taught to canter, will render a horse less steady in his
trot ; that depends upon good riding ; and the present writer has known capital
trotters also handsome and good canterers.

STABLE CARE AND ARRAY OF THE HORSE, in this country, has suffered very
little \ariation on essentials within the last half century, which is to speak highly
in favour of their rationality and excellence. Certainly these animals are generally

THE HACK OR HACKNEY. 19

too long* kept as fixtures in their stalls, tied up by the head without space or power
to exercise their limbs, but many considerate Sportsmen adopt the use of the LOOSE
STABLE, which, in the cases of inflamed and debilitated sinews and battered hoofs,
is the only in-door resource and remedy. The English horse, especially in all
sporting stables, still rests his wearied limbs, and tender, shaken feet upon a deep
and comfortable cool bed of fresh straw, throughout the day, in spite of certain
new-fangled recommendations of the superior comfort and use of hard and cold
stones. Constant good corn-feeding, high condition, burnished coats, and the
perfection of animal powers, still hold their ground against left-handed and scalt-
miserable economy, faint sweats, rough staring coats, knocking together of the
legs, and— knocking up. The horse should alway have green meat in the season,
and whenever convenience will admit, be permitted to cut his own meat abroad,
and enjoy the pure air of spring, and the refreshing dews of heaven, for at least a
few weeks.

In TRIMMING the Horse, the old odious and torturing custom of singeing his
ears with a lighted candle, has long since been discarded by Sportsmen, scissars
being the proper substitute, and the ear should not be left too bare, more especially
in the cold season. The curb and snaffle BRIDLES are the same essentially, as have
been long since in use ; but perhaps the curb has been too much improved in
severity, and with too little real benefit. The SADDLE has suffered no change of
importance, although various trivial alterations, and is secured upon the horse's
back, as it was fifty years ago, by two girths placed exactly one over the other.

Xi*

CRUPPERS have been within that period, exploded, and saddle cloths h;,.e only
been in occasional use. The SASH or broad white collar down the should; cs of the
saddle horse, fastened to the peak of the saddle, and connected beneath the chest,
with the girths, was a prevailing fashion forty years ago, and supposed to exhibit
to advantage, a deep and slanting shoulder : if it had any real use, it was to pre-
vent the light-carcassed horse from slipping or running out of his girths, an acci-
dent sometimes seen upon the turf.

The cruel and useless custom of NICKING is by no means so prevalent as formerly
for saddle horses, which at present, almost universally wear somewhat short, cut tails,
nearly in the style of those of the racer. The heels are close trimmed. In the
management of the FEET and SHOEING the horse, the toes should be kept short,
both for security in action, and to promote the growth and spread of the heels.
As little as possible, perhaps nothing excepting rotten material, should be pared
from the frog and quarters, and the soal itself should be pared with caution, and
only in case of exuberance, since travel will wear the substance, particularly of a
thin foot, full fast. The too common practice of farriers opening the keels, is the
readiest mode with most feet, to prevent their remaining open, by depriving them
of that substance which should intervene to keep them so, and which in weak feet
is not able to keep pace in growth, with the destruction of the paring knife. The

E

20 THE HACK OR HACKNEY WARRANTY.

best shoes are made of hard, well-hammered iron, and the shoe for a road, or draught
horse particularly, should always be of substance sufficient to support his weight. Its
external surface should be flat, and by no means inclinable as formerly to the convex.
The length of the shoe should agree with that of the foot, but at no rate exceed or pro-
trude beyond the horse's heel. It would be well, for security's sake, and apparently
according to nature's destination, could our road horses bear the exposure of their
heels and frogs to the ground ; but as so extremely few are capable of it, every
attempt Ir.is failed to introduce the famous short shoe of the French farrier La
Fosse. The object is to place the horse upon a level and even bearing of shoe,
neither too thick of iron nor too light ; carefully fastened with moderately small
nails, and by a workman with the experience and the feeling to discover, whether
or not the shoe may have been placed, or a nail may have been driven, so as to
outrage the extreme sensibility of the animal in those parts. Shoes should be re-
moved in three weeks, and horses sent to grass, more particularly with respect to
thin and tender feet, should have narrow webbed and light shoes, to preserve the
walls of the hoof.

In the PURCHASE and SALE of a horse, the warranty of sound purports that the
animal is neither blind, lame, broken-winded, nor rotten, nor at the instant, sub-
ject to any impending cause of such maladies. At Repositories and sales by auction
the conditions of sale are always that, such warranty should terminate in three days,
indeed, that is the usual time allowed in private bargains ; but in litigations the
juries have of late years assumed a discretionary power in the case, and it is held
in consequence that, no period of time will bar the return of a warranted horse,
proved to have been unsound at the time of warranty. A horse warranted quiet
must l>e neither restiff, kicker or biter, or a run-away.

THE CHARGER. 21

THE CHARGER.

The beautiful Engraving here presented to the reader, is of a favourite Charger
of MAJOR GENERAL WARDE, which had carried the General boldly and safely over
many a bloody field.

The HORSE has been recorded from the highest antiquity, as the disciplined and
faithful ally of man in the field, and as a sharer with him in all the toils and perils
of military enterprize. His services in ancient times, were not confined to carrying
his master ; he was also yoked to the War-Chariot ; and in the late wars, that
machine has been in some sort revived in the Flying Artillery. As a proof of the
attention of the Ancients to the military manege, we are informed by Xenophon,
a professional and practical writer, they so bitted their horses, that their necks might
be pliable and obedient to the reins, teaching them also to move by such measured
steps, that the whole equipage, when two, four or six were yoked together, might
move as one body, without confusion. They were trained and accustomed to run
with the utmost velocity in harness, and inured to fearlessness and hardiness; either
for making an attack with an impetuous shock, or receiving in turn, such a shock
with firmness. These horses were taught to execute the various evolutions of
wheeling with docility, activity, and speed ; to run over all kinds of ground ; to
stretch up the steepest ascents, and to rush down the sharpest declivities ; in fine,
they were prepared for all the probable and trying occasions of actual service.

In the wars of classical antiquity, we read of the same races of the horse applied
to military purposes, as now uphold the honours of the British Turf ; and from the
favourable account given by the ancient Roman historians of the war horses, some
of which were driven in chariots, opposed to them by the Britons, it has been
conjectured that, a mixed South-Eastern breed of the horse, even in those early
times, existed in this country ; and that the Southern breeding stock had been
imported through the commercial intercourse subsisting* between the Western
coasts of Britain, and those of certain countries of the Mediterranean. Granting
this hypothesis, subsequent importations from the Continent of Europe must greatly
have enlarged the. size of the English breed, as we find in succeeding ages the
military fashion of this country exactly agreeing with that of the other northern
parts of Europe, in adopting the GREAT HORSE, as he was emphatically styled,
and literally proved, for the service of war. Thus originated the phrase, " to ride
the Great Horse," which signified the managed or military horse ; and it appears,
that in those early days, the chargers of the officers, as well as the common troop
horses, were of a large and heavy breed.

22 THE CHARGER— MANEGE.

This custom, it should seem, subsisted during the civil wars between the royal
Houses of York and Lancaster, and in all probability, suffered considerable change
on the introduction of Horse Coursing, and of a lighter breed of horses into the
country. The change, however, was gradual ; and in Elizabeth's reign, " great
trotting horses" were much in request, as the only species adapted to war. The
trot had then perhaps but lately come into fashionable use, since, in the earlier
period, the great horses imported, of the modern dray size, though it may be pre-
sumed of statclx form, were taught and accustomed to amble. The common breed
of England was small, and much legislative care was used in the reigns of
Henn the Seventh and Eighth, conformably to the politico-economical notions of
those- times, to enforce the breeding of larger horses. Thus, in the latter reign, a
la\v was enacted, that every man's brood mare should be at least fourteen hands high,
and the magistrates were empowered by this law, to scour the wastes and commons
at Michaelmas tide, and to put to death all mares and all stallions, which in size
\\tiv below the Act of Parliament standard! Further curious regulations were
made, to compel horse-breeding upon a graduated scale of rank and property.
Each \rchbishop or Duke was obliged, under certain penalties, to keep seven
trotting stone horses for the saddle, each to be fourteen hands high, at the age of
three \ears. Each person having benefices to the amount of one hundred pounds
searl\, or a layman, whose wife should wear any Trench hood, or velvet bonnet,
were required, under the penalty of twenty pounds, to keep one " trottynge stone
horse" of the stated si/e for the saddle.

The Continental Manege for the War Horse, was introduced into this country by
Henry the Eighth, through the medium of the most famous riding masters, invited
OUT and patroni/ed by that Monarch, who was honoured with the name of Castor by
an den-ant writer, for his affection towards the horse, and his consummate skill
in horsemanship. This continued in English use, for Officers' Chargers, until perhaps
within the last half century, limit r the style of the Grand Manege, and the horses
wr< i. frequently foreign, it being experienced that English-bred horses were insus-
ceptible of hdno- so highly f/mW or managed as the German. It was at length
IK-IT* i\cd, howc\cr, that the Grand Manege, consisting, in a great measure, of
antiquated forms and actions, was rather calculated for vain and ostentatious parade,
than lor real MM on the Held : and that which was of still more serious concern,
he considerable portion of a horse's useful life which was required to perfect
him, nanul\. three \.-ars, the "Teat abatement of his speed which it occasioned, and
the injiirx to his hinder quarters which too often necessarily ensued.

I he /',/,/ Mam'^t. restricted to real use, succeeded to the Grand and antiquated ;
:>"<l prohahh, thiMval improx cinent may in great measure be attributed to the good
* IIM- and influence of the late celebrated Earl of 7YWW,v, whose book on horses
nceiud, and devnrdls, ur,at public attention. This is the common and expe-
ditious Hiding School system of drilling or training horses for military service in

THE CHARGER ANECDOTE. 2S

the ranks, and equally sufficient for the Charger, as the Troop horse. Its chief
objects are, to set the horse sufficiently upon his haunches, to make him rein well,
to give him a cadenced pace, to teach him to rein back or retreat, to move side-
ways, to stand fire, and leap. When Napoleon, ambitious of the royal diadem,
was recalling- the emigrant Noblesse and Clergy, aristocracies which he perceived
to be absolutely necessary to the foundation of his meditated system ; on a certain
occasion of raising new regiments, an old officer complained to him, that there
was not a single highly -dressed Charger to be procured ; to this the would-be
Monarch replied—" Colonel, the military glory of France lies materially in
dispatch ; and your Charger will earn many victories or death, long within the
time required by the ancient regime to dress him grandly."

Some years subsequent to the appearance of Lord Pembroke's Treatise, a book
was published, entitled, Rules and Regulations for the Cavalry, by Order; in-
deed, the example of France, during the Revolutionary wars, had great effect
upon our military tactics in this particular. The following observations also,
published in 1796, (Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses), are here
particularly applicable. — " With respect to Troop Horses, our heavy Cavalry are
much improved in lightness and activity within the last half century; but a further
improvement in the same line will most probably take place. I have consulted
many gentlemen who have seen service, both in the present and former wars, who,
after making due allowance for the formidable weight of those heavy horses in the
charge, seem to incline, on the whole, to acknowledge the superior utility of
more active and speedy cattle. For my part, utterly inexperienced as I am, and
as I hope I ever shall be in this bloody business, I cannot see how superior activity
can possibly be less formidable in any respect than mere bulk. But it may be
safely averred, that good well -shaped half-bred horses would beat the present race
of heavy troop horses, at twenty and twenty-five stone, by miles in an hour.
They would also get through deep and difficult countries, with much more expe-
dition and ease to themselves, than heavy cart-bred cattle, whose own weight and
laborious method of progression, must be impediments increasing in proportion to
the badness of the roads. It would not be possible at present, I well know, to find
a sufficient number of that species of horses to which! allude, for the public service;
but the case may be altered hereafter, when the heavy black locusts shall have
been superseded by a lighter, more active, and more useful race."

Since the above period, those views have been further pursued, and, in all pro-
bability, very nearly to the point of attainable perfection. In the late war, the
British Cavalry not only fully maintained its pristine reputation for weight and
effect in the charge, but had acquired equal superiority in active evolution and
speed in the pursuit. The few horses which we import from Germany for mili-
tary use, are likewise of a far more light and active breed than those formerly in
use upon the Continent. The Germans have, almost inmiemorially, mixed their

24 THE CHARGER.

native la r^e races with Arabians, Barbs, and other Eastern horses; and their
Chargers and Parade Horses, at the present period, shew a considerable portion of
Southern blood, and consequent symmetry and elegance. We perhaps find the
majority of our officers' capital Chargers, with their full tails, of an appearance
congenial \\ith this breed; and the hunting-like figure of that which we ex-
hibit, i- one, among yet a considerable number of exceptions to the general rule
of the present military style.

The British are a nation of Horsemen, however unskilful a part of them may be ;
and the science of Equitation in this country has been long since known and
practised under two grand divisions, as exhibited in the Military and the Turf
St at on Horseback. The latter style of riding had been prevalent for several
centuries, upon the Road and Field, until the late continued wars introduced some-
what of the form of the military school, which shewed itself chiefly in placing the
ball of the foot ujKHi the stirrup, and the inward direction of the toe, instead of
rifling home, as the jockeys phrase it, and turning the toe outward and somewhat
upward. There has moreover been a kind of tacit but obvious reciprocity of
approach between the t\\o systems; the one has borrowed a small portion of the
martial air and gentility, the other very discreetly puts off a considerable share of
antique stiffness, formaliu, and parade. We have no doubt that horsemanship
\\ill <yir remain a distinguished characteristic of English Gentlemen, and that
the equal disgrace implied l>\ the old Roman proverb recorded by Suetonius, will
not be forgotten, ne<]ue equiture, nee Uterus scire— neither to be able to ride, nor
to read the alphabet.

&: : :i:

THE COACH HORSE.

THE COACH HORSE.

/

The opposite ENGRAVING represents one of our highest and most fashionable
forms of the COACH HORSE, trimmed, with respect to tail and mane, and harnessed
in the prevailing style of the gay and splendid Metropolis.

Modern refinement has tasked itself, and most successfully, in all things, to
supersede inert and cumbrous substance by lightness, symmetry, and elegance,
sagaciously discovering a recompense for the loss of bulk and weight, in just and
adequate proportion. Thus has been the march of improvement in architectural
design, and thus in rearing the form of our domestic animals. It has been already
noticed, that our horses, used for the various purposes of quick draught, have re-
ceived their full share of the beneficial improvement of racing blood. With the
most sporting-like elegance of figure, we have acquired a vast addition of speed,
at the same time retaining even a superior to the former effective power. The
Coach Horses of former days were comparatively Dray Horses ; those of the pre-
sent wear rather the semblance of Hunters and Racers. Indeed our Race Horses,
by some ignorantly stigmatized as a spider-legged race, are bred up to such size
and strength, as many of them to be fully equal to the duties of the collar, and in
fact many are annually applied to such purpose, as well as to hunting and the
road, blood-like horses running in our public Coaches, Post Chaises, and Gentle-
mens' Curricles ; and as* fashion no longer demands a strict match of colour in
these travelling or airing carriages, a good opportunity is afforded of introducing
a valuable horse of whatever colour.

CHARIOT HORSES are below the full coach size, about the height of the Curricle
Horse, with more substance and weight ; these last, with the GIG HORSE, are of
hunting size and figure, nor does this lighter part of quick draught at all injure
them as saddle-horses. The breeding Counties for Coach Horses, as well for all
kinds of saddle-horses, are chiefly Yorkshire, the Bishopric of Durham, ano1 perhaps
Northumberland. The former horses are the produce of large mares, generally
with some shew of blood, and half or three part bred stallions, and frequently
racing stallions of great size and bone. This coaching stock, when bred with
judgment and well shaped, has, for a number of years, produced very high prices,
and brought great returns to the studs of the above counties, a pair of clever,
well-shaped coach horses of the first size, being often sold for upwards of four
hundred guineas. It appears to the present writer, that considerable improvement
has been made in the form of these horses, within the last thirty years, although
certainly much yet remains to be done by the judicious breeder, since even at

:>(> THE COACH HORSE— STAGE COACHES.

this time, it is not a matter of common occurrence, to find a thorough-shaped
Coach Horse, any more than one of that invaluable description of any other
species. We ma\ boast, however, that our coach stables are not lumbered with so
many of those miserable splay-footed, leggy, loose-loined, and cat-hammed ani-
mals, as in former days; a sort of cattle which could scarcely travel half a score
miles, without the risk of hewing their legs to pieces. It ought to be a material
consideration with breeders of coach horses, to raise them from such stock as stand
even IIJKMI the ground, and go perfectly clear with their legs ; and, in short, such
a> are not burdened with too much leg. There can scarcely indeed be a greater
defect in a horse for quick draught, than knocking or cutting, that is to say, the
lower or the speedy cut.

We would wish, with the sincere views of caution and of general utility, to in-
troduce in this place, some observations on the public STAGE COACH management
of this country, and those numerous and perpetually recurring accidents, always
distressing, and so often fatal, which disgrace our public roads, and render stage
travelling in England scarcely a fair or prudent risk. Our first example is most
truly a distressing one, the late misfortune of that very eminent and diligent
artist, Mr. Marshall, so many elegant proofs of whose genius adorn the present
work. From his late letter to a friend, and we rejoice that he was sufficiently
recovered to be able to write, we learn that he was overturned in the Leeds Mail,
in his way from Newmarket to Rockingham Castle, on the 3d of September 1819,
b\ which accident both his legs were broken, his head terribly cut, and his back
greatly injured by contusion !

There is no country in the civilized world where so many fatal accidents have

occurred, in travelling upon the public roads, within the last thirty years, as in

England ; and our speed in travelling, and the concomitant risks, are equally the

admiration of foreigners. It was the remark of a late German Traveller, who

had the coin-age to be humorous upon the subject, that previously to taking place

in an English stage-coach, a man ought to make his will, and take solemn leave of

bis family and friends. But too well does this apply to the lamentable case of a

gentleman, and father of a family, at Kentish Town, who lately, in his return from

London, was, in less tban one short half hour, killed outright by the coach being

overturned! Now really, it is a preposterous thing, scarcely consistent with the

idea ot intellectual sanity, for mens' limbs and lives to be risked in so wanton and

contemptible a way. An ima\oidahle accident of this kind, however fatal, would

certainly excite no other feelings than sorrow and a due submission to the necessary

evils of human life; but of what nature ought our reflections to be, under the

invariable and undeniable proof that the far greater, nay, almost the entire

number ot snch accidents, are the pure result of carelessness, worthless ness, and

folly, in the stagecoach dri\ers, and unprincipled cupidity in the proprietors?

With what kind of feeling would a reflecting man read over the items in detail,

STAGE COACHES. , 37

of a bead-roll of these travelling mishaps, during- the period just mentioned ? They
would form a volume of considerable bulk, independently of any commentary !

Previously to saying- a few words on the obvious particular defects of our travelling-
system, and after having dealt so unreservedly with the coachmen and proprietors, im-
partiality demands that we name another party, and that of the highest considera-
tion, which must unavoidably come in for a share, if not the greatest share of blame
in the premises — we mean the PUBLIC. The superiority in the modern form of
our public vehicles, and the celerity with which they whirl along the roads, are no
doubt highly contributory to general convenience, and to the furtherance of com-
mercial views -, but we seem to be all ultras in the affair of travelling, and to set
no limits to our desires, as if unconscious that, there must necessarily be a point
beyond which we cannot with safety proceed. Do we travel one hundred miles in

twelve hours ? well — but not sufficiently well — an opposition coach starts up a

new candidate in the break-neck line, who offers to run the same distance in ten
hours ! All the passengers who can find places, now crowd to the new diligence ; for
what's the object of broken bones, or a broken neck, to the pleasure of arriving at one's
journey'send,ordinner,afullhour andhalf sooner than usual ? Besides,every English-
man is a true Mussulman in this case, and well convinced, before starting, that if
it shall have been recorded in the book of fate, that he is to escape all accidents
upon the road, the journey must needs be performed in safety ; but, if otherwise,
there is no remedy but patiently to await and submit to his fortune, whatever that
may be. Sentiments of this kind have actually appeared in print, and much sur-
prise has been expressed, that timid and fastidious people should make such fuss on
a matter so trivial, and that they should be so irrational as to expect fewer accidents,
the immense number of our stage coaches considered. These accidents are made
a subject of mirth, even of doubt; and overthrows and breaking of axletrees succeed
each other with a rapidity, which quite overpowers the public apprehension of them,
as too great a glare of light serves to obscure all distinct vision.

Various meritorious attempts have been made by the legislature to remedy these
defects, with a view to public safety ; but what can be efficiently done for a public
absolutely striving to counteract every measure which can possibly be devised in its
favour ? No coachman can be more eager than the passengers themselves, to in-
crease the number beyond its lawful rate ! The keenest Whip has not more delight
in a race along the road, than the major part of those whom he drives ! What jolly and
unconcerned parties do we daily behold upon the roads, both within-side and without
of a light and tottering vehicle, so heavily and highly laden, and so nicely balanced,
that the slightest eminence in the way is sufficient for an upset ! We feel too well
aware, in this case, of climbing up labour-in-vain hill, and of the thankless nature
of the task we undertake, that of giving gratuitous and unasked advice. Indeed,
why should a free-born Englishman be denied the liberty and pleasure, of breaking
his own neck, in his own way ? We must nevertheless satisfy our conscience.

28 TRAVELLING POLICE.

A strict attention of POLICE, suppose an unexpensive Board established on pur-
pose, to the following regulations, might be attended with salutary effects, and at
least be preventive of a part of those accidents which, at present, tire of so
frequent occurrence.

In (,'ase of the overthrow or breaking down of a public stage-coach, the conductor
of it, namely, the coachman, should be liable to a criminal prosecution, the responsi-
bility of the proprietors, with respect to pecuniary damages, remaining \nstatu, quo.
The punishment of the coachman, legally convicted of breach of duty, to consist of
imprisonment and incapacity to drive during a certain term, or for ever, according
to the merits of the case. Actions also to lie against proprietors for incapable or
vicioiiN horses, or for carriages out of repair and not road-worthy, or for loads too
high or t<M» heavy to be conveyed to the journey's end with safety. Criminal prose-
cutions also in certain cases to be against proprietors.

DESCRIPTION, 29

THE CART HORSE.

THE following- general description of the CART HORSE, or horse adapted to slow
draught, may be deemed perhaps sufficiently correct. A capital Cart Horse should
not be more than sixteen hands in height, with a brisk, sparkling eye, a light,
well-shaped head, and short prickled ears, full chest and shoulder, but somewhat
fore-low, that is to say, having his rump higher than his forehand ; he should
have sufficient general length, but be by no means leggy ; large and swelling
fillets and flat bones ; he should stand wide all -fours, but widest behind ; bend his
knee well, and have a brisk and active walk.

On one or two points, however, the above description does not exactly accord
with the opinion and practice of late years. Our Cart Horses of highest figure
and price, are more frequently bred to the height of seventeen hands than
sixteen, and they are generally seen with lofty forehands, many of them with the
deep and counter, or flat shoulder of the Coach Horse. The Suffolk breeders
shewed a decided deference to this opinion, by changing, as it were unanimously,
the form of their horses, increasing their height and elevating their forehands.
After all, fashion and taste, and filling the eye, that never-failing* grand and para-
mount consideration, rather than simple and modest utility, may have had their
influence in this, as in all other human concerns ; and not improbably, as much
strength and activity and power to remove weight, or draw, may be centered in
the compass of sixteen as in that of seventeen hands, or of any greater height. It
has been moreover urged, that the oversized horses are neither able to do, nor do
they, more work than those of moderate size and true proportion ; for, in growing
them up to this vast bulk, you gain only in beef and weight to be carried, but no-
thing in the size and substance of the sinews and muscles, the cords, levers, and
pullies, which are destined to move their own, as well as any extraneous weight.
By this reasoning it would seem, that the out -sized are unable to perform even so
much work as the middling ; and another argument against them equally just is,
that they must in general, consume a proportionally larger quantity of every
necessary. It used also to be urged, that the low shoulder lies most in the line of
traction, and thence the weight to be drawn, is acted upon in a level, horizontal
direction. But amongst these arguments it must not be concealed, that, according
to appearance, the largest sized horses are not an overmatch for the vast weights
drawn in the coal waggons, brewers' drays, and overwhelming slop carts of the
metropolis.

The chief breeds of slow -draught horses of the present day are, the large blacks,

30 CART HORSE— VARIETIES.

the second and third size of the Midland Counties, and the Suffolks. Of the
Cleveland Bays, and the Clydesdale or Lanark horses, we have not heard much
of late years, and it is probable they have never been much used out of their own
districts. The Cleveland Bays are a sort of strong Coach Horses, a very useful
breed for country labour, more particularly upon the road. According- to the in-
formation of a foreign Noble, a great amateur of the horse, who was at Petworth
last year (1818) the Earl of Egremont, one of our greatest breeders, has six
Cleveland Buy mares in his stud. The above foreign amateur judges by their
appearance, that they are of a pure indigenous English breed, without any mixture
of foreign blood; an opinion which will not be implicitly received. The Lanark
are the capital draught horses of the south of Scotland, some of them reaching the
size of sixteen hands one half in height ; strong, hardy, honest, and true to the
collar, but coarse headed, and inclined to be flat on the sides and hinder quarters ;
in colour, generally grey or brown, and the breed supposed to be upwards of a
century and a quarter old, the production, it is supposed, of common Scots mares
and the Flanders horse. The common mongrel cart and plough horse needs no
description.

The great CART HORSE of the Midland Counties, to be found chiefly in Derby-
shire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire, has been
bred chiefly from Flemish and Dutch stock, reared to a vast bulk in the lowland
pastures of those countries. In distant times, scarcely any but Belgic stallions
were imported, and the English breed of cart horses was increased in size, and
improved in strength, by a cross between the country mares and the foreign horse.
In process of time, however, and materially through the systematic activity of the
famous BAKEWELL, mares of the first size also were imported from Flanders, and
a breed raised of thorough-bred Cart Horses, that is to say, from thorough Belgic
blood on both sides ; in strict analogy with the system of breeding the ENGLISH
GALLOPER from unmixed South Eastern blood. From this pure stock, the capital
cart horses have since been bred ; and so bewitched was Bakewell with its pre-
sumed superlative and universal merits, that, some thirty years since, he sent to
Tattersall's, for the inspection of his Majesty the King, a black Cart Stallion of the
largest size, recommending him for the purpose of getting strong hacks, hunters,
and cavalry horses. We examined this horse attentively, and justice demands our
acknowledgment, that he was the lightest and cleanest-formed animal of his kind
and bulk, that it seemed possible for nature to produce— light head well set on,
lofty forehand, deep shoulder, clean flat-boned legs, with comparatively, the acti-
vity of a poney. He was not, however, honoured with the royal approbation, the
King perhaps entertaining the opinion of Dr. Bracken, and not much admiring
" Flanders mettle" in a saddle horse.

Formerly, the large, and, as we should say in Essex or Suffolk, Shire-bred
Horses, were, in colour, miscellaneous, black, bay, brown, grey — but of late years,

MIDLAND BLACKS SUFFOLK PUNCHES. 31

and perhaps from the Bakewellian era, black has been almost universally adopted
as the crack and prevailing colour. The chief purpose of the first size of these
horses, upwards of seventeen hands in height, and of proportional bulk and weight,
forming an animal cousin -germaii to the Elephant, is, as already stated, for the
heavy draught of the metropolis, and of town work generally. In certain Counties
however, particularly Berks and Hants, it has long been the custom for the farmers
to keep teams of the heavy blacks ; a matter of ostentation and parade, rather than
of real necessity and use, with both them and their servants. Some farmers of
those counties imagine that they realize a profit by purchasing these heavy cattle,
yearlings, at Lambourne fair, putting them to work the following year, and selling
them to the London dealers at five years old. We are not aware that the market
price of a horse of the first class of this kind, in his prime, has been much less than
fifty pounds, during the last forty years, and at some late periods it has reached
and probably exceeded seventy. The midland County Horses of the INFERIOR
SIZES are used as heavy Troop Horses, and for black or funeral work; and probably
many of those light and elegant black chargers with full tail and main, distin-
guished by their foreign appearance, are bred in those counties.

The SUFFOLK PUNCH is scarcely an appropriate denomination for the modern
Suffolk Cart Horse. The present writer is among the few now living, who recollect
particularly, the form of the original Suffolk Punch, of which, probably, not a
single specimen now exists. Seventeen or eighteen years since, the most extensive
enquiries set on foot, in contemplation of publishing a National Cattle and Horse
Plate Work, under the patronage of Lord Somervitte, could not ascertain the
existence of more than two Suffolks, of the original breed ; the one, a mare nearly
thirty years of age, at Glemsford, in Suffolk ; the other, an old stallion, which
worked on the road between Romford and London. It was yet supposed that, a
few remained among the farmers in the Sandlands, near Woodbridge.

The old Suffolk Cart Horse was, according to tradition, and the strongest proba-
bility, the produce of a Continental Stallion and an indigenous Suffolk cart mare.
The Prussian Count Veliheim of Brunswick, one of the most zealous of Amateurs,
and a most extensive observer of the various breeds in use throughout Europe, is of
opinion, that the Norman horse was introduced into Suffolk, and in him the
Punches originated. This opinion seems strongly countenanced by the figure and
colour of a FRENCH Stallion, exhibited at the last Cattle Show in London, by
C. C. Western, Esq. M. P. for the County of Essex. The Punches seldom reached,
scarcely ever exceeded, sixteen hands in height. Their colour almost universally
chesnut, provincially sorrel. Coarse headed, the ears often long, thick, distantly
placed or lopped; in some individuals, short, pricked, and handsome. The shoulders
wide and low, the rump looking considerable above them. Carcasses deep and
large, general length considerable, and sometimes the legs full long. Many of
them were round boned, and inclined to grease, on which account they were kept

32 OLD AND NEW SUFPOLKS.

abroad in the farm yards, with sheds, throughout the winter, a practice still
subsisting- in Suffolk. They were speedy walkers and trotters ; and, beyond all
question, whether from form or constant training, the truest and most powerful
drawers in the world. They were the only race of horses which would, collectively,
draw repeated dead pulls ; namely, draw pull after pull, and down upon their
knees, against a live, or any body which they felt could not be moved, to the
tune of JUP Ji ! ! and the crack of the whip, (once familiar but abominable sounds,
which even now vibrate upon our auditory nerves), as long- as nature supplied the
power, and would renew the same exertions to the end of the chapter. Many of
the most valuable teams of horses, were torn to pieces and ruined, in former days, by
the rage which prevailed among both masters and servants, for making drawing
matches, and betting upon this kind of exertion. Every proprietor of cart horses
should be aware of the following important points, and caution their servants
thereon ;— very few horses either can, or will draw dead pulls, although they may
)>e otherwise the most useful and the truest collared horses, at any weight or exer-
tion which they find within their power ; beyond that point, and a good horse
knows it well, whipping1 and abuse only serve to make the horse gib, to daunt his
courage, and, most probably, to induce secret strains in the loins.

The old Suffolk* fetched high prices; and we recollect a Stallion of that breed,
about fifteen hands three inches high, valued at one hundred guineas. The new
or present breed, inheriting the fame of the old, and being of larger size and more
sightly figure, ha\e been more generally sought. At a sale in Suffolk, in 1813,
attended by all the rank and property in the neighbourhood, a mare with a foal at
her foot, sold for 12 1/. 4s. ; a three-year old filly for 85 /. Is. ; a one-eyed mare for
98/. 1 1.s\ ; and the whole fifty mares, geldings, and foals, produced a total amount
of 22631. 13«. Qd. The rage for great performances in drawing with their cart
horses, in Suffolk, was in the wane half a century ago ; and the desire succeeded
simultaneously, of changing the form of their horses. This was gradually, at
length, universally effected, by crossing with Yorkshire half and three-part bred
stallions, such as are used to get Coach Horses. Hence the high forehand of the
present Suffolk horse, his larger size and superior figure above the old.

HISTORY PEDIGREE. 33

RACE HORSES.— JUPITER.

THE portrait of JUPITER is esteemed by Connoisseurs, a chef d'ouvre of Gilpin,
justly celebrated, as one of the greatest horse-painters which this country has pro-
duced. He was the master of the present Mr. Garrard, who has attained con-
siderable eminence as a painter and modeller. Gilpin's horses were said to exhibit
all the accuracy and truth of drawing- which distinguish those of Stubbs, together
with a greater share of spirit, and of the semblance of real life. The likenesses,
both of the stallion, and the countenance of the mare, were held to be admirable
by those who knew both animals ; and it is impossible to view them through the
eye of taste, or with the soul of feeling', and not acknowledge, with its warmest
glow, the magical and creative powers of the artist's pencil.

The chesnut horse Jupiter, dead some years since, was bred by the late famous
professional Horse-courser, Dennis O' Kelly, Esq. of Clay Hall, Epsom, Surrey,
and afterwards of Cannons, Middlesex, in possession of which he died about the
year 1799, leaving a considerable fortune acquired upon the Turf to his nephew,
the present Colonel O' Kelly, with the condition, as it has been generally understood,
that he never engaged in Horse-racing ; which condition, as our convenient laws
both make and cut off entails, and as a memento to testators, was afterwards
avoided.

Jupiter was a son of Eclipse out of the Tartar mare, which, by the same horse,
also bred Venus, Adonis, and some other runners of inferior note. Jupiter was
fifteen hands one inch high, and like most of the sons of Eclipse, of great bone
and substance. He had also a considerable, if not a capital share of that speed
which characterized the Eclipse blood. Speed ivas his best, to make use of the old
Turf phrase, and he had enough of it to enable him to win at Lewes, at three years
old, the eight hundred guineas, a mile race, against six others ; and the same
year, at Neivmarket, a mile race also, one thousand guineas, beating seven others ;
and three hundred guineas, at Newmarket, from the Ditch-in (upwards of a mile
and half) beating eight others. He never won a four mile race, or, as it is called,
over the course, and broke down in 1779, being five years old, at Newmarket, in
the October Meeting, running for the Weights and Scales Plate of eighty guineas,
over the B. C. or Beacon Course of four miles.

No longer able to serve his proprietor upon the course, but the date of his
services, in all probability, curtailed by that injudicious severity of training to
which our grooms are so infatuated, Jupiter was consequently withdrawn in the
following season to the Breeding Stud. Eclipse, his sire, was then in the meridian

31 CHARACTER OP ECLIPSES— O KELLY.

of his reputation as a stallion, of which PtSos, the noble pun for Potatoes, of the
noble Lord Abingdon, King Fergus and Mercury, were the main props. It had,
however, been discovered, that the produce of Eclipse ran too generally and ex-
clusively, to speed ; and that, in toughness and continuance, they were greatly
surpassed by their competitors on the course, the stock of King Herod and Gold-
finder ; aware of this, and of Jupiter's full share of the family defect, besides
having no want of numbers in his Stud, O' Kelly had no very sanguine expectation
from him as a stallion, and advertised him at the very moderate price of two or
three guineas. Boudrow and Young Eclipse, the former name we shall not
venture to translate from the Irish, referring that point to Anacreon Moore, or to
my Lord Castlereagh, if he be a joker as well as an Irishman, were O'Kelly's
chief favourites— so he has repeatedly professed to us. More especially Young
Eclipse, as may be gathered by his baptism. But that cholicky and loose horse
never merited the splendid name bestowed upon him, any otherwise than by
illustrating his proprietors' want of judgment. Jupiter, making no figure in the
Epsom Stud, was soon disposed of, and marched northwards, to that part of the
country where bred stallions of size and bone, are in request for the purpose of
breeding strong Hunters and Coach Horses. At what period he became the pro-
perty of the celebrated Colonel Thornton, then of Thornville Royal, now naturalized
in France, and Marquis of Chambord, we are unacquainted. The colonel how-
ever sold him, and he died in the hands of the succeeding proprietor.

A few notes on the successful, and the sequel will determine whether we may
presume, as we really feel inclined, to say, meritorious and useful life of Dennis
Oy Kelly, will enable us to give a slight general sketch of the business of the Turf
in this country, to which and its connections and dependencies that business almost
exclusively confined. With respect to games of chance, they have ever had, and
certainly ever will have, the strongest hold, as a diversion and a pastime, upon the
human mind ; and none but gloomy fanatics, who pretend to a greater experience
in a future than the present state of existence, and grave precisians, ever dreamed of
such a hopeless project, as an arbitrary restraint upon the free agency of men of
wealth, in their mode of its enjoyment, whilst that implicated neither positive
crime nor aggression. As to abuses, they must necessarily be out of question, since
the )>est, and simply considered, most salutary things, have been left by nature in
the same predicament.

The diversion of Horse Coursing besides, including its necessarily concomitant
letting system, has a plea of merit beyond all mere games of chance. It has in
view, and has always promoted, great objects of national utility. To it we owe
t-sentially the improvement of our various breeds of horses, and their acknow-
ledged superiority over all others upon the face of the earth. A very considerable
capital in this country is thus put in activity, and a commerce driven, both in-
ternal and external, to a respectable extent. A corresponding benefit is derived

HORSE RACING-— DENNIS O'KEJLLY. 35

from the employment of a number of people in the various branches, as jockies,
grooms, stable attendants, and manufacturers of the indispensible articles of 'use
and convenience, appertaining to the concern. An attachment to this sport forms
a prominent and interesting, shall we say, classical feature in the English mind ?
This Sport of the princely and the noble, originally fostered by Royalty, has a
universal popular attraction among us, filling every place, at its periodical return,
with the bustle and activity of pleasure, starting the mare of circulation, making
her to go, and infusing commercial life and health throughout its course. It also
affords a gainful, although it must be acknowledged, hazardous profession for those
who have need to acquire wealth, as well as an enchanting medium of dissipation
for others, whose object it is to rid themselves of the surplus of that already in pos-
session. Can it be questioned, that glorious HORSE RACING sharpens the wits of
the most obtuse, brightening up and pointing- even clodhopping and Bceotian
dullness ? All grooming must give place to that of the RUNNING STABLES, where
the care and management of the horse is comprehended and practised, in all the
refinements of both delicacy and utility. On the morality of the Turf, and its
effect on the mind arid conduct of those engaged thereon, did we mean to flatter,
mum would be the order of our page — but that may be reformed, which cannot,
and ought not, to be abolished. There is a wide interval between the exercise of
talent in legitimate and allowable stratagem, and that of barbarous and swind-
ling fraud.

Dennis O' Kelly, Esq. on this occasion, the hero of our little tale, died either a
captain, or colonel, of the Surrey Militia. He was a true Milesian, and of that
naturally-privileged class, born for jontlemen, although not gentlemen -born. He
possessed that kind of talent, industry, patience, and assurance, which are gene-
rally sure to promote a man's views of rising in life— it was Whiltington and his
Cat, O'Kellij and his Horse. Of his genealogy we profess to know nothing, or
the precise period at which he left Ireland, and found his way to this country upon
the seek. Nor is it important to determine, in what character he made his debut
sur la pave de Londres, and whether as a chairman or a waiter ; but we knew the
man personally in his prosperity ; and, in our mind's eye, we now behold him as
he stood, the oracle of the betting ring, on Epsom Downs, in the year 1779— a
short, thickset, dark, harsh-visaged, and ruffian -looking fellow, wearing an old
round" hat and short, striped Orleans coat. Through this unfavourable exterior
shone the ease, the agremcns, the manners of a gentleman, and the attractive
quaintness of a humourist. We saw him converse with the gentle and the noble
of this and other countries, with the tournure and decorous confidence of gentility,
and could not help admiring the man, who, from the lowest beginnings, had,
by mere dint of talent and diligence, elevated himself to such a height of fortune,
iii the meanwhile, having qualified himself to enjoy his property with so good a
grace. He was a good and kind master to both men and horses; a hearty and

G

:J(J DENNIS O KELLY.

social friend, keeping- a plentiful table at Clay/till, and giving- the choicest wines.
His usual summons for the desert was—" John, bring us the apples," (pines).
His sen ants used to retail with much relish his Iricisms and quaint sayings. One
of them, afterwards in the service of the present writer, was ordered on a sudden
preparation lor dinner, to go down to Epsom for some fish. Returning, he in-
formed his master that none could be procured: O' Kelly, being in great haste,
railed out— " Co back, sirrah! go back ; and by Jasus, if you can't get fish,
bring herrinu's." It has been said that he was a liberal and punctual paymaster ;
but in all probability, there may be something to detract from this account, and
Mich is the uncertainty of the human character, from the favourable part of our
statement likewise. AVe ha\e heard that the Count, as well as his betters, who
mortified him with a persevering refusal of admission into their clubs, was occa-
sionally lonii and largely in arrear with his jockies ; and poor old Tom Cammell

has said to us-—" 1) u his fat, pampered guts; I have kept mine thin, and rode

main a hard race to stuff his, and now can't get my money, without a still harder
run over the course at Westminster Hall." This might happen in consequence of
runs of ill luck, and having very large outgoings in so extensive a concern,
/i/, almost by himself, filled a middle rank between our Sportsmen of the
and the professional betters; and although it may be presumed, he
\\ as not a man overladen and depressed in his career by scruples, his character, as a
man of the Turf, in all probability, would not suffer in comparison with the highest
of that class. We have not, nor is it likely we shall again soon, see his like.

For the first spoke- which O' Kelly put in the wheel of fortune, he is said to have
been indebted to his connection with Mrs. Charlotte Hayes, to whom he was after-
wards married ; a lady of big&Dpte in her day, and of the highest consideration in
her line. His nail in fortune's wheel was finally clenched by the purchase, first of
the half, afterwards of the whole of the Race Horse, ECLIPSE. The most painful
diurnal and nocturnal attention to the business of play, and the devotion to that
end, of a •••en ius and temperament singularly calculated for it, enabled him to make
this purchase, and likewise the more heavy one of the (state at Epsom, where,
ii|K»n the Downs, and on the verge of the course, he built a suit of stabling, replete
\\ it h every convenience, for the purpose of breeding and training the RACE HORSE.

RACE HORSES. 37

ECLIPSE AND SHAKESPEAR.

IT is necessary to apprize the reader, that the two celebrated Racers exhibited
in the present Plate, were contrasted on account of the dispute respecting- the
pedigree of the former, and to afford an opportunity of determining, whether or
not, any parental likeness really existed between Eclipse and one of his reputed
sires, Shakespear. The particulars of the case we shall by and by detail.

The name of Sartorius, as a horse painter of distinguished merit, has been long
known in this country, and the son has diligently and ably followed his father's steps.
The portraits are both copies ; that of Eclipse by the younger Sartorius, from a draw-
ing from the life by his father, for the truth, both in form and character of which,
we can vouch ; that of Shakespear by the same, from an original, we believe, by
Seymour. The jockey upon Eclipse was John Oakley, celebrated as a rider, both
in England and France. The head, ears, and roguish countenance of Eclipse are
vividly and admirably delineated. Although in high training, and stripped of his
flesh, it may be observed that the croup of Eclipse is higher than his withers, and
the latter remarkably wide at the summit, in which respect, his shoulder resembled
that of a hare. When in full flesh as a stallion, this in course appeared still more
prominent, and in viewing him, it seemed to us that he had ample space for a load
upon his shoulders, had fortune 'condemned him to so ignominious a fate. The
ascendency of his croup above his forehand, and the ample capacity of his buttocks,
in that condition, also made the fullest exhibition ; and adding a certain roughness
of coat to his chesnut or sorrel colour, he might, so far, very well have passed for a
cousin german at least, of his cotemporaries, the old breed of Suffolk cart horses.
Never, however, to the eye of a Sportsman, was there a truer-formed gallopper in
every part ; and his countenance and figure as he stood in his box, notwithstanding his
great size, excited the idea of a wild horse of the desert. His resolute and choleric
temper was well known ; and although he held a very familiar and dumb converse
with us over the bar, we did not deem it prudent to trust ourselves alone with him
in his apartment ; he was nevertheless very kind and friendly with his groom.

Eclipse, fully master of sixteen stone, was bred by the Duke of Cumberland, of
Culloden memory, and foaled during the great eclipse in 1764, whence the name given
him by the Royal Duke. He was got by Marsk, a grandson, through Squirt, of
Bartlet's Childers, out of Spilletta ; she was got by Regulus, son of the Godolphin
Arabian, out of Mother Western, which mare was got by a son of Snake, full
brother to Williams s Squirrel, her dam by Old Montague, grandam by Hautboy,
out of a daughter of Brimmer, her pedigree not preserved. Eclipse had several

:},s ECLIPSE.

full brothers and sisters ; Hyperion, afterwards Garrick, Proserpine, Briseis, and
others, but none of them racers of any high form.

This famous racer, tog-ether with Fit/ing Childers, whose names are familiar to
every ear, stand proudly aloof, to this hour, from all possibility of competition.
Eclipse, in his form, constitution, and action, seemed to comprehend every
excellence for the course— a vast stride, with equal agility, no horse ever threw in
his haunches with more vigour and effect, and they were so spread in his gallop,
thai a wheel-barrow might have been driven between his hinder legs. Of his speed
too much cannot be said, but we have no rule by which to judge of his stoutness or
" aine, si nee no cotemporary racer was able to run for a moment by his side, far less able
to try his power of continuance ; and if it be said that he contended with middling
horses only, the two or three capital ones which met him hav ing passed their prime, it
must he remembered that those horses he distanced, and probably could have double
distanced. We believe, Oakley, a powerful man on horseback, generally, or always
rode Krlipsc ; but the jockey never held him, the horse alwaxs running according
to his own will, yet never swcrv ing from his course, and always pulling up easily
enough at the ending post. O1 Kelly was yet apprehensive that he might at some
time break away ; and when the horse ran over the course at "York, with twelve
stone, which he was judged to have performed in eight minutes, a number of men
were placed at the ending post, with the view of slopping him, in case the jockey
should be unable to pull him up ; a precaution which proved entirely useless. He
never felt the spur or whip on any occasion. The only contemporary which was
supposed to have any pretensions to contend with Eclipse \\as Mr. Sliaj'tocs famous
horse Goldjinder, by Snap, ;i beautiful and long-reached brown horse, which we
also knew. He was never beaten, and would ha\e met Eclipse, to run for the
King's Plates in the following year, but that he broke down in the October Meeting
at Newmarket. The speed of Eclipse was never timed by the watch, unless in
running over the course at York, a fact never clear! v ascertained.

Immediately, previous to Eclipse running for the King's Plate at Winchester,
I7<)1>, Mr. (y Kelly purchased the half share of him, for six hundred and fifty
guineas, of Mr. ll'ildman, the sporting sheep salesman of Smithfield, who had a
stud, and trained Race Horses, at Micklehain, near Epsom, Surrey. Afterwards,
O' Kelly purchased the remainder for eleven hundred guineas. About the year
1771), a noble Duke, or some sporting member of his family, demanding of O1 Kelly
how much he would take for Eclipse, the repl\ was—" By the Mass, my Lord,
and it is not all Hcdford lerel that would purchase, him." Old Jack Medley, of
tin • Sport in •_• Coffee House, declared to us alujut the same time, that he heard the
Count ask, with singular gravity, the price for his stallion of twenty-Jive thousand
jioundx down, an annuity of Jive hundred pounds on lit* otcu life, and the annual
l>nvilegc of sending si.t: marcs to the horse. O'Kellv aHirmed, and his calculation
was doubtless Milli« leiillx moderate, that he had acquired upwards of twenty-Jive

ECLIPSE— MARSK. 39

thousand pounds by Eclipse. Mr. Fenwick, of Yorkshire, acknowledged that at
the foot of the account of his horse Matchem, he found a profit of more than
seventeen thousand pounds from his services as a stallion, exclusive of his acquisi-
tions as a Racer : whilst Mr. Martindale, of the Subscription House, St. James's
Street, profited barely to the amount of one thousand pounds, by Old Regulus,
one of the highest names upon the British Turf, both as a Racer never beaten, and
a Stallion.

The Eclipse Colt, when a yearling, was purchased by Mr. Wildman for seventy-
Jive guineas, on the decease of the Duke of Cumberland, at the sale by auction of
his Royal Highness's Stud. Marsk, the reputed sire of Eclipse, subsequently %on
the New Forest, covered Country and Forest mares at half a guinea each ; and the
present writer has seen several galloways of that description of his get. The same
Marsk, which afterwards, being Lord Abingdous .property, covered at one
hundred guineas each mare, and was advertised, in succeeding1 seasons, by the noble
Breeder, at two or three hundred guineas a mare. Wildman had a friend in the
old Duke's Stud, from whom he obtained a hint of the superior form of the Eclipse
colt ; but making the journey in haste, he did not arrive until the sale had com-
menced, and his object had been already knocked down at seventy guineas. Appeal-
ing instantly to his watch, which he knew to be a correct time-piece, he found the
hour had not arrived by several minutes at which the commencement of the sale had
been publicly advertised, and thence firmly insisted there had been no lawful sale,
and that the lots knocked down should be put up again. The Knight of the
Hammer, well aware of the resolution and pecuniary weight of the little man,
very prudently offered him the chance of any lot he should chuse. Eclipse was
put up again, and Wildman purchased him at an advance of Jive guineas.

ECLIPSE, for what reason has never been published, did not appear upon the
Turf, until he was full five years old, when he was entered at Epsom for the Maiden
Plate of fifty pounds ; and, according to an anecdote first given in the Philoso-
phical and Practical Treatise on Horses, his recent trial at Epsom having been
watched, the odds at starting were four to one in his favour. O' Kelly was doubtless
well aware of the g'oodness of this maiden horse, by the large sums he then betted at
such considerable odds. In running the second and winning heat, the whole five
horses were close together at the three-mile post, when some of the jockies used
their whips ; Eclipse was quietly jogging on at his moderate rate ; when alarmed
by the crack of the whips, he bounded away, and notwithstanding Oakley held
him back with all the force of his powerful arms, not one of his competitors
could save his distance. In running over the course at York, in the following
year, 1770, for the Subscription Purse, against Tortoise and Bellario, twoTacersof
the highest reputation, but aged, Eclipse took the lead; and the jockey being unable
to hold him, he was more than a distance before, the other horses at the end of two
miles, and won the race with the utmost ease. At starting, twenty, and in running,

IO PERFORMANCES AND DEATH OF ECLIPSE.

one hundred pounds to a guinea, were offered on Eclipse. On a certain race,
O' Kelly betted five and six to four, that he posted the horses; that is to say, named,
before starting-, the order in which they would run in. When called on to declare,
he named—" Eclipse first, the rest in no place," and won his money, Eclipse
disti/ncinii'n\\ the rest; being* distanced, they were consequently, in a sporting- sense,
in no place.

Kit-yen King's Plates, the weight carried for all of them being twelve stone,
one excepted, ten stone, were won by Eclipse. In twenty-three years, three
hundred and forty-four winners, the progeny of this transcendant Courser, pro-
duced to their owners the sum of Io8,071/. 12s. various prizes not included. As
we have before remarked, the characteristics of the Eclipse Racers were speed and
si/.e, and many of them bent their knees, and took up their feet in the gallop, with
extraordinary activity. If few of them were stout, still fewer of them wanted
honesty, a restiff or s\\er\ m<j- horse being seldom found of that blood. The eye of
Turf science is directed to the portrait of Eclipse, to the curve in the setting on of
his head, to his short fore-quarter, to the slant, extent and substance of his shoulder,
the length of liis \vaist, and breadth of his Joins; to the extent of his quarters, and
tin- length and substance of his thighs and fore-arms. Although a strong, he was
a thick-winded horse ; and, in a sweat or hard exercise, was heard to blow at a con-
siderable distance. Eclipse first covered at fifty guineas: afterwards, at twenty
guineas, bein<> stinted to fifty mares, exclusive of those of his owner ; ultimately,
at thirty miineas. In 1788, his feet having been neglected, he was removed from
Epsom to Cannons, in a four-wheeled carriage, drawn by two horses, his groom
beinu ;»» inside passenger with him, the old Racer and his attendant taking* the
noccssarx refreshments on the road together. Eclipse died at Cannons in the
following year, on February 28th, aged twenty-five years; and, according to the
precedent of the Godnlpltin Arabian, cakes and ale were given at his funeral.
His heart weighed thirteen pounds. The uncertainty in Eclipse's pedigree arises
from the circumstance that his dam, barren in the previous year, was in the next
eo\ere<l by both Shnkespear and JA/r.s-/,-, but came to Marsk's time: there \\asa
>trono- resemblance, however, in Kdipse, to the progeny of Shakespear, in colour,
temper, and certain peculiarities of form.

RACE HORSES. 43

CHILDERS— KING HEROD.

IlsT a late number of the Sporting Magazine, it is regretted by an Amateur,
that so little attention has been paid to the preservation of the portraits of those
famous Racers of former times, the progenitors of those which figure upon the
Turf at the present day. And not only on the score of that sensibility and interest
of recollection merely, which it might be supposed would be excited in the minds
of men, to all appearance so warmly attached to the horse, and to the delights of
the Turf, but also for the superior views of improvement in the science of breeding,
which cannot be better directed than by a reference to the figure and conformation
of those originals, as they may be styled, which were of the highest form and
repute, whether as Racers, Stallions, or Brood Mares. The circumstance is
curious, that whilst we are thus utterly neglecting the portraiture of our old
national favourites, and suffering them to rot in dust and damps of the attics and
cellars of the residences of our highest-bred Sportsmen, and even in those of New-
market itself, the German Breeders are collecting, with the utmost solicitude, all
the portraits they can find in their visits to this country ; and among them are to be
found the most ample collections of old English Racers. They have expressed great
surprise and disappointment at the impossibility of obtaining any of a date anterior to
Bay, Bolton, and the Devonshire Childers, that of Place's White Turk excepted ; and
we must acknowledge our surprise is no less, and that we would be content either to
ride or W7alk over a long course, in order to enjoy the hobby-horsical delight of
viewing- a series of Turf Portraits, from the reign of James the First to that of Anne.

~ " ~

We should gloat over the resemblance upon canvas, of the Plelmsley Turk, the Old
Morocco Barb, Dodsworth, Spanker, Commoner by the White Turk, the Byerley
Turk, the Darley and Alcock Arabians, Old Merlin, Dragon, and numerous others
of our " terrible, terrible" high-bred Racers of past times, whose likenesses even
are defunct, and gone for ever as well as the originals.

As a poor apology for this tasteless negligence, the miserable execution of the old
portraits is urged, doubtless, with truth enough, as far as the delicacies of science
are concerned, which however extended sufficiently far to produce a correct
likeness, the main object. Of this, the various portraits of the Devonshire Childers
form ample proof. There is a drawing of him in his gallop, particularly well
executed ; and this which we exhibit, a copy by Sartorius of Seymour's original,
was remarked many years ago, by the Yorkshire Sportsmen who knew the horse,
to be a most perfect copy of the life, in form, action, and countenance. He was a

42 FLYING CHILDERS— BARTLET'S CHILDERS.

short-backed, compact, close-ribbed horse, which depended chiefly on his lower
limbs, for his necessary length as a racer; a form directly opposite to that of
Eclipse, his great rival or partner in posthumous celebrity.

KING^ HEROD, descended I)} his darn from Flying" Childers, was of the highest
reputation both as a Racer and a Stallion; indeed stands among* the first, if he be not
really the very first of the latter class, in modern times. He ranks decidedly before
Eclipse, some of Herod's stock being' not only among the most speedy, but the
generality of them, the stoutest and best constitutioned horses the Turf, at anyperiod,
has produced. We do not recollect to have seen King Herod, but many brethren
of the bridle now living, will answer for the correctness of Sartorius's portrait.

The \)\:\ ONSHIRM or FLYING GUILDERS, a bay horse, somewhat upwards of
fifteen hands in height, was foaled in 1715, the property of Leonard Childers, Esq.
of Carr House, near Doncaster, and sold, when young, to the Duke of Devon-
shire. His pedigree was as follows :— he was got by the Darley Arabian, his dam,
Betty Leedes, by Old Careless ; his grandam, own sister to Leedes, by Leedes'
Arabian ; his great grandam by Spanker, out of the Old Morocco mare, Spanker's
<>\\n dam. The Sporting reader will notice the near affinities in this pedigree.
The historx of this e< lebrated Racer is so well known, and has been so often re-
peated, that a few items of it will suffice. Mr. Parkinson, who was likely to be
well informed, has said that Childers was first used as a hunter, and that in the
field, both his high qualities and his headstrong, if not vicious disposition, were first
discovered. He was, however, void of any taint of restiveness. It is probable,
that, like Mclipse, he did not start on the course, until five, perhaps not until six
years old, when he beat all the horses of his time, at whatever distance. He was
never tried in running a single mile, but the measured and attested performances
since, of far inferior horses, leave not the shadow of a doubt of the ability of
Flying Childers, to run a mile within one minute of time! Carrying nine stone
two pounds, he ran over the Round Course at Newmarket, three miles, six furlongs,
ninety-three yards, in six minutes and forty seconds, when he was judged to move
eighty-two feet and half in one second of time. He likewise ran over the Beacon
Course, four miles, one furlong, one hundred and thirty -eight yards, in seven minutes,
thirty seconds, covering at every bound, a space of twenty-five feet. He made a
spring or leap often \ards, upon level ground, with his rider on his back. As we
remember, about 1778, O' Kelly caused the stride of his grey horse Horizon, one of
the speediest sons of Eclipse, to be measured, and the extent was reported to be
twenty-seven feet. Childers, as a Stallion, ranks far higher than his great com-
petitor Eclipse. In that capacity, perhaps, no English bred horse can compare
with him, as to essentials through length of descent ; as a Racer, certainly but one.
He died in the Duke of Devonshire's Stud in 1741, aged twenty-six years.

BLEEDING CHILIMIKS, so called from his frequent bleedings at the nose, after-

KIiNG HEROD. 43

wards called YOUNG CHILDERS, and finally BARTLET'S CHILDERS, was full
brother to FLYING CHILDERS. He was never trained, but proved a superior
stallion even to his brother ; and the high character in that respect which we have
awarded to the elder brother, we intend as divisible between the two. The
HAMPTON COURT CHILDERS, sire of Blacklegs, was son of the Devonshire
Childers. There were in all, six nearly contemporary racers and stallions of the
name of Childers.

KING HEROD, a bay horse about fifteen hands three inches high, of great
substance, length and power, and fine figure, was bred by old Duke William, and
foaled in 17£8. He was got by Tartar out of Cypron. There was another Tartar
got by Blaze, but Tartar the sire of King Herod, was got by Croft's Partner, one
of our most famous Racers and Stallions, out of Meliora by Fox, and she was
bred from a line of stout and true runners. Partner, grandsire of King Herod,
was foaled in 1718; he was a chesnut horse, of great power, exquisite symmetry
and beauty, and immediately succeeded Flying Childers, as the best horse at
Newmarket, giving weight to, and beating1 those of the highest repute, over the course.
He was got by Jig, son of the famous Byerley Turk, his pedigree through a list of
highly reputed progenitors, concluding with the well know Old Vintner Mare.
Partner died in 1747, aged twenty-nine. Cypron, King Herod's dam, was got
by that powerful and capital Racer and Sttdlion Blaze, a son of Flying Childers,
and sire of Sampson, Scrub and others ; that Blaze, of which the Yorkshiremen
affirmed, that even half-bred mares would breed racers by him— out of Sir
William St. Quintin's Selima, a black mare and true runner, got by the Bethell
Arabian, and boasting1 in her lineage, Champion, the Darley Arabian, and Old
Merlin. King Herod's pedigree consists of the oldest and purest blood, and in
order to obtain a capital racer, a real KILL-DEVIL, rara avis upon our modern sod,
chuse mares with the greatest possible portion of Herod blood, deep in the girth,
long and full in the fore arm and thigh, short in the leg, standing clear and even
upon the feet* wide and spreading in the hinder quarters — send such mares to
SORCERER, THUNDERBOLT or SMOLENSKO— and if we are not much out in

our judgment, some of such Breeders, will have to say prob. est

NOTA BENE— If any Prince, Noble or Gentleman should successfully make the
experiment aforesaid, and should in consequence, send to the author, a Hogshead
of prime Oriental Madeira, the author's acceptance of the said Madeira, will be
found the least part of the difficulty.

HEROD, like Childers and Eclipse, did not start upon the Course, until five
years old, whence probably, a certain argument takes something. He never ran
any where but at Newmarket, Ascot Heath, and York, and always over the course,
or four miles, stoutness or game, and ability to carry weight, being his play. He
ran five times for a thousand guineas each race, and won three of them. His
losing the two, might be on account of reasons which now and then occur upon

H

44 KING HEROD.

the Turf. The last race lie won was against Ascham, a curious one, from the
circumstance of two aged horses carrying- feathers, five stone seven, and six stone.
He had previously burst a blood vessel in his head, whilst running the last mile
over York, for the Subscription Purse against Bay Malton and others. He won
several matches for five hundred guineas, and a Sweepstake of three hundred
guineas, nine subscribers.

The fame of this Racer as a STALLION, in the Turf Register, is truly splendid.
In nineteen years, namely, from 1771 to 1789, four hundred and ninety -seven of
his Sons and Daughters, won for their proprietors, in Plates, Matches, and
Sweepstakes, the sum of tico hundred and one thousand, Jive hundred and five
pounds, nine shillings, exclusive of some thousands won between 1774 and 1786.
Herod was the sire of the celebrated Highflyer, bred by Sir Charles Bunbury,
which was never beaten ; and which, like his sire, had a great stride, and game
was his best. Herod also got some of the speediest horses of their day, as, Wood-
pecker, Bourdeaux, Anvil., Hammer, Sting, Adamant, Plunder, Quicksand, Ranti-
pole, Whipcord, and many others. Tuberose, Guildford, and Latona, were rare
examples of the family stoutness, and Laburnum was an excellent and useful racer.
The list of brood mares got by Herod is extensive indeed. We know but one
restiff horse of Herod's get : Mr. Vernons Prince, which we recollect seeing
ridden at Newmarket, in a prickly bridle. King Herod first covered, the property
of Sir John Moore, Bart, at ten guineas, and ten shillings the groom. In 1774
his price rose to twenty-five guineas, and ten shillings, at which it remained till
his death, which happened May 12, 1780, in the 22d year of his age. He was
so shamefully neglected in his latter days, and his body so encrusted with dung
and filth, that, it is said, the immediate cause of his death was a mortification in
his sheath. Many much later instances are known of covering Stallions neglected
in a similar way, and a famous son of Herod, exhausted by excess of covering,
died after three days protracted agonies. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
formerly allowed the breeders of the vicinity to his residence in Hants, the use of
a well-bred Stallion gratis, excepting the groom's fee of a crown. The conse-
quence was, the horse often covered, or attempted to cover, twelve mares in a day !
We had a foal or two from this exhausted Stallion, the most wretched, puny,
spindle-shanked animals to be imagined. Facts like these should be published,
and kept alive in the memories of those whom they concern.

THE SHETLANDER, FORESTER, AND WELCH PONEY. 45

PONIES.

PONIES are the nani or dwarfs of the horse genus, and probably to be found in
every Country which breeds the horse. They are not, on account of their low
stature and reduced size, to be estimated as a degenerate race, but in reality, as
an established species, ab initio, endowed with their full share, in due proportion,
of all the attributes and qualities of their genus. In actual fact, nature seems to
have made a decree in their favour, subversive of the rules of proportion, since no
horse of sixteen hands in height could travel or race, and carry weight for inches,
with a poney of twelve hands. As an example — " A countryman about five feet
ten inches in height, was employed many years ago, by the Laird of Coll, to ride
pest upon a Shetland poney, to Glasgow and Edinburgh, the ordinary weight
cariied being sixteen stone. This postman being stopped at a toll bar near
Dunbarton, humorously asked, whether he should be obliged to pay toll if he
passed on foot, carrying a burden ? Being answered in the negative, he took up
horse and bags in his arms and carried them through the bar." At thirteen hands
height, the horse becomes a galloway.

The Plate exhibits from the life, and in their natural state, a Shetlander or
poney of the Scotish Isles, a New Forester, and a Welch poney, the last of which
ran and won a remarkable race on the road some years since. The original
species of India and Guinea, are said to have been of the inferior poney size,
scarcely of a stature superior to large dogs, and utterly unlike their hardy fellows
of the northern regions, extremely weak, delicate, and mulish ; yet as an excep-
tion to this rule, or in consequence of modern improvement, in July 1813, six
beautiful grey ponies from Java, were presented to the Princess Charlotte of Wales.
A late Traveller in Arabia, vouches for the excellence and hardiness of the small
size, or ponies of that breed, having ridden one of them five days over the desert,
the saddle, during all that time, not being taken from the horse's back, nor the
girths even loosened— shameful treatment ! and the corn being lost on the first
day, the poor animal had no other nourishment during the following four, but the
little grass he could pick up at the different stages. Thus Ponies and - Galloways
have held their way, passibus equis, with the sized horses, in all the various uses
of business and pleasure. As racers and stallions, some of them have risen to the
highest reputation, from the Bald and Mixbury Galloways, and Par ling ton, of
former days, to many of our own times. The writer hereof, many years since,
knew the Lacemans Poney, which had full speed enough to trot sixteen miles in

1(> HOBBIES— SHELTIES— FORESTERS.

one hour, and which travelled seventy miles in the day, carrying1 fifteen stone.
The convenience and uses of the small breeds of the horse, are so many and
various, and so obvious, that they are not likely to be neglected.

The Hobbies of Scotland, though somewhat smaller, appear to be like those of
England, an ordinary and mixed race ; but the Shelties or Shetland ponies have
the appearance of a pure and original northern breed, indigenous to those Islands,
•and from the excellence of their form and the considerable use which they involve
in so diminutive a compass, the race well merits preservation. Their figure is
sometimes elegant, the forehand lofty and handsome, and the head small and well
set on ; their feet are tough and good, and they generally stand clear upon their
tegs, and are not subject to interfere with their feet. Their substance is great,
whence their remarkable ability to carry weight, but that of the shoulder is not
favourably posited for action as in blood horses, whence speed, in any pace, is not
one of their characteristic qualities. They have, however, speed enough to enable
them to travel forty or fifty miles in a day, which some of them, under ten hands
high, have been known to perform, carrying riders of twelve stone. These ponies
arc particularly useful for young children to take their exercise upon, and their first
-on* in horsemanship, there being so short a distance to fall from their backs;
and t<> judge from one which the writer hereof formerly had for the use of his
family, they are harmless and docile, and with kind treatment, become attached to,
and pleased with the company and gambols of children.

We have not heard of these ponies being bred any where out of the Islands, ex-
cepting by Gilbert Laing Meason, Esq. of Lindertis, Kirrie Mnir, N. B. who has
a fancy stud of them, probably of a dozen or more mares. As a farther attempt at
curiosity in breeding, he has in the present year 1819, procured a beautiful and
thorough shaped Arabian Galloway Stallion, which has covered several of the
Shetland Mares, and the produce of which, may be expected to unite strength,
delicacy and speed, and to form one of the most curious varieties of the horse,
hitherto seen in Britain. The same plan, or a recourse to the best shaped Scots
hobby mares, with the Arabian cross, may be the means of reviving the former
excellent and approved breed of Scots Galloways, many years since extinct. The
Galloways were supposed to be the produce of Spanish Jennets, driven ashore on
the coast of Scotland, in the dispersion of the Invincible Armada, and the common
small Scots marcs. The late Dr. Anderson, had a capital hackney of this race, which
he rode twenty-five years. The Irish Hobbies were formerly a race in high repute.

Our NEW FOREST PONIES have the same traditional origin as the Scots
Gallo\va\s, namely from Spanish Stallions, shipwrecked on the coast of Hampshire,
in the reign of Elizabeth. And, as we have already stated in the account of
Eclipse, the famous Stallion Mar.sk contributed no small portion of his high blood,
towards the improvement of the New Forest Stock. The History of Old Marsk

OLD MARSK. 47

being', like that of so many eminent individuals, both bipedal and quadrupedal,
highly eventive, and distinguished by alternate depression and elevation, we may
be permitted to dilate a little farther thereon.

The brown horse MARSK, foaled in 1750, and so named from the place where he
was bred, was the property of Jo hn Hutton, Esq. of Marsk, Yorkshire, who after-
wards disposed of him to His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cumberland, was got by
Squirt, son of Bartlet's Childers, out of , the Ruby mare, which was from a
daughter of Bay Bolton and Hutton s Black Legs— Fox Cub — Coneyskins—
Hutton s Grey Barb— -'A daughter of Hutton s Royal Colt—a, daughter of the
Byerley Turk, from a Bustler mare. This is one of our highest bred pedigrees,
going back to the reign of Charles I. In the year 1750, the Duke made an
exchange of a chesnut Arabian with Mr. Hutton, for the colt, which his Royal
Highness afterwards named Marsk.

Marsk must be deemed a capital racer, since he beat Brilliant, but he was an
uncertain horse. He started but five times, and no where we believe, but at
Newmarket. Being in low estimation as a Stallion, in the Duke's Stud, he was
sold at His Royal Highness's sale at Tattersall's, to a farmer for a trifling sum,
and in 1766, as has been before observed, covered country mares and foresters, at
half a guinea; when Mr. Wildman, finding his intelligence respecting the
Eclipse colt, correct, thought it adviseable to get into his possession the sire of such
a colt, and purchased Marsk of the farmer, for twenty pounds, who professed
himself happy to be so well rid of a bad bargain. Of Marsk's subsequent ad-
vance in fame and price, as a Stallion, we have spoken before. He has been styled
the " Prince of Horses," and his fame will be handed down to as late a posterity
as the fame of his princely owner. It is sufficient to say that, beside so many
other racers of high reputation, he was the sire of ECLIPSE, SHARK, PRETENDER,
HONEST KITT, MASQUERADE, LEVIATHAN, SALOPIAN, PONTAC. Shark won
sixteen thousand and Jifty-seven guineas, in matches, sweepstakes, and plates;
beating the best horses of his day, at their own play, whether speed or stoutness.

Marsk seems to have had the caprices of fortune imparted to him, as an
inheritance from his sire. SQUIRT after running with great repute, became a
stallion in Sir Harry Harpier's Stud, who esteeming him of no worth, ordered
him to be shot. As the Huntsman was leading him out to the Dog-Kennel, he
was begged off by the Stud-groom ; and afterwards got MARSK, SYPHON, Prat's
famous Old Mare that bred PUMPKIN, MAIDEN, PURITY — with many others.
SYPHON got SWEETWILLIAM, SWEETBRIAR, TANDEM, DAISEY, and others.
These curious and interesting facts, which might be greatly multiplied, surely
cannot fail of having a certain effect upon the minds of those, who breed and
train horses for the course. But of such considerations we, in vain, reminded
0' Kelly and others, immediately before Shark was taken from this country, for
the paltry sum of one hundred and thirty pounds.

48 NEW FOREST EXMORE PONIES.

To return to the PONIES of the New Forest, Dorsetshire, although private
property, they run wild in their extensive domain, as if in a state of nature, and
are often in the summer season, seen feeding like Deer, in herds of a score or two.
Their colts, when wanted, are even hunted down by horsemen, or caught by
stratagem. With few exceptions, these foresters are ill-made and ordinary, but
useful for almost every purpose, and sure-footed. They are sold at the neigh-
bouring Fairs. Of the WELCH PONIES, little of variety could be added. Ac-
cording to tradition, authenticated by the late aged and Rev. Mr. Chafin, the
celebrated OLD MERLIN, the Race Horse, acted the same useful part in Wales,
which Marsk subsequently performed in the New Forest ; improving the breed of
the Welch Ponies. Thence the appellation of a Mountain Merlin, bestowed upon
those of certain districts in Wales. The chief part of what has been said, may be
likewise applied to the horses of the Forest of Exmore, in Devonshire ; where are
sales, probably annual, of those horses, at Simon's Bath House, within the Forest.

Considering the general utility of those inferior races of the Horse, the Foresters,
it is submitted, whether it would not answer the purpose of a higher degree of
utility, and of individual profit, to improve their form and powers, by a proper
selection of breeding stock, without seeking to increase their height.

t
I

THE ASS. 49

THE ASS AND MULE.

THE asinine horse (equus asinus} or Ass, forms a problem not easily solved.
The Horse, indeed all the domesticated quadrupeds imported from the warmer
climes, improve in size and bulk, through their pasturing* upon the fertile soil and
under the moderate temperature of this country, with the exception of the Ass ;
which, although known in England, before the Conquest, has never, in any
recorded or known instance, reached the stature or substance of the Southern, or
Mediterranean Ass, or that of Spain, which sometimes attains the heig-Jht of fifteen
hands one half. It is by no means conclusive, to adduce low keep and ill usage as
the cause ; since the best keep varies the case in no sufficient degree. The imports
being generally confined to the male Ass, might be urged, but to little purpose ;
as we find a similar inferiority in the English Mule although the produce of a
good English mare.

The Ass is originally a native of hot and dry countries, and surely of all quadru-
peds, one of the most genuine inhabitants of the desart, from his ability to subsist
upon the most scanty herbage. In his wild state, like the hog, he is comparatively
speedy, even fierce and courageous, and the natural enemy or rival of the horse.
Even the domesticated Ass shews a kind of savage fierceness and resolution, in
defence of her foal. For a certain attribute of the male Ass, a chapter of Ezekiel
may be consulted. To dilate on the patience and submission of the domestic Ass,
under whatever may occur, would be an attempt to illumine the sun : he is a true
fatalist, an optimist, wedding all events, bad or good, for better or for worse ;
taking with the patience of a Stoic, all the blows, the heaviest hand can lay upon
him, and deliberately waiting for the residue to come. The Flemish School of
Painters and our Gainsborough, have awarded the palm of picturesque beauty to
the Ass ; his gravity and sapient aspect had long before, introduced him into the
Commissions of the Peace. To be yet more serious, we declare on experience
and as Amateurs, he is not that stupid and senseless animal, which ignorance and
cruelty represent him ; on the contrary, his sagacity is eminent, and his affection
and gratitude warm and lively, when adequately excited. Slavery and tyranny
brutalize equally the man and the ass. The flesh of the wild Ass is highly
esteemed as venison, in his native desarts, and we have lately heard of a Nacker's
servant, who fares sumptuously whenever an Ass comes to the shop. But refined
and pampered as the Europeans are, and scorning Ass-flesh, the most delicate
ladies find Ass-milk a most pleasant and salubrious beverage. To conclude on his
uses of this nature, a whole ass in abstract or metaphysic, subserves various

50 TREATMENT OF THE ASS— ANECDOTES.

purposes of literature, logical, metaphorical, and metonymical : in parts, his skin,
for example, hard and elastic, serves to give sound to drums, profit and chicanery
to lawyers, and a stamp to corrupt Governments, through the medium of parch-
ment ; and being well tanned, makes shoes and boots equal in durability, to those
well-soaled ones, with which that most skilful of operators Homer of old, shod his
heroes.

The horrible treatment of the Ass, in our religious and enlightened Country,
exceeds, in profligacy, every thing by comparison, excepting our treatment of the
horse, which is still worse in degree, as the horse exceeds the ass in stature. In
oui' youth, we saw with a shudder of indignant abhorrence, which now vibrates
within us, a young miscreant mounted on an ass, booted and spurred ; the ass
seemed dull and regardless of the spur, and the ignorant or naturally hard-hearted
urchin, dismounting and taking out his pen-knife, actually made an incision in
each side of the depressed and toil-worn animal, into wrhich, being remounted, he
inserted the rowels of his spurs ! We have even known asses advertised to be bait-
ed with Bull-dogs, under no question of senatorial approbation ! Impartial justice
however, compels us to adduce facts of an opposite and consoling nature, although
unfortunately of a more limited extent. Some few of the lowest class of labourers,
our Itlach-^uards, to wit, are not only very kind, but excessively attached, to their
asses, and the kindness and attachment are mutual. The present writer in his
youth, walking in company with a medical friend through the Borough High
Street, observed a great crowd collected, the occasion of which was, the mare-Ass
of a pannier-man, who appeared much in the //as/t-line, had fixed her fore foot
in a plug-hole, and was unable to extricate it; nor could her master, with his
utmost exertions. The fellow blubbered like a great girl, outdid even the
renowned Sancho Panza in lamentations for the loss of his Ass, and harangued the
surrounding crowd on her virtues, until exhausted in matter and in breath, and
lifting up his arms in the true style of natural or heaven-born orators, he exclaimed
as his finale— " d— my eyes but she is an excellence !" Demosthenes himself, in
his most passionate mood, could not have worked a greater effect upon his audience.
A general burst of laughter and applause ensued from among the by-standers, and
their zeal to serve this tender-hearted Ass-driver was inkindled in a moment, and
to such good effect, that they shortly released the animal uninjured, and more
than that, a collection of pence and sixpences ensued, from the example of my friend,
which amply repaid the fellow for his loss of time.

Many of these animals are known to inhabit the miserable dwellings of their
keepers, in the same close state of family society, as the Arabian horses before de-
scribed, and to be particularly kind and attached to the children, looking into their
faces with a fond and anxious solicitude, when they are moaning or wailing under
any kind of suffering. It sometimes happens that, asses are turned out by the |>oor,
at the close of the evening, in the grazing season, to feed through the night, upon

ANECDOTES OP THE ASS. 51

the tresspassing principle ; the sagacious brutes, as if sensible of the trespass, are
invariably found, by dawn of day, knocking- with the fore foot at the door of
their master's hut.

The humble Ass and his slow and patient labours^ and trifling cost either for
purchase or keep, seems to have been overlooked in this country, until the reign
of Elizabeth, in the course of which asses came into common use. They have
never been equally so in Scotland, nor in the Northern parts of Europe, probably
because they are not proportionally useful with the native ponies in those cold
regions. They remained with us a neglected and despised, although common
animal, until the urgency of public circumstances, not only introduced them to
greater and more general attention, but even elevated their race to high honours,
of which even the highest bred Courser of the Desert might be proud. War, the
eternal delight of Englishmen, and taxes, their glorious boast, had thinned the
family of horses, and raised their price and expences to an insupportable height.
The Ass, in meek and humble guise, now presented himself, and was universally
accepted, in all cases wherein his substitution could be made available. He became
the common country express, the orderly riding-horse of the farm ; asses were
driven four in hand, in the Stage Cart, and even in the Curricle : but his honours
were derived from the fair and the gay, to whom he became the constant pad ;
and ladies of the highest rank visitant at Bath, Brighton^ and Tunbridge, em-
ployed tall and proper men to whip their asses through the streets and over the
hills. Balaam of old, who was a Prince as well as a Prophet, rode upon an Ass ;
and old Jack Bannister, a prophet of another description, in his latter days, rode
his Ass through the streets and squares of London.

The Earl of Egremont, long renowned for his splendid style of living, and for
his hospitalities ; his extensive establishment for breeding the horse, in which he
nobly emulates the most illustrious Princes and Heroes of Antiquity, and his ex-
quisite judgment in that animal ; among his other numerous experiments, made
a successful trial of Asses to cart coals upon the road. To speak of the Ass as a
hackney, his rate upon the road, even in high condition, is seldom more than six
miles per hour ; yet such a defect of speed could not well be presupposed from his
figure : the shoulder of the Deer also is upright. There have been solitary ex-
amples of Asses which were goers. In the year 1763, we well remember to have
seen at Mr. Samuel Taylor s, the then Stage Coach Master at Colchester, the Ass,
which for the two previous years, successively, had carried the post-boy with the
Mail, between that town and the Metropolis, a distance of fifty-one miles. He
was a common bred English Ass, but of good size. We have been farther informed,
authentically or otherwise, that, many years since, an Ass was matched to run one
hundred miles in twelve hours, over the Round Course, Newmarket, which he
performed, incited thereto by a mare going before him, which he had covered the
previous day. One of the chief recommendations of the Ass, is his ability to do

i

52 THE MULE.

moderate labour upon such unexpensive keep. But his performances would be of
far greater account, if well fed with corn, and his size and ability to labour might
be greatly increased, were it thought worth while to improve his breed : in oppo-
sition to which, it is urged that, to improve his breed would be to detract from
his utility, as after incurring nearly the expence of a horse, you would at last,
obtain but an Ass.

The hybrid offspring of the union between the Horse and Ass, called the MULE,
partakes in degree, of the size, and in part, of the qualities of the horse ; in a
still greater degree, of those of the Ass. The Southern Mule, as the Ass, is
greatly superior. Surefootedness and ability of the mule for long journies, are
matters of old experience in all countries. Being of considerable size, they are
useful draught cattle, and twenty years ago, they were employed by certain
Brewers near London, in the Dray. At about that same period, we were informed
that, a person in Herts had acquired considerable property by breeding mules for
the West India Islands, where the English Mule was always preferred to any
other, even to that of Spain. Perhaps this person might have used a Southern
Stallion Ass in his Stud. The anomaly has occurred in various instances, of
mules propagating their kind ; in fact, the old position of the universal incapacity
of mules in that respect, has of late, lost ground. In breeding Mules, the Stallion
Ass is always chosen, on the principle that, the female should have ample room for
the growth and expansion of her progeny.

THE DOG.

FROM the strong instinctive attachment of the DOG to the human race, his
fidelity and multifarious uses, the conjecture is by no means incongruous that, he
was the first animal subdued, or invited and admitted into the Social Contract, by
Man. To illustrate this position by an example, quite pat to our common sense
and experienced feelings— suppose a section, large as you please, of an unfur-
nished, uninhabited world, upon which should drop down from the clouds, or arise
from the depths of the earth, simultaneously, a man and a dog, within one hun-
dred yards of each other, what would be the result ?— why ; the dog immediately
after the alarm of his descent or ascent should have subsided, would cast his eyes
and his regards towards the man ; and in a little space of time lowering his head,
and putting forth his feet leisurely, would advance with cautious and measured
steps, towards his future master by legitimacy and divine right, and, wagging his
tail, lick the hand advanced to him. A few words to the purpose, are as good as
a thousand, and we flatter ourselves thus to have settled the matter, almost equally
well, as if Buff on himself had settled it.

Our present races of SPORTING DOGS are thus distinguished and denominated
— HOUNDS— The Bloodhound, Stag and Buck Hound, Greyhound, Fox Hound,
Terrier, Beagle, Harrier, and Lurcher. GUN DOGS— The Pointer and Setter,
Land and Water Spaniel, The Newfoundland Dog and Poodle.

56 THE LATE DUKE OP RICHMOND.

The Shepherd's Dog, Mastiff', Vermin Cur, Fox Cur, Draught Dog, Turnspit,
Bull Dog, Dalmatian, Italian Greyhound, French and German Lap-Dogs,
English Comforters, Dutch Pugs, Cur and Mongrel Varieties.

The Dog, as well as the Horse, seems to have been unknown upon the Continent
of America, so long- as that immense Continent was unknown to Europe. The
Fox, past all question, naturally, if not scientifically, a member of the canine
genus, we presume must have been equally unknown. Dogs procreate in their
first year, and the bitch carries her young-, perhaps never, except accidentally, less
than SIXTY-TWO DAYS, but generally, a few days longer. She produces about-
half a dozen whelps ordinarily ; sometimes as many as a dozen, at others, only
two or three. In these respects, the dog and cat agree somewhat nearly. The
bitch in her season, is a general lover, and her taste, when small, for the largest
males she can find, often proves fatal to her and her offspring, producing death
instead of an increase of individual life.

Of the common, or merely favourite breeds of dogs, the greater part or all the
puppies of the litters, should be gradually destroyed, since both Town and Country
are so overrun with useless, starving, and miserable curs ; and the same salutary
and humane rule should be observed, with respect to Cats. Litters of Sporting
and valuable Dogs should be culled, and the underling or ill-shaped whelps put
out of life, in which they cannot be wanted. The remainder, in order to confirm
and assure their worth, together with the bitch, should be kept perfectly dry,
warm and clean, and be well fed, and as much as possible, from the kitchen and
dairy.

The Dog lives to twenty, or even twenty -five years of age, and his chief mala^
dies are the DISTEMPER, the access of which is at a period of about his half
growth ; and MADNESS, for which there is no cure but death, and that remedy,
should, on every ground of commiseration and prudence, both for the brute and
human race, be administered on the first notice. Here a melancholy digression
forces itself upon us; the late loss of a personage of Ducal Rank and Royal
Lineage, but still more illustrious for the openness of his heart and his kind and
companiable qualities, and deriving additional lustre from a predecessor, the great
and distinguished advocate of human rights. Noble RICHMOND, farewell ! we
drop our tears upon your urn, and cherish your memory in our hearts.

In the Distemper, the puppy should be kept dry and warm, and his food and
medicine should be of the cooling and aperient kind, at the same time, nourishing.
As to WORMING the puppy, as a preventive of the rabies or madness, it is merely
to make the poor animars tongue sore, in order to humour a groundless old
woman's whim. On this affair and various other particulars, which however
useful, it is impossible to enlarge in this AVork, we refer, once for all, to the
BRITISH FIELD SPORTS. The dog should have air, exercise and grass, and
particularly, if high fed and indulged, should be purged two or three times in the

• . -.

58 REVIVING LOST RACES.

produce be fully saturated with mastiff-blood, in fine, complete mastiffs. Should
it be urged that, breeding- in and in would reduce the size and deteriorate the
qualities of the stock, the remedy is easy ; take at first several breeding individuals
and persevere to the end, in inter -crossing- the breed. Suppose a breed totally lost :
select individuals of the nearest desired size and qualities, and breed on, continually
selecting-, till you have obtained the full desideratum. Behold a Receipt for the
manufacture of Mastiffs, not by an Old Wife but an Old Man ; who however, has
the discretion to leave to his pupils, to write— probatum est.

The old Bloodhound was originally neither more nor less, than the large hound,
used for the chase of the Deer, Wolf, and Wild Boar. He was also, in those
early and uncivilized times, when Middlesex had not the modern honour and
advantage of paying eight and twenty thousand pounds per annum, for Police,
and yet swarm with thieves, employed to hunt the foot of trespassers, who could
not be traced and taken by any other means then in use. Since the Fox has been
the fashionable beast of chace, the old Hound has been variously crossed, chiefly
hv the Greyhound, for the sake of speed, to which the exquisite power of scent
has been postponed. Nevertheless our Stag and Fox Hounds in their present state,
and more especially the native Southern hound, might be trained to hunt the human
scent. From the Southern, or Spanish Hound, imported into America, have
descended those fierce and high-trained bloodhounds, the notable exploits of which
on the American Continent, and Islands, have immortalized in story, the huma-
nity of Spaniards, French, and— ENGLISHMEN.

In Scotland, and indeed England, formerly, the Blood, was called the Sleuth-
hound. He is of the largest size, whole coloured, except being shaded, and of a
reddish brown or tan. He is finely and strongly formed, with a large and long tail,
great bone and sinew, and large deep ears. Muzzle somewhat coarse, like the
Spanish Pointer. A few, under the name of bloodhounds, not all of which are
true-bred, are still kept in the Royal Forests, and in one or two of our great
Hunting Establishments : the employment of these is to trace wounded Deer, or
Deer-Stealers. Numerous old stories have been told of the exquisite power of
scenting in this animal, and his unconquerable perseverance. The latest authen-
ticated anecdote of this kind, of which we are apprized, is as follows— A servant
discharged by a Northern Sporting Gentleman, broke into his Stables, by night,
and villanously cut oft' the ears and tail of a favourite hunter. An alarm by the
doo-s, \\as raised within an hour, and a bloodhound brought into the Stable, which
immediately clapped on a scent, traced it upwards of twenty miles, stopping
at the door of a certain house, from which he could not be removed. On being
admitted, he ran to the top of the house, and bursting the door of a garret, found
his object iu bed, whom lie instantly seized and would have torn to pieces, but for
the Huntsman, who was luckily at his heels. The plate, drawn from the life, is a
very near resemblance of the old Sleuth-hound^ as appears from a collation with
ral drawings of the highest antiquity.

.

Q

THE HOUND. <59

THE SOUTHERN HOUND.

WHETHER or not the HOUND be aboriginal in this Country, we possess no
means to ascertain ; but two facts seem to authorize such a probability, namely,
the very ancient records of the use of hounds, and the historical fact that British
Mastiffs were known, and in high estimation, among1 the ancient Romans ; and
as the Britons possessed the Mastiff, it countenances the supposition that, they
possessed also the Hound, which makes his appearance in story, a few centuries
afterwards. The SOUTHERN HOUND was however imported very early by our
Hunters, perhaps earlier than the Southern Horse, in order to improve their packs.
He was of superior size, endowed with most acute and exquisite olfactory powers
beyond all other dogs, with unwearied patience in pursuit of his game, and
without being remarkable for speed, gifted with the utmost degree of continuance.
He had also a deep and musical tone of voice. The cross of this foreigner with
the English or Northern Hound, produced a variety of somewhat less size than the
former, diminished powers of nose, a more shrill cry and greater activity. It is
probable the true Talbot of former times, was the unmixed produce of the
Southern Hound, male and female, as the true Race Horse is that of Southern
parents. The old SLEUTH Hound also, no doubt derived his exquisite nose, size, and
perseverance from the same source. On him the sweet and harmonious Poet of
the Chase, thus divinely sings-
Soon the sagacious brute, curling his tail,

Flourished in air, low bending, plies around

His busy nose, the steaming vapour snuffs

Inquisitive, nor leaves one turf untried,

Till conscious of the recent stains, his heart

Beats quick; his snuffling nose, his active tail

Attest his joy : then with deep op'ning mouth

That makes the welkin tremble, he proclaims

Th' audacious felon ; foot by foot, he marks

His winding way, while all the list'ning crowd

Applaud his reas'nings. O'er the wat'ry ford,

Dry sandy heaths, and stony barren hills,

O'er beaten paths, with men and beasts distained,

Unerring he pursues ; till at the cot

ArrivM, and seizing by his guilty throat

The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey j

So exquisitely delicate his sense !

60 MUSIC AND COLOURS OP THE PACK.

Those dogs however, with all their savage thirst of blood, are trained, particularly
by the Spaniards in America, to hold the victim, and not to lacerate, or take life,
but at command.

In the qualities of the hound, the most extraordinary and least easy to be
accounted for, on any principle of physics, or on any analogy, is the peculiar
power of adhering to, or hunting one particular scent, to whatever distance it may
be diffused, and amidst the greater variety of others, whether congenial with it, or
entirely op|>osite. This exquisite and discriminating sense seems to be most per-
fect in the Bloodhound and the Southern Hound, and to be considerably dimi-
nished in our modern crosses, as is evident by our Fox Hounds, so often changing
the scent and the hunt, and the packs sometimes parting on a new find, and
where game is plenty. In this rase, ;i slow pack of the old blood is more steady.

The Music and Harmony of the Pack, so much considered in former days,
when our Queens and their Maids of Honour graced the hunted field, and
probably rode astride across the country, entering into all the pleasures, and
defying- all the perils of the Chase, with something like a masculine resolution,
are in our times held as matter of interior consequence ; lightness of form, elegance,
speed, and a fine eye, being esteemed the leading qualifications in a hound. There
\\ere several packs within our knowledge formerly, which had a ringing', pleasant,
and inspiriting-, or a dee]), mellow, and sonorous cry ; that is to say, to a certain
decree, greatly capable of improvement, upon the ancient and more systematic
plan. The same may be remarked with respect to the harmony of colour; for
although a good dog', like a good horse, can never be of a bad colour, yet skill
and perseMTance, will produce good dogs, as well as ordinary ones, of a good
colour: and to a. true and enthusiastic Amateur, the labour, perseverance and
expence necessarily incurred, will prove an additional stimulus, and eAen exaltation
of the pleasure. Fashion, to be sure, is legitimately invested with a paramount
authority, in all things, and since authority decides that speed must be the exclu-
sive qualification in a Pack of Hounds, its votaries must submit, or be excluded
from the pale : if any Gentlemen of the Field however, may venture to deviate
and revolutionize to a certain degree, it should be those who hunt a deep and
romantic Country, interspersed with wood, rock, hill, and dale, where echo
triumphs in her shrill, loud, and full sounding attributes, and where the merits
and delights of a deep toned and musical pack, can be fully enjoyed and most
amply appreciated. The faculty of sight should also be gratified as well as that
of hearing, and harmony of colours in the dogs, is the great mean of that end.
Since we have crossed so deeply and improved so much, in one direct line, it may
not improbably be necessary, at this day, to make considerable additions to our
importations of the Southern Mound.

But whether music or harmony of colours, or speed, or exquisite scenting,
or great power and stoutness in the pack, be a Gentleman's object, it is still of the

FORM BREEDING— ANECDOTE.

utmost consequence to have his dogs good in their kind, of good ages, well trained,
well hunted, and well kept ; for the expense of a pack of hounds is a serious one,
demanding another — guise remuneration than disappointment. In general, over-
sized hounds of whatever variety, are ill formed, and therefore defective in quali-
fication ; thence the middle size has always been preferred, and this animal, like
the horse, should be selected, with the union of as much perfection of form as cai
be attained, the most important or cardinal points being chiefly considered. —
Head not too thick, open nostrils, high crest, deep shoulder, back strong an<
straight, rising towards broad fillets, huckle-bones round and hidden, tail higl
long, and rush-grown, or big at the lower end and tapering; legs flat, largt
boney, and lean, thighs and fore arms long, broad and muscular and well apart
foot round, high-knuckled and well clawed, with a dry and hard soal : of a houi
thus formed, it will be difficult to determine by a level rule, whether his fore
hinder part be the higher. The hair under the belly of the hound being hai
and wiry, denotes constitutional hardiness. Our present fashionable Fox-hoiufls
are of a far more slight and Greyhound-like form than the above descripti^i,
which however may serve to pourtray a hound of sufficient swiftness, for aty
country or purpose, with the possession of some desirable qualities in which /he
former is deficient.

The Sportsman, at the outset, may be compelled to purchase, by which, howler,
he will not expect to obtain a complete and faultless pack, few persons, except on
very particular occasions, being inclined to dispose of capital hounds at almost any
price. Breeding, then, is the mean of arriving at a superior stock, and thit re-
quires a judicious and fortunate choice of males and females, and the patieif and
persevering attention of a number of years for the completion of the object. Firther,
great taste and skill are required in the proprietor himself; qualifications which
do not always enter into the composition of a HUNTSMAN, who never performs his
duty with such consummate ability, as when he has a Master capable of directing
him in essentials : one great branch of these is provision for the full support, the
comfort, the gay, vigorous, and full-toned appearance of the inhabitants of the
kennel. On this head, we will present our Sporting friends with a shining con-
trast, from our only Monthly Repository, the SPORTING MAGAZINE, date Sept.
1819, which on enquiry, turns out to be a shabby fact.

INHUMANITY TO DOGS.---" Passing by a Kennel of Hounds this morning, with
which I have frequently enjoyed a day's sport in the Hunting Season, I suddenly
missed one of my dogs : seeing the Kennel door open, I naturally entered it for
the purpose of seeking him. I found him in the Court-yard, in company with
the Terriers belonging to the pack, together with a Pointer dog, and a bitch
which had whelps in an adjoining place. The Terriers looked wretchedly poor ;
and I was induced to ask a little boy who was there, what they had to eat. ' O,'

K

62 CHEAP HUNTING.

said he, ' we give them bones and milk, or any thing we can get, but we have
nothing for the hounds.' Nothing ! I exclaimed, pressing forward, anxious to see
how dogs could be kept upon NOTHING ; and entering the inner court, I found
that the boy's 'nothing' was very nearly correct. Most of the hounds were
stretched either upon the sleeping benches, without a bit of straw, or upon the
bricks of the court : those upon their legs, appeared scarcely able to support their
weight — and I myself saw one of them swallow the excrement which had been just
voided by another ! Their carcases were emaciated to an extent, I never witnessed
in any animal ; their bones appeared literally starting through the skin, the eyes
hollow and sunk in the head, and the only notice they took of me was, an im-
ploring look, or a gentle wag of recognition. A few potatoes was the only
ppearance of food. The water was putrid. There was not a vestige of flesh in
ny part of the kennel, nor had the coppers, from their appearance, been used for
sme time. It is not long since nine of the best hounds died almost suddenly ;
teir death was imputed to poison ; but it is my firm belief, that it was occasioned
I/ their overloading their stomachs with flesh after fasting three days, one of
vliich they had been hunted."

(Signed) " SALOPIENSIS."

lo Salopiensis we return our thanks for this exposition, in the name of common
hunanity, and of every thing that is great and respectable in HUNTING. And, to
the >roprietor of the Pack, we, with feelings of an appropriate kind, dedicate the
al>ov> extract from the letter of Salopiensis.

DEER HOUHDS. 63

THE STAG HOUND.

THE STAG HOUND is the largest Variety of the present hound Species, some-
what smaller, in probability, than the old Talbot and Sleuth Hound, and derived,
perhaps, with little change, from the English hound, as he was found more than
two centuries past, in the days of Markham. The Fox Hound, is more of a
crossed and artificial variety. A large and somewhat short head with a wide nose,
thickness and plenty of leather about the chaps, are distinctions of the uncrossed
Hound. These signs are indicative of the utmost tenderness of nose, and most
exquisite power of scent, which high qualifications are invariably counter-balanced
by a defect of speed ; and that again, is atoned for, by the highest degree of
stoutness or game, no variety of the Dog being able to compete, in that respect,
with the pure, uncrossed hound, whether Southern or Northern, but the former
has always been proved superior.

The Portrait which we here exhibit, drawn from the life, is a good exemplifi-
cation of that drawn by the Poet, with some small abatement in respect to colours.

" His glossy skin, or yellow-pied or blue,
In lights or shades by nature's pencil drawn,
Reflects the various tints ; his ears and leo-s,

* o *

Flock'd here and there, in gay enamel'd pride,

Rival the speckled pard; his rush-grown tail

O'er his broad back bends in an ample arch ;

On shoulders clean upright and firm he stands ;

His round cat foot, straight hams and wide spread thighs,

And his low-dropping chest, confess his speed,

His strength, his wind, or on the steepy hill,

Or far extended plain; in every part

So well proportion'd, that the meer skill

Of Phidias himself can't blame thy choice.

Of such compose thy pack.'''

An old Writer thus holds forth, on the qualities of the Hound — Whether it be
the particular formation of their long trunks, or the extraordinary moisture which
always cleaves to the noses and lips of this sort of dogs, it is not requisite to
investigate ; but certain it is that they are endowed with the most accurate sense
of smelling, and can often take and distinguish the scent, an hour after the lighter
B eagles can make nothing of it. Their slowness also better disposes them to
receive the commands and directions of the Huntsman, and their much phlegm,

64 HUNTING BY THE POL.E DEER— PACKS.

for there seems to be a difference in the constitutions of other animals as well as
man, gives them patience to proceed with caution and regularity, to make sure of
every step as they go, carefully to describe every indenture, to unravel each
puzzling trick or figure. This grave sort of dog is however fit for masters of the
same temper, as they are able to hunt in cold scent, but they are too apt to make
it so, by their want of speed and vigour to push forward, and keep it warm ; their
exactness often renders them trifling and tedious. By this means though the hunt
be finer, yet the prey, which is by some thought necessary to complete the sport,
very often escapes ; the length of the chase takes up the time, and exposes them
to numerous hazards of losing.

The slow and fine-nosed are peculiarly adapted to the training for s£o/>-hounds,
and for Hunting by the Pole, on foot ; an exercise, in which, we apprehend, few
of our contemporaries are practically conversant, any more than in very early
rising to hunt. The largest, slowest, and stoutest pieces of antiquity in the hound
line, depth of tone and close hunting being the grand requisites, were always
selected for this grave and pains-taking kind of chase. And these sedate and
staunch dogs were trained so highly, and to such a degree of obedience that, even
upon the hottest scent and in full cry, the Huntsman had only to cast his magical
pole in their sight, on which they would, one and all, make a full stop, and deli-
l>erately attending their orders, be harked forward again, at whatever rate the
hunt might require. It is not very easy for us modern Nimrods, who are in the
habit of making use of six legs in the field, even to conceive hounds slow enough,
or two legs fast enough, to pursue successfully such a chase ; and we must leave it
in that state of uncertainty, in which are found many other tales of former times.
As little can we conceive of the pleasure to be derived from such a laborious and
exhausting exertion. Coursing on foot indeed, has lasted somewhat longer, but
the practitioners of that sport, are at present, upon a very reduced scale ; and of the
two, it is certainly most easy and feasible, to cut and contrive and cross the
country, in view of the short course of Greyhounds and a hare, than painfully
to trudge over the soil through thick, and thin, after a slow pack and a Deer or
Fox.

The decline of Deer Hunting, which our old Jokers were in the habit of styling
Calf -hunting, and the almost general substitution of the Chase of the Fox, in
great measure originated in necessity, at least convenience. The necessary
increase of cultivation in a rapidly improving country, gradually contracted those
open and spacious domains indispensable to the breeding, parking, and hunting
the Deer. Thence it is chiefly, that so few Establishments for Deer Hounds at
present exist in Britain. In England, the packs are reduced to those of Royalty,
of the: Karl of Derby, at his seat near Epsom, Surrey, the OAKS ; the Subscrip-
tion Pack near Enfold Chase, if that be still in existence ; and of the Buck
Hounds upon the New Forest, Dorset. Yet surely, the Earl of Darlington hunts

THE ROYAJL WINDSOR HUNT. 65

the Deer, in Yorkshire. The example of His Majesty, so attached to this chase,
may probably have rescued it nearly from oblivion, and the annual expense has
become a public one, and the Master of the Stag-Hounds upon Windsor Forest,
always a man of rank, enjoys a considerable salary.

The periods, etiquette, and ceremony of the STAG HUNT, are matter of novelty
in many parts of the Country, even to Sportsmen. The Season commences on
Windsor Forest, September 25, Holyrood Day, and continues on every Tuesday
and Saturday, till the first Saturday in May, Christmas and Easter Weeks being
excepted, when they hunt three alternate days in each. Holyrood Day and
Easter Monday are the two grand days of the Season, on which, the King being pre-
sent, and the assemblage of Hunters of rank, and of all descriptions, numerous, the
Spectacle used to afford ideas of the grandeur and consequence of ancient hunting.

Singling from the Herd, or turning out a Deer, is said to be a grand and affecting
sight. Or an out-lying Deer is drawn for, and unharboured in some of the
neighbouring woods, Stag, Hind, or Havior. The intended object of chase is then
conveyed in the covered Deer -cart, from the paddocks, which are the lair of the
breeding-herd, and where the hunting deer are confined and regularly corn-fed,
to keep them in heart and condition. From thence they reach the place appointed
for them to throw off, generally about ten o'clock, of which Sportsmen who fre-
quent the hunt, are always well informed. About half a mile from the deer-cart,
arrived at its station, the pack is kept in waiting, under the command of the
Huntsman, who is surrounded by his assistant Whippers-in, or as they are styled
in the Royal-hunt, Yeoman-prickers, superbly clad in short hunting jackets of
scarlet and gold, part of them provided with French Horns, the appropriate
instrumental music of the chase, which so sonorously and cheerfully alternates
with the vocal. This description of a Royal Deer Hunt, gives ideas sufficiently
applicable in essentials, to the general mode of hunting that animal.

At this moment, behold a most interesting and imposing spectacle, equally grand
and gay. A numerous assemblage of the princely, the noble, and the wealthy, in
their attractively neat and appropriate, yet costly habiliments and furniture, with
their attendants equally well appointed, and mounted upon their high-bred
hunters, which pace, curvet, and paw the earth, agitated by the same impatience
which inspires their masters, for the important moment so near at hand— it arrives,
the deer is liberated from the cart, and breaking away, favoured by the accustomed
law, two of the Yeoman Prickers start in company with it, in such parallel direc-
tions, right and left, as not to lose sight of his course, so long as they are able to
hold him in view. By this means they acquire an advance upon the hounds of
four or five miles ; and are enabled to assist in stopping them at any required
point, more particularly should they break away, or get too much a head of the
horsemen who follow ; but for which precaution, none but those capitally mounted
and such never constitutes the majority in a hunt, would scarcely ever again

66 CHARACTER OP DEER HUNTING.

obtain a second sight of either deer or hounds, in course of the chase. It often
happens, in these runs, that out of a body, consisting at first start, of a hundred
or two of horsemen, not a score shall be able to hold way, and find themselves
within a couple of hundred yards of the hounds, and these, whatever may be
their weight, shall be the riders generally of thorough-bred horses. The run in,
or concluding- burst of a Stag Hunt, is sometimes exhaustingly and even fatally
severe to the horses, the last mile or twTo being run in view. The Deer is usually
taken and preserved, unless when the leading hounds cannot be prevented from
closing upon his haunches and tearing him down.

It will be gathered from what has been already said, that Deer Hunting is by
no means the general favourite, being held by our Fox Hunters as an uninteresting,
umaried, and monotonous sport. There are other objections : some, on the score of
humanity, the deer being a species of domesticated cattle, under the protection of
man ; and farther, the unavoidable extraordinary damage to cultivation from
following the Deer, is considerable.

—

y.

ANECDOTE OF A HUNTER. 67

THE FOX HOUND.

THE most fashionable Fox HOUND of the late and present times, is of the
middle height of the Hound Species, comparatively slender, and bearing a strong
resemblance, indeed proof of affinity, with the Greyhound, in the head, ear, neck
and shoulder. He is doubtless descended from the old Northern hound, which was
the lightest and speediest known, and said to be a cross between the Greyhound
and the slow Hound of those days. Additional and periodical crosses with the
Greyhound, have since taken place, joined perhaps with other Varieties, and from
the portraits of certain crack individuals which have been published, it appears
probable that, at no former period, have the hounds of this species been so light,
active, and speedy, as within the last forty years, and at the present time. Nor do
we hear any complaint among modern Sportsmen, as among the ancient, of the
excess of Greyhound form or qualities in the present Fox Hound, or of a want of
nose, steadiness", or stoutness. On the contrary, the best packs of this improved
breed have found and killed more Foxes in their seasons, than any other and slower
breeds could boast, running as long and desperate chases. The immense prices
they have fetched, individually or in packs, have beggared all former precedent,
and they have been the admiration of those foreigners who during their residence
in this country, among other curiosities, novelties to them, have paid attention to
our Turf and Field Sports.

We have before nevertheless remarked that, those light bred Hounds have the
fairer opportunity of shewing off their peculiar qualification of speed, in a light
and open Country, where in a trying day, the highest bred horses only, have the
stroke or speed in a sufficient degree, to hold way, or keep within any reasonable
distance of them, or to crown their course by being in at the Death. And all our
packs, particularly in deep and heavy countries, are certainly not of the high-
crossed species of which we are speaking, but many, perhaps most of them, of a
useful medium in that respect. In such a medium, are the Couple of Hounds in
the adjoining plate, the originals of which supported a high character, as leaders,
in a celebrated Pack, and which would have figured as crack hounds over any
country.

The following instance will prove the necessity of making proper choice of a
Hunter to follow speedy Hounds. A friend of ours upon a visit in Surrey, took a
day's hunt over the Downs with a neighbouring" pack. He was mounted upon a
powerful and well-bred hunter, which had carried him a season or two, in a deep
country ; his servant upon a large half-bred mare, which also in that country, had

68 BREEDING EAST ESSEX HUNT.

performed with a degree of credit. They had a burst of four or five miles, in a
style somewhat like racing-, and the servant's mare, from her natural courage and
perfect condition, actually kept her proper place through the run, and saw the
day's sport out, without any indications, at least any that were attended to, of being
driven beyond her powers. On the return home, however, symptoms of heaviness
were perceived, and drops of blood issuing from her nostrils ; and reaching within
a few yards of the stable, she dropped down under the groom, and we saw her dead
in five minutes. This internal and vital injury must have been occasioned by con-
tinuing longer at the very top of her speed, than nature could bear, and the highest
bred horse in England would be injured by the same cause. Whilst the thorough-
bred hunters were galloping, although with great speed, yet at a rate they could
very well support, from their superior stride and ductility of sinew, the common-
bred mare was straining to the utmost, every nerve, to multiply the number of her
short strokes, and that by a machinery, in which, from her fixed and unfavourable
shape, there must necessarily be great and laborious friction. The case is similar
when under-bred horses are trained for a match, if they take their gallops with the
Race-horses, a mistake we have, on several occasions, witnessed. The racers go
too fast for these ordinary horses, and the consequence is, they get off their feed,
lose condition with their flesh, and instead of training- ow, train off.

In breeding the Fo.t Hound with the view of obtaining a capital Pack, a stallion
hound of high repute should be either purchased or hired, and of that variety, whe-
ther the lightest bred or otherwise, which it should be thought proper to adopt, and
none should be used but middle-aged and thorough-shaped females ; and certainly,
by choice, those which had established a character in the hunt. Notwithstanding
the occasional and frequent exceptions, like will produce like, upon the average ;
and the Sportsman who aims at superiority, must attend to that average, which,
if his only dependence, is past all doubt, preferable to chance-medley, or to the
very poor chance of breeding good shapes from bad patterns. In a course of years
by the indefatigable attention of a proprietor, but not otherwise, may a pack of
hounds of any desired Variety be reared, of the highest character and greatest
money value.

A Friend of ours, who occasionally takes a day's sport with the East Essex
Hounds, particularly distinguished a dog of the name of Gamboy ; and although
an old Sportsman, he esteems this as the best hound for tenderness of nose and true
game, that he has ever followed. This hound has the exquisite and most useful
faculty of recovering a scent, and leading off with it, in raw, windy and bad scenting
weather, when the fox has been lost, given over, and the huntsman at his wits
ends. Gambm/ was got by Lord Fitzwilliains Glancer out of Lord Lonsdale's
Destiny. He is represented to us, as of that middle breed which has been described,
having the finest nose, the most lasting powers, and yet good speed, and will
doubtless mnkn a capital stallion. If this dog- has had speed and game enough for

MATCH OF HOUNDS OVER NEWMARKET. 69

the Greyhound Foxes of the Essex Rodings, his get from the best bred bitches
might be presumed equal to any thing.

The famous match of Fox Hounds over the Beacon Course at Newmarket, be-
tween that father of the sport, the late Hugo Meynell, Esq. and Mr. Barry ;
together with the four mile trial of Colonel Thornton s Fox -hound Bitch Merkin,
have been repeated in almost every publication of this kind ; but they are in their
nature so extraordinary, as bringing to the test of the time-piece, the comparative
speed of horses and dogs, and as many of our readers may still be unacquainted
with the particulars, it might be deemed an improper omission, were they not to
be found here.

Mr. Meynell matched two Fox Hounds, Richmond and a Bitch, against Mr.
Barry's two hounds, Bluecap and Wanton, to run over the Beacon Course at
Newmarket, for five hundred guineas. Mr. Barry's hounds were trained on Tip-
tree Heath, Essex, where annual Races for small prizes have been held immemo-
rially. The trainer was our old acquaintance Will. Crane, long-famed in that
quarter, as a Huntsman, and who kept Rivenhall Inn. His method with the hounds,
was to run a fox drag of eight or ten miles, three times a week, upon the turf,
during two months, feeding upon oat-meal and milk and sheep's-trotters. We
were informed by several Sportsmen, who saw the dogs before starting, that they
appeared in admirable condition. Mr. Meynell' s hounds were fed whilst in train-
ing, entirely upon legs of mutton, and were also in high condition : odds seven to
four upon them at starting, chiefly from the proprietor's high sporting character.
The match was run on the 30th of September, by laying the accustomed drag from
the Rubbing House at Neivmarket Town end, to the Rubbing House at the Starting
Post of the Beacon Course, the four hounds being immediately laid on the scent.
Mr. Barry's Bluecap came in first, and his Wanton, a very near second, the four
miles being run by these hounds, in a few seconds above eight minutes ', much
about the time, in which an ordinary Country plate horse would run the same
distance, carrying the weight of eight stone, or eight stone seven pounds. Mr.
Meynell' s hound was beaten by about one hundred and twenty yards, and the
bitch was in ?io place, not running her course through. It is in some respects true
that, the knowing ones were taken in by this match ; nevertheless on the other
hand, the great reputation of Will. Crane as a Huntsman had great weight. Three
score Horsemen started with the hounds ; and Cooper, Mr. Barry's Huntsman,
was first at the Ending Post, having stupidly and barbarously ridden the mare
which carried him, perhaps over-weighted or under-bred— quite blind ! an act by
way of sport to one animal, productive of misery and loss of the light of the blessed
Sun throughout life, to another, which ought to damn the whole day's sport
for ever. Only twelve horses out of the sixty, were able to run in with the
hounds, Will. Crane, mounted upon the winner of a twelve stone or King's Plate,
called Rib, being the twelfth.

£

70 MERKIN'S TRIAL— SPEED OF ECLIPSE.

The performance of Merkin, which, by her portrait in Mr. Daniel's Rural Sports,
appears to be highly crossed with Greyhound blood, if accurately stated, is greatly
superior to the above, as she ran her trial of four miles, in seven minutes and half
a second, thereby eclipsing the speed of all other hounds. She was afterwards sold
in 1795, for four Hogsheads of Claret, the seller to be entitled to two couple of
the whelps she might breed. In order to a comparison between the speed of the
horse and hound, the horse like the dog1, at his natural liberty and entirely unen-
cmnJ>ered with weight, we quote the computation of Mons. Saintbel, the first
Professor to the English Veterinary College, who dissected Eclipse—" Eclipse,
free from all weight and galloping at liberty, with his greatest degree of swiftness,
would cover an extent of ground of twenty -five-feet at every complete action of the
g-allop, and would run nearly four miles, in the space of six minutes and two
seconds." We apprehend the Professor is rather below than above the mark, with
respect to the distance Eclipse would have been able to run in the stated time,
under the supposition of having- no weight to carry.

N

r- **

N

TRAINING THE TERRIER. 71

THE TERRIER.

TERRIERS are the necessary attendants of a Pack of Fox Hounds, for the
purpose of unearthing the Fox ; thence, from the latin word terra, the earth, they
are called terriers. They are also used to hunt the badger, indeed in all vermin
hunts ; for the infamous and cruel purposes of baiting, and in the blackguard
diversion of dog-Jighting. Their form and colours are well known ; black tan,
yellow and white ; some are entirely white, and there is upon the Continent, a
delicate milk white breed of terriers, if they may be so styled, or vermin curs,
which seem to hold the same affinity both of breed and qualification, with our ter-
riers, as the Italian with our Greyhounds. Terriers are distinguished as rough and
smooth, and vary considerably in size, from the size of the hound crosses probably,
which entered into the composition of their race.

The Terrier has been long used in this Country as a sporting dog, and is to be
found in Buffons Synopsis. But we have not observed him described in Markham,
and Dr. Caius is not before us. In those Compilations called Sporting Dictionaries,
the terrier is said to be a kind of Greyhound, in our ideas a very strange descrip-
tion. The terrier is perhaps a crossed race, a variety from the dwarf hound or
spaniel, fox or fox dog and the vermin cur ; at least, such he appears to us, both
from his form and qualities. The rough terrier probably obtained his shaggy coat
from the cur ; but whence the latter was furnished with his we do not pretend to
know. The terrier, has of late years particularly, been crossed with the Bull-dog
to increase his fierceness and power in fighting.

One, two, or three couple of Terriers are necessary to a Pack of Fox-hounds, more
especially in a deep and inclosed Country ; it is convenient also, that they be of the
two sizes, small and large. Terriers are entered and fleshed, at the usual time with
hounds, that is, nearly a year old. They are then taught to take the earth, by the
example of the old ones, which are earthed with fox or badger, having young.
The young terriers are then held to the mouth of the earth or den, in order that
their blood may be stimulated by hearing the old ones bay. The vixen or the badger
being drawn and secured, the old terriers are coupled, and the learners are clapped
to the earths, and encouraged to seize the remaining cubs, or badger pigs, and kill
them if they will.

Another method, we trust long since obsolete, of training the terrier, savours
strongly of those abominations, in regard to trespassing on the feelings of animals,
perpetrated in all nations, amidst even the most devout religious professors, and
constant Church-goers. An old fox or badger was taken, and his nether jaw cut

CRUELTY— SPEED OF THE TERRIER— ANECDOTE.

away, leaving the upper to shew the fury of the beast!— or all its teeth were
broken out ! A convenient earth was then dug- for these mutilated and agonized
creatures, large enough, for two terriers to enter and engage them. Doubtless
there may be besotted and custom-blinded individuals, who without consideration
perpetrate atrocities like these upon helpless beasts ; but from those who can coolly
and deli berately either act or countenance such cruelties, must surely have at first
been drawn the characters of those imaginary devils which exist in print.

The rough short legged Terrier particularly, is very slow, but all have great
powers of continuance. The smooth, or those with most of the hound cross, are
best able to run with the pack. Mr. Daniel relates a match with a terrier against
time, in 1794, in which the dog, a small one, ran six miles— the first mile in two
minutes, the second in four, the third in six, the fourth in eight, and the fifth and
sixth in eighteen minutes. He afterwards ran six miles in thirty -two minutes—
an immense falling off doubtless, considering his wonderful speed, and the known
stoutness of the terrier. Perhaps this terrier might have a Greyhound cross in
him, according to the old notion remarked above ; but another perhaps will be
fully appropriate, that either the watch-maker, or the watch-holder, might be
unsteady ; for the idea of a terrier running a mile in two minutes, is not very re-
concileable to our daily experience.

Another story is told of the Terrier still more incredible, or altogether incompre-
hensible. A terrier of a valuable breed was sent from the Isle of Arran, N. B.
confined in a coach, to South Audley Street in London. The dog remained con-
tented three days, and disappeared on the fourth morning. After ineffectual
search and reward offered, it was ascertained that, on the fifth day of his being
missed from London, he had arrived at his old home in Arran, a distance of two
hundred and forty miles, exclusive of seven miles across the sea -, and this wonderful
dog must have travelled one hundred and twenty miles, each day and night, and
afterwards swam nearly seven miles over the sea, from the main-land of Scotland
to the Isle of Arran, without being noticed either upon land or water, by man,
woman, or child. It seems, the strictest enquiry was made to no purpose, whether
the dog had been seen crossing the water, or had slyly got a passage in the Boat.
Terriers do not take water very readily, at any rate, are never inclined to remain
in it long, or swim far. Now the most satisfactory way, we apprehend, of recon-
ciling ourselves, in this, and in all such marvellous cases, is to determine that, it is far
more probable, the search should have failed, than the clog succeeded in swimming
seven miles, and in so short a time. All wonderful stories indeed, require exami-
nation previous to credit.

Terriers are endowed with a great share of native ferocity and courage, and ex-
clusive of the purposes of the field, are almost always kept for those of wanton
and useless barbarity, such as badger-baiting^ fighting, and that abominable act,
hunting the domestic cat. In truth, there are too many untutored and unlicked

USEFUL, FARM-PACK—BADGER HUNT. 73

cubs of boys, suffered to keep dogs of this kind, to worry and tear to pieces their
own and their neighbours' cats.

The domestic use of the Terrier, is well known to be that of a guard to the
house, more especially in the Country, against more destructive vermin— rats,
weazles, polecats, stoats, and all their kind. The quantity of bread and other corn,
devoured by rats, few have yet perhaps dared even to conceive. Some years
since, when wheat was at its highest war price, it was stated by a very experienced
person, at a market-dinner in a County about sixty miles from the Metropolis,
that, upon a considerable farm in the Neighbourhood, the property of a respectable
landholder, who cultivated it himself, the rats were sufficiently numerous to consume
annually, corn of all kinds, to the amount in value, of the rent and tithe together.
This person professed that he would undertake to make satisfactory proof of his
assertion, on condition of the proprietor's leave ; at the same time offering a consi-
derable bet on the event. Sporting dogs out of this question, of which doubtless,
every farmer desires to possess some, the useful pack upon a farm consists of Sheep-
dogs, rough Terriers, Vermin Curs, Wappits, before all the best guard, and Ferrils
—and these should not be kept merely to be looked at.

To return to the Terrier as a sporting dog. Few can be ignorant of the old
caution against entering a young terrier at a badger : nevertheless, last year, a
man who trains dogs for sale, from some motive or other, or from ignorance or
obstinacy, made the experiment with two fine young dogs, of blood and strength,
as he boasted, which nothing could withstand. The dogs, in truth, justified
the character given of them, as to courage, going instantly up to the badger
without flinching ; the consequence was, one of them had both fore legs bitten
through and broken in several places, and the other an eye bitten out, beside
receiving a desperate wound in the belly. They were both obliged to be killed,
although they had been valued at a considerable price.

The same danger is not incurred, when a badger is turned out, and the young
dogs hunt him in company with the old; in that case, the young ones may be fairly
and safely entered. A badger will run in an open country, and particularly
across the furrows of ploughed land, with a speed, which no one unaccustomed to
him, would suppose, if persons on horseback do not cross him, and put him out of
his course. There have been instances of his running four, or half a dozen miles,
in good style ; which however does not often happen, and when once driven to
covert, as he cannot well be lost, if the hunt be by day, he will stir no farther, but
fight it out bravely to death, which will not be achieved by the dogs, whether old
or young, without some lasting marks of his good-will. The instant he is closed
upon and pressed, lie will turn upon his back, and use his powerful teeth and
claws with infinitely more effect upon his adversaries, the dogs, than they can
shew upon him, defended by nature with his tough and bristly and almost impe-
netrable skin. Having defended himself courageously, according to his natural

74

INFAMY OF BAITING.

impulse, and the dogs having- done their duty with equal bravery, but unable to
kill, the badger's suffering's should be immediately en ed,bya few heavy blows on
his snout, always mortal to this animal ; and he should not, according- to shameful
custom, be reserved in lingering misery, for the unfair, unsportsmanlike, and
detestable practice of baiting. On the subject of feeling- for brute animals, I find
an apt quotation in Coleridge, who has more of the spell, and magic, and witchery
of genius in him, than any poet living, since Shakespeare ; witness his ' Fire,
Famine, and Slaughter,' — his ' Christabel,' and his — ' Rime of the Ancient
Mariner.'

Farewell, farewell i but this I tell
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest !
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.
He prayeth best, who loyeth best
All things both great and small,
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

-•— ^--_ . — — _

ORIGIN OP THE BEAGLE. 75

BEAGLES.

ON the subject of this Variety of the Hound, there is really so much variety,
indeed confusion, in the definitions of various Writers, that many readers profess
to have found it a matter of difficulty to discover, what kind of dog1 precisely, whe-
ther as to origin or character, they are to understand by the term BEAGLE. Let
us try our fortune on this head with the reader. The Beagle is a dwarf hound, of
a Variety established in the early ages of hunting, since we read of him. as of a
settled and customary breed, in books two or three centuries old. Beagles, like
the Terrier and Harrier, are designated both as rough and smooth, and although
chiefly to be considered as Hare hounds, are occasionally used to hunt the Fox ;
and indeed formerly, a cry of Beagles, was thought necessary to a Pack of any
kind, for the sake of their cheerful and musical note.

The distinction of the rough and smooth coat in hounds, is made by the earliest
Writers ; and we read of the light, nimble, swift and slender or Northern Hound,
bred in Yorkshire, Cumberland, and Northumberland ; and of ' the grisselled or
shag haired,' thence reckoned the best ' Verminers,' and therefore chosen to hunt
Fox^ Badger, or any other hot scent. The hair under the belly of the true Talbot,
an original hound, is described as * hard and stiff.' On the whole then, it appears,
that the Hound, whether under the denomination of Talbot, Blood Hound, Deer
Hound, or Fox Hound, was originally rough or harsh-haired, and the Greyhound,
the smooth haired Variety of the Hound Species. The light and slender Northern
breed no doubt originated, as before stated, in a Greyhound cross ; and with as
little doubt, the smooth Beagle, was a breed of reduced size of the Northern Hound ;
the rough Beagle perhaps, bearing the same relation to the old Hound. But how
are we to account for the origin of the ' little singing Beagle,' the cry of which so
charmed the ears of the virtuous Queen BESS and her sporting Maids of Honour,
and which might be ' carried iu a man's glove ; bred for delight only, of curious
scent, and passing cunning in the Hunt, for the most part tiring, seldom killing,
except at some strange advantage ?' Beyond a doubt, it should seem, from a small
and beautiful Spaniel-cross upon the common Beagle. It is reasonable to suppose
that our modern glove- beagles, ten or eleven couple of which were carried to and
from the field, in a pair of panniers slung across a Horse, were manufactured in the
same mode. Thus we see that the taste for swift hounds, high-bred hunters, and
racing over the field, and for fancy-hunting with poney hounds, are only imita-
tions, and not original modern fashions. As to capricious and fancy crossing, by
individuals, of either dogs, horses, or cattle, there is no accounting for it, nor any

76 CHARACTER OF THE BEAGLE.

necessity for such attempt, since there is generally neither reason, common sense,
nor any intelligible motive in it.

We are not informed why modern writers should speak of the North Country
Beagle particularly, as nimble and vigorous, and pursuing the Hare with impe-
tuosity. Such indeed is the character of the Beagle generally, but with respect
to our own Country, we apprehend, the distinctive character of Northern and
Southern, or any particular County hound or beagle, has been long since merged
and lost, by an infinity of inter-crossings. It is almost a century, according to the
late Rev. Mr. Chaftn, since Yorkshire was supplied with a pack of speedy Fox
Hounds from the South, such as the North had not then witnessed within memory.
The Beagle is short, full, and thickset in form, and has the long, pendulous, and
capacious ear of the old Hound. We thus read in Mr. Daniel, a quotation from
Beckford, probably— Beagles, rough or smooth, have their admirers ; their
tongues are musical, and they go faster than the Southern Hounds, but fail much.
They run so close to the ground, as to enjoy the scent better than taller dogs, espe-
cially when the atmosphere lies low. In an enclosed country they do best, as they
are good at trailing or default, and for hedge-rows ; but they require a clever
Huntsman, for out of twenty couple in the field during a winter's sport, not four
couple could be depended upon. Of the two sorts, he prefers the wire-haired, as
having good shoulders, and being well filletted.

Smooth-haired Beagles, continues this quotation, are commonly deep-hung,
thick lipped, with large nostrils, but often so soft and bad quartered, as to be
shoulder shook and crippled the first season they hunt ; crooked legs, like the
Bath Turnspit, are frequently seen among them ; after two hours running, many
of them are disabled, and the Huntsman may proceed to hunt the Hare himself,
for he will neyer receive any assistance from the greater part of them : their form
and shape sufficiently denote them not designed for hard exercise. This descrip-
tion, unfavourable however, still proves the smooth beagle a hare-hound, if any
thing, since he must be still less fitted to hunt the Fox, for which chase, the rough
Variety must be better adapted ; and this kind we suppose to be indicated by the
North Country Beagle above noted, which according to the quotation, gives the
Hare no time to double ; and if the scent lies high, will easily run down two brace
before dinner. But it is only on a good scenting day, these speedy hounds shew
themselves, for without the constant discipline of the whip, and perpetually hunt-
ing them down, it is impossible to make a good pack of them. There is another
sort (the glove beagle) preferred for their tenderness of nose, and because they
eat little, but without great care they are apt to chatter without any occasion.
The mixture of all or any of them with a distinguishable proportion of Southern
blood will be useful ; a race may then be produced, possessing a good share both of
nose and steadiness, and that by running with less speed, will sooner and with
greater certainty run up to their game. We may very safely add, that the chief

COLONEL THORNTON THE PRINCE'S BEAGLES. 77

use of the Beagle is as a cross to reduce the size, and add to the speed, of hounds
which are too large and too slow ; and should music be the object, that forms
another item of his utility.

Beagles have been, we believe, immemorially hunted in Surrey and Sussex, and
several Packs kept in those Counties of late years. In Colonel Thornton's en-
tertaining- Tour through France, we find the following account of the Prince
Regent's Pack of Beagles, in which some practical observations are interspersed of
real truth and consequence—

" You are perfectly acquainted with my partiality for every thing referring
to the chace, and that predilection naturally led me to inspect the Prince of
Wales's Dog Kennels, but more particularly his dwarf-beagles, which were origi-
nally of the same breed as my own.

" Here I must observe, that the beagle, in point of height, should be regulated
by the Country he is to hunt in ; but he ought, at any rate, to be very slow. In
a dry country, free from walls, the beagle cannot be too slow ; but where there are
such impediments, he should be larger, to prevent being stopped by fences; as
also when the waters are out, he is the better calculated for swimming. In the
Country where my Pack hunt, the turf is like velvet, a circumstance much in their
favour. The Prince's beagles are of a much larger growth than mine, and mixed ;
but it is a rule with me in the breed of all animals, to get the most stuff in the least
room. Another circumstance tending to strengthen my opinion is, that the lower
they are, their noses must be closer, and their scent necessarily stronger : but in
point of speed they all go too fast. I have seen several valuable horses distressed,
and some very high bred ones killed, in following these insignificant looking
animals. Many gentlemen, unaccquainted with the powers of the beagle, have
imagined they could overtake them on a poney ; but the speed of these hounds is
regulated by the head they carry when they sheet well. Horses are much more
distressed in an open, hilly country, where nothing intervenes to impede the hounds,
than they are in an enclosed one, as every fence, more or less, impedes the velocity
of the hound. Fox-hounds indeed fly the fences, but then the game turning up
one fence and down another, obliges the hounds to cast back ; and the frequency
of these casts affords a decided advantage in favour of the game, as well as ease to
the horses; but when a burst is made, and there is no impediment on the plain,
game, hounds and horses are done up together."

In accord with the above observations, in respect to horses, we have already re-
marked, how much less blood in a hunter will suffice, in a heavy enclosed country,
where are so many pulls. These hunting remarks moreover, are in strict analogy
with our experience of the dead flat, and the hilly course, upon the Turf; all speedy
and jadish horses performing best upon the latter, more especially if they chance to

M

78 COMPARISON OP HORSES AND HOUNDS.

be short legged, and calculated to climb a hill : for it is found necessary to favour
the stoutest horse, up hill, and in that interval, superior speed tells : whereas upon
a level course, the game horse makes play strong enough to blow the horse of
superior speed. Something like this also, takes place with the public stage-horses,
which are always remarked to last longest, and that in a very considerable degree,
in hilly and bad roads. Of such destructive importance is the exertion of speed, to
which we are always incited by flat and level ways.

To look at the Beagle, one certainly would riot suspect that great share of speed
with which the race is naturally endowed ; but when we know the dog to possess
both speed and game, in a nearly equal degree with the horse, no wonder need
be excited, at even the highest bred Hunter being distressed or even killed
outright, in following the Hound, which has only his own weight to carry ;
whereas the Horse may have, from ten to twenty stone of extra weight, upon his
back. The Colonel talks of large beagles, but we conceive that, in a deep and
high-fenced country, beagles can have no proper business, good sized hounds being
more properly adapted, and to cross them, merely retaining the name of beagle, is
taking a deal of needless trouble. Packs of beagles will certainly run down and
clear a country of hares, but we never observed the fox-beagle go too fast.

^jfrs?

, .

UNCERTAINTY OF THE TERM, HARRIER. 79

THE HARRIER.

IN the early days of the modern Hunt, that is to say, between two and three
centuries since, it was with Hounds, as with Race Horses, the appropriate species
or breeds were not yet definitely settled and established, but individuals were selected
for each sporting- purpose, which seemed naturally to possess the requisite qualifi-
cations. Thus for hunting- the ' Hare, Stagge, Bucke, Roe or Otter, the while
Hound, or the white with black spots, or the white with some few liver spots* were
preferred : the white with black ears and a black spot at the setting on of the tail,
being esteemed the most beautiful.' And these indeed, it was said, would hunt any
chase, being- always found of good scent and qualification, and well able to endure
both woods and waters. There appears to have been no established smaller sized
Variety of the Hound for the express purpose of Hare Hunting, like the modern
Harrier.

Nor must we boast greatly of the correctness of our modern system in this respect,
the confusion of Writers, whether merely Dictionary Compilers, or practical Sports-
men, being equally notable and extraordinary with respect to the HARRIER, as
the Beagle. Witness in the first place, the following luminous extract from the
Sportsman's Dictionary, or Gentleman's Companion, under the head of Harrier.
" So much for Harriers, a deal may be said for and against the several kinds : it is
a wide unsettled point to give an opinion upon ; but to sum up the whole in a few
words, staunch true hounds of any sort, are desirable, and whoever has them of
pretty equal age and speed, with the requisites of packing and hunting well
together, whether Southern, Northern, Foxstrain or Beagle, can boast an
invaluable advantage in the diversion, and which few gentlemen let them breed
ever so true, can attain to but in years." Previously to this, every Variety of the
Hound, had been ransacked and quoted.

Even our oracle in the Kennel and the Chase, Mr. Beckford himself, affords us
no certain guidance, or help towards discrimination, in this case, using the terms

Harrier and Beagle synonimously. Speaking of the Harriers, he says like old

hounds they dwell upon the scent, and cannot get forward ; nor do they ever
make a bold cast ; so much are they afraid of leaving the scent behind them.
Hence it is, that they poke about, and try the same place ten times over, rather
than they will leave it ; and when they do, are totally at a loss which way to go,
for want of knowing the nature of the animal they are in pursuit of." It is true
he is here describing Harriers as hunting the fox ; still that shews the Harrier a
distinct Variety from the Fox-hound, but by no means gives the general character

80 THE TRUE HARRIER.

of the Beagle, as elsewhere described by himself, and as follows, by Taplin, in his
Sportsman s Cabinet — " The North Country Beagle or Harrier, as it is now almost
universally called, is incredibly nimble, alert and vigorous, pursuing his business
with the most wonderful avidity in every endeavour to find : when the game is on
foot, he carries on the scent with the most impetuous eagerness, and gives the hare
little or no time to breathe, double or squat, and if hares are plenty, and the scent
lies high, a pack of this description will frequently pick up a leash, or two brace
before dinner : but this is altogether unseasonable, the sport is by much too short
and violent." He had before said™4 the Southern or Old English Hound is most
undoubtedly the original real-bred Harrier of this Country.'

It would appear by these citations, ancient and modern, that, our Writers have
been hitherto unable to get beyond the mere term Harrier ; and that they can in-
form us no otherwise, what a Harrier is, than a Beagle or any kind of Hound, the
light Fox-hound excepted, which will hunt a hare. Now to be allowed the term,
this is a most indiscriminate definition. All hounds indeed, will hunt a sweet scent,
the hare particularly ; but the modern Harrier is not a Beagle, nor is the Southern-
hound, merely as such, a Harrier. Doubtless any Sportsman, and the practice is
common, may use beagles or any hounds whatever to hunt hares ; but although
according to the above authorities, nobody seems apprized of it, and we cannot
tell at what period, by whom, or where, the harrier Variety was established,
certain it is there is such Variety, and our own eyes have witnessed it, nearly as
long as they have witnessed any other object. The true harrier is a reduced size
of the old Hound, probably in the first instance, from a cross with the Beagle :
the plate we give herewith and the portraits of the Harrier, given by Mr. Daniel
and others, will best exemplify this.

We have opportunely before us at this moment, an advertisement in the County
Chronicle, for a Pack of Harriers — " deeply crossed with the Southern Hound,
from nineteen to twenty inches high, the blue mottled sort not being objected to."
Now this advertisement of a modern Sportsman, partakes both of the certainty and
the uncertainty of which we have been speaking. Of certainty, as to the existence
of an established Variety called the harrier, and a sort of uncertainty, as of a
necessity for a farther cross. Then of the Southern hound, which time seems to
have worn to vox et preterea nihil, to a mere name— We had heard at various
periods within memory, of hounds as well as horses being imported from the
Levant, from Greece and the Islands of the Archipelago ; but upon later enquiry,
we cannot learn by whom, nor indeed any ascertainment of such fact; and must
be content to receive the old vague denomination Southern Hound as the old
English species, namely the largest sized hound, long in body, deep chested, stout
boned, large and heavy in the head, with long sweeping ears and the most exquisite
nose ; greedy of blood, slow, but of lasting perseverance to death. This is the
pure high bred hound which our sportsmen have possessed immemorially ; the

THE SOUTHERN HOUND TO BREED THE HARRIER. 81

foundation to work upon in crosses for every variety of hunting' purpose. A
hound will hunt any and every scent, living- or dead, from that of a man to a mouse
or red herring1, or even a live tailor, as has lately been proved in print ; and which
we repeat without the smallest idea of shewing1 disrespect to a most useful class of
the community, equally good and respectable as their neighbours, who are
in the constant habit of passing jokes upon them. The hound may be also
restricted to any particular scent, by being trained and used, as is the custom, to one
particular hunt. And occasionally the same pack have been accustomed to different
hunts. Hence the old lVolftmd Boar Hound, the Deer Hound, Fox, Hare, Buck,
and Otter Hound.

The object is, to establish permanent Varieties of these, the most suitable and
convenient for each specific purpose, in respect to size, scent, speed, or continuance.
To conclude with the Southern Hound, it is probable, he was so styled, three hun-
dred years ago, with no more recollection or record of whence or when he came to
this Country, than at the present moment ; the term Southern only indicating his
exgenous origin, without any note of the period of his importation. It may
however be questioned whether, there really be at this time, any such existence in
England as the pure Southern Hound, in consequence of an endless crossing ; but
certainly, a sufficient number of near approaches to the species remain, in case any
improver should find it worth while to retrace our steps. The Greyhound or
no-nosed hound, is another species of equal antiquity in Britain, originally
imported from the vicinity of the same South-Eastern Country, whence we derived
his brother courser, the Race horse.

Hounds for Hare Hunting, being generally chosen of an inferior size to the
Stag or Fox hound, the established or common breed of the Harrier, seems well
adapted to the purpose. Such Variety then, should be persevered in, and extended
in proportion to the call for them, which is sometimes made in vain, and a
difficulty experienced in obtaining a regular pack. We do not often hear of crack
Stallion harriers, but the highest formed individuals of each sex should be selected
and the breed kept up in a state of improvement. Or a new Variety of the
Harrier, if needful, may at any time be raised from the male Beagle, and the
female Southern or slow Hound, upon Mr. Cline's well known principle, set forth
in his Essay on Horse-breeding, giving the advantage of size to the female. In
hunting the Hare, contradistinguished from coursing, a prolongation of the sport is
the object in request, and enjoyment of the qualities of scenting and pursuit in the
hound, the speed of the Greyhound not being desirable ; yet Harriers are always
found to go fast enough for our speediest and strongest Marsh hares, and form an
excellent sporting pack for hunting the Roebuck. In the choice of hounds to
compose a pack, the most curious within our recollection, was one in the North,
some years since, consisting of equal numbers of the large terrier and the beagle,

82 ENTERING THE YOUNG HARRIER.

which was reported to run down and kill more foxes than any other hounds in its
neighbourhood.

Mr. Beckford was, we think, right, in advising- mid-day of the months of
October and November, for entering- of Harriers, the weather being- then expected
temperate, and young- hares that have not experienced the chase, being- easily
taken for the encouragement of the pack. It was formerly the custom, to enter
or train the young- harrier in company with Greyhounds, a practice always to be
avoided, from the dissimilarity of qualification in the two species, and the risk
of spoiling- the young harrier, by his catching the manner of the Greyhound, de-
pending- upon his sight and neglecting the scent. Two years old hounds should be
hunted three times a week, through the season, and being in high condition,
should occasionally be kept at work the greatest part of the day, in order to try
their game. On the first entering young hounds, they ought not to be uncoupled
too often on the same kind of ground, or in an open field, lest they should be at a
loss when turned into a cover. They should be accustomed to all the varieties of
the Country, at any rate of that on which they are to hunt, the champaign, the
hilly, the covert, the deep or boggy. It is certainly the way to perfect a pack of
harriers never to halloo the hare, or assist them when at fault, but to compel them
to depend on their own natural qualifications and exertions.

The old method of rewarding and encouraging young hare hounds was as
follows. The hare after having been laid across a gate, and bayed by the hounds,
was skinned before them, and the gall and lights being taken away, which were
supposed to make a dog sick, the entrails were distributed, and afterwards the
caic;isc served up with sippets of bread, from the Huntsmen's wallets, dipped in
the blood.

—

ANTIQUITY OF THE GREYHOUND. 83

THE GREYHOUND.

THE GREYHOUND, as well as that which we style the Southern-hound, may
from its antiquity, be styled a primitive species. It was known to classical
antiquity, and we learn from Arrian, that the Gauls used Greyhounds for coursing
the Hare, their truly sportsmanlike mode of performing1 which, and the law allowed
to the hare, have descended to us, and arc practised at this day, in England, on the
original principle. Greyhounds were known in this Country before the Conquest,
and in those early ages, were not confined as at present to coursing* the hare only,
but were used for hunting1 the Deer, and also, in company with other hounds, the
Wolf and wild Boar. This species of the Hound was the chief favourite for ages,
amongst the ladies of high birth particularly. In the tenth and eleventh centuries,
the price of a Greyhound was greater than that of a man, and the killing a grey-
hound, or taking the nest of a Hawk, in those times of British slavery, and even
subsequently to the signing our famous A/agna Charia, were held, in the eye and
practice of those misnamed laws, equally criminal with the murder of a fellow man.
Greyhounds were frequently taken in payment as money, by the Kings, for the
renewal of grants, and in the satisfaction of fines and forfeitures. Their speed,
ferocious courag-e and fidelity, were celebrated in the heroic Romances of the time,
both upon the Continent and in Britain, and the scene to which the following
verses appertain, was laid in the Kingdom of Arragon.

He took the Steward by the throat,
And asunder he it bote;

But then he would not bide ;
For to the grave he ran.
Then followed him many a man,

Some on horse and some beside.
And when he came where his Master was,
He laid him down upon the grass,
And barked at the men again.

In the end, the legend states that, the hound having discovered the body of his
murdered master, expired on the tomb which was raised to his memory. The
spayed bitches held in such esteem in ancient times, for their fierceness, were gene-
rally greyhound. And the present writer recollects seeing in the Church of Tolles-
hunt Knights, Essex,' in 1762, close to the left hand wall, entering at the great
door, about the middle of the church, a tomb of soft stone, having upon it, recum-

84 GREYHOUND AND HAWK.

bent, the statue of an armed Knight, with the figures of two Greyhound bitches at
his feet. A strange tradition was then current in the neighbourhood, no doubt
from very high antiquity, of a battle which this same Knight, assisted by his two
spayed bitches, had waged with the Devil, concerning the place where a certain
house should be built, his Holiness disputing that point with the proprietor, and
pulling all down by night which had been built in the preceding day. The
Greyhound and Hawk continued during many centuries the chief favourites with
those of noble and of gentle blood, of both sexes ; and such seldom travelled with-
out being attended by the former, or without a hawk on fist. The great partiality
however, for this hound, has long since been divided with others, in our Country,
the Fox-hound and Pointer, coming in for a large share : as for the Hawk and the
old princely sport of Falconry, they would have been nearly forgotten in the
present times, but for the laudable compiling industry of the manufacturers of
Sportsmen's Dictionaries, and the practical exertions of a few individuals, among
whom, Colonel Thornton, the most enthusiastic, persevering and universal of Sports-
men, stands in a most conspicuous place. Lord Gage has of late revived this ancient
diversion, on his Estate at Flrle, in Sussex; and his Lordship's Falconer is said to
equal in skill, the most celebrated of former times, having a command over the
hawks when in pursuit of game, which has astonished all who have witnessed it.

Upon the Continent, in Germany, France, and Italy, the Greyhound has always
been held in high estimation, and filled his proper place in their great hunting Ex-
peditions, so very different in motive and management to the hunting of this
Country. The opposite Continent originally obtained this species of the Dog, from
the Countries bordering on Turkey, particularly from Dalmatia, in the mountains
of which are bred greyhounds of a rough species, having great bone, ears somewhat
long, hard feet and a bristly tail. It is a remarkable zoological fact, perhaps not
hitherto noticed, that every species of the sporting dog is originally divided
into the rough and smooth Variety, and that not in consequence of the influence
of climate, since the former is found to be indigenous to the warmest. The old
Irish Greyhound we are disposed to derive from the rough species of the Eastern
Countries above cited.

On a view of the present race of English Greyhounds, we cannot help supposing
that they differ considerably from those of former times, which hunted the Wolf
and Wild Boar, and thence may be judged to have been a variety possessed of more
strength, roughness and fierceness than the modern. Probably, for such hunt, the
rough variety was selected, whilst coursing the Deer and Hare, and the honour of
Lady patronage were reserved for the smooth. The Italian Greyhound, we believe,
has at no period, in this country, been generally used as a field dog, but a breed of
smooth, high formed and swift Greyhounds has always been found on the Grecian
Islands, some individuals of which have been imported into this Country within
the last thirty years. The savage hunts having long since gone into desuetude,

FORM AND COLOUR— ANECDOTE. 85

and speed become our grand object, the smooth variety of the Greyhound has
become universal, and the few remains of the large and rough Variety must be
looked for in Ireland.

The Greyhound is known by his pointed nose, the acute angles of his head, his
light, and slightly pendulous ear, considerable height, length of neck and of
general form, comparative slimness, deep breast, light belly, round muscular
buttocks, and long, sinewy forearms and gaskins. His fore legs, that is to say, the
space between the knee and the foot, are longer than his hinder, or space between
the hock and the foot. His colour, whether black, white, brinded or blue, whether
whole or variegated, are no otherwise of consequence, than as fashion dictates ; and
if the never-ceasing game of chance should produce a blue crack dog, blue would
immediately become the best colour, and so remain until a new crack should start
up of a different hue, when blue would instantly retire into the ranks, and those of
the last shade undoubtedly advance, and become the best Greyhounds on the face
of the earth, and produce more money at Tattersall's.

As with every other sporting dog, so necessarily with the Greyhound, he should
be of that Variety or form, best adapted to the Country over which he is required to
course; For an open, light champaign Country, no hound can be too light and deli-
cate, provided it be with the accompaniment of speed and game. In former days we
used to see a breed of strong brinded, and somewhat rough Greyhounds, well
calculated for deep inclosed Countries : powerful dogs, which had good speed
and the truest game, and which would run down the strongest Marsh hares in fine
style. This breed had also something of the ancient fierceness, of which we re-
member a singular instance in Suffolk. A Gentleman of that County, but an
irregular Sportsman, had an old Greyhound of this kind, which he suffered to be
constantly at large, under no restraint or confinement, and in consequence, the dog
was very apt to take the diversion of coursing by himself. One morning towards
the end of the season, he was observed to start and pursue a hare, which was
known to lie within about a mile of the residence of his proprietor, and was indeed
reserved for a finishing day's sport. The dog returned at noon excessively jaded,
as if he had gone through a long day. On the following day, information was re-
ceived, that he had run the hare to the distance of nearly seven miles, when a
labouring man close at hand, seeing him overtake and kill her, suddenly attempted
to snatch the prize from him. The old dog, quitting the hare, flew at the man
and seized him by the throat, where he inflicted several terrible wounds, as also on
his face and hands, and would doubtless have killed him outright, but for the
timely assistance of several other labourers, who fortunately were near enough to
hear the fellow's cries. The most curious attendant circumstance was, the doo-,

i- - . . O '

although he remained master of the field, never offered to break, or eat the hare,
but sat watching for a considerable interval, as if for some one who had a right to
claim the game of him, but no such claimant appearing, he was observed to set off

N

86 WARE SHEEP !— BREEDING THE GREYHOUND.

homewards, at a steady pace, leaving- the hare where he had turned her up and
killed her. This course having- been so strange and eventful, the hare was
presented to Mr. White, of Tattingstone, and made part of a dinner of which a
noble Lord partook, we think, the Lord Chedworth, proprietor of the Racing1 Stallion
Snap. Five guineas were collected for the wounded man, who had a large family.

We embrace the present opportunity of giving a needful caution to those, who
are in the habit of suffering their Greyhounds, when not engaged, to be constantly
running about without controul, particularly by night. Whilst prowling about
by night, they are perhaps beyond all other dogs, prone to the pursuit of sheep,
and numbers, at different periods, have been destroyed by them. Being on a visit
some years since, in Essex, to take a few days sport, the Greyhounds of a gentle-
man in the neighbourhood, killed half a dozen sheep out of a farmer's flock, and
wounded beside a considerable number. On the sufferer's application for redress,
the affair was treated with levity, even laughter— it was asked, do nobody's dogs
kill sheep but mine ? and not one shilling recompense made, notwithstanding the
aggravation, of the present being more than the second time !

It has been handed down to us in the scripture of our ancient sages, that the best
dog upon an indifferent bitch, will not get so good a whelp as an indifferent dog
upon the best bitch-- -all and every particle of which is, in great probability, of
about as much consequence as any other musty nonsense, even although Pliny him-
self may have written it. The breeder who would have thorough-shaped stock of
any species, must breed from both male and female so qualified ; he may fail, it is
true, nevertheless he will not find a surer method. Young Greyhounds, like other
hounds, are entered within the twelvemonth, and require constant work in the
coursing season. They should be encouraged with blood, but as the perfection of
training, taught to give up readily the hare when killed.

Some have expressed a wonder, that Beagles should be thought too speedy for
hunting the Hare, when Greyhounds, the swiftest of all the canine race, are in
constant use for coursing her. But the reason exists in the different natures of
the hunt and the course. The best bred and fleetest Greyhounds will be found in
tlu> vicinities of the great Coursing Meetings — Newmarket^ Swaff'ham, the Hun-
dreds of Essex and the IVolds of Yorkshire.

DUVAL AND THE DUTCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH.

•: fil '• -

•

'• *

THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND.

,..'•'

WHETHER the ITALIAN GREYHOUND be indigenous to that part of Europe, or
imported thither from Greece or the Greek Isles, would be of small importance
could it be ascertained; it may suffice that, the animal is cherished and bred
to a considerable extent in Italy, and was probably first brought over to this
Country, in the reign of Charles the First, whose attachment to this species of the
Dog is well known. That it became a favourite of the ladies in the following
Reign, appears likely from the following Anecdote, to be found in an old Memoir
of Duval, a famous Highwayman, or Royal Scamp of those days, which we wonder
should have escaped the collecting assiduity of the learned Captain Smith, who
wrote con amore, the lives of two centuries of Highwaymen, Thieves and Pirates.
The Dutchess of Portsmouth, one of the mistresses of Charles the Second, driving
one evening unattended, to a residence which she possessed at a small distance from
the Metropolis, was stopped by Duval, who professionally demanded her money.
Her Grace affected great state, and talked highly, as she before had done on a
similar occasion, when she was robbed and treated with great insolence by Jacob
Halsey, perhaps the only Quaker who ever took to the road. To Duval she in-
sisted she had no money whatever, nor any valuables about her, in which she might
not improbably be correct, Charles's Mistresses often partaking of his poverty, as
well as of his occasional wealth —

' A merry Monarch, scandalous and poor/

The Highwayman perhaps, judging farther parley dangerous, was turning to
decamp, when he espied a beautiful and most delicate Italian Greyhound Bitch,
sitting upon the box with the Coachman. This he demanded as his prize, present-
ing his pistol to the Coachman, who declared he should lose his place and be
ruined if he parted with it, being the favourite not only of his mistress but of the
King. This intelligence, which subsequently gave rise to suspicion of the coach-
man, was an additional stimulus to Duval, who took the bitch under his arm and
rode off at full speed. The day following, notice was sent to the Dutchess, that for
one hundred pieces, and under certain conditions, which had regard to the safety
of the person concerned, the Greyhound should be restored ; which treaty was
faithfully executed on both sides, to the infinite joy of the Dutchess and her Royal
Paramour. To crown the joke, within a few days, a letter appeared in a public paper,
signed Duval, and actually written by him, dated from a coffee-house in the Strand,

88 .U EPITAPH ^*FOfi\I OF T.HK GREYHOUND.

which in very high flown language , contradicted the malicious story which had
been circulated, of his ill treatment of the Dutchess ; a conduct so alien to his feel-
ings, derogatory, to his honour as a gentleman, and so contrary to his well-known
habits, that he was confident no member of polished society would give it the
slightest credit ! If this original piece reached the eyes of the laughter -loving and
mutton-eating King, no doubt it afforded his appetite for mirth fresh food. But
Dnval's honourable and polite mode of doing the road business, could not save him
from the usual ending-post in that honourable course, the Nubbing-chit ; and he
was condemned to be drawn at full length thereon, maugre his strenuous pleas
that, he never murdered or maimed any one, in the course of a number of cam-
paigns, nor ever injured Christian man or woman, otherwise than by easing them
of the load of their money. His friends begged his body for interment, and it is
recorded that, the following Epitaph was engraved upon a small stone erected to
his memory, in one of the Church-yards of London, and actually suffered to remain
for a number of years, until removed, to use the language of the Memoir, by the
zeal of certain puritanical Churchwardens.

fjflt V:
Here lies Duval : reader, if male thou.art,

Look to thy purse: if female, to thy heart.

Much havoc he did make among you all,

The men he made to stand, the women fall.

A second Conqueror of the Norman race,

Knights to bis arms did yield, and ladies to his face.

i f M /"r -XT i i t,- r« 'j. i.

Duval was born of a genteel family near Cayenne in Normandy, and his Epitaph
was generally attributed to the Poetess Afra, the well-known Mrs. Afra Behn.

The Italian Greyhound has full as good a title to the following characteristics of
form, drawn up so many ages since, by the noble and sporting Authoress Juliana
Berners, as any of the species at the present time—-
Head like a Snake,
Neck like a Drake,
Back like a Bream,
Tail like a Rat,
Foot like a Cat.

It has been said that, the Italian Greybound, in external appearance, perfectly
resembles the English breed, but that it is constitutionally and utterly deficient in
sagacity, fortitude, or the common means of self defence, and altogether inapplicable
to any other uses, than such as, the * comforts of the tea table, the fire side carpet,
the luxurious indulgences of the sopha, and the warm lap of the mistress.' There
is certainly truth in most of this ; but whether the following observation be cor-
rect, we have hitherto neglected to essay — it is averred, if this delicate hound be

THE DENT GREYHOUNDS— INDIAN GREYHOUNDS. 80

held up by its leg's, in the same position as when standing1, opposed to the sun or a
strong- light, the texture of the skin is so exceedingly fine, that through it, the chain
of the intestinal canal may be distinctly perceived.

These animals have the most delicate skin and coat, and are the most elegantly
formed of all the canine race, and being- at the same time, when in high condition and
defended from cold, the most sprightly, playful, and inoffensive, are the proper objects
of the mere amateurs of the dog, who look for nothing farther in him, than the delight
of his society. We have had reports of the result of trials of the Italian Greyhound in
the field, and it seems allowed they have speed enough to course the Hare, but their
tenderness is such, that the ground must be chosen for them, which ought to be
the velvet turf of a Park or open Downs. Running over heavy land lets down
their sinews, and their feet are so soft that they are equally unfit for a flinty soil,
or a country encumbered with thorns and briars. Nevertheless, as individuals
of this variety have shewn great speed, the experiment has been repeatedly made
of crossing our Greyhound bitches with the Italian dog, and no doubt some of our
crack Greyhounds have in them, a portion of Italian blood. The Lord Orford, so
renowned for his partiality to Greyhounds, and who for years together, kept fifty
couple of them, never parting with a single whelp which he bred, untried, made
experiment of the Italian cross, and it was said with a degree of success ; a cross
surely of more rational hope, than that of the Bull Dog which he also tried. This
last whim was another proof of the eccentricity of the noble Sportsman's mind, for a
more eccentric cross he could scarcely have devised, unless JFo//" hunting had been
the object, and in that case, perhaps, a cross with the Mastiff would have been
more to the purpose.

It was said, the once famous Dent Greyhounds of the East Riding, Yorkshire,
owed their great delicacy of skin, small ear, and fine head, to an Italian cross.
The Greyhound bitch is supposed to be naturally endowed with more speed than the
dog, a position which probably would not be borne out by a retrospect of the trials
of the last thirty years.

According to the Author of the * Wild Sports of the East,' the Greyhound of
India is almost universally of a bark colour, and of a fiery unsociable disposition ;
some of them having considerable speed, but without the stoutness or power of con-
tinuance, which distinguishes the European hound. They are besides more staunch
to sheep, goat or hog, than to the hare, and apparently rather of the mongrel or
lurcher kind, than the genuine greyhound. This Author corrects those who doubt
the degeneration of Quadrupeds in consequence of change of Climate, and asserts
that, dogs of European breed become, after every successive generation, more and
more similar to the Pariah, or indigenous dog of that Country ; but he has as
usual, neglected to adduce the probable intercopulations between the foreigner and
the native, in the meanwhile ; whilst he allows, that some breeds of European dogs
preserve their native purity in India, to the eighth or ninth generation, and even

90 PERSIAN GREYHOUND GREYHOUND AND FOX.

afterwards improve. The truth is, that although animals may be ill affected, and
be even rendered comparatively useless by an alien and unfavourable climate, still
granting the breed be preserved unmixed, the great landmarks of species as well
as genus, will for ever remain. Our hounds, it seems, lose their powers under the
burning Sun of India ; but a successful cross has been made of the English Mastiff
upon the Indian Hound, the produce succeeding well in the Hog-hunting of
that Country.

The Persian Greyhound, and there is a very elegant portrait by Ward, in
the Sporting Magazine for December 1 807, of one, the property of Lady St. George,
closely resembles the Italian in the head, face, and nose, but is not altogether of the
Greyhound form in the body, which is covered with fine, silky hair, that upon the
ears and tail being long. This hound has good speed, and is of a most docile and
gentle disposition.

From the same source we derive the following account, illustrative of the nature
of our present race of Greyhounds. In the month of January 1817, as Mr. Martin,
jun. of Firle, near Lewes, Sussex, was walking over his grounds accompanied by
his Greyhound, the dog, in passing through a gap, unkennelled a Fox, and pur-
sued him so closely, that Reynard, sensible of his inability to escape by speed, em-
braced the first favourable situation that presented itself, for the protection of his
brush ; and facing about, boldly awaited the attack of hjs enemy, which was soon
made, and a sharp battle ensued, when the fox applied the artillery of his chops so
effectually, that the greyhound cowed and retreated : but on seeing reynard make
a second start, his courage returned, and again urged him to the pursuit, which
soon led to a renewal of the battle, on the bank of a large sewer, or dike, into
which, from the fierceness of the conflict, both combatants tumbled, and there
actually struggled hard for victory, which at length, again declared for the fox,
he driving the greyhound smarting from the water, but not from the field of
action, as the dog remained on the shore manoeuvring and watching the motions of
poor reynard, who had no sooner landed, in an exhausted condition, than his staunch
pursuer instantly sprang upon him, and killed him without farther trouble.

b

—

RECEIPT TO MAKE WOLF HOUNDS. 91

THE IRISH GREYHOUND.

THE term GREYHOUND being- derived from the Saxon, demonstrates his anti-
quity in these kingdoms ; and grey seems to be a corruption of the Saxon word ,
which bears no relation to colour. This dog was formerly termed Gaze Hound,
canis agasoeus, from his hunting1 entirely by sight. From the few individuals
which we have seen of this species at different periods, and from many more of the
crosses between the Irish and English Greyhound, we are inclined to think that
the specimen here offered to the public eye, is a true representation of the original
Greyhound of Ireland, meaning thereby, nearly such, in point of form and qualifi-
cation, as he was, many ages since, imported from some of the Eastern Countries
bordering on the Mediterranean. This hound is supposed by Buffon, to be the
largest of the canine Genus : he is of the rough kind, of a fuller and thicker form
than the English Greyhound, having less speed, but it may be presumed, more
fierceness and greediness of blood. He is however a genuine Gaze-Hound, long,
sharp-headed, light in the ear, and in the belly, with the tail curled, deep in the
girth and breast, and hunting entirely by the eye. As has been already observed,
there seems little doubt but this was the kind of Greyhound, employed in the
ancient Wolf hunts of this Country. No man who has much reflected, or who is
conversant on this subject, we conceive, can withhold a smile at the numerous and
baseless transformations in the breeds of dogs, imagined by the celebrated Count de
Buffon ; demonstrating to what ridiculous lengths a man will proceed, who
having become the inventor of a system, feels himself under an obligation to
support it.

Discoursing lately with a friend who has travelled much in France, we expressed
our surprize, as indeed we had often previously done on such occasions, that so rich,
populous and enlightened a Country, should have permitted wild beasts to devas-
tate parts of it, even to the nineteenth century, when an adequate premium for
destruction, must long since have entirely eradicated them. The answer was, the
numerous forests and fastnesses, and extent of wild and waste country in France
and the bordering countries, and particularly the want of a breed of Dogs endowed
with sufficient powers of strength, speed and courage, to hunt, run down, and
destroy the Wolf. This induced us to speculate on such a breed, and hereafter
followeth the sum of our speculation, which we have the honour to submit, with
much modesty, to the very many who understand the matter far better than
ourselves—

R.— As a foundation, breed from the true old Irish Greyhound and the English

92 ANCIENT HUNTS OF WOLF AND WILD BOAR.

Blood Hound bitch, or the nearest and fullest sized and best nosed of the latter
which can be procured. The male and female whelps of the litter, at two years of
age, to be crossed by the largest and purest English Mastiffs. This second litter
at the same age to be crossed by the genuine jEn.gush Bull-Dog. The third litter,
should they in due time prove themselves worthy of the honour, to remain an es-
tablished and approved Variety of the Wolf Hound : but should any deficiency
appear, it must be remedied by an additional cross from either of the above breeds,
whether to procure an encrease of size and strength, courage, nose or speed. To
establish this breed would require about eight or ten years, and being thoroughly
and judiciously established, its individuals ought to be worth from twenty to fifty
guineas a head. No man of experience need be told that the best keep and
management are required, in breeding live stock of any kind to perfection, and that
with respect to the young hounds of which we speak, constant field exercise and
tj-aining would be necessary, both for the improvement of their health, and for the
unfolding of those hunting properties which they would be expected to impart to
their posterity. The fox, badger and otter, would perhaps be the most proper game
to which they could be trained in this country. We have seen that certain breeds
of English Dogs succeed, and even improve, in Bengal, as also do our English
Horses ; it is then probable that the new Variety proposed, in which is included ;ill
of strength, fierceness, courage, endurance and speed, which belong to the dog
genus, might succeed likewise in that climate ; and a pack of twenty or thirty couple
of such prove a match for the Royal Tyger. At the least, a Tyger Hunt with such
a Pack, would give additional confidence to the armed Hunters, encrease the sport
nnd diminish the danger. We know that our European hounds will face the Wolf
and Wild Boar ; should it prove that the Variety contemplated would face the
Tyger, it would be sufficient, since a pack of them would have force enough to
engage him until he could be disposed of.

In the ancient Hunts of the Wolf and Wild Boar in this Country, the Hunters
and their attendants, armed with cross-bows, swords, boar-spears and pikes, were
always mounted upon horses trained for the purpose, as no untrained horse, could
I »c forced to approach a wolf or boar, and the rider of such, from its unsteadiness,
would be liable to wound it in attempting to strike with his weapon. Bloodhounds,
Mastiffs and Greyhounds, or mixtures of these, were used in those perilous hunts,
in relays and packs of considerable numbers. The dogs had generally, substantial
collars for their protection, to which sometimes bells were attached, and the whole
was conducted in the midst of the greatest noise that could possibly be made by the
Hunters and Dogs. To those who are only accustomed to the slow progression of
tlie domesticated hog, the speed attributed to the wild boar, by persons who have
lately seen him hunted in France, and other parts of the Continent, is truly sur-
prising ; it is said to require good hounds to hold way with him : but the speed,
stride, and great lasting powers of the wolf are generally understood. A Wolf hunt

ANCIENT COURSING THE DEER. 93

is often of several days continuance, and seldom finished without the maiming" or
destruction of part of the dog's.

The following1 account of ancient Coursing- with Greyhounds, is extracted from
Mr. Daniel's Rural Sports. In ancient times three several animals were coursed
with Greyhounds ; the Deer, the Fox, and the Hare. The two former are not
practised at present, but the coursing" of deer formerly, was a recreation in high
esteem, and was divided into two sorts ; the Paddock, and the Forest or Purlieu.
For the Paddock coursing-, beside the Greyhounds, which never exceeded two,
and for the most part consisted of one brace, there was the Teazer, or mongrel Grey-
hound, whose business it was to drive the Deer forward, before the real Greyhounds
were slipped. The Paddock was generally a piece of ground taken out of a Park,
and fenced with pales or a wall ; it was a mile in length, and about a quarter of a
mile in breadth, but the farther end was always broader than that which the dogs
started from, the better to accommodate the company in seeing which dog won the
match. At the hither end was the Dog-house, to enclose the Dogs which were to
run the course, which was attended by two men, one of whom stood at the door to
slip the Dogs, the other was a little without the door, to let loose the Teazer to
drive away the Deer. The Pens for the Deer intended to be coursed, were on one
side, with a Keeper or two to turn them out ; on the other side, at some distance,
stood the spectators. Along the course, were placed Posts. The first which was
next the Dog-house and Pens, was the Law-Post, and was distant from them, one
hundred and sixty yards. The second was the Quarter of a mile, the third the
Half Mile, the fourth the Pinching Post, and the fifth marked distance, in lieu of
a post, was- the Ditch, which was a place made so as to receive the Deer, and keep
them from being further pursued by the Dogs. Near to this place were seats for
the Judges, who were chosen to decide the Wager.

So soon as the Greyhounds, that were to run the match, were led into the Dog-
House, they were delivered to the keepers, who by the Articles of Coursing were to
see them fairly slipt ; for which purpose there was round each Dog's neck, & fall-
ing collar which slipt through rings. The Owners of the Dogs drew lots which
dog should have the wall, that there should be no advantage ; the Dog-house door
was then shut, and the keeper turned out the Deer ; after the Deer had gone about
twenty yards, the person who held the Teazer loosed him, to force the Deer for-
ward ; and when the Deer was got to the Law Post, the Dogs were led out from
the Dog-house and slipped. If the Deer swerved before he got to the Pinching
Post, so that his head was judged to be nearer the Dog-house than the Ditch, it
was deemed no match, and was to be run again, three days after ; but if there were
no such swerve, and the Deer ran straight, until he went beyond the Pinching
Post, then that Dog which was nearest the Deer, should he swerve, gained the
contest -} if no swerve happened, then that dog which leaped the Ditch first was

o

94 COURSING THE FOX.

the Victor ; if any disputes arose, they were referred to the Articles of the Course
and determined by the Judges.

In the days of Elizabeth, when she was not herself disposed to hunt, she was so
stationed as to see the coursing- of Deer with Greyhounds. At Coivdrey in Sussex,
the seat of Lord Montacute, A.D. 1591, one day after dinner, the Queen saw from
a Turret!, " sixteen Bucks all having fayre lawe, pulled down with Greyhounds
in a Laund or Laun." On an occasion like this, whatever we may think of the
magnanimity and high spirit of the Sovereign, we cannot say much in favour of
the feminine softness and humanity of the Virgin Queen. Sixteen harmless,
panting, and trembling animals, torn down by beasts of prey, to give delight to a
female heart !

The laws of Coursing were arranged and established by the Duke of Norfolk, in
this Queen's Reign. They have formed the basis and precedent of all subsequent
laws on the same subject.

In coursing the Fox, no other art was necessary but to get the wind, and stand
close on the outside of the wood, whence he was expected to come, and to give him
law enough, or he instantly returned back to the Cover ; the slowest Greyhounds
were speedy enough to overtake him, and all the hazard was the Fox spoiling' the
Dog, which frequently happened ; for the most part, the Greyhounds used for this
course were hard-biting* Dogs that would seize any tiling.

THE POACHERS DOG.

THE LURCHER.

THE Taller speaking of men who lurk, or lie in wait for their prey, makes the
following- comparison—" I cannot represent these worthies more naturally, than
under the shadow of a pack of Dogs, made up of finders, lurchers and setters."
Such is a leading trait in the character of the LURCHER, doubtless the Teazer
of ancient times, employed to drive the Deer which were to be coursed by
Greyhounds.

The Lurcher is mostly of a yellow and white colour, but there are some
dark and brinded, and of a wolfish appearance. They were originally a cross
between the Greyhound and Sheep-dog, perhaps repeated with respect to the
former, and have the shaggy coat of the latter ; and in former times, being of
higher repute than of late, they were preserved in a state of purity, and bred from
as an established Variety. At length, the breed becoming unfashionable, and
getting into the hands of inferior Sportsmen and Poachers, was neglected in res-
pect of its original purity, and changed by a variety of crosses. However, to con-
stitute a lurcher, the greyhound face and form must predominate. Many of this
breed will hunt by the scent, as well as sight, perhaps in consequence of some hound
or spaniel cross, and have activity enough to run and snap up rabbits that are at
any tolerable distance from their earths. The best of them have speed enough for
coursing the Hare, and although we are not aware that such a plan was ever
thought of, there is no doubt of their making good harriers, and hunting her also,
as far as killing with certainty, though they might prove a silent pack. The
Lurcher is endowed by nature with great sagacity and subtlety, and is easily
trained to any of those manceuvres necessary to the purposes for which he is em-
ployed. For example, being in the hands of poachers, during their nocturnal ex-
peditions, in quest of a provision of hares for the market, the nets being fixed at
the gates, and the wires at the menses, the lurcher is dispatched by a word to scour
the field, paddock or plantation ; when, running mute, he effects his business in. a
manner quite consonant with the views and interests of his employers. He is also
equal to higher pursuits by night, and was formerly used by the Deer-stealers, to
course the fallow deer, which having taken and pulled down, he returned to his
master and conducted him to the fallen game. This kind of dog was formerly
said to be susceptible of the tricks and subtleties of the Tumbler, and is usually
taught to fetch and carry. He inherits his full share of the patience and fidelity
of the Shepherd's Dog, fulfilling sufficiently the duties of this last, whenever
applied to them ; notwithstanding which, untrained and neglected, no dog is a more

90 FIELD ANECDOTES.

dangerous enemy to sheep than the Lurcher. He is distinguished by his affection
to man, which he demonstrates by the cringing- and fawning of the spaniel, taking
correction, unresistingly and with the utmost submission : this last trait in his
character, however, admits of an exception, as to those Lurchers in which there
may have been a Mastiff or Terrier cross, which make good Drovers' dogs, and
are calculated for purposes which require strength and resolution as well as consi-
derable activity and cunning.

The following curious relation, in which a Lurcher signalized himself characte-
ristically, but fatally, we had from a sporting clergyman, of one of the Midland
Counties. A gentleman kept a pack of five and twenty couple of good hounds,
among which were some of the highest bred modern Fox-hounds, and some as near
to the old Blood-hound, as could be procured. They were high-fed and
underworked, in course somewhat riotous. One day after a sharp run of conside-
rable length, in which the whole field, Huntsmen, Whipper-in and all, were
suddenly thrown out, Reynard, in running up a hedgerow, was espied by a Lurcher,
accompanying the farmer his master. The dog instantly ran at the chase, and
being fresh, chopped upon it as he would have done upon a rabbit or hare. The
fox turned and fought bravely, and whilst the farmer was contemplating with
astonishment this singular combat, he was destined to behold a spectacle still more
admirable — the hounds arrived in full cry, and with indiscriminate fury, tore both
the combatants to pieces, the Whipper-in, and the proprietor of the pack, and two
or three Gentlemen the best mounted, arriving in time to whip the dogs off,
obtain the brush, and pick up some scattered remnants of the limbs and carcase
of the poor lurcher !

Another remarkable instance of combat between the dog and the Fox, occurred
near Wood Ridden, on Epping Forest, Essex, in March 1806: Mr. Frisby, and
Mr. Gardner, in company with a few friends, were coursing on the Forest, with a
brace of Greyhounds, when Mr. Gardner's Bitch made a full stop at a bush in a
field adjoining the Forest. One of the party beating the bush, started a Fox,
which the Greyhounds instantly pursued, and coming up with him, he turned upon
Mr. Frisliy's black dog, and biting him severely, the dog turned tail ; when Mr.
Gardner's Bitch seized the Fox and held him, until a servant catched fast hold on
him by the nape of the neck. Reynard taken in this uncommon manner, was
presented to Mr. Conyers, of Copt Hall, who, keeping Fox hounds, reserved him
for a day's sport.

Although the Lurcher has for a long time, retained no place in regular Sporting
estimation, and the breed has greatly decreased from the jealousy of Sportsmen, yet
his history is necessarily connected with that of the Greyhound, and any circum-
stances omitted in relation to the latter, will not be much out of place here. We
recoil* <-i an outlying Deer in Essex which was coursed and pulled down by a
couple of Lurchers, at which period, the personal mischief to be apprehended from

RACE BETWEEN A GREYHOUND AND MARE. 97

the Deer on certain occasions, chanced to be mentioned, and was doubted and
ridiculed. The public had last Month (November 1819) a fatal conviction of this
kind— an inquisition was taken at Bromeswell, by Mr. Wood, jim. on the body
of Mr. It. Owles,. who was killed the preceding1 morning by a red Deer, the property
of Mr. J. Stammers, of Melton, Suffolk. The Deer having attacked Mr. Owles,
in the sight of two women, together with the shocking appearance of the body,
left no doubt whatever upon the minds of the Jury, as to the cause of his death,
and they returned their verdict accordingly, making the deer a deodand, and Mr.
Stammers, at the unanimous request of the Jury, promised to shoot the animal
immediately.

We have already touched on the comparative speed of the Horse and Dog,
remarking at the same time that, in the possible trials, the horse has always weight
to carry. An accidental occurrence in 1800, served to throw some light upon this
matter. A match was madfe between a Horse and Mare, to be run over Doncaster
Course for one hundred guineas ; but the Horse paying forfeit, the Mare had to
go over the Course, according to the established rule, to make good the bet ; arid
having cantered about a mile, a Greyhound Bitch started from the side of the
Course, and emulously challenged the Racer at a trial of speed. The Jockey
smoaking the bitch's gig, determined to humour it, and loosed the mare, which
being also up to it, laid her ears, and striding away, the bitch doing the same, they
were both soon nearly at all they could do. They ran thus almost head to head,
the remaining three miles, the Jockey sometimes moving his reins, and hissing his
mare along% and at the Ending Post, beating his singular antagonist but by about
a head. This extemporaneous race was also marked by one of the most regular and
important features of the Course ; it was attended by betting. At the Distance
Post, five to four were betted on the Greyhound, when they reached the Stand it
was even betting, Greyhound or Mare.

A Traveller gives the following account of the system of Coursing which prevails
in the Island of Cyprus, one of the native regions of the Greyhound--- -In this place,
I had the pleasure of seeing a Cyprian Hunting or Coursing Match ; and that at
which I was present, was none of the least brilliant, as it was the Governor's.
Having arrived at a spacious plain, interspersed with clumps of Mulberry Trees,
some ruins, and thick bushes, the Sportsmen began to form a ring, in order to in-
close the Game. The barrier consisted of guards on horseback, with Dogs placed
in the intervals. The Ladies of the greatest distinction in Nicosia, with a multi-
tude of .other people, stood upon a little hill, which I ascended also. The Governor
and his Suite were posted in different parts of the plain, and as soon as the appointed
moment arrived, the Hunt was opened with the sound of Musical Instruments;
part of the Dogs were then let loose, which, ranging through the bushes and un-
derwood, sprung a great number of Kails, Partridges and Woodcocks. The
Governor began the sport by bringing down one of the Birds, his Suite followed

98 COURSING IN THE ISLE OF CYPRUS.

his example, and the winged tribe, into whatever quarter they flew, were sure of
meeting with instant death. I was struck with the tranquillity of these stationary
Dogs, for, notwithstanding the instinct by which they were spurred on, not one of
them quitted his post ; but the rest ran about in the pursuit of the Game. The
scene was now changed, a Hare started up from a bush, the Dogs pursued, and
while the former made a thousand turnings in order to escape, she every where
found an opponent ; she however often defeated the Greyhounds, and I admired, in
such cases, the sagacity of these animals, which disdaining the assistance of those
that were young and unexperienced, consequently liable to be deceived, waited
until some of the cunning old ones opened the way for them ; and then the whole
plain was in motion. When the poor animal was just ready to become a prey to
its enemies, the Governor rushed forward, and throwing a stick which he held in
his hand, before the Greyhounds, they all stopped, and not one ventured to pass
this signal. One of the swift Greyhounds being then let loose, pursued the Hare,
and having come up with it, carried it back, and jumping upon the neck of the
Governor's Horse, placed it before him. The Governor took it in his arms, and
delivering it to one of his officers, gave him orders, if it continued alive, to shut
it up in his Park, where he maintains a great many prisoners of the same kind. I
admired above all, the discipline of the Greyhounds, and the humanity of the
Governor, who thought it his duty to preserve an animal which had afforded him
so much pleasure.

We admire, equally with our Traveller, the steady discipline of the stop Grey-
hounds, beside having another subject of at least equal admiration in both the
Governor and the Traveller's notions of humanity. We conceive that more real
humanity would have been shewn, in knocking instantly on the head, the poor,
frighted, and probably lacerated victim, than to reserve it for future sufferings.

-
-

—

BUFFON S HYPOTHESIS.

THE SHEPHERD'S DOG.

IN the accompanying1 Plate, the Artist has done eminent justice to his subject,
that ancient species of the Canine genus , the SHEEP-DOG. The soft, mild, and in-
offensive countenance, indicative of true breed in this species, together with the
lopped ear, small nose, and prominent under-jaw, are admirably pourtrayed. As
much may be said for the figure of the animal as a whole, that wolfish appearance
and gait, and peculiar position of the advanced foreleg. It is a portrait from
the life, but we are unacquainted with the original. It brings to our recollection,
from similarity of figure and countenance, a valuable sheep-dog called Shepherd,
which we saw some years since, at the late Sir Lawrence Path's, at Haldon,
Devon.

This is the species which Buffon selected as the foundation of his hypothesis, and
which he assumed to be the archetype of the canine genus, the Adam of Dogs, from
which every Species and Variety has descended. Other speculators have supposed
the Sheep-dog derived from the Wolf, a conjecture in all probability, founded 011
appearance merely, and indeed not of the most fortunate kind, the very opposite
dispositions of the two animals considered ; that the Shepherd's-dog is the most
ancient race of the genus, is well ascertained from History, and at the same time,
the most universal ; the Shepherds of all nations of the old World, having been
provided with dogs of similar species and qualification with those we now describe.

If we may give credit to the position which seems to have passed current through
a number of books, this dog, like certain Ministers of State and Generals, is a
heaven-born genius, coming into this world fully qualified by nature for his busi-
ness, and requiring no training whatever, like other animals. Granting it be the
case in this country, we scarcely believe that such an opinion can be received upon
the Continent, where the duty of a Shepherd's Dog is so laborious, severe, and
complicated. The truth we apprehend to be, that, this race has a strong natural
instinct or predisposition to keeping, or watching and preserving any thing that
comes under its observation, which joined with its patience, mildness, and gentle-
ness of disposition, indicated to the enquiring faculties of man, their use as keepers
of sheep. Their sagacity, docility, and powerful attachment to home and to their
master and protector, aided by their grand natural propensity, render the teaching
them their duty an easy and pleasant task, that which' with other breeds of dogs, is
generally so laborious, and attended with such disgusting severity. The young
sheep dogs, in truth, will generally be entered and instructed by their elders, with

100 CONTINENTAL, SHEEP DOG— DROVER's DOG.

very little extra instruction from the shepherd. Upon the Continent the labour of
the dog is incessant, from the minute division of the flocks and the absence of
fences, where he may have to confine his charge to a narrow slip of land. The
habits and training of the Continental Sheep Dog are, in one, which ought to be a
very important view, far superior to those of ours. They are not taught to chase,
worry and bite the sheep, as is too much the practice in this country ; but are al-
lowed to display, on all occasions, their natural kindness and affection to their
charge, in consequence of which, the sheep, far from having any fear or apprehension
of harm from the dogs which guard them, ever look upon them as natural associates
and protectors, and fly towards them on every occasion of alarm. Nor are the foreign
dogs, on account of this tenderness, in the slightest degree, less useful than ours, pro-
bably they are far more so ; and will perform every necessary manoeuvre of driving-,
stopping, separating the flock, or singling out an individual, with equal dexterity
and dispatch with the British, and far less of harrassing and affright to the sheep.

It must be conceded however, that the treatment of sheep in Britain, although
objectionable enough in most parts of the Country, is no where so gross and
unfeeling, as in the large Towns, and most particularly in the Metropolis, where
those timid animals are chased, and worried, and torn with the utmost and unne-
cessary wantonness by the Drovers' dogs, a sort of mixed breed between the
Shepherd, Cur, Mastiff, and Lurcher, a very useful breed no doubt, but of qualities
varying in proportion to their mixture of breeds, and considerably different from
those of the parent stock.

The Shepherd's Dog is said to have been preserved in its original purity of species,
in the Highland's of Scotland, and in the most uncultivated parts of Wales. In
fact, such is most likely to be the case, in all open Countries, where the Sheep
Husbandry necessarily predominates, and where this dog is of the greatest account,
his services being indispensable, and the trust reposed in him so great. He is truly
a wonder of his species ; with an appearance of somnolency, of heaviness and indo-
lence, he is all alive, and active, and energetic, when inspired by a sense of duty,
or directed by the commands of his master, the slightest indications of which, are
sufficient for his ready comprehension. He is the most contented of all the canine
race, the least given to wandering, or attention to strange pursuits or to strangers,
his whole faculties appearing completely absorbed in that employment to which he is
destined. Without the external signs of robustness, he is able to endure the great-
est hardships, defying hunger, wet and cold, and the shivering blasts of winter, in
the Wilderness, upon the Mountain, and in those dreary wilds, where if the shepherd
ventures, he treads with cautious and perilous steps.

This species has generally, but not universally, one or two supernumerary toes
upon the hinder feet, sometimes on one foot only. The same peculiarity attends
.some of the larger Spaniels and Pointers. These spare toes are quite useless, being

ANECDOTES. 101

void of muscular power, and hang-ing- from the hinder part of the leg-. They are
no otherwise an impediment, but as they are liable to be torn by briars, and may
be clipped off with sharp scissars, before the whelp can see.

Of all the various Species, there are none of which so many stories have been re-
lated of sag-acity, fidelity and attachment to human nature, -as of the Newfound land
and the Shepherd's Dog ; some of these are well authenticated. The authenticity
of the following, extracted from the Sporting Magazine for November 1819, we
have no doubt may be relied on. Some time since, a person living in Yorkshire,
purchased a large flock of sheep from the County of Durham : after several days
travel, the Shepherd, named Andrew, set out about ten miles to meet them, accom-
panied by his old friend, his dog Trusty. The sheep being all safely brought home,
and driven into a large home -stead field, until a convenient opportunity should occur
of dividing them into smaller flocks, Trusty was left with them all night, as a
guard. On Andrew visiting the field next morning, to his great surprise and
mortification, he. missed fifteen of the sheep, together with poor Trusty ! " Gads
blood !" said Andrew, " what noo ? weel I'll e'en leave it to Trusty, for he'll ne'er
leave them, sar long as he has a pad to tread on." At the end of two days and
three nights, old Andrew's ears were gladdened by the barking- of Trusty, who
was then entering a corner of the Village in the rear of the whole fifteen runaways,
and driving them before him with great care. It is impossible to ascertain
the distance they must have gone, as they had much Wold Country to run over.

Some years since, in the month of February, as Mr. Boulstead's son, of Great Sal-
kield in Cumberland, was attending the sheep of his father upon the Commons of
that parish, he had the misfortune to fall and break his leg. He was then at the
distance of three miles from home, no chance of any person's coming within call,
in so unfrequented a place, and evening fast approaching : in this dreadful
dilemma, suffering- extreme pain from the fracture, and lying upon the damp
ground at so dreary a season of the year, his agitated spirits suggested to him the
following expedient — folding one of his gloves in his pocket-handkerchief, he
fastened it round the neck of the dog, and rather emphatically ordered him
home !" These dogs, trained so admirably to orders and signals, during their
attendance upon the flock, are well known to be under the strictest subjection,
and to execute the commands of their masters, with an alacrity scarcely to be
conceived.

Perfectly convinced of some, to him inexplicable disquietude, from the situation
in which his master laid, he set off at a pace which soon brought him to the house,
where he scratched with great violence at the door for immediate admittance.
This obtained, the parents were in the utmost consternation at his appearance, and
much more, when they had examined the contents of the handkerchief upon the
dog's neck. Instantly concluding that some accident had befallen their son, they
did not delay a moment going in search of him, and the faithful dog, con-

P

102 ANECDOTES.

scious that the principal part of his duty was yet to be performed, anxiously led the
way, and conducted the agitated parents to the spot where their son laid, over-
whelmed with pain , increased by the awful uncertainty of his situation . By good hap
the search was successfully effected before the day was entirely spent, when the
young man, being removed to his home, his recovery ensued in the usual course,
and he was afterwards, and such pleasure may extend to the present moment, never
more pleasingly engaged, than when reciting the sagacity and affection of his
faithful follower and constant companion.

In a late occurrence near Guildford in Surrey, the shepherd-dog1 made an erro*-
neons and most unfortunate use of his peculiar instinctive faculty. A flock of
sheep in a field were driven -by a dog into a pit ; the dog it may be presumed,
instinctively feeling it his duty to keep and guard them as in a place of safety,
confined them, we believe, throughout the night. In the morning, between one
and two hundred of them were found smothered to death, from being wedged so
closely tog-ether.

The following relation we had from the well known Running Shepherd, during
our former residence in Middlesex. A farmer who lived near Harrow-weald
Common, purchased a lot of sheep at Kingston Fair, of a jobber in that vicinity,
and one of the conditions was, that the Jobber's dog, to which the farmer took a
particular fancy, should be thrown into the bargain. The farmer took home his
sheep and dog, committing the flock, at evening tide, to the care of the latter.
On rising in the morning to inspect his new purchase, to his astonishment and
mortification, he could see neither sheep nor clog, but very plainly which way they
escaped, the gate of the field being wide open. The supposition that they were
stolen \vas heart-breaking to him, being a man in narrow circumstances. Having
searched the neighbourhood in vain, it very properly occurred to him, that his next
starch ought to be in the direction whence the sheep came, and he found them all
safe and sound within a few miles of Kingston, the faithful dog driving them so-
berly and carefully along, towards the residence of his old Master.

**«

. t. «

w
o

RATIONAL PREJUDICE. 103

SPANIELS— THE SPRINGER.

THE SPANIEL, or the Jinder and bringer, belongs to a species of great antiquity^
finders having been used in the most ancient hunting and coursing, of which
History has given us any account. The term spaniel has been supposed to be de-
rived from Spain, thence the assumption that, the breed itself was also derived
from that Country ; a conjecture indeed rendered very probable, from the number
and excellence of these animals immemorially there bred. From whatever Coun-
try they may have been originally obtained, there is no doubt that they were
imported very early into this, Spaniels or finders being named in all the ancient
Field Sports; hunting, coursing, shooting, netting and falconry.

Mr. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, an admirable Work, which will go down with
increased reputation to posterity, makes the following remarks on the general qua-
lities of our British Dogs. " The different and inherent qualities of our Dogs,
are not to be matched in other Nations ; those in Europe do justice to their
superiority, adopting our terms and names, and thankfully receiving them as choice
presents. Remarkable however it is, that almost every kind of British dog, dege-
nerates in foreign climates, nor is it possible by any art whatever to prevent it."

Now, we really think that, the respectable and experienced author has in this
instance, not at all degenerated from the true British character, which we ought
not to deny, since it is apparent to all the rest of the world, is and ever has been,
in a considerable degree, inclined to the boastful. The current story of the dege-
neration of our valuable animals, in all other countries, as far as our experience
and analogies will reach, we feel much inclined to attribute to the old source, good
old English prejudice. In good truth, we have been obliged to foreign Countries
for almost every thing valuable which we possess, and more especially our Dogs
and Horses. That we have improved them indeed, is a legitimate boast, and that
our management of them is greatly superior to that of all other nations in the
world. On this account, they may well be acceptable presents and purchases, upon
the Continent ; where, if they degenerate, it is by reason of wretched and
defective management, and a want of that kind of food, and peculiar method of
feeding, to which they have been bred. On a change of Masters indeed, they are
equally apt to degenerate, for the same causes, in their own country. The little
sporting there is upon the Continent, is of a character so essentially different to
ours, that the degeneracy of English Dogs under it, is at no rate, matter of wonder.
We had ample information, mapy years ago, of the vast numbers of fine English
Horses which degenerated in France, in other words, were annually murdered by

104 CONTINENTAL DOGS— SPANIEL VARIETIES.

the most execrable management, and yet certain of our noble Veterinarians have
been the strong advocates of the tactics of the French school. The case, however,
was essentially altered on the access of the Anglomania in that Country, and when
the Due d' Orleans, still better known as Citoyen Egulite, began to breed and train
for the Course. Degeneration then ceased, and not only did the English Racer
preserve his health, condition, and spirit, and act np to his true English character,
but his posterity, the French bred racing stock, were found in a good place upon
the Turf, when opposed to imported English Racers. \\ ith respect to the match-
less ' inherent qualities' of our "Dogs, we apprehend we must, for truth and im-
partiality sake, recede a little. To adduce the Spaniel, our present subject, we
must own we never witnessed in any English dog of this species, that sagacity,
and if such a phrase he allowed, intellectual power, as in the French or Continental
Spaniel. To one of these which we knew seven years since, of the large and curly
variety, which was named Dejjorani, it would have been impossible for the most
confirmed sceptic on that score, to have denied the almost full possession of the reason-
ing faculty. \Ve really believe, he wanted nothing but the gift of speech, to place
him nearly upon a level with his master in point of intellect, and in that respect,
cannot help supposing that, there may have been even Ministers of State and
Senators not greath his superiors. The qualities of his heart also, were fully equal
to those of his head ; he was void of all offence, and not only most faithful and
affectionate to his master, and courageous in his service, but it seemed the
pleasure of his existence, to please and serve every one else. Sporting out of the
question, and with respect to the dogs destined to useful purposes, for example
draught and keeping sheep, we are doubtless greatly excelled upon the Continent.
Spaniels are divided into two Species, the land and the water Spaniel. The land
spaniel, of which particularly we now treat, is divided into three chief Varieties—
The SPISINGEII, or large spaniel, the small or Cocking Spaniel, and the small, deli-
cate domestic spaniel, or Comforter. From these have issued almost endless
subdivisions and varieties, the result of fortuitous, whimsical, and capricious inter-
mixtures of breed, bearing indeed the external appearance of spaniels, but to be
considered as mere fancy-dogs, a breed always too numerous. The Royal Variety,
or King Charles's breed, doubtless belonging to the family of Cockers', black, or
black and white in colour, their chief characteristic being the black roof of the
mouth, is perhaps, by this time, entirely worn out as to original purity, although
some few may remain which bear that name. It is to be presumed, the favourite
dogs sa\ed from a watery grave by the humane Duke of York, afterwards James
the Second, were part of them, of this breed. The ship was sinking, which the
Royal Duke had left, and although his Royal Highness could admit no more two-
legged animals, commonly called men, into the boat, yet he called out lustily to
e, and took in his four-legged trnouritcs; the sinking seamen taking their leave
most loyally with three cheers.

SPRINGERS AND COCKERS. 105

Spaniels are generally rough coated or long- fl tied, and in probability, such is
one of their original characteristics, the smooth coats of some, being- the consequence
of a cross in the breed. The qualifications of the two principal varieties, Springers
and Cockers, are nearly the same, differing- but in degree, the, former being1 of
most use in a Country, and on occasions, when size is required ; the latter more
active, perhaps having a finer nose, and threading the low and thick covert, with
less difficulty, than a dog which stands "higher upon the leg. These last indeed are
almost exclusively the kind of dogs for Covert shooting, as the poet was well and
experimentally aware.—

But, if the shady woods my cares employ,
In quest of feather'd game my Spaniels beat,
Puzzling th' entangled copse; and from the brake,
Push forth the whirring Pheasant ; high in air
He waves his varied plumes, stretching away
With hasty wing. Soon, from the uplifted tube,
The mimic thunder bursts, the leaden death
O'ertakes him, and, with many a giddy whirl,
To earth he falls, and at my feet expires.

The true Spaniel is distinguished by the silkiness of \mjlue, his pendulous and
fringed ear, clear eye, moist nose and fringed tail. He is used both as afowter&nd
shunter; in Pheasant, Partridge, Cock, and Snipe shooting, and as a finder in
coursing and hare, /uniting, although a Cry of Spaniels is not at present thought so
essential to those sports, as in former days ; indeed many Sportsmen of the present
day, whether in shooting- or hunting, habitually attached to the Pointer and Hound,
affect entirely to discard the babbling- Spaniel. This however is too strong a
prejudice, as the utility of the spaniel is undoubted in thick and difficult coverts,
copses and rows, which neither Pointer nor Setter can penetrate, nor perhaps even
the large Springer, which partakes too much of their nature and size, for such
puzzling and thorny labours. The small spaniels should yet have considerable
substance and bone, and by no means be over legged, and granting them true bred,
a little harshness of the coat is no disadvantage, as such are more hardy and fear-
less of the thicket. The very delicate and small, or carpet spaniels, have exquisite
nose, and will hunt truly and pleasantly, but are neither fit for a/ long day, nor a
thorny covert. The grand or questing quality of the Spaniel, is well known, and
his bustling and constant activity. The pleasure which his nature affords him, in
the occupation of hunting out the game, he demonstrates by the perpetual motion,
or feathering of his tail, which increases and becomes more tremulous and nervously
affected, the nearer he approaches the object of his search. The scent of the game
becoming still more hot and stimulating, on a nearer approach, he begins to
whimper, as when playing with you at home ; and in the instant of finding, he
gives tongue in the loudest key, expressing by voice and action, the highest degree

106 TRAINING — RANDOM CROSSING.

of exultation, and under such circumstances, it would be even more difficult to stop
the clack of a cry of spaniels, than that of a score of the Ladies of Billingsgate* or of
those at a Rout of the haul ton !

The training of Spaniels is comparatively easy ; and in the field, the chief object
is to keep them within bounds and call, as much as possible, and to repress in due
degree, their incessant activity, to keep pace with which, the Sportsman had need
partake somewhat of their active nature.

The largest Springers were, some years since, and probably may at present, be
found in Sussex. The Cockers are supposed to have originated in a cross between
the Springer, and the small Water Spaniel, and are distinguished from the
large Spaniel, by a more compact, shorter and rounder head, deeper and more
curly flew, and longer ears. The Spaniel colours are various, yellow, liver-coloured,
red, brown, white ; black-tan with tanned legs and muzzle : these last hues denote
a Terrier cross. The Springer is often crossed and deteriorated by the Hound and
Pointer : in fact, the whimsical, random and injudicious crossing the breeds of our
domestic animals in general, is the lamentable cause of the Country being over-
burthened with such numbers of profitless and useless mongrels of every descrip-
tion. They who are not qualified systematic breeders, had far better adhere
to the settled races which they find, and endeavour to convince themselves of the
foolery of dabbling, and that it is no light undertaking to raise a new animal Variety
which shall merit and experience permanence.

Twenty years ago, His Grace the Duke of Marlborough was reputed to possess
the smallest and best breed of Cockers in Britain : they were invariably red and
white, with very long ears, short noses and black eyes.

ri

N

M

N

CONJECTURAL ORIGIN— OLD RULES. 107

THE WATER SPANIEL.

WE have two Varieties of the Water-Dog, the one so called, the other, the
WATER SPANIEL. We cannot give assent, to the common conjectures on the origin
of these two divisions of the species. It lias been supposed that, the Water Dog
has l)een obtained in this Country, from a cross between the Arctic or Greenland
Dog, and an English bitch ; and the \\ater Spaniel from the union of the Springer
or land Spaniel, and the Water Dog. A\ e feel more inclined to the conjecture
that, both these Varieties are of far longer standing than the above account would
seem to indicate, and that we imported our water as well as land Spaniels, from
the Southern part of Europe, and our Water Days from the Northern. It is cer-
tain that in Spain and Italy, they have ever had distinct Varieties of the Land and
Water Spaniel, and also that, on the opposite and more Northern parts of the
Continent, they have Water Dogs like ours, which in truth, have a foreign
appearance. We apprehend the derivation of the latter from the Greenland Dog,
to be far fetched indeed ; that dog, at first sight, exhibiting the general features
of the Fox, the Wolf, and the Pug, all so extremely opposite to any to be discovered
in the Water I)o£f, which evidently bears the external characters of the Spaniel.
There is indeed, far more of probability in the supposed origin of the Water Spaniel,
from the Springer and Water Dog, the Water Spaniel wearing the face and ear,
and somewhat of the form and air of the Springer, together with the Water Dog's
curly coat; so that at any rate, there can be but little doubt but Water Spaniels
mio-ht be manufactured by such a cross. All true spaniels will readily enough
take to the water, though all of them will not hunt in water as their proper
element, the apparent innate quality, of those which have the roughest coats ;
a distinction which it may he presumed was originally established by nature
herself.

The old Writers, whimsical, paradoxical, and absurd, upon all sorts of subjects,
make us a present of the following precious rules, whereby to judge by the colours,
of the perfections of the Water Spaniel, videlicet— the black is the best and the
hardiest; brmcn the next in degree; the spotted or pied the quickest of scent; the
Itrer-cohured the mott rapid in sicimming, and most eager in pursuit ; the liver-
coloured and white hath the best eyes ; and the black with vhite feet the most courage.
There is no doubt we believe, that jrenerally, the darkest coloured animals are the
most hardy, and vice verm.

Of the form of the Water Spaniel prescribed by the sages aforesaid, we shall not
presume to speak contemptuously : his head should be round, w ith curled hair,

108 SIZE— TRAINING.

his ears broad and hanging, his eyes full and lively, his nose short, his lips like
unto a hound's, his neck thick and short, his shoulders broad, his legs straight, his
chine square, his ribs with a compass (hooped,) his buttocks round, his thighs
brawny, his bi-lly gaunt, his pasterns strong and dew-clawed, and his fore feet
long and round, with his hair, in general, long and curled, not loose and shagged ;
for the first sheweth hardiness and strength to endure the water, and the other
much tenderness and weakness.

The size of the Water Spaniel should be a medium between the Springer and
Cocker, but perhaps with more general length than the latter, as we have observed,
that dogs with a reasonable length, swim with greater speed. The education of
this dog, is an affair of considerably more consequence than that of the land
Spaniel ; nevertheless such is the natural docility and kindness of this whole race,
that with judicious management, their training is rather a matter of diversion and
amusement than of difficulty, if pursued for a sufficient length of time, with
kindness and patience, and with the avoidance of every thing like unnecessary
severity.

The first objects in training the Water Spaniel are, to teach him to fetch and
carry, and to give him a. lender mouth. Without the first qualification he can be
of no use, and with it, if hard mouthed, half his usefulness is lost : for in bringing us
the fowl he will so tear and deform them, that they will be scarcely fit for the
table. It matters not how early the puppy be taken in hand, or rather the earlier
the better, provided his lessons be not too long and oppressive, so as to damp his
ardour and impede his growth. Particularly, he ought not to be compelled in this
early state, to swim any great length, or to remain too long in the water at any
time, far less in cold weather. There is one very sound and wholesome rule of
the old school, applicable indeed to the training of all animals— in teaching
always to use the same words to denote the same things. The words short and few :
for example — down / — hie on ! — back ! — hie ! — lost ! dead silence being the order
in Fowling, the necessity is obvious for but a few comprehensive words. The last
of these commands is of the most consequence, and always the most difficult to in-
culcate in the mind of the dog, and being perfect in that particular, is the highest
qualification of the Water Dog : the old proverb, that too many Cooks spoil the broth,
is perfectly applicable to this case ; for it frequently happens, when a puppy of
this description is trained in a family among several young men, each ambitious
of shewing his skill as a dog-breaker, that the spaniel is confused and frightened,
and seems to comprehend no part of his business correctly. An animal should
have but one teacher, in order to qualify him for any number of masters in future.

The routine of instruction is mighty simple, and which we have personally,
practised with the utmost success. Take the youngster to the side of a river, or
piece of Water, not encumbered with heavy weeds, nor bounded by high and
difficult banks. Some of the best bred puppies will take the water instantly upon

TRAINING DECOY PONDS. 109

•approaching' it, even probably as soon as able to leave the bitch, and as naturally
plunging into that element, as a hatch of young- ducks. Others Avill just step in
up to their bellies, and after looking' about them awhile, retire to land. But these
will soon be taught to take water, and the more easily, if they already fetch and
carry. This last manoeuvre, every one almost who possesses a dog-, is in the habit
of teaching- him, and an old glove is one of the most proper implements. The
next is to couch and lie close upon the ground, without stirring or making the
least noise, until permission to rise be given. To back, or retire behind the Gunner,
for the teacher should have his gun with him, is easily taught, walking up and
down by the water side. The dog will thus also be accustomed to the Gun and its
use. The hie on may also be taught in the same place, and the dog's attention
directed to search. The hie lost must obviously be postponed until actual
service.

These instructions should be given whilst the dog is empty, and he should, on
his return home, be immediately fed and caressed according to his desert and
progress. In the few dogs of this extremely docile and friendly race, which we
have taken the trouble to instruct, we relinquished the system of correction by
blows altogether, as not only unpleasing, but really less efficacious than the
milder method. The great object is to render the following you, and taking
lessons, an affair of diversion and pastime to the young dog ; that point gained,
the next is the hinge of reward and punishment ; which last should consist
merely in angry and threatening tones, sometimes shewing the whip, and occasional
confinement.

In the Decoy Ponds, it is well known that decoy, or trained Ducks which answer
to the whistle, are employed to entice the wild ones into the purse nets ; the
former diving at the sound of the whistle, on approach to the nets, and retreating,
whilst the wild ones proceed and are caught. But it often happens that, the wild
fowl from weariness and dozing, will not follow the decoy ducks, when the only
substitute is the dog, Avhich by virtue of his training-, knowingly passes backwards
and forwards, between the reed skreens, which have small holes, both for the Decoy
man to see, and sufficiently large at bottom, for the dog- to pass through. Should
the fowl be so torpid as not to notice the dog, a red handkerchief, or something of
striking appearance, is put upon him. This having attracted the attention of the
fowl, they will sometimes advance upon him in the whole flock, as if with the in-
tention of driving him away. The dog, in the interim, as directed by the Decoys-
man, playing in the reed skreens, the fowl dare not pass him, in order to escape,
and being unable to ascend on the wing, on account of the netting* above, rush for-
ward into the purse-net and are secured. Towards the Autumn, when the wild
fowl having moulted their wing feathers, are unable to fly any great length, and
rise with difficulty, they are hunted with Water Spaniels, and considerable
numbers taken.

a

DISTINCTION— ANECDOTES.

The Water Spaniel is endowed with a full share of the sagacity of his species,
and in his obedience and attachment to his master, lie equals his fellow of the land,
although he d<x>s not testify it by that caressing- and endearing softness, for which
the latter is so much distinguished and admjred. This appears to be a natural dis-
tinction, and not to be attributed merely to the rough and hardy mode of life of
the \\ ater Dog, since in his puppyhood, the distinction is evident. The most ex-
quisitely delicate breed of the land spaniel, which \u e\er witnessed, at the same
time possessing1 internal sensibility in an equal degree, was in the hands of a
Trainer of Race Horses. They were of a reddish yellow and white, the coat and
flew soft and glossv beyond description, and the eyes beaming with the tenderest
affection— of the smallest kind, but in form, most resembling the Springer. The
bitch, Fanny, mother of the breed, on her foot being taken, casting a look of in-
expressible softness into the face of the person, would return the friendly squeeze,
with a sensibility almost human. A Gentleman begged a son of this bitch, and
named it Charles. The young dog gradually conceived an unbounded affection for
his Master, and was never easy in his absence. The Gentleman was taken dange-
rously ill, in consequence of which, the dog was restrained from visiting him in his
chamber, which had such an effect upon him, that he seemed to take no rest, but
whenever lie \\as permitted, remained at the door of the house, looking up towards
the chamber window, and making the most doleful and lengthened bowlings. All
this \\e witnessed, and made no doubt at the time, that the animal possessed suffi-
cient intelligence to be fully sensible of the misfortune, which attended his beloved
master. According to the ancient notion, we all took it for granted that, the howl-
ing- of the dog must pro\ e a fatal omen ; in contempt of which, however, the patient
recovered, and the first meeting between him and his enraptured dog, was a treat
to those who beheld it, and which no feeling- heart could have witnessed unmoved.
Of the affection, fidelity, and gratitude of the dog, 4lu IT can be no doubt ; and
among the most eminent in those respects stands the Spaniel ; but we cannot help
suspecting that, somewhat too much has occasionally been built on this foundation,
and nature overtopped,

LEARNED DOGS— ANECDOTES. HI

THE WATER DOG.

The annexed Plate presents the truest possible representation of the original
WATER DOG of the opposite Continent, long since adopted in this Country ; in
some of the maritime districts still preserved in a state of purity, but the breed
more generally intermixed with the Water Spaniel and Newfoundland Dog. The
size of this Variety is between the Spaniel and Pointer. The original and preva-
lent colour upon the Continent, is black, with crispid and curly hair, black nose,
white face, long black ears, the head and ears covered with black curly hair, the
feet and lower parts of the legs, white. It is a dog of considerable strength and
courage, indicating some cross in his composition alien to the Spaniel. Without
the softness of the Spaniel, this breed however retains a great share of his native
and peculiar properties, having equal sagacity of nose, superior activity and power,
and aptitude to learn those manoeuvres and tricks, which render the dog either
useful or amusing to man. Many of the learned dogs are of this race, and the
mode in which they receive their knowledg-e seems inscrutible, unless on the sup-
position that they have a very general understanding of the language in which they
are taught, and even such understanding granted, the feats they perform are almost
miraculous. Doubtless the olfactory nerves are powerful allies to the brain of these
animals, which the following example seems to evince. A French Gentleman,
proprietor of one of these dogs, took from his pocket a small coin, spat upon it, and
warned the dog to take notice. In about twenty minutes, the coin was given to
another Gentleman in the same room, but not within view of the dog. The Gen-
tleman departed with the coin in his pocket, and walked about three miles, to the
house of a friend, where much company, both lacjies and gentlemen, were assembled.
In about an hour thereafter, the owner of the dog ordered him to go seek the money.
The dog, although a total stranger to both the road, and the house, whither the
Gentleman, having the money about him, was gone, dragged him thither, and
being admitted, went instantly up to and jumped upon him, in spite of all exer-
tions to prevent him, still without offering any injury, and having by dint of
perseverance obtained the coin, he returned and met his Master on the way, to
whom he rendered it up, with as much apparent joy and exultation, as though he
had thereby secured the greatest benefit to himself.

The Dog of which the above story is related, was in consequence purchased by a
British Officer, returning with his laurelled wounds from Waterloo, one of the
company and a spectator of this extraordiary feat. Many however, were related

11 '2 ACTIVITY OF THE YOUNG WATER DOG.

to him of this performer, still more extraordinary, and evincing1 great strength and
courage. The Captain and his dog arrived soon after in England, where the poor
animal Mas destined very soon, to put a period to all his extraordinary exploits.

A part of Sussex was chosen for the recovery of the officer's health, and his host
having several extensive pieces of water, took great delight in breeding Swans.
One day the Captain and his Friend, accompanied by the French Dog, walking
on the banks of these small lakes, upon which the Swans and their young broods
were parading, the proprietor was expatiating on the power of the Swan, and its
resolution in defending its young against the fiercest dogs. The Captain on this
observed that, if his friend did not object, he would instantly convince him, that
the French Water Dog was a match for the Swan ; and obtaining permission, he
ordered the dog to fetch him a Cygnet. The dog jumped into the water with his
usual alacrity, and having1 swam up to the Swans was immediately attacked by the
old Cock, a very large and most powerful bird, and a dreadful combat ensued
between them. The dog tore the breast and side feathers from his antagonist, on
his first closing with him, was beaten off, apparently with considerable suffering,
and bravely returned to the attack several times ; at last however he received a
blow from the powerful wing of the bird, on the back part of his head, which
staggered and caused him to dip beneath the water ; on his rising to the surface
again, he received from his watchful enemy, the decisive blow which sent him in-
stantly to the bottom, never to rise again alive ! The spectacle, however attended
with heavy regret to both Gentlemen, on account of the loss of so valuable an animal,
was most curious and impressive.

The water dog begins very early to shew his activity and natural desire, of
bustle and business in his proper line, which is hunting out, and laying hold of
every thing within his reach, and carrying it to and fro ; hence the -facility of learn-
ing him to fetch and carry. Of this we had a shining example, very early in life,
in a favourite puppy of the species, tearing to ribbons a fine new bonnet just arrived
from London, of our ever-honoured Mamma, long since retired out of the reach of
injury from water dogs, or the need of bonnets. This breed is chiefly to be found
in those parts of the Country, where a strong and hardy Water Dog is necessary ;
namely on the Northern Coasts and in the vicinity of great Rivers : in the inland
and Southern parts, the AVater Spaniel being most in use. The former is sometimes
to be seen in, and near the Metropolis, where he is occasionally employed in the
barbarous and unfair sport of hunting and "worrying to death, the good-natured,
pleasing, and inoffensive domestic Duck. On this occasion we recollect an
instance of a Magistrate using to a good purpose, that illegitimate and indefensible
discretionary power of conferring or refusing the licence of a Public House. A
Publican had frequent Duck Hunts, in a pond at the back of his house, at which
perpetual scenes of cruelty were exhibited. The Magistrate being informed by

TRAINING— SHORE SHOOTING. 113

the Clergyman of the Parish, and afterwards becoming- a witness of this, instantly
and effectually warned this Publican and Sinner that, the next Duck hunt should
shut up his house.

It may be observed, there is a Variety of the Water Dog-, of the full stature
indeed, but of the delicate kind, his flue fine, and his form and bones elegantly
turned. This breed, although equally naturalized to the water, it may be pre-
sumed, is not calculated for the severer services of fowling, but more properly for
domestic and social purposes.

There is this favourable peculiarity in the sporting dog, it should seem, the
natural associate of man, that, with some few exceptions, he takes an equal interest
in the diversions of his master. This quality is most conspicuous in the Water Dog,
which burns with inextinguishable ardour in the pursuit, and which, merely for
the gratification of swimming- after, and bringing to shore, a bird that he is neither
destined, nor desires to taste, will risk his life in the most dangerous abysses, or
worry himself by repetitions of labour and fatigue, to the very verge of existence.
His education is, from this property, greatly facilitated. Silence and circumspec-
tion, as in coursing the Hare, are of the very essence of fowling, or are rather, the
sine queis non of that midnight and cold-blooded diversion. There is one restraint
which it is difficult to impose upon the Water Dog, yet sometimes a necessary one :
it is to prevent him from that rapid start in the direction of the game, the instant
of the report of the gun, which he has watched with the most tremulous anxiety.
This may be indulged generally, but the dog should be also taught to ' hold back,'
whenever the Gunner finds it expedient. Water fowl, are naturally, or in conse-
quence of their greater seclusion from human society, more shy and apprehensive of
the approach of man, than land birds ; rapidly taking wing on the least noise,
almost at the motion of a feather, espying- objects at a considerable distance, and in
all probability, being endowed with great quickness of the olfactory power. Hence
the absolute necessity of boundless caution.

Wild fowl shooting in the day time, were not the difficulty of getting a shot so
considerable, would be a brisk and pleasant diversion. We have in former days,
enjoyed this on the shores of the Essex and Suffolk Rivers, in that bright sunshine
which now and then blesses our climate during- the most intense frosts. The air
then in every direction seems peopled with the flying fowl, and the water near the
shore absolutely blocked up with shoals of Coots. The pleasure of the sight and
the exercise of the pursuit, to those who can keep themselves warm, may be well
accepted as a make weight in the scale of profit. Of a very different description,
however attended with the chief of the profit, is this diversion, by night, for a
diversion it undoubtedly is to some, who can have no views of profit ; and we have
many times shuddered and fallen back, at flight time (twilight) amidst the jokes
and gibes of our comrades, clothed in their weather proof and fear-nought attire,
and their high water boots, and armed with their long Guns, stalking off towards

114

METHOD IN THE NORTH.

the marshes and the river, to enjoy the extatic pleasure of spending- the night,
groping1 about in the mud, at the risk of being' smothered, or upon the water, at
that of being drowned, in all the horrors of fog and darkness, blood-chilling damp-
ness, the cutting and rheumatic assaults of the North East Wind, and the benumb-
ing effects of frost.

Such inevitably is the dreadful nightly hardship, and peril of those poor men
who earn a living by Wild fowl shooting. On parts of the Northern Coast,
numbers support themselves and families in this way, during the greater part of
the year, their dreary and sterile Country affording them no other means of support.
Wild fowl of every description, Soland Geese, and Sea Gulls, are propagated in
stupendous quantities among the cliffs and precipices of those rocky shores, and those
have long since been a staple article of commerce with the above hardy adventurers.
It is the practice of these men to construct huts of sods, mixed up with clay and
other proper articles, in the clefts and recesses of the rocks, which from their situa-
tion are judged to be most promising of success. These huts, so contrived as to
appear part of the rock itself, are fixed within about a quarter of a mile of each
other. Each hut has a door and a cupboard for the security of the materielle, the
ammunition and provisions; also three circular loop holes of four inches diameter,
to the riff lit, the left, and the centre, for the discovery of the fowl at their approach,
and the convenience of discharging the guns. The dog is dispatched on a for-
tunate shot, and never refuses pursuing his game, however desperate and dangerous
the path to it may be. Huts of this kind might surely succeed in more pleasant
reo-ions, and for the agreeable diversion of fowling by day, as described above.

The Water Dog, exposed as he is to labour and severities, for the support of
which, the hardiest constitution can be scarcely adequate, is seldom treated with
that degree of care and kindness, to which he seems undoubtedly entitled.
Besides being substantially fed, the utmost care should be used, to enable him
thorouo-hly to dry his coat in a warm soft bed, on returning home from his chill-
ing toils.

rv~!

fc

—

c

—

fcd
—

CONJECTURES OR REVERIES OF THE AUTHOR, 115

THE SPANISH POINTER.

THE SPANISH POINTER, or as he might, with much propriety, be styled, point*
ing Hound, seems to have been the origin of our English breed of Pointers, but
in the usual obscurity of our sporting histories, no traces remain of the date of such
importation from Spain, or of how long pointing- dogs, as distinguished from Setters,
have been used by English Gunners. Two centuries have been nominated as this
period, the accuracy of which we much doubt, having been informed or having
read somewhere, that, the Pointer cannot be traced in England, beyond the Revo-
lution in 1688. There may be much more of fancy than of fact, in what we are
about to advance, but we have often meditated on the probability that, our sporting
forefathers instead of being primarily supplied with Pointers from Spain, in reality
manufactured them at home, out of the Southern Hound, as they had previously
worked Setters out of Spaniels. As the Setter was originally a pure Spaniel
Variety, the Pointer stands in precisely the same degree of affinity to the Hound.
In fact, the one was originally a Spaniel, the other a Hound, but have subsequently
undergone a variety of crossings and intercrossings. The objection of natural point-
ing may be urged, in opposition to our hypothesis, or whim, or hoax, or whatever
designation it may merit ; but all are not, perhaps very few are, endowed with that
high qualification, any otherwise than in that slight and obscure degree, in which
they share with the liound. Any Sportsman so inclined, may train a young Fox
Hound, or other Hound, to Pointing, with at least equal facility as a Pig, one of
which last sporting breed, was known many years since, in Hampshire, to be highly
accomplished in that line. We know many Fox Hounds which might have been
made, had any such necessity existed, high ranging and excellent Pointers; many
Hounds also which having- excellent scenting powers, might have proved rare
plodding and never failing auxiliaries to the Gun. AVe conceive, the idea of train-
ing the Hound to point, full as likely to originate in England as in Spain ; perhaps
it might occur in both Countries ; and perhaps Spanish Pointers may have for-
merly been imported into this country, although no man, nor any book, canfurhish
us with the how, the when, or the where.

The qualifications of the Spanish Pointer, are in strict analogy with those of the
Southern Hound. The tenclerest >nose and most exquisite scenting, joined with
true game and steadiness in pursuit, and proportionate Avant of speed. Like the
stout Race Horse, these animals are somewhat too slow for profit, with the advan-
tage, granting it one, that they can go scarcely fast enough to tire themselves.
They have yet been represented, but we know not on what authority, as apt to

f!6 IMPROVEMENT— BREAKING.

jade and knock up. We believe the figure offered to the reader's view, to be a true
fac simile, of the old, or Sjuiiiis't Pointer, and even his spirit as it emanates from
his countenance, seems to have been caught and marked with truth and facility by
the artist. His heavy head, ear, brow, and chops, seem emblematical of his general
coarseness and heaviness. His crest and shoukler are high and thick, the latter
beino* surmounted by a considerable protuberance, which occasions a sinking in the
spine adjoining, followed by an elevation in the loins, similar to, that in the Grey-
hound. The lower limbs have great bone, and the feet are large.

\\ hen, or however, we may have obtained the Spanish Pointer, his improvement
in speed and real utility in the field, by the means chiefly of the Fox Hound cross,
is no matter of obscurity r or very distant retrospection. Much the greater part of
this, has occurred within living memory, as our Grandfathers and some of our
fathers, have shot to antiquated and heavy Pointers. The destination of this Species
is to the purpose of shooting the Partridge, Snipe, and Moor Game, in the open
Country, and the Pheasant and Woodcock in Coverts, inclosed and secluded situa-
tions. Spaniels, as has been before observed, have much fewer engagements in
modern, than in the shooting of former times. A dog however, trained to the duty
of finding and bringing in dead or wounded game, is absolutely requisite, to spare
the weary steps of the Gunner or his Servant. In the absence of the spaniel, this
duty necessarily devolves on the Pointer, to which in consequence, must be given a
tender mouth and great heed in the affair, that the feather of the game be as little
broken and defaced as possible, and the flesh as little mangled. We are aware that,
some good Sportsmen have deeriexl the practice of trusting this part of sporting
business to the dog, whether the Spaniel or Pointer, on the alledged extreme diffi-
culty, or rather impossibility, of giving to any dog* a mouth sufficiently tender, or
impressing him with sufficient habits of carefulness. We can only say, on the grounds
above stated, it is a plan which well deserves trial.

Breaking the Pointer, from the considerable variety of inculcations necessary to
complete him, as staunch to * bird, dog, and gun,' is a task perhaps of greater
difficulty, than the similar one with any other species of the Sporting Dog. This
arising as well from the Pointer being of a nature somewhat riotous, and not equally
devoted to his labours, with the spaniel, as from the variety and difficulty, and to
many tediousness, of his duties. For although he may naturally point, or more
properly hunt, pause and listen, he is yet often impatient at having his natural pro-
perty subjected to toilsome rules, and whenever his instruction in those is inculcated
with severity and much correction, he will miss no fair opportunity of playing the
truant and making his escape. Training the Pointer then, is not a task of so easy
a description ns has been pretended, to wit, that, " a tolerable well bred Pointer
puppy, may have the groundwork of all his future perfections theoretically
implanted, in the parlour or kitchen of the dwelling house, before ho once makes
his appearance in the field." He may, to be sure, at three or four months old, stand

TRAINING THE POINTER— PRICES. 117

steadily by mere sight, and without much assistance from his immature olfactory
nerves, at chickens, pig-eons, and even sparrows, and yet his subsequent training
may be a work of difficulty, to be undertaken with success, by experienced persons
only ; a labour which we apprehend few Gentlemen Sportsmen engage in personally,
or for which persons of that degree can often find leisure.

We have observed that, the thorough training of the Pointer, the making him
au fait, and complete at all points ; the teaching him due circumspection with un-
limited, instant, and passive obedience to the word of command ; the repressing of
all riot and vice in him ; the giving him a tender mouth ; the inculcating in him
the necessity of a thorough and honest quartering of his ground ; in few and re-
peated words, rendering him staunch to dog, bird, and gun — is not an off' hand
extemporaneous affair, to be hurried through by a mere tyro, whether gentle or
plebeian, but a task well adapted to the capacity and the industry of an experienced
operative Sportsman, and above all things, by a man who has learned to govern
his own little passions, and who is master of that consummate virtue, patience. We
insist much on the valuable and should-be staple article of patience, in all those
concerned in education, whether of the four or two-legged animal. With respect
to the former, our present business, we have lived to see many of the best bred
dogs irreparably spoiled, either cowed to stupidity, or goaded to heedless despera-
tion, by the ignorance, trickery, and barbarism of vulgar dog-breakers; and we
know at this instant of a valuable high-bred and fine-sized young dog, which has
run clear away from this kind of discipline. Finally, as to judicious and thorough
training the Pointer, I will ask any Gentleman ardently attached to the Gun,
as to the worth of a high-bred and good-sized young dog-, in the perfection of
such training.

With respect to the average run of the times, for the price of a good fair market-
able dog, the following advertisement from Herts in the early part of this Season,
is given as a specimen. " SUPERIOR POINTERS — To be sold, a brace of BLACK
POINTERS, now in the hands of the Breeder, a Gentleman who has declined
Shooting. They are of the first rate description, range high, find their Game
in fine style, particularly staunch, never tire, and in fact possess all the qualifi-
cations of Pointers, without a blemish. They have been shot over two seasons.
Price fifty guineas."

The Puppy, with kindness brought to follow, as a pleasure and diversion, and
taught to fetch and carry, and to observe commands with a tolerable share of
obedience, should then be restrained from the pursuit of all improper objects, and
particularly be 'wared' earnestly and constantly against sheep. The next step is
the commencement of his regular systematic education. He is taken, secured by
his Check Collar, to which are attached twenty odd yards of line, to some conve-
nient and secluded spot, and there pegged down, which should be done with the
least possible alarm or affright. The Breaker, in the mean time, should be pro-

R

118 LESSONS IN BREAKING.

vided with all the necessary implements of instruction, of reward, and of correc-
tion. These are chiefly — the Gun and Ammunition, for the report and smell of
powder, a few heads of dead Game, Pheasant and Bird, with the scent of which
to gratify the olfactory feelings of the learner, some food to humour his palate,
and the whip, in the last resort, to insure his obedience. Mr. Professor may then
proceed with his DOWN ! BACK ! COME HERE ! HEY ON ! HOLD UP ! DEAD !
WARE BIRD ! — and all the rest and residue of it, with a prospect of success
commensurate with his own judgment, and the good breeding and ability of his
pupil. But let him not flatter himself with the too common silly notion of being
able to make after — amends for his own incapacity as a breaker, or for the natural
incapacity of the dog, by any of the relics of barbarism, at the head of which stands
the infallible Puzzle-Peg, the purpose of which is to force an animal to hold up his
head, which at every moment of his life, saving and excepting those during which
he wears the said peg, he is compelled by nature to hunt with it downwards. In
order to insure success from the Puzzle Peg, let its advocates hunt their Pointers
with it to the end of the chapter.

When the young Pointer is first entered in the field, it is generally held prefer-
able, that, he should be alone, or unaccompanied by other dogs ; and much of his
success in future, depends upon his being initiated under an experienced and patient
Sportsman, as well as his having arrived at the proper age, which is full twelve
months old. Too early labour debilitates the animal, and detracts from that
hilarity and exalted sensibility to the sport, which ought to be his great distinction.
The grand point is to teach him the method of finding his game, by regularly and
patiently quartering his ground, in this mode ; which is, to hunt in a line of sixty
or seventy yards, in the front of the Gunner, transversely; by taking about half
the distance to the right, and then, repassing him, taking a similar distance to the
left ; where, again turning, he continues that routine in such proportions, as not to
make his crossings and recrossings more than thirty odd yards from each other.
It may well be conceived a matter of no small difficulty, to teach a young dog,
first, how to comprehend, and afterwards, to execute with punctuality and
precision, the lesson of these various and regular crossings. And the reader is not
to take it for granted that, every Pointer, however well spoken of, is an exact and
able performer at this game ; but whenever such is the case, the Dog is of the
highest possible character as a Pointer ; and it is really a wonderful proof of the
sagacity and docility of brute animals ; and the sight of two or three brace of
Pointers, regularly quartering their ground and backing each other, may be
reckoned among the most interesting, grand and wonderful.

pad

ENGLISH POINTER TRUFFLE HUNTING. J19

THE POINTER.

THE figure here exhibited, appears to ns a very correct representation of the
modern ENGLISH POINTER ; the result doubtless of a Fox Hound cross upon the
old Spanish Pointer, but not so deep a dip of the lightest Fox Hound blood, as
distinguished the famous Dash, possessed by Colonel Thornton, some years ago ;
which indeed, in figure, shewed more of the Fox Hound, than we ever witnessed
in any other Pointer. The more we reflect, the greater probability appears of
the truth of what we have already advanced on the almost identity and converti-
bility of blood and qualification in the Hound and Pointer. In the mean time, as
to natural pointing, is there any specific or striking difference, in that respect,
between the Pointer and the Hound—and suppose a puppy of each kind, taken
together into the field, would there be any visible and obvious difference in their
mode of hunting— would the pointer puppy alone, stand? That high-crossed
Pointers would hunt Deer, Hare, or Fox, we have no doubt from what we have
repeatedly witnessed in the field ; which is also confirmed by the well known cir-
cumstance of Colonel Thornton's pointer Pluto, a dog apparently by no means so
highly hound -crossed as the celebrated Dash, running many long and successful
chases after outlying Deer. A pack of modern Pointers would, in all probability,
hunt as fast as the old Southern Hounds.

Truffle hunting is, we believe, pursued indifferently, with Pointers, Setters, and
Spaniels, trained to the purpose. Truffles are subterraneous mushrooms, much
more plentiful in the Southern Countries than in this. In Italy, a Pig is the usual
truffle hunter, and he is trained to lead in the field, by a cord tied to his hinder leg,
the Huntsman discovering his game in the spot where the pig begins to root.

This kind of mushroom is, we believe, sometimes found on Salisbury Plain, and
there used to be a considerable quantity of them found in the Park of the late Duke
of Queensbury, at Ambresbury. A gentleman, many years ago, in the summer
season, accompanied a Truffle hunter in that Park, where the dog found repeatedly.
Suddenly he leaped over an adjoining hedge, and ran with the utmost haste across
a field, full one hundred yards to the opposite hedge, where, under a Beech tree, he
found, and returned with a truffle of uncommon size, weighing twelve and a half
ounces. This is related as an extraordinary proof of the exquisite sense of smelling, in
the truffle dog ; but it should, at the same time, be considered that the effluvia from
the truffle is exceedingly volatile and fragrant, and the dog perhaps being favoured
by the wind, his nerves were necessarily and forcibly affected ; beside, we have
been informed by an inhabitant of Kent, that the large truffles in ditches and warm

120 ANECDOTES AND VARIETIES.

situations, burst their boundaries, and appear above ground : in that case, the scent
will be more powerful and divergent.

The following story from the North, shews the Pointer in the character of a
hound, as well as a finder. A Gentleman in the county of Stirling, lately kept a
Greyhound and a Pointer; and being- fond of coursing, the Pointer was accustomed
to find the Hares, and the Greyhound to catch them. When the Season was over,
it was found that, the dogs were in the habit of going- out by themselves, and
killing hares for their own amusement. To prevent this, a large iron ring was
fastened to the Pointer's neck, by a leathern collar, which hung- down so as to pre-
vent the dog from running or jumping- dykes or fences. These animals however,
continued to strole together as usual, over the fields ; and one day, the Gentleman
suspecting them, resolved to watch, and to his surprize, found that, the moment
they thought they were unobserved, the Greyhound took up the iron ring in his
mouth, and carry in git, they set off to the hills, and began to hunt for hares as they
had been accustomed. They were followed, and it was observed that, whenever
the Pointer scented a Hare, the ring was dropped, and the Greyhound stood ready
to pounce upon poor puss, the moment the other drove her from her form ; but that
the Greyhound uniformly returned to assist his companion, after he had accom-
plished his object. This indeed, is a new kind of ring dropping.

With respect to the Varieties of the Pointer— the highly crossed and finished
modern dog, three parts lightyb.r hound, and his opposite, the slow and steady old
stager, with his heavy head, thick muns, and Spanish mien ; the two species
accord most befittingly, with our two distinguished species of Gunners ; the young-,
active, fashionable men of business in the line, and the slow, deliberate, and regular ;
the latter chiefly, perhaps, men iVun certain age — exempli gratia, our young Sport-
ing Parsons, who take the lead at our Country Assemblies, are the oracles at all
Card parties, and in all societies of ladies, whom they take especial care to con-
ciliate by sermons of fifteen minutes precisely, both in very hot and very cold
weather — and our grave and broad-beavered Rectors, who read the ancient
Fathers and make prosing sermons of an hour and half long, and may be admired
now and then upon the high road, sitting majestically upright on a stump tailed
gelding, of congenial gravity, an old servant bringing up the rear, in a sober
livery of somewhat antique costume, and mounted upon a sleek nag, of a size not
likely to flinch under the most respectable weight. We entreat our readers to
assure themselves that, we utter not these things in the guise of ridicule or re-
proach, but of approbation.

There is a very good likeness, by Cooper, in our Sporting reference Book,
Wheble and Pitlmans Magazine for October 1815, of Don, the then reputed best
Pointer, in the County of Sussex, the property of Jasper Bates, Esq. of Parnshurst,
in that County, and perhaps afterwards a stallion of high repute, He appears, by
his portrait, to have been of the light breed, and his characteristics, most valuable

DASH PLUTO AND JUNO. 121

indeed, were first-rate speed, a nose nearly Spanish, and the habit of always bring-
ing his game, which was seldom broken. He exhibited twice the following-
extraordinary proof of superior nose and ability as a Pointer— whilst in the act of
returning with a cock pheasant in his mouth, which his master had shot to him,
he found and stood to a hen pheasant. One of these remarkable feats he performed

in the presence of J. Shotter, Esq. and Drinkwater, Esq. both of Farnham in

Surry, and J. Glazier, Esq. of Farnhurst.

It may be proper here, to repeat an observation which we made when treating-
of the Fox Hound. There are some anecdotes of such high sporting consequence
that we dare not omit them, however they have been bandied about through
succeeding Publications. It may chance that some of our readers are unac-
quainted with these wonders, or have listened casually to indistinct and now almost
forgotten narratives.

For something very extraordinary in the Sporting way, we must have recourse
to the practice of Colonel Thornton, whose high and laudable ambition it has ever
been, both to deviate from the common road and to excel ; and he has undoubtedly
so far succeeded, as to raise a name which will go down with eclat, to Sporting
posterity. We suppose that the Colonel himself, meditated and carried into effect
the crosses necessary to produce his famous Pointer DASH, as we have before
observed, in all probability, three parts Fox Hound. Dash in his day, was held to
be the Eclipse of Pointers, a character sanctioned by his high ranging over the
Moors, the vast expedition with which he cleared his ground, and the intuitive,
heaven-born method, said to be almost incredible, in which he hunted Inclosures for
birds, which was, by at once scenting and advancing upon them, without the pre-
vious labour imposed upon other pointers, of quartering his ground : add to this, lie
was a most staunch and steady backer, or seconder, of other dogs. Dash was sold
by Colonel Thornton, to the late Sir Richard Symons for one hundred and sixty
pounds worth of Champaign and Burgundy, bought at the French Ambassador's
Sale, a hogshead of Claret, an elegant Gun and a Pointer ; with the annexed
stipulation that, if any accident should befal the dog, which might render him
unfit for hunting, he was to be returned to the Colonel at the price of fifty g-ui-
neas. This latter agreement actually took place ; Dash had the misfortune to break
his leg, and was returned to Colonel Thornton, who considered him in that state,
a great acquisition as a Stallion.

Exalted as was the reputation of Dash, it seems nearly impossible that he could
have exceeded in point of steadiness, the merit of a brace of other Pointers, the
property also of Colonel Thornton, Pluto and Juno. Pluto has also been already
cited as a famous Deer hunter. It is recorded that, this dog and bitch, being taken
at a point, kept their point upwards of one hour and a quarter, namely, until the
late celebrated Mr. Gilp'm, could take the sketch from which they were painted

122 SPORTING MIRACLES.

for their Proprietor, an elegant engraving of which we find in Mr. Daniel's
Rural Sports.

Many merry jokes have been passed in our hearing, by Sportsmen, on the above
nccount, with the view of promoting the cause of ridicule, comparing it with
another still more marvellous and well known, given on the authority of a grave,
and most respectable member of the Priesthood. For our parts, we really believe
both the possibility and probability of the staunchness of Pluto and Juno, as just
related ; and although Gilpin, cannot be referred to, as having quitted, we hope,
for a better, this painting and plastering world, there are yet survivors, to whose
authority an appeal may be made. It remains to back the above story, with the well
known one, but the repetition on this occasion will be pardoned, of the Rev. Theo-
philus Verity. On a certain Christmas-day, this Gentleman was riding his nag
from his Parish Church, which was at considerable distance from his dwelling
House, and his way laid over the most private spot of a secluded and neglected
heath. In the deepest recess of this wild, he espied a Pointer by himself, standing
at a covey of birds. He looked, admired, pondered on the wonderful and
inscrutible instincts of the brute creation, blessed himself, and passed on. The
cares and studies necessarily attendant upon his calling, however, soon expelled
every vestige of this occurrence from his mind, until he was awakened to fresh ad-
miration and benediction, by a renewed and stupendous view of the same objects.
Exactly, on the above day twelvemonths, passing the same way, his second astonish-
ment was far greater than the first, for he saw upon the selfsame spot, the dog pointing
at the birds in precisely the same attitude he had left both parties twelve months be-
fore ; with this difference however, that they were then living and breathing, one
party treacherously circumventing; the other apprehending, whereas now they were in
a state of skeleton, fit for a lecture in anatomy, and doubtless, as the Rev. Gentleman
supposes, the partridges were held to their destiny, by the well proved and well
known power of fascination, emitted from the eyes of the dog. Now we particu-
larly request that, no light minded person will attempt to make a joke of this, well
convinced as every rational man ought to be, that there are wonders of which, never
having had the experience, he can have no adequate conception .

IRISH SETTERS PRICES. 123

THE SETTER.

The SETTER was originally a Spaniel, perhaps of the larger kind, taught to
sit or couch on scenting the game, as the Hound was subsequently taught to
stand or point, in the similar circumstance. Had we not the testimony of history,
the deep flew and external form of the Setter, even when highly crossed with the
Pointer according to modern fashion, fully demonstrate his origin. A Duke of
Northumberland of the fourteenth century, has the reputation of being the first
Sportsman, 'who broke and trained the Setting dog to the net. In the year 1685,
a Yeoman of the name of John Harris of Willdon, in the Parish of Hastlebury,
County of Worcester, executed a deed signed by his mark, to Henry Herbert of
Robbesford, said County, Esquire, in consideration of ten shillings of lawful English
money, well and sufficiently to maintain and keep until the first day of March, for
the said Henry Herbert, a Spaniel bitch named Quaud, and fully and effectually
train up and teach the said bitch to sit Partridges, Pheasants, and other game, as
well and exactly, as the best sitting dogs usually set the same. Mr. Daniel has
copied at length, this curious instrument. Setters in Ireland, are, or used to be,
termed English Spaniels. Mr. Thornhill thus describes the crack Setters in that
Country ; colours deep chesnut and white, or all red, with the nose and roof of the
mouth black. In general, Setters partake of the variety of colours in the Spaniel
and Pointer. On the same authority, we learn that, the Hibernian Sportsmen are
in the habit of giving very liberal prices for the best kinds of this dog : as a proof,
a Gentleman in the North of Ireland, gave to his tenant for a setter dog and bitch,
the renewal of a lease of a farm for nine hundred and ninety nine years, which
farm, had the lease expired, would have cleared to the landlord, above two hundred
andjifly pounds per annum. In this case, it is but fair that, we be allowed to
presume some additional and valuable consideration. Extraordinary high prices
for Setters, in England, have not hitherto come under our notice, and we believe at
the present time, a very good Setter may be purchased for ten pounds. Yet Setters,
however extremely useful, and preferred by many Sportsmen, are by no means, so
numerous as Pointers, the latter breed being the greatest favourites of the day.

The Setter is a very beautiful and engaging dog, and the more so in proportion
to retaining his original breed and form, and being free from the Pointer cross.
His eye and countenance have all the softness of the Spaniel, and when of good size,
with his soft, deep, and curly flew, and long fringed tail, he makes a charming and
enticing appearance in the field. It is difficult however, at present, to find a true
setter, so much has the original breed been mixed with the Pointer ; perhaps the

124 POINTER AND SETTER COMPARED.

breed may have been preserved more pure in Ireland. The field duties of the Setter
and Pointer are the same, but the former is the more active, hardy, and spirited,
fearing no ground, wet or dry, nor the thickest covers, his feet being narrow, hard
and well defended by hair. He is well fitted for moor and heath, and no day is
too long for his unwearied activity and courage. He is to be said sometimes given
to strange antipathies, caprices, and self will, in his hunting', of which Mr. Daniel
gives a singular instance. The narrowness of his loin is perhaps to be found in
many Spaniels, and does not seem to detract from his stoutness in the field ; should
this peculiarity require a remedy, it must be sought in attention to that respect in
breeding. As to the offensive discharge from the ears so common to Spaniels and
Setters, if it be not prevented by cooling purges, accompanied with proper external
applications, but suffered to acquire that inveteracy which we often witness in old
dogs, the best remedy and far the least painful, in the long run, to tlie animal, is
the excision of almost the whole of the ears, and suffering them to bleed considera-
bly. When external application can be of use, drying washes, and ointments of which
the mel ^Egyptiacum is the basis, may prove most successful, internals not being
neglected : of these last, sulphurated water continued for a time, with a few occa-
sional doses of calomel, are the medicines most worthy of clependance.

It has been disputed, very uselessly, whether the Setter or Pointer have the most
powerful nose ; but let a Sportsman take a thorough good dog of either kind, into
the field, and he will no longer trouble himself with that dispute. Beyond a doubt,
the Setter is the most useful gun dog of the two ; but the Pointer is the largest,
most stately and shewy, and is admired for his rate, his high ranging and steadiness.
The Setter on his part, may put in his claim, and more especially when of the pure
breed, to his full share of the intelligence, sagacity, and affection for man, which
shines so eminently and so delightfully in the Spaniel.

The two breeds being of similar use and qualification, an anecdote of either will
not be out of place. In the Sporting Magazine, for June 1811, there is a Portrait of a

Pointer named Basto, the property of Mildred, Esq. of Walton upon Thames.

This Dog was got by Mr. Rydes* Basto, out of a famous bitch called Romp. He was a
naturally staunch and thoroughly trained young dog, and had the peculiar qualifi-
cation of bringing his game from water, as well as land. This peculiarity was an
inducement to make the quotation, since the Pointer in general is not very ready
to take water, and more especially if he be of the fashionable smooth haired cross,
of which Basto by his portrait seems a prominent specimen : indeed the picture may
almost as well be taken for a Fox Hound as a Pointer. The old Setter would take
water very readily, and we have often seen setters used in the amusement of moor-
lien shooting in moats and ponds.

Many Sportsmen prefer the Setter to the Pointer, for Pheasant shooting, as more
active and hardy, having so much of the quality of the Spaniel, and thence not
flinching at the thickest coverts. On the Moors and for Grouse shooting also, the

CROSSING— ANECDOTE. 125

preference of the Setter is decisive, for although he is said to require much water,
and to be unable to endure heat and thirst like the Pointer ; the former, from his
constitutional activity, and the hardness of his feet, is superior in a long- day, over
a rough and uneven surface. From accident, or from that never-failing desire of
shining- by the intermixture of breeds, with little consideration of the end, Pointers
have been crossed with Setters, and Setters with Pointers, but we have not observed
the beneficial result. On the score of utility, the Setter can derive no improve-
ment from such a cross ; and granting, which however is not proved, that the
Pointer gain something in regard of usefulness, such advantage will be countervailed
by an abatement of size, figure, and stateliness, on which account only, perhaps,
he superseded the Setter in the affections of the Sportsman. .Many instances have
been related of the unwearied activity and stoutness of the Setter, whilst following
his master travelling on horseback : this dog will hunt all the fields adjoining- the
road, during the journey, whilst a Pointer, in the same circumstances, will gene-
rally stick close and unconcernedly at the horse's heels. The late well-known
Mr. Elwes affirmed that one of his famous breed of Setters, in following him to
Town, hunted all the road side fields during a journey of sixty miles. Another
anecdote of a rum complexion is detailed of a Setter bitch, called Dido, the pro-
perty of the late Dr. Hugh Smith, of London, who was much attached to the Sports
of the Field. Dido, it seems, following the Doctor into the Country, happened to
meet with a little ugly Cur dog, in a Village upon the road, fell in love writh him,
and that which was far more surprising, never afterwards forgot it. The Doctor,
indignant at the advances of such a plebean cur, to his high-born bitch, instantly
drew a pistol and shot the offender dead. The whole of the bitch's love affair, as
how she retained to her dying day, an inviolable attachment to her first murdered
lover, and however subsequently matched, she resolutely and spitefully determined
never to produce any but cur whelps, is circumstantially related by our writers ; to
whose minds, fully engrossed by the lovely part of the subject, it seems never to
have occurred that, Smith in shooting the dog of another person, and by that
person, perhaps, equally valued, as his own bitch by him, had committed a gross
and unpardonable act of despotism.

We have observed that a Setter was originally a Spaniel taught to set, or couch,
on scent of game ; but although the land Spaniel was always preferred for the
purpose, yet in former days, any dogs that would hunt, being " strong and nimble
rangers, with wanton tails, and busy nostrils," were taught to sit— among these
were mongrels between land and water Spaniels, shallow flewed hounds, tumblers,
lurchers, and small bastard mastiffs. The training these dogs commenced at six,
and even as early as four months old, which chiefly consisted in teaching the dog to
lead in a line and collar, following close at the breaker's heels, and to couch, or lie
down close to the ground, his distinguishing attitude.

Among the extraordinary peculiarities observed in dog-s, is one repeatedly wit-

126 ACCIDENTS THE GAME LAWS.

nessed in a Pointer, named Bravo, which stood his game through the loose stone
walls, that divide the enclosures on the Wolds of Gloucestershire.

The following accident, which occurred lately, we tender to the notice of those
who are concerned in feeding sporting dogs. At a Shooting Party on the grounds
of jp. Dobson, Esq. near Beverly, Yorkshire, two Pointers belonging to the above
mentioned Gentleman, being suddenly taken ill, were immediately bled, but it was
of no avail, and they were oblig-ed to be carried home. The dogs expired next
day, notwithstanding the greatest exertions to preserve them. They were opened,
and on inspection, proved to have died from eating putrid horseflesh, which they
could not digest. This happened in October last, and ought to be a caution to
servants against feeding dogs with flesh arrived at the state of putrefaction.

The GAME LAWS.— No success has hitherto attended any attempt at the abate-
ment of the severity of these laws, which continues in full force, bringing disputes,
heart-burnings, and mischief, among the farmers and inhabitants of the Country.
A very serious misunderstanding of this kind, has lately arisen in the parishes of
Hartfield, and Withy ham, Sussex, between the farmers in that neighbourhood, and
the Gamekeepers of Her Grace the Duchess of Dorset : the two parties, it seems,
have been on very bad terms a long while, and the gamekeepers have proceeded
the length of shooting several lurchers and other dogs of that kind, the property
of the farmers, on the allegation of such do^s being kept for the purpose of poaching.
This violence has, as might be well expected, induced equally violent quarrels
between the parties, almost the entire neighbourhood espousing the side of the
fanners, who are regarded as greatly oppressed. The Gamekeepers, in the mean
time, have laid informations before the Magistrates, against several parties, on the
charge of keeping unlawful dogs. It is probable however, that the Magistrates
have, taken the prudent and most proper part of becoming pacificators in the affair,
since it is determined that the dispute shall remain in abeyance, until the return
of Lord Whitworth from Naples, when it will be submitted to his Lordship's
reference.

THE BENGAL HARRIER OR LEOPARD HOUND. 127

THE DALMATIAN, OR COACH DOG.

THE use to which this beautiful and shewy breed is applied, being so universally
known both in Town and Country, needs a bare mention : how long- it has been
the fashion to keep these dogs, as attendants of the Coach Horse Stable, and as
precursors to the Carriage, as if to clear the way and announce its approach, does
not appear in our common books of reference on the subject ; but the practice may
probably be a century or two old, and was doubtless derived from Continental
usage. The specimen here given, we believe, to be the correct figure of a thorough
bred Dalmatian Dog, and very particularly, as to the point of size ; a circumstance
to which we advert for the information of readers curious in the breed, which, ac-
cording to standing custom, has been debased by a variety of spurious mixtures.
This dog has been formerly named the Bengal Harrier, on what ground does not
appear, unless the suppositions one of his origination in a cross between the Leopard
of India, and the hound bitch of that Country. The Leopard figure and spotted
skin of the Dog, are certainly no bad indications of such origin, and did we yet
want a new appellation for him, that of the LEOPARD HOUND, would not be in-
appropriate. However he may have originated, he appears first to have been
noticed in Dalmatia, a province of European Turkey, thence to have spread
through Italy and the Southern parts, over most of the Continent of Europe,
being generally esteemed a hound or hunting dog, notwithstanding his very
universal different destination.

This so usual appendage of the Coach Establishment, seems to be one of the most
quiet and inoffensive of the canine species, being at the same time, perhaps, en-
dowed with the least share of sensibility to human caresses of any other kind of
dog. The whole pleasure of his existence, from early habit no doubt, seems con-
centrated in his Coach and Horses, and is most feelingly expressed at the set off,
when he gambols about, jumping up to the heads of the horses, and expresses the
liveliest satisfaction. It is at this time chiefly, he gives tongue, being generally
silent or barking very seldom, although it may be presumed he would give an alarm
were the stables attempted by robbers. We have heard it observed that there is a
kind of quietism or wow chalance in the nature of these dogs, which constitute them
the true Bond-street loungers of dogs, the real puppies of unobserving, unfeeling,
and unnoticing fashion, but in this we conceive justice is hardly done to the natural
puppy, who in feeling and good-nature may lay claim to the advantage.

The Dalmatian having the form and nose of a hound, and in fact being deemed
such, it is strange indeed, if his qualities in that way have never been tried in this

128 HARLEQUIN BREED— EGYPTIAN DOGS.

Country, where we make all kinds of experiments with our Dogs and Horses. We
must confess our own want of information on that point, submitting- however to
those Sportsmen who are fond of novelty and shew, whether a pack of Harriers of
this kind would not prove a crack thing. At any rate, they would make a gay and
dashing spectacle in full cry, although the music might not be very loud or
melodious, an affair however not so much regarded in modern fashion. They would
be as slow, perhaps, as hare hunters could wish, who find beagles too fast, and if they
would but run long enough, the plan would be complete.

It is said, a spotted Variety of the Terrier kind, marked with white, tan-colour,
and black, has of late years been introduced to some parts of the Kingdom ; and as
they have never been numerous, they have been in proportioned high estimation,
and some of them have been sold at considerable prices. They are found to possess
agreeable qualities, having all the spirit of sporting dogs, with the attachment of
the most faithful of their kind, blended with all the elegance of the lap-dog. AVe
know not what breed this can be, unless one between the Coach Dog and Terrier,
which we have experienced, and of which the name, as given to us, was the Har-
lequin breed. We have found them most excellent vermin dogs, and faithful
keepers.

Some Travellers in Egypt, have observed the Spotted Hound in that Country, or
at least, a sort of Greyhound which resembles the Dalmatian breed, indicating
them as natives of a hot climate, and giving a degree of countenance to their ap-
pellation of Bengal Harrier. The cruel and capricious treatment of brute animals,
in all societies of rational creatures, has been the perpetual subject of surprise and
regret, to the few who reflect and moralize ; but in the Eastern and Mahomedan
Countries, this kind of caprice has ever existed to a degree of extravagance scarcely
credible. In some communities, the highest degree of cruelty is blended with the
most exemplary acts of charity, and that towards the same kind of animal. Again,
one species is almost deified, whilst another is abandoned, starved, and persecuted
with the most unrelenting and superstitious hatred, even amid the most distin-
guished services and benefits conferred by them. This has no doubt arisen in great
measure, from the invariable bias of the ancient Eastern lawgivers to refer all their
rules and instructions to occult -and superstitious causes, affording to their barbarous
and unenlightened population, no other than such erroneous motives of action, and
protracting- to the latest possible date, the influence of common sense.

The towns of Egypt are said to contain more dogs, than any other in the known
world, and they always appear a prominent object, from (he circumstance of their
constantly assembling- in the streets, their only dwelling place, feeding on what
they can find, or starving to death, their dead and dying carcases forming a horrible
spectacle and nuisance. They are studiously neglected by the Mahomedans, as
though such an act of cruelty were meritorious, beaten and butchered without
mercy. The condition of these poor animals, as may be supposed, is the lowest and

CUSTOMS RESPECTING DOGS. 129

most miserable under which they can possibly exist ; lean to the bone, and covered
with mange, yet, in that burning- climate, they never go mad : a circumstance
worth noting by those, who speculate on the causes of rabies in the dog, supposed
in this Country, to arise from the heat of the Dog Days, and from want of proper
nourishment.

Egyptian Dogs are represented as a race of large Hounds, inclining1 to the Grey-
hound form, and very finely shaped and handsome, when kept in good condition.
But in general, as is the case of all starved animals, their muscles sink, their joints
give way, and they lose the original elegance and symmetry of their form, and
doubtless great part of the impression of those natural qualities for which they are
most valuable. Nevertheless these instinctive qualities are rather decayed, or
obscured by weakness and disease, than absolutely destroyed. A sensibility to
duty, and obedience to their unreflecting and unfeeling tyrant, man, still subsists in
this miserable race of animals, and they are constantly observed going and coming
in the most frequented streets, at the same time avoiding to touch the clothes of
the passengers, with an attention truly curious and wonderful; far more so indeed,
than that of the apprehensive Mussulman, who to avoid contact with them, puts
aside his robe. These neglected dogs, yet, impelled by their natural instinct,
watch over the safety of their executioners. They are the terror of thieves upon
the wharfs, and in the craft on the river ; and in the interior of the towns, they
guard the property of the inhabitants as if entrusted to their vigilance. An
admirable instinct, a natural inclination to make themselves useful to man, induce
them voluntarily to assume a superintendance which nobody confides to them,
nobody points out to them, yet it would be impossible to approach the charge sur-
rounded by these volunteer guardians. The conduct of these dogs is additionally
singular, on the consideration that, their species, the Greyhound, is not supposed to
be endowed generally with the keeper property, which however perhaps all dogs
possess in a certain degree.

Amongst the wonders related of these Egyptian dogs, it is not the least thai;,
they never quit the quarter of town or country, in which they first drew breath.
They form distinct tribes, and never exceed their proper limits! Should an
individual stray into another quarter, the stranger would be instantly attacked by
the whole tribe into which he had intruded, and would scarcely escape destruc-
tion. The Bedouin Arabs, who in all respects, are far less superstitious than the
Turks, and renowned for their kindness to animals, keep large Greyhounds, which
watch round their tents ; of these dogs they take the greatest care, and so great is
the affection of these benevolent masters, that the life of a man would be in great
jeopardy, who should kill a Bedouin's dog.

The capricious Turks, on the other hand, with the most unjust, and decided
aversion to dogs, a species of animals the acknowledged symbol of an unalterable
attachment and fidelity inimitable by man, entertain a strong and kind of religious

130 DOGS AND CATS IN EGYPT,

predilection for cats, which they have imbibed from the example of their Prophet.
To the Turks, the soft and alluring manners of the cat, appear preferable to the
exquisite instinct, the docility, and the discerning- fidelity of the dog. Mahommed
had a great affection for the cat ; and it is related, that, the Prophet being- called
on some important and urgent business, preferred cutting off the sleeve of his robe,
to waking his cat, which laid upon it asleep. Nothing more, in course, was neces-
sary to bring these animals into the highest estimation, if even in other respects,
their extreme cleanliness, the lustre and polish of their fur, their mild and placid
disposition, their gentle and cautious caresses, had not rendered them amiable
creatures in the eyes of the Mussulmans. It may be here remarked, that the
people of the East have an additional motive for their affection to the cat, that
animal in their country, being in beauty, mildness, and caressing qualities, greatly
superior to its fellow creature of our Northern clime, although perhaps ours has the
advantage in point of real usefulness.

A Cat may even enter a Mosque, and will be caressed as the favourite of the
Prophet, whilst a Dog, accidentally found there, would be instantly destroyed, as
a source of the vilest pollution. The poor dog, abandoned and persecuted by the
Turks, is compelled, against his nature, to avoid man, to whom it is his first
wish to devote his instinctive faculties, and the services of his whole life; in fact,
his natural instinct becomes reversed, and teaches him to shun all places where
Mussulmans are assembled, being assured by dreadful experience, that among
them, he would not only find neither friend to accompany, nor master to follow, but
would put himself into the power of his most determined enemies.

In ancient Egypt, Cats were held in great veneration, but dogs in still greater.
They were both the objects of public mourning, and after death, distinguished
honours were paid to their memory. In the house where a cat died a natural
death, the inhabitants shaved their eyelids only ; but on the death of a dog, they
shaved their head and their wrhole body. Cats that died, were buried with most
pomp at Bubastis,&c\ty of lower Egypt. No person killing a dog or cat, even in-
voluntarily and by accident, under this miserable system, could escape capital
punishment : and it was pretended, these honours and prerogatives bestowed upon
animals, were not merely matter of fancy or caprice, but that their institutors had
a great political end in view, namely, preservation of the substance and the interest
of a whole people. They held it necessary to put under the protection of a religious
law, those animals, the defence of which against the prodigious multitudes of rats
and mice infesting Egypt, was absolutely indispensable. Thus it is in such a multi-
tude of instances, that fallacious superstition has been compulsively forced into
the place of reason and common sense. In the above account of the Dogs and Cats
of Egypt, we have consulted Mr. Dormer, and various other writers.

Our capricious conduct in this country, towards Dogs and Cats, namely, the pre-
tended humanity, in more significant terms, gross cruelty, of turning them out to

IN TURKEY AND JAPAN— LETTER OP SALOPIENSIS. 131

linger, and starve to death, instead of putting- them at once out of life, by the
easiest method, bears some degree of analogy to the custom of the Turks, in regard
to the same animals. At Constantinople, the dogs being considered as impure and
useless, are all wild, without masters, neglected, suffered to perish by famine, or
prey upon one another. Nevertheless, opulent persons, whose conscience gets the
better of their religious prejudices, are often impelled to compassion for these starv-
ing' outcasts, and give a meal to all which resort to their neighbourhood. A legacy
to these animals, is a common charitable bequest, among the Turks, on their death
bed. Some of them even build lying-in Hospitals near their houses, for the
accommodation of parturient bitches. The Turkish, like the Egyptian Dogs, have
a regular practice, going- their respective rounds like the London beggars, and
resisting1 any intrusion from interlopers.

Both the late and former Travellers in Japan, represent the dogs so extremely
numerous in that Country, that people can scarcely perambulate the streets of their
Cities, without the risk of falling over them. Whenever these dogs do any
mischief to the inhabitants, no one dares to punish them but the public executioner,
and it is said to be even necessary for him, to obtain an order to that end, from
a Magistrate. In the time of K&mpfer the traveller, the Japanese Emperor's
affection for dogs, not only induced him to provide for their sustenance whilst
living, but to decree them a burial and funeral rights, in the usual places on the
summits of mountains. This attention of the Monarch to the canine species, was
said to arise from a superstitious freak of one of his ancestors, who chanced to be
born under the sign of the Japonese Sirius, or Dog Star. A poor fellow whose dog
had died, as Mr. Daniel has related from Ktempfer, sweating' under its weight, in
climbing the Mountain of Interment, was overheard by his neighbour, to pray
very heartily for the Emperor, in the usual mild style of those, who are Em-
peror, or Priest-ridden. " Friend," said his neighbour, in the style also of com-
forters of a certain description, well known in most countries, " you have reason to
thank the Gods, that the ancestor of our Emperor was not born under the constel-
lation of the Horse, for in that case, what would have been your load !"

We have introduced the Dalmatian Dog-, right or wrong, into the class of
Hounds, and to revert to their subject, as it regards our own country, we, in the
first place, desire to refer our Readers to a former part of this work, where, in the
article of feeding Hounds, a letter was quoted from the Sporting Magazine, bear-
ing heavily on the character of a Salopian Sportsman. Impartial justice demands
of us the acknowledgment, that in the same Magazine for the following- December,
a letter appeared, signed ' An Old Sportsman,' totally denying the charges of
cruelty and starvation advanced by Salopiensis. Those who feel any interest in
the business, will judge between the two Correspondents, and their judgment will
be guided more particularly, by the rejoinder, or the silence, of the Accuser.
A curious and rather uncommon interruption in the Field, has lately occurred

132

CLASHING OF HARRIERS AND FOX HOUNDS.

in the County of Essex. The Sport of the East Essex Hunt has been much
interrupted by Ha rricrs meeting- in the vicinity of the places appointed for the
meeting- of the Fox Hounds. On Saturday, December 18, 1819, these Hounds
were killing their Fox near Tolleshunt Darccy, not more than four miles from the
place of meeting, when Mr. Lay's Harriers got upon the scent of the Fox : the
Hounds clashed, and the Fox could never be recovered. On Thursday the 23d of
the same month, a similar accident happened. The Hounds met at Marks Hall,
and after killing- their Fox in Cover, they drew Chalkney Wood, about three miles
distant, where they were again called off by Mr. Charles Hanbury's Harriers,
which were unluckily hunting in the immediate vicinity. These unpleasant inter-
ruptions, adds the author of this article, might easily be avoided by mutual

arrangement.

v.v
. . - .

QUALITIES EULOGY.

133

THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.

THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG is of the largest Arctic breed, that is to say, of that
of the Northern frozen Climes. In the head, countenance, and pendulous ears, he re-
sembles both the hound and the spaniel, and in his nature, partakes of the qualities
of both. He has the long shaggy hair and web feet of the water dog, and may
indeed be almost pronounced amphibious, no other of the canine race being able to
endure the water so long', or swim with so great facility and power. His tail is
curled or fringed, and his fore legs and hinder thighs are also fringed. The
Portrait here given, we understand to have been taken from the life, the dog being-
a real native of Newfoundland, imported for a Gentleman, by the late Mr. Brooks,
of the New Road, London. This dog, although not so tall as the Irish Greyhound,
is, in respect to the size of his bones, and weight of his carcase, perhaps the largest
of the whole race. He is not at all remarkable for symmetry in his form, or in the
setting on of his legs, whence his progression is somewhat awkward and loose,
and by consequence, he is not distinguished for speed ; a defect which might be
remedied in breeding, were an improvement, in that particular, desirable.

No risk is incurred by pronouncing this dog the most useful of the whole canine
race, as far as hitherto known, upon the face of the earth. His powers, both of body
and of intellect, are unequalled, and he seems to have been created with an uncon-
querable disposition to make the most benevolent use of those powers. His services
are voluntary, ardent, incessant, and his attachment and obedience to man, natural
and without bounds. The benignity of his countenance is a true index of his dis-
position, and nature has been so partial to this paragon of dogs, that while he seems
to be free from their usual enmities and quarrelsomeness, he is endowed with most
heroic degree of courage, whether to resent an insult, or to defend, to his last gasp,
his master or companion when in danger. His sagacity likewise, surpasses belief,
as do the numerous and important services rendered to society, by this invaluable
race, in lives saved, persons defended, and goods recovered, which by no other pos-
sible means could have been recovered. The list of his qualifications is extensive
indeed : he is one of the ablest, hardiest, and most useful of draught dogs ; as a
keeper or defender of the house, he is far more intelligent, more powerful, and more
depended upon, than the Mastiff, and has been frequently of late years substituted
for him, in England, indeed, may with much propriety, entirely supersede that
breed, the old Ban Dog being now nearly or entirely worn out. Asa Water Dog^
and for his services upon navigable Rivers, none can come in competition with the
Newfoundland; and various Sportsmen have introduced him into the field, and

T

134 TREATMENT AT ST. JOHN'S.

shot to him with great success, his naturally kind disposition, and great sagacity,
rendering his training1 an easy task. The usual fate attends this generous race,
among us, they are too often degraded and deteriorated by inferior crosses ; one
piece of good fortune however attends them, they are not, in this Country, bred
beyond the demand, thence, we do not, with respect to them, witness the disgusting
sight of abandonment and starvation in the streets.

This race has been known in England, and we suppose likewise upon the
Continent, beyond living memory, and has been upon the increase amongst us, for
the last twenty or thirty years. They were most probably introduced into this
Country, soon after the discovery, at least colonization of Newfoundland, to which,
and to the neighbouring Continent, they are indigenous, and at present sufficiently
numerous, in their original and uncrossed state. These dogs about seven years
since, were computed to amount to upwards of two thousand, at, and in the vicinity
of St. John's^ Newfoundland. They are there, by selfish and inhuman custom,
left during the whole summer, whilst their Proprietors are engaged in tjie Fishery,
to shift for themselves, and are not only troublesome and dangerous to the resident
inhabitants, but also public nuisances in the streets, from starvation and disease.
Contrary to their natural disposition, when associated with and supported by man,
and goaded by the imperious demands of hunger, they assemble in packs, prowl
about like wolves for their prey, destroying sheep, poultry, and every thing eatable
within their reach. On the return of the Winter season, and of their masters from
fishing, these last unfeeling two legged animals, seek with the utmost eagerness,
their lately abandoned dogs, without the assistance of which, it would be absolutely
impossible to get through the severe labours of a Newfoundland winter. In seek-
ing and claiming these dogs, much confusion, and even litigation in the Courts,
ensue, the value of these periodically deserted animals, being estimated at between
two and eight pounds each. They are constantly employed throughout the winter,
to draw wood cut for fuel, from the Country to St. John's, fish from the shore, and
all kinds of merchandize from one part of the town to the other, to the amount of
many hundred pounds worth in a day. It is asserted that, in one month, the year
1815, these Dogs furnished the town with from nine hundred to one thousand
pounds value per day, and that a single dog, will by his labour," support his owner
throughout the winter.

In the above year, a dangerous disease, supposed to be rabies, seized the Dogs at
St. Johri's, and this was attributed to the bite of a Bull dog from England, but in
far greater probability, all circumstances considered, the disease originated in the
neglect and starvation to which the animals had been subjected in the summer
season. This opinion, in fact, received a double confirmation : many persons were
bitten, but in the course of some months, no symptoms of rabies appeared, and
farther, an experienced medical Gentleman, who had passed seventeen years in
Newfoundland, observed during almost every season, symptoms nearly resembling

RABID DISEASE FROM NEGLECT. 135

the present, and had even a number of patients who had been bitten, one in parti-
cular, thirteen years since, bitten in his presence by a dog, which he was convinced
at the time, was really rabid; he treated the case, however, as a common wound, no
ill consequences ensued, and from general concurrent testimony, no such disease as
canine madness had existed in the Island, which yet he acknowledges might
possibly be imported in dogs from Europe. Here a most important consideration
suggests itself, and would be acted upon with the utmost punctuality, did men
think their dearest interest worth the trouble of a guard. Is the good fortune light
or trivial, to be exempted in their own persons and dearest connections, from the
most horrible of all human inflictions, CANINE MADNESS and hydrophobia? A
Country surely ought to be deemed most fortunate from such exemption, and every
possible care ought to be used, to prevent the intrusion of foreign dogs, more espe-
cially into Newfoundland, which possesses within itself, the best breed upon earth,
for every possible use or purpose in that country.

The Gentleman above alluded to, attributes the disease which had the semblance
of real madness, to a fever induced by severe labour, with insufficient nourishment,
from salt and improper food, and hard comfortless lodging. Materially also, to the
want of a sufficiency of water, the streams being frozen, and the wretched dogs
being reduced to the necessity of barely moistening their mouths with snow ; and
even while water is plenty, their unfeeling task-masters, will not allow the animals,
by the exhausting labour of which they are supported, time to slake their thirst,
although, in that respect, they are always extremely complaisant to themselves !
That which renders the neglect still more cruel and abhorrent from true feeling, is,
these victims of human selfishness, actually starved when their services are not
wanted, have no other food during their daily labour, than damaged and putrid
salt fish ! In the mother Country, although the animals are neglected and ill
treated to a degree sufficiently reprehensible, we have nothing of equal infamy, but
it is an opinion of long standing, that in Colonies, every branch of morality is uni-
versally at a low ebb. Of this, the following sentiment, in the letter from which our
account is derived, is a tolerably sufficient proof — " It is certainly fortunate, there
is such a disorder, as unless there was something of the kind to carry off the dogs,
we should be overrun with them." As if it would not be more profitable, as well
as humane, to prevent, in the first instance, a surplus of these indispensable dogs ;
or in the second, to dispose of the surplus in a manner more consistent with justice
and compassion — and of what far greater profit would the animals be, judiciously
reduced in numbers, and kept in good condition.

In February 1815, the Grand Jurors of St. Johns, presented to the Court of
Session, the existing state of the Dogs in the town, supposed to be hydrophobia, as
dangerous to the inhabitants -, and it was, in consequence, ordered that, all dogs
found at large, in or about the town of Sf. John, be forthwith destroyed excepting

13(3 MR. MUDFORD'S RUSSIAN DOG.

such as are employed in Steds, being- securely muzzled : and that, in order the
more effectually to promote the destroying- such dogs, a reward of five shillings,
for every such dog destroyed, should be paid, upon its being produced in the Court-
House yard.

Since the commencement of this article, a correspondent has obliged us with the
following1 particulars relative to a Russian Dog, late the property of his friend
Mr. Mudford. These Gentlemen belong to that class, who think it no derogation to
humanity, to feel and shew compassion to the animal creation, and affection to
that part of it, which is so highly meritorious from its attachment and services.
Unhappily, there are men of a totally opposite description of feeling, who view the
whole brute creation with a sullen apathy, through the medium only of cold-
hearted interest ; who are dead to their caresses or their merits, and who, on every
occasion, are prone to treat them with a dastardly barbarity. Children are too often thus
naturally inclined, or too apt to imbibe from example, this malign disposition, the
counteraction of which is a necessary branch of morality. The reader will presently
find an example of these truths, both adult and infantine ; and also a practical ex-
emplification of the character which we have given of the Newfoundland, Dog.

The story, in brief, is, Mr. Mudford had a young Russian Dog, named Crop, of
the same Northern, species, and similar qualifications with the Newfoundland.
He was in colour black and white, his hair nine inches in length, and of a beautiful
and commanding figure, attractive and interesting to all spectators. He was dis-
tinguished by those peculiar and noble characteristics, to which we have already
adverted, in this species, and the union of which in the same individual animal, seems
almost incompatible, the highest degree of courage and even fierceness on necessary
occasions, and the most endearing and playful good-nature and inoffensiveness : to
these were joined, which we have also before described, an incessant disposition to
volunteer his services, wherever his extraordinary sagacity pointed them out, as,
necessary or useful. A remarkable instance of this, in Crop, was, his noticing the
habit in his master, of being accommodated with his boot jack, slippers, and morn-
ing gown, on returning home in the evening. On a certain evening, while
Mr. Mudford was waiting for these, a lumbering noise was heard upon the stairs,
when suddenly, to the astonishment of himself and family, Crop entered the room
with the gown, which having laid at his master's feet, he set off again, and
returned with the boot jack and slippers, depositing them also, and expressing in
his motions and countenance, the satisfaction he enjoyed at having rendered a
service. He ever after performed the office of Valet de Chambre, not only to
his master, but if a visitor happened to arrive late in the evening, he always
brought him the boot-jack, and slippers. Crop, as well as a caressing, was
;i kissing animal, and would kiss any person who desired him ; and his na-
tural instinct approximated so nearly to human reason, and his affection for the
human race was so great, that, the opinion given by a certain literary lady, of

HOW TO GAIN A LOSS. 137

a dog of the same species, seems equally applicable to Crop — he can be no other
than some benignant human being- transformed into a dog, by one of those Enchanters
celebrated in the Arabian Nights.

The owner of this most valuable animal, lost him through the malice and
cowardice of his neighbour, an Italian ; and although well aware of the exhorbi-
tant price which justice bears in our legal market, deterring so many from be-
coming purchasers, he resolutely and meritoriously determined to seek his remedy ;
and, as will be seen by the account of the trial, gained his cause, by which, with
Teague of old, he gained a loss ; as defendant, on losing his cause, instantly made
himself scarce, leaving- Plaintiff to stand Captain for costs and damages, who
thereby verified the old English proverb on sueing a beggar.

MUDFORD versus DU RIEU.

K, B. — July 17, 1816. — Sittings after Term. This was an action brought by Mr. Mudford, a
literary Gentleman then residing at Somers' Town, against the Defendant, to recover compen-
sation in damages, for the loss of a dog which was wilfully shot by the Defendant. %

Mr. Topping, for the Plaintiff, addressing the Jury, stated that, the Dog in question was a most
beautiful animal of the Russian breed, perfectly docile and good humored, but like all dogs of his
age, being but fifteen months old, was playful and wild. From a puppy, not a single instance had
occurred, in which it had either bitten or attempted to bite any person whomsoever. The
Defendant's Children nevertheless had thought proper, on various occasions, to teaze the animal by
beating him with boxing gloves, thereby occasioning him to bark at them, yet never, on any occa-
sion, attemping to bite them. His barking, however, had produced, either an actual or a fictitious
alarm, on the part of the children ', and the Defendant, in consequence, at one time, when passing
the animal, gave him a violent kick, threatening at the same time, if he should ever catch him in the
field, he would shoot him. Under apprehension of this threat, the Plaintiff had given directions,
that the dog should be confined within doors; and he was so confined for ten days, previous to the
6th of July, 1815, when the door being accidentally left open, he ran into the yard, and leaping over
the wall into the field, he expressed his joy at the recovery of his liberty, by loud barking and
running about from place to place. Mrs. Mudford, the Plaintiff's sister, and the servant, imme-
diately went out in order to catch him, but their efforts, from the playfulness of the animal, were
ineffectual. While they were thus engaged, the Defendant's daughter came out, accompanied by
a female companion, and approaching the dog, the former took up a brick, saying, if the animal
came nearer she would beat out his brains. The dog did run nearer but never attempted to touch
her, continuing his gambols with perfect indifference to every person. The Defendant's wife now
came out, and called to her husband, for heaven's sake to bring out his pistols. At the same time
she went towards the dog, with her infant son, about four years old — no proof of apprehension on
her part — and put the child towards the animal's mouth, but it did not offer to bite: she however,
as if by previous concert, immediately cried out, oh ! my child ! and drew it away. The child,
alarmed at the barking of the dog, shrieked, upon which the Defendant came out with a pistol
under his coat. By this time the dog had reached his master's wall, and Mrs. Mudford was pulling
him down by the neck, when the Defendant drew forth his pistol, and shot the animal in the loins,
and wounded him so, that he died in a very short time.

138 ISStE OP THE TRIAL.

With respect to the value of the animal, the learned counsel said, that he should be enabled
to prove that the Plaintiff had been offered a very large sum for him, and that he was possessed of
many of those acquirements which render a dog valuable, such as fetching and carrying his
master's clothes and slippers, with an uncommon attachment to all the family, and the most perfect
good-nature to all who treated him with kindness. Witnesses were then called in support of
this case. Mrs. Elizabeth Whiting, the Plaintiff's sister, proved the docility and playfulness of the
dog, but positively denied that it had ever bitten, or attempted to bite, any person. Her brother
had been offered fifteen guineas for the dog a short time before the day on which it was shot.
On that day it accidentally escaped from the confinement, in which it had been held, in conse-
quence of the threats of the Defendant. It never attempted to bite the Defendant, or his children,
although often provoked by the latter, and kicked by the former. This evidence was supported
by three other witnesses.

The Attorney-General addressed the Court and Jury on the part of the Defendant, and con-
tended that, in this instance, his client was perfectly justified in the course he had taken, for that he
had shot the dog in his own defence. The dog had twice jumped at him, and he had beaten him off;
he was jumping at him a third time, when he fired and thereby prevented the consequence, which
might otherwise have accrued to himself. In proof of this, as well as in support of the case of
the Defendant, in general, four witnesses appeared, who stated that, the Defendant was called
into the field, by the screams of his daughter, and that in shooting the dog, he acted in his own
defence. In the evidence of these persons, however, there was so much prevarication that the
Jury, after an impartial and able charge from Mr. Justice Abbott, found a verdict for the
Plaintiff — damages ff teen guineas — costs forty shillings.

It may be useful to record the law, as laid down by the present Lord Chief Justice, on this
trial. He stated distinctly, that the only justification for a man shooting the dog of another, is
the necessity of self-defence ; but that necessity must be clear and positive. If, he observed,
a man were attacked by a dog, and while the dog was making1 the attack, he killed him, he would
act legally; but if he killed the dog while it v:as running away from him, after having so attacked
him, the owner of the dog would be entitled to recover his value. The reason of this distinction,
he said, was clear. In the first case, self-defence justified the killing of the dog; but in the
second, it did not — for the dog had himself retired from the attack, arid the party aggrieved
ought then to seek his remedy for whatever injury he may have sustained, at the hands of the
owner of the dog.

- k

— -

^

• —

3

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CONJECTURAL ORIGIN QUALITIES. 139

THE GREENLAND DOG.

THE ARCTIC or GREENLAND DOG appears to be the indigenous wild dog" of the
Hyperborean regions, unchanged, with respect to his breed, by human art, and
abandoned during a part of the year, to his native liberty. His upright ears,
sharp muzzle, and shaggy coat, seem to denote a wolfish origin, whilst in his com-
pact form, short quarter, and curled tail, he resembles the Dutch Pug. The origin
then of the breed may, with probability, be referred to a conjunction between the
Wolf, Water Dog, and the native Northern Pug.

The height and size of these Dogs of the Arctic regions, is considerable, with
strength in proportion, qualifying them for that labour as draug'ht animals, which
is their universal destination, wherever they are subdued by man. As will be seen
by a comparative view of the plates, they are inferior in size and length, and
different in form, from the hound-like figure of the Newfoundland Dog ; nor have
they that kindness and gentleness of nature, which distinguishes the latter ; in all
other respects, the analogy is complete, as to their qualifications and services. The
colour of the Greenland Dog is generally white, with a mixture of black, sometimes
with a black face, some are completely pye-bald, a few of them brown or black.
Their hair is thick, close and curling, not long and shaggy, like other varieties of
the Northern Dog. They are naturally aquatic, or water dogs, and have great
power in that element. Their hardiness of constitution keeps pace with the ex-
cessive rigour of the climate which they inhabit, and they sleep through the night,
with the firmament for their canopy, in a bed or burrow excavated in the snow,
their noses only, appearing above their white and sparkling sheets. They are ex-
cessively fierce and savage, their growling is frightful, and their bark rather the
howl of the wolf, which they greatly resemble in manner, flying upon and destroy-
ing any domestic animals which come in their way. Their courage and perseverance
are equal to their fierceness, and like our English Bull dogs, they never give up a
contest whilst life lasts ; hence they often destroy each other in their combats. Most
fortunately for the inhabitants, canine madness is unknown in those frozen regions,
although in Sweden and Norway, the wolves are said to be occasionally liable to it ;
a circumstance, whenever it happens, attended with the most direful consequences ;
and by a strange anomaly, the access of the rabies among the wolves, is generally
in the midst of the winter season.

There seems to be a uniformity of Species between the Dogs of Greenland, Siberia,
and Kamtschatka. In their wild state, they hunt for subsistence either indivi-
dually or in packs, the Arctic fox and the seals upon the ice, subsisting also upon

140 ANECDOTE THE SIBERIAN DOG SMALLER ARCTIC.

fish, which they are said to catch with great art. The Inhabitants use these dogs
to hunt the Polar Bear, with which they have terrible, sometimes fatal, conflicts.
A curious Anecdote respecting a Dog and Bear, has lately been copied from the
German papers, and the facts formally certified by the Gamekeeper of a Transyl-
vanian Noble, in which Country there are a great number of bears. A bear which
had stolen a sheep, being closely pursued by several dogs, promptly resorted to the
following ingenious expedient. He tore the sheep in pieces, and threw one of the
hinder legs to the dogs, and whilst they were partaking of the repast with which
he had treated them, had full time to make his escape. But the sequel of this affair
is still more curious. From the date of this hospitality in the bear, the dogs
would never again attack any of his kind, but on the contrary received them
in the most friendly manner, as if expecting, from former experience, another
treat ! The Proprietor of the sheep was, in consequence, obliged to have his dogs
shot, and substitute others undebauched in their loyalty, and which would defend
his flock from the bears.

A Siberian Dog, probably of the species of the Great Russian boor-dog, is at this
time, exhibiting at Bath by Mons. Chabert, who, it seems, procured the animal
from Siberia. This dog, although but ten months old, is nearly four feet in
height, has the ear of the bear, the head and skin of the wolf, and the tail of the
fox. Nothing can be more probable than an intercopulation between these animals
in a wild state, as it has been so frequently witnessed between the canine bitch, and
the wolf and fox; nor is there any thing of the incredible in the supposition, that
the bear may have joined with the larger kind of dog.

The Ships, on their return from the late Voyage of Discovery to the North Pole,
brought home from Baffin's Bay, four Arctic, or Greenland Dogs, and an Arctic
Fox. Portraits of these may be seen in the Sporting Magazine, for January 1819.
Two of these dogs were presented by Captain Ross to the British Museum ; the
other two to a Gentleman named Ward. Of those given to the Museum, one, a
female, was sent to France, as a present to the Museum of Natural History, in which
is an extensive Menagerie, where the animal will doubtless be kept alive. The
remaining Dog, at our British Museum, was killed, and his skin stuffed, there
being no convenience for keeping animals, and the dog being fierce and dangerous.
The fox remains alive.

From the portrait of the Dog in the Magazine above cited, he would appear to
be a smaller variety of the Arctic species, than those commonly used in draught,
and it may be conjectured that such smaller variety may originate in a Fox cross,
as the largest may probably in that of the Wolf. A Writer in the Magazine, seems
to confound the Greenland Dog, with that called the Newfoundland, which has
been imported from thence, and from the neighbouring court of Labrador, where
the Esquimaux, inhabitants of that Country, use them for draught and for hunting.
There are however, as we before stated, varieties of the same species, that of New-

MERITS AND DEFECTS OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. 141

foundland having longer hair, and pendulous ears, which is generally, in animals,
an indication of large size.

On discrimination between the two races, a Medical Gentleman, long resident
on one of our Settlements in Hudson s Bay, offers the following remarks. " The
Dog from Newfoundland, may have reached the Arctic Regions, and vice versa —
but the Arctic Dog is made truss and deep : the original one of Newfoundland
loose and lengthy ; the former has pricked ears, a bushy tail, and deep russet
coat, and without any extra cause of animation, looks always ready for a start.
The latter has a fine lopped ear, and a very full tail, which, when erect and
doubling over his back, boasts the richness of the most luxuriant Ostrich feathers.
His colour is dingy black, or black and white, seldom russet, never liver-coloured ;
moreover, when not in action, the Newfoundland Dog is the most sleepy and most
lazy of the canine species."

The two breeds agree generally, in regard to qualities, with some exceptions.
Like the Bull Dog, they seldom or never bark, their vociferation being rather
snarling and howling-. On this point, the Rev. Mr. Asnach, in his History of New-
foundland, has the following observations. The Newfoundland Dog seldom barks,
and only when strongly provoked ; it then appears like an unnatural and painful
exertion, which produces a noise between barking and howling, longer and louder
than a snarl, and more hollow and less sharp than barking, still strictly correspond-
ing to the sounds expressed by the familiar words bow wow ; and here he stops, un-
less it ends in a howl, in which he will instantaneously be joined by all the clogs
within hearing. This happens frequently, and, in a calm, still night, produces a
noise particularly hideous.

The same Author describes the Newfoundland Dog, in one most important
respect, very different to what we find him in this Country, an implacable enemy to
sheep ; which ought to suggest a strong caution to those, who keep or breed these
dogs. As a proof, Mr. Asnach gives the following incident. He had three young
sheep, for which, in the day-time, his dog affected the utmost indifference : the
servant, however, having one evening neglected to secure them in their shed, and
to confine the dog, the sheep were found in the morning, stretched out lifeless,
without any other mark of violence than a small wound in the throat, from
which the dog had sucked their blood. It is remarkable that, the Newfoundland
Dog, when pursuing a flock of sheep, will single out one, and, if not prevented,
which is a matter of considerable difficulty, will never leave off the pursuit, until
he has mastered his intended victim, always aiming at the throat, and after having
sucked the blood, has never been known to touch the carcase.

Farther very interesting particulars are given of this dog, both of his natural
merits and demerits ; his sagacity, courage, and gentleness, his ferocity, and
treachery. The docility of this superior race being one of their most eminent qua-
lities, good training, and familiarity with human customs only, are needed to

u

142 THE DOG JOWLER.

render them perfect in their kind. The above dog- had been purchased when a
puppy, from the Northermost part of the Island, was of the pure Newfoundland
breed, and grew up to the size of a small donkey. He was well calculated for hard
labour, exceedingly tractable and gentle, shewing a particular attachment to the
children of the family, and agreeing perfectly well with the cats, which he treated
with a kind of dignified condescension, as animals which nature had placed in a
sphere far below his. He was, in general, very easy to please in the quality of his
food, being contented with scraps of boiled fish, fresh or salted, with vegetables,
potatoes or cabbage. So much however of his wild nature remained stirring in him,
that if hungry, he never scrupled to rob the larder, when unguarded, of either fish
or flesh, and had a bowel-hankering after the larger kind of poultry, the blood of
sheep yet being his most favourite nourishment.

Jowler, such was his name, would chase sheep wherever he could find them un-
guarded, even from high cliffs into the sea, and jump in after them : not, however,
without first estimating the elevation of the cliff, which finding too great, he would
run down and take a more convenient rout for pursuit. His master had domesticated
some wild Geese, one of which would frequently follow him in his morning walks,
side by side with Jowler, the two apparently living together on the best terms.
Unfortunately the servant one night neglected to confine them, according to custom,
and the next morning the feathers of the favourite goose were found scattered in a
small field adjoining to the grounds. The dog was soon after found concealed in
the corner of a wood-yard, and on his master looking at him, exhibited evident
signs of conscious guilt. His master took him to the field, and pointed out to him
the poor goose's feathers ; on which the dog staring at him, uttered a loud growl,
and ran away at full speed ; nor could he endure his master's sight for some days
afterwards.

The Greenland Dog is described as naturally timorous, perhaps shy, and not so
easy to domesticate as the Newfoundland, which latter is said never to exhibit any
signs of timidity. The dog Jowler, after many hard fought battles, and when he
had attained his full growth, soon established his character for superiority. He was
not quarrelsome, but treated the smaller species of dogs with patience and forbearance ;
but when attacked by a dog of equal size, or engaged in restoring peace among
other dogs, he would set to, most vigorously, and continue the struggle until submis-
sion was obtained, or peace completely re-established. He would then leave the
field of battle with a haughty look, and a warning growl, and be afterwards as
quiet as a lamb. His master was perfectly secure in his company ; for the least
appearance of an attack on his person, raised at once the dog's attention, and pro-
duced a most tremendous growl as the signal of action, in his master's defence.
The sagacity of this animal was astonishing, and on all occasions he seemed to
want only the faculty of speech, to place his intellect on a level with the human.
The character indeed of Jowler seems much to resemble that of Savages, who,

DANISH DOG DRAUGHT DOGS THE SLEDGE. 143

however mild and good their dispositions may naturally be, yet cannot on their
first intercourse with civilized men, repress their thievish propensities.

C. Garland^ Esq. a Magistrate, who died a few years since near St. John's, New-
foundland, had a dog, which used to carry the lanthorn before him, by night, as
steadily as the most attentive servant, stopping* when his master stopped, and pro-
ceeding when he saw his master disposed to go on. When Mr. Garland was out,
by night, this dog, the lanthorn being fixed to his mouth, and the command given,
* go fetch your master,' would set off and proceed directly to the town, which
was about a mile distant, where he would stop at the door of every house which he
knew his master frequented, and laying down his lanthorn, growl and strike
the door with his foot, making all the noise in his power, until the door was
opened. Not finding his Master there, he would proceed farther, in the same
manner, until he found him. If he had only accompanied his Master once into a
house it was sufficient to induce him to take that house in his round.

The Danish Dog has been represented as the largest and strongest of the species;
and Buffon describes one of them which he had seen, zsfive feet in height, when
sitting.

Was the Dog indigenous only to the northermost parts of the American Continent,
since the first discoverers of America, whether North or South, found none of the
canine species ? There were doubtless dogs of a large size, both in the Southern
and Northern parts of Europe, in ancient times. Aristotle mentions such in Epirus,
and Pliny gives an account of one sent from Albania, to Alexander the Great.

It is time to advert more particularly, to the most useful property of these Dogs,
namely, their ability for draught. The fact is remarkable and may be witnessed in
London, that dogs are the most honest and willing of all draught animals, and so
great is the eagerness of the Arctic dogs, that they frequently dislocate their joints
in drawing, and exert themselves to so violent a degree, that their hair is often
tinged with red, from the extravasation of blood, occasioned by their violent strain-
ing. The Greenlanders and all the people of those frozen regions, travel in
sledges drawn by dogs, the most usual number being five, one going before, but
occasionally this number is extended to eight and even ten. The following is a
description of the Siberian Sledge —

The length of the body is about four and a half feet, the breadth one foot : the
form, that of a crescent, and made of light tough wood, fastened together with
wicker work : and those of the principal people are elegantly stained with red and
blue, the seat being covered with furs and bears' skins. It has four legs about
two feet in height, resting on two long flat pieces of wood, of the breadth of five
or six inches, which extend a foot beyond the body of the sledge at each end.
These turn up before in the form of a skait, and are shod with the bone of some
marine animal. The carriage is ornamented in front, with tassels of coloured
cloth and leather thongs. It has a cross-bar, to which the harness is joined, and

144

SLEDGE-TRAVELLING.

links of iron, or small bells, are hang-ing to it, the jingling- of which, is supposed
to encourage the dogs. They seldom carry more than one person at a time, who
sits aside with his feet on the sledge, having his baggage and provisions behind
him. The reins being fastened to the collar instead of the head, have no command
over the dogs, and are therefore usually hung upon the sledge, the driver princi-
pally depending on their obedience to his voice. He has, however, a crooked stick,
to which the dogs have been trained to pay attention, and by striking it in the
snow, he can regulate their speed, or even stop them at pleasure. He chastises
them, by throwing this stick at them ; and dexterity, in the recovery of this
stick, when thrown, is the most difficult manoeuvre of the sledge driver : should it
be lost, the dogs, it is said, could scarcely be restrained from running away
with the carriage, to the risk of dashing it to pieces, and exhausting and ruining
themselves.

Three persons with their baggages have been carried over the ice, in one of those
sledges, drawn by five dogs, sixty English miles in the day. In the Russian
dominions, a good dog trained to go before, is worth forty roubles, or ten pounds
sterling1. Both the Greenlanders and Kamtschatkans treat these most useful
animals, with equal inhumanity, as their brethren of St. Johns, Newfound/and.

146 DESCRIPTION DUCHESS OP YORK'S FANNY.

The chief external distinctions of the Pug- Dog- are, a yellow colour, of various
shades, small or moderate size, round and fixed shape, full breast, short neck and
legs, curled tail, round prominent eye-balls, bluff head, black muzzle, lightly pen-
dulous ears, prominent inferior jaw, or underhung, and a grave, often a savage
countenance. The comforter, or lap-dog pug, is sometimes among the smallest of the
canine race : the internal properties of the Pug are, courage, not unfrequently at-
tended with a savage snappishness, which, however, have not precluded him from
the fortunate lot of being the ladies' favourite, and the family pet, his chief use in
society. With our own representation of the Pug, we also embrace the opportunity
of referring the reader to another beautiful and natural drawing of the pug-head,
in the Sporting- Magazine, for April 1818: jvhere will also be found, a tribute to
the memory of FANNY, a favourite female pug, late the property of Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of York, and some time previously, entombed in the Canine
Burial-Ground, at Oatlands. The following Epitaph upon this favourite, is from
the pen of Mr. Upton :

Reader, trtad lightly o'er this mound of earth,

Nor give, while here, too loose a rein to mirth.

Beneath this grass, the once gay Fanny lies ;

Her breath now stopp'd ; for ever closed her eyes.

"Pis strange, perhaps, yet not more strange than true,

Fanny was lov'd by man and woman too !

Nay, even babes would leave their mother's arms,

To hug, embrace, and gaze on Fanny's charms !

Yet Fan had faults, and faults, as will appear,

She never gave to misery a tear ; —

Misfortunes, sorrows, or the prisoner's groan,

Ne'er drew a sigh, nor touch'd her heart of stone !

Yet was her nature soft, as soft can be,

No mortal breath'd more innocent than she.

Her harmless tongue ne'er utter'd slander's sting ;

The gentle Fanny hurt no living thing :

Courteous, well bred, engaging, and polite ;

The same kind creature morning, noon, and night :

Not that she did so, by religion taught,

Fanny ne'er gave religion e'en a thought.

As nature prompted, she obey'd her will —

From first to last, the gentle Fanny still !

Alike the favourite of both poor and rich,

She liv'd and died, a little — little bitch.

From the same source of Sporting amusement, we draw the following Lecture
on Heads, an elegant, classical, and scientific comparison bet ween the heads of the
Fox and the Pug Dog, written, as we have reason to conjecture, by a learned
Frenchman, who in the course of many years sojournment in this Country, has
•attained an eminent proficiency and skill in the English language. —

LECTURE ON HEADS. 147

" Musing" with attention and pleasure, on the beautiful engraving of the * Head
of a Fox,' which decorates the first number of the fiftieth volume of your interest-
ing publication, I was insensibly led by a concatenation of ideas, to consider the
wide difference which exists between the heads of various animals, compared with
others, and found myself lost in a maze of reflections, the result of which was, my ex-
claiming1 exultingly with the Psalmist — * O Lord, how manifold are thy works!'
It is indeed astonishing*, with what variety nature has moulded, not only the whole
shape, but especially the mask of several species in the extensive works of creation ;
and the opposite means through which she arrives at the same end, namely, the
protection and preservation of the individual. Though simple, this observation, if
properly considered, and minutely particularized, would yield interesting matter
for whole folio Volumes ; but I shall confine my reflections at present, to an instance
or two, leaving other parallels for another time.

While observing the sharp nose, the acute ear, and sunken eye of the fox,
in the Plate above mentioned, I had not far to seek for a counterpart. Fan my
little pug was dancing about me, and supplied my mind with full and appropriate
points of comparison, in the diametrically opposite character of her features.

Instead of the lengthened, wedgeshaped muzzle of the Ajax of the poultry yard,
I find in this little snapper at cats, and gnawer of bones, a flat, roundish knob, pro-
jecting about an inch from the forehead, which rises here, with an abrupt and
sudden curve between the ears ; whereas, in the other it ascends by degrees, with
a gentle slope to the top of the scull. The different manner of getting their food is
obviously connected with this opposition of shape. The fox, like the terrier, the pig,
the mole, &c. has often occasion to turn up the ground ; the pug, which is nothing
less than a bull-dog in miniature, living on the kindness and gratitude of man,
whom he amuses or defends, and finding his food ready for him, does not want the
sharpness of a snout, and appears perfectly satisfied with the wrinkled bluntness of
his face. The mouth participates also of the same intention from nature. The
thief, which slyly insinuates himself into the hen-house, and seizes upon its feathered
inmates, has been provided with large chaps, sheltered under the prominency of
the nose— but the assertor of his right to a bone, or to his kennel, has received a
strong projecting under-jaw, in which the teeth are placed in such a curious
angle, that nothing can force off his hold, unless he chuses to give it up.

The eyes though keen and bright in the fox, are like two carbuncles set in
deep and dark recesses ; they appear significant and cunning—the eyes of a pug-
are projecting and brilliant : they have the shape and brightness of large pearls,
and speak kindness and simplicity.

The ears of this little pet, like those of nearly all her tribe, have fallen a sacrifice
to fashion. In their natural state, they would have curled forward upon them-
selves, as if to defend the nakedness of the auditory shell. Reynard has the organs

148 PUGS DESCRIBED.

of hearing in an erect attitude : his are the ears of fear and distrust— pug's the
ears of confidence and security.

According to the different construction of the eye and the ear, and in conformity
to the same economy of nature, which wastes nothing or does nothing in vain, the
sense of smelling lias been differently dispensed. The fox, by the keenness of his
olfactory nerves, supplies the difficulty of seeing an object, but what is before him.
The prominent orbs of the pug's eyes, starting out of their sockets, encompass so
wide an horizon, that a great exquisiteness of smelling would be of little importance
or use to him. Consequently bull dogs and pugs are not fit for sports, which
depend on the scent, and they leave the diversion of the chase to the long-nosed
family of hounds and terriers, which in this point bear a great analogy to the fox.

A curious singularity attending this species of dog, is the jet blackness of the
muzzle, which peculiarity procured them the appellation of Carlinsin France, from
a famous Harlequin of that name, who performed for many years, on the Parisian
Stages, about the middle of the last century ; previously to which epoch, they
were generally called doguins, small bull dogs, and roquets, which names they still
retain in some parts of France. But this sable livery of their pugships is not of
long duration— it is merely an ornament of youth, and fades off into a grey silvery
hue, when the animal counts two years from the age of puberty : it is also remark-
able that every one of this family, has one or two, and sometimes more, warts,
bristling with long black hairs on each side of the face — to what purpose, to what
use ? Here ends, in a blank, the ingenuity and judgment of man : he only knows,
or ought to know, that Nature had her meaning in the most trifling part of her
works. These bristles indeed may be smellers, a sort of conductors for the mias-
matic emanators of bodies, and placed there to assist the imperfect state of the
olfactory organs, as in the feline kind."

This Gentleman, proprietor of the Bitch Fan, to the head of which, in the Sport-
ing Magazine, we have referred, deduces the origin of the word pug from the
latin pugnus, a fist ; certainly a probable derivation, as relative to the smallness of
the pet pug dog : adding, if the clenched fist, with the thumb outward, be placed
in profile, between a lighted candle and the wall, the shadow will give an
excellent representation of a pug's head. This we have just now experimented.

The Pug has been stigmatized, as possessing neither the powers of attraction,
nor any kind of usefulness—* applicable (it is averred) to no sport, appropriate to
no useful purpose, susceptible of no predominant passion— even the last in the
whole catalogue of the canine species.' In this sentiment we can by no means
concur, without considerable reserve. With respect to powers of attraction, we
are very ready to acknowledge the superiority of the Spaniel comforter, indeed of
the whole race of Spaniels ; but on the score of usefulness, we should certainly
place the pug many degrees above the mongrel varieties of curs which infest

END OF POOR OLD PUG. 149

our streets, apparently adapted to no useful purpose whatever ; whereas the Pug- is
capable of being made both a good guard for the house, and a good vermin dog.

The following Letter, of the date of April 1817, intituled the * END OF POOR
OLD PUG,' and subscribed Vox Humanitatis, will, we have no doubt, interest all
those who are endowed with genuine sensibility, and we trust, prove instructive to
others, who have yet that noble qualification to acquire—' A young lady of four-
teen, of a feeling heart, and who, young as she is, spares no trouble in the cause of
mercy, whether to fellow-creatures or brutes, caused to be brought home a deserted
dog, the history of which is as follows. A woman was followed into a shop, by an
ancient pug-dog of the most pitiable appearance. She said it had lived with her
six and twenty years, and was an old dog when it first came into her possession.
Its back and legs had been broken, and it had lost one eye, yet survived, heart-
whole ! It had ever been most faithful and affectionate to its mistress, and when-
ever she was sick, would sit constantly upon her bed, watching her, and even
refusing its food. She observed, it had long been afflicted with an asthma, which
appeared but too plainly from the laboured manner in which it drew breath, and
by its truly symptomatic cough. It had, beside, obviously caught a recent cold.
The mistress of this distressed object, was about to bestow upon it, the final reward
of its long and fond attachment. She observed, with the most perfect coolness, that
she must get rid of the old dog ; and her proposed method was— to take it into
the streets, lose, and desert it ! It was evening, frosty, and piercing cold, and the
poor animal had for so many years been accustomed to a warm room and a bed.
But the head of this unthinking, and callous-hearted wretch, could entertain but
one idea on the subject, that of ridding herself of a burden, without reflecting for
a moment upon the miseries, to which she was about to expose an innocent and
affectionate animal— to the rigours of cold, without shelter, to buffets, blows,
wounds, yearnings for its lost home, lingering death by famine ! This woman of
the world, totally overlooked the fellow animal feelings of the brute, and the
horrible analogies of the present day, of devoted human creatures, who have
perished for want in the highways and the streets. She must have been well ap-
prized of the nature of that end, which she was preparing for her late humble and
faithful friend and companion— as, how could she expect a stranger would be
burdened with such an inmate, which she, its natural protector, had cast out ? It
was remarked to her, by a woman of sense and humanity, that she ought, in
common justice, and propriety, to give a man a small sum, to put an end at once,
to the poor creature's miseries— but no, it was too much trouble ! And here it is
proper to repeat a condemnation of that general, unfeeling foolery, under the guise
of sensibility, which induces an aversion to taking away the lives of deserted, or
aged and diseased dogs and cats, in the same people, who feast without reluctance
or remorse, upon the flesh of the finest, happiest, and healthiest animals daily
slaughtered for the purpose !— an aversion which must, beyond all question, be

x

150 ANECDOTE,

placed to the account of stupidity, indolence, and hypocrisy, or a mixture of the
three, which so often disgraces the streets, with the nuisance of cast-off animals in
distress, and dying by inches, to the harrowing up of real sensibility.

To conclude with poor Pug, he was taken by the young female Samaritan,
above quoted with honour, into a warm room, and placed upon the carpet ; but still
the constant affections of the beast lingered after his false-hearted and treacherous
mistress, and it was really an affecting sight, to witness the animal's anxious and
longing countenance, and to see him upon his hinder legs begging to have the door
opened, that he might return to his beloved home ! I, who can witness unmoved
the sudden and easy death of any animal, am not ashamed to publish that my
heart ached painfully at this sight— nor that I said within myself, may I be

d d if I would desert such an animal ! I did better— I caressed it— tied a

cloth gently and loosely over its head and neck, yet securely— stunned it with
several heavy blows of a hammer, on the back part of the head, and instantly put
it, head downwards, into a full pail of water, holding it down fast with a shovel
until dead— -and happy ! You, who are in similar circumstances, reflect, and do
likewise."

—
'-

A VARIETY OR CROSSED BREED. 151

THE BULL DOG.

NATURALISTS have generally described the BULL DOG, as of a primitive
Species, upon a level, in that respect, with the Shepherd's Dog, and Irish Grey-
hound; and the Writers of this Country, have claimed him as indigenous to
Britain, where he has been preserved in his native purity and ferocity, and whence
other Countries have been supplied with the breed.

We can agree with the above statement but in part. So far as we have been
able to investigate the matter, it appears that the Bull Dog is a Variety, not a
primitive Species of the canine genus : that Variety has indeed, from the strongest
probability, been raised, as well as cultivated, in England; thence the Bull Dog
is truly an English breed. The grounds of our opinion, which follow, are open to
be controverted by any Bull-hanker of more recondite information. To recur to
our earliest records on such subjects, during the period in which this Country was
subject to the Romans, it was famous for hounds and fierce dogs of a larg'e size,
supposed to be the original Mastiffs, but there is no hint or trace of such a peculiar
breed as that of the Bull Dog ; nor do we discover any trace of such a breed in
the reign of John, the era in which the damnable practice of Bull-baiting com-
menced. Nor is the Bull dog to be found in the Synopsis of British Dogs, extracted
by Mr. Daniel from the book of Doctor Caius, who wrote in the Reign of Queen
Elizabeth.

The first Bull-Bait of which any record is to be found, took place in the reign
of King John, at Stamford, in Lincolnshire ; and William, Earl Warren, Lord of
Stamford, has the infamous honour of being handed down to posterity, as the ori-
ginator and patron of that insensate and beastly diversion. This Noble, worthy of
the half-savage times in which he lived, standing on the wall of Stamford Castle,
saw two bulls fighting for a female, in the Castle meadow, until one of the bulls,
attacked and affrighted by some butchers' dogs, was by them pursued quite
through the town. The sight so tickled and aroused the Sporting sensations of
the noble Earl, that he immediately made over as a gift to the butchers of the
town, the said Castle meadow, as a common, after the first crop of grass had
been mowed, on condition that they should annually find a mad bull, the day
six weeks before Christmas day, to be devoted to that sport, which was to be con-
tinued for ever.

In the above relation, it is observable that, the dogs which attacked and pursued
the bull are simply called butchers' dogs, and not distinguished as of any peculiar
breed ; bull dogs indeed they could not have been styled, granting they had been

152 ORIGIN OP THE BULL DOG— BROTJGHTON.

of a similar form and breed to those at present designated by that name, since bull -
baiting- had not then commenced, or been heard of. It seems thence rational to
conclude, that, those butchers' dogs were of, or partook of, the fierce mastiff'
breed, so general in England, at that period. Further, for ages subsequent to that
period, the mastiff and his varieties, were in constant use for the purpose of baiting
wild beasts, and most probably bulls also ; at the same time, these mastiffs, or mon-
grel mastiffs, may have been denominated bull dogs. One of the four mastiffs,
which in King James's reign, were set upon the lion, seized him by the lip, which
is the peculiar hold of our present bull dogs.

Such are our reasons for concluding the English Bull dog to have originated in
a cross of breeds ; but to the when, or by whom the Variety was first contrived and
established, our information does not extend ; not improbably, before the Revolu-
tion. We have personal recollection of them in their present form, but we
think of somewhat larger size, more than half a century since, when we saw with
horror, in our youthful days, a poor Jackass put up to be baited by them ! There
can be no doubt there is a pug cross in the bull breed, from the size, the head, the
underjaw, and the form of the carcase, and indeed the temper of the animal ; and a
conjunction of the original Muscovy, or Dutch Pug, with the English Mastiff, in
all probability, formed the far-famed ENGLISH BULL DOG. In France pugs are
called, dwarf bull dogs. Buffon is an amusing writer, and a laborious and com-
prehensive collector of facts, but not very profound or successful as a theorist, far
less au fait as a Sportsman, or a practical man ; and the following notion of his
seems congenial with such a character— that, ' the pug has originated in a cross
between the English bull dog, and the small Dane !' I write from memory, and if
some other writer, not Buffon, has advanced that conjecture, 1 most humbly beg
pardon of the Count's memory.

The torture of criminals, as a punishment, has happily been abolished in England
long since, but infinitely to the national disgrace, the torture of innocent and help-
less beasts as an amusement, still prevails, although it must be acknowledged, in a
greatly diminished degree, and that such savage barbarity has been long in the
wane. We may date this happy change from the death of the Hero of Culloden,
and the retirement from public life, of his arbiter elegantiarum, the famous, or
rather infamous, Broughton, the amusements of whose boxing Theatre consisted also,
of the exhibition of the most abominable cruelties upon animals. This hero, after
his retirement from the actual Bulls and Bears of his arena, by way of continuing
to turn the penny, and make the most of that pension which he enjoyed from his
Royal Master, entered upon a new scene of contention with the virtual Bulls and
Bears of Jonathan's, now better known as the Stock Exchange. In the year 1783,
accompanying a lady to a sale of Household Furniture, we there met Broughton.
Not being able to obtain a Catalogue, and seeing the old hero with one in his hand,
we stepped up to him, and with all possible civility, requested him to permit the

NATURE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BULL DOG— ANECDOTES.

lady to look at his catalogue for a minute, which he refused with the sourest looks
of the genuine politesse of Plockley o 'the Hole, truly observing * that people should
get catalogues for themselves.' Alluding to his new profession, we observed, * Mr.
Broughton, you have been a bear to-day.'

The Bull Dog, we conceive, as hinted above, has progressively decreased in
size ; they appear to stand lower on the leg, the waist to be longer, and the head
perhaps not so large, as in former days. The breeders may have had some view in
such a change. This is undoubtedly the fiercest of all the canine species in this
country ; at the same time, by a fortunate dispensation, one of the most quiet, and
for any thing we have observed to the contrary, the most harmless. The excep-
tions to this character arise probably, from the risk of their being set upon any ob-
ject, which, from their nature, it is so extremely difficult to detach them. Hence
we see Bull Dogs going about muzzled.

The following recent occurrence, indeed, seems to exhibit sufficiently plain proof of
the savage and dangerous disposition of this species of the Dog ; unless indeed, these
dogs were set on by some wanton and thoughtless, or malicious person. —The Ports-
mouth Mail Coach, being on its way to London, on Thursday night, when it came
by the side of the Devil's Punch Bowl, between Petersjield and Mouschill, its
leaders were suddenly seized by three Bull Dogs, belonging to two men in a Fish-
cart. The leaders, by their violent struggles, broke their harness, and disengaged
themselves from the coach ; one of them fell over the bank, and the ferocious dogs
with him. The men succeeded in getting the horse up. The horses were both very
much injured ; one of them so much, that it is feared he cannot recover, and the har-
ness was broken to pieces. The guard was obliged to drive the coach with a pair
only to Mousehill, and the coachman to walk with the injured leaders. Whoever
has travelled this road, and knows the place called the Devil's Punch Bowl, which
is by all travellers thought a great natural curiosity, must have considered the pas-
sengers and the coach to have had a very providential escape. It was a fortunate cir-
cumstance that the horses had, by the violence of their. struggles, cleared themselves
of their harness, as the coach must otherwise have been precipitated, by an almost
perpendicular descent, into an immense depth. It is surprizing that this place,
so near to the road side, which has for years been at once the admiration and
terror of travellers, 'has never been fenced by a wall; and it is seriously to be
wished that, those whose duty it is, will not suffer it to remain longer than it is ab-
solutely necessary, in this dangerous state.

We shall express no surprise at all at this neglect, enormous as it is. It is in hu-
man nature, perhaps peculiarly English— to postpone the trouble and prefer the
risk. Suppose a man in his senses, should class those travellers, as bedlamites, who
have hitherto passed this perilous nuisance without indicting it, he will surely be
warranted in dubbing the possible future neglect as incurable insanity ; but with-
out hope of ever seeing an hospital sufficiently capacious to hold such multitudi-
nous incurables.

\5\ MODE OF ATTACK— MONGRELS— BULL TERRIER.

A Bull Dog inherits from nature, the highest possible degree of animal courage,
both active and passive ; and being instigated thereto, for he generally waits for
that stimulus, would seize any thing, even the mickle horned Devil himself, should
his holiness come in the way. It is said to be peculiar to this species of the do^,
to attack the Bull, and that even puppies of a few months old will instantly make
such attack ; but here, perhaps, the common opinion is not quite discriminate :
there is certainly a degree of natural antipathy between dogs of every species, and
horned cattle, whether cows or bulls ; and any puppy, entering a field, will run at
them ; they, on the other hand, will pursue a dog the instant he appears. The
jit is, the Bull Dog, only, makes his attack with hostile effect. It is usual with
regular breeders, to try one puppy of a litter, at a bull, in order to prove, by his
attack and perseverance, the purity of the breed. A true bred puppy will perse-
vere until beaten to pieces by the horns of the bull. This dog seldom barks, some
have been never known to bark, or scarcely ever to growl, or utter any kind of
vociferation. In the days of our youth, shame to our teachers — 'spiritual pastors
and masters,' from whom we never heard one syllable of caution or reproof, on
this, or any correlative topic, we were excessively, madly attached to bull-baiting.
Being at a bull-bait at Ipswich, in Suffolk, a fellow brought his dog into the ring,
making huge pretensions of his blood and game, and was mighty clamorous for
his turn. We thought the dog appeared querish, and particularly high upon the
leg. The bull was a game one. This dog being slipped, flew towards the bull,
with a volley of loud and shrill bow-wows, which set the whole ring in a giggle.
He, however, made brisk play for some time, recovering very quietly, a number of
buffets from the bull's mussel, which made him reel, until Mr. Taurus, fully up to
his gossip, tipped him such a dinner in the flank, with the soft end of his horn, as
sent him scouring out of the ring, giving tongue as loudly and harmoniously, as
the most musical Wappit ; and the owner pursuing his notable bit of game, we
saw nothing more of the one or the other.

Silence in the Bull Dog, particularly in his attack, is one of his distinguishing
characteristics ; another, his invariable attack of his antagonist in front, arid in the
head and face : he will seize the throat or the eye, but his grand aim is the lower
jaw, the tongue or the lip, instinctively knowing those to be the most tender and vul-
nerable parts, and most suitable for his tenacious hold. Having fixed his teeth,
particularly those of his under jaw, by nature formed for this hold, as was said in
our description of the Pug, he pins the bull to the earth, which generally, on that
occasion, utters a tremendous and lamentable roar, to the supreme delight and ex-
ultation of the surrroiiiiding miscreant blackguards, each of whom ought at the
instant, to have the teeth of the highest bred Bull Dog, in his own jaw, in order
to recall sensibility if lost, and teach it if defective. The bull, it must be observed,
is allowed a hole in the earth, in order to shelter his most vulnerable part; an
advantage of which every game bull, has learned to avail himself.

A mongrel or half-bred Bull Dog, slipped at a bull, will run round him, snarl,

BULL BAITING— APPEAL TO PROFESSOR JACKSON. 15,5

and seize him by the hinder leg or tail, or any part that offers, coming last of all,
to his head, which he will work at, until he get a toss, or a sickening body blow,
when having got his gruel, hanging his tail, he is off in a canter about his busi-
ness, either with discreet silence, or a few piercing cries, and it is seldom found
upon the cards, to coax him into such another premuni re. BULL TERRIERS, how-
ever, with pure blood on both sides, will stoutly do their best, in this engagement.
It has been customary of late years, to cross the Terrier with the Bull Dog, chiefly
or solely, we believe, for the purpose of Badger Baiting.

The infamous, base and cowardly perversion, BULL BAITING, mistaken for di-
version, by idiots, and two-legged beasts without hearts, has to the honour of Eng-
lishmen, who possess both heart and mind, been for many years on the decline ;
thence Bull Dogs, the true blackguards of their race, have in comparison with
former days, become scarce, and from their utter uselessness, in any view of com-
mon sense, which as ladies of a certain class, used to say formerly, has little to do
with Dog-fighting, it is fervently to be wished that a tomb of the Capulets, proba-
bly their cater-cousins, may be found, to enshrine to eternity, the WHOLE RACE.
They do not pay for breeding now, as they once did ; when a true bred bull-puppy
would command ten shiners, for exportation. The sport too, has certainly de-
creased in London, since our vicious societies, have had an eye upon the Sunday
and Saint Monday baiting in Islington fields, as well as the Sunday pinching of
the empty, rumbling, and croaking guts of the half-starved labourer. The chief
of this cruel insanity remaining, is to be found in certain provincial corporations,
where the jolter-heads or moon-stricken humbugs of the olden time, left part of
their property to the injury of their families, or the neglect of holy charity, for the
base purpose of perpetuating abomination and nuisance. The prevailing fashion
of the day, however, is ever most difficult to conquer, and as it is too generally the
custom, to wind up the tragi-comedy of a boxing match with the entertainment of
a bull-bait, there perhaps lies the chief difficulty of reformation in this case. We
must not yet despair of the Commonwealth of Humanity, and we a second time,
(See Sporting Magazine] make our appeal to the respectable Pugilistic Professor,
Jackson, trusting that his native bravery, love of fair play, good sense, and discre-
tion, will be seriously exerted to the utmost of his great influence in the affair, to
rub out this foul, cowardly, and ignominious stain from the BRITISH PUGILISTIC
RING. Let him reflect, and it ought to be his pride and consolation, that the
science and practice which he professes, are not necessarily connected with any thino*
either immoral or improper ; on the contrary, national, highly useful, and havino-
a most important moral tendency, in the respect that, it teaches men to vent their
passions arid vengeance in blows which impart only a temporary injury, instead of
the course so common and fatal in other countries, of the knife and dagger— in
fact, it is one great cause why England has produced so few assassins. In another
regard, it teaches a branch of the superior morality, namely the great duty of jus-

156 BULL BAITING THE GLORY OF ENGLAND !

tice, exemplified in fair play, and protection of the fallen man. The impressing
of the principles of justice and fairness, in this peculiar case only, must have a con-
siderable and beneficial general effect, even in the minds of the most illiterate and
unthinking blackguards. It is a step, from which they may ascend, in the scale of
moral duties. We conclude with making our apology to Jackson, for attempting
to accommodate him with a tougher job than ever he had to encounter in the Ring,
with his manly arm — namely, the moral reformation of that numerous collection
of kiddies, rum and queer, and flash, whether of the St. Giles's, or the Patrician
breed, which he has so often the occasion and the honour to marshal.

A repetition of the history of this infamy, must overwhelm every honest and
moral relater with shame for the disgrace of his Country, and charge his breast
with contempt and detestation at the madness, atrocity, and hypocritical for-
bearance of too many of his contemporaries. The noble privilege conferred on
Stamford, has already been related. A similar one was subsequently conferred on
Tutbury, in Staffordshire, where a Bull, for the purpose of baiting, was annually
given by the church ! — by the Prior to his Minstrels. The wretched and inof-
fending victim, after having his horns cut off, his ears and tail docked to the very
stumps, his nostrils filled with pepper, and his body besmeared with soap, was
turned out in that most deplorable and piteable state, to be hunted through the
town by a rabble of two-legged hell-hounds, completely void> in consequence of
the lesson taught them, and the momentary exultation of the basest passion, of a single
atom of human intelligence, common sense, or feeling — to be worried backward
and forward amid the astounding and infuriating yells of these savages, until
some hairs, such was the sage condition, were torn from him, and he was caught
and held. That was the signal for chaining him to the stake, to be baited to death
by the dogs. A late Duke of Devonshire, in his quality of Steward of Tutbury, to his
great honour, and highly to the honour of the inhabitants of Tutbury, who joined
his Grace, effected by petition the abolition of this senseless and atrocious custom,
and it was accordingly relinquished by the town, in the year 1778. Why have
not the inhabitants of Stamford and Workingham adopted the same rational and
truly religious method of purging the reputation of their Towns from one of the
foulest and most unnatural infamies ? WE HEREBY CITE THEM TO THE BAR OF

RELIGION, HUMANITY, AND COMMON SENSE, TO COME FORWARD AND ANSWER
THAT QUESTION.

One Stavcrton, whose name might also have been immortalized by setting fire
to a church, or ravishing his grandmother, in 1661, demised the rent of a house for
ever, to the pious and charitable purpose of the annual purchaser of a bull, to be
baited at Workingltam, in Berks. The dead bull and money collected to be distri-
buted among the poor. The day fixed upon for this holy ceremony is that of
Saint Thomas the Apostle ; and about twenty years ago, a sermon was preached
against it, by Dr. Barry, at the desire of the Rev. Mr. Bremner, resident clergy-

TORTURE OF BEASTS FOR CHRISTIAN PLEASURE AND PROFIT ! 157

man of Wokingham. This sermon was soon after published, but without, so far as
we know, any effectual improvement in the public mind. The Philosophical and
Practical Treatise on Horses, in 1796, strongly recommended the general subject
of justice and mercy towards beasts, to the serious consideration and exertions of the
Clergy. In the last year, 1819, a Clergyman of the Church of England, has
published a rational and humane tract on the subject ; but we think there is a mis-
taken principle predominant in nearly all publications of this description, which
must ever be fatal to their success : it is the classing together of actions, utterly
dissimilar and adverse, in point of justice and moral consequence : for example,
Bull-baiting Cock-fighting, and Pugilism. We have already made the discrimi-
nation, and must now repeat, there must surely be great obtuseness of feeling,
where the difference in point of justice and fairness cannot be discovered between
the baiting or torture of the bull, and the voluntary combat of the cocks. Can it
be expected that men who are advocates even for the baiting of animals, will relin-
quish lawful sports, against the fair exercise of which, at any rate, the plea of
injustice cannot be urged ? Baiting- to death of any animal, in the natural,
unsophisticated conscience of things, is a crime appertaining to the class of robbery
and murder : of robbery, as depriving the animal of its right to universal justice,
and of murder, by taking its life through the unjust and sanguinary means of
torture. Another great error, so it appears to our long experience, in most books
of the description under notice, is the reluctance manifested to taking fairly the
lives of starving or superfluous brute animals, and even the discouraging such
practice ; which however is, beyond all question, the greatest justice and kindness
which can possibly be done, both to them and their survivors.

We must omit from shame, indignation, and tortured sensibility, the details at
large, with which we are unfortunately acquainted, of the practice of such barbari-
ties towards the victim Bull, sacrificed to the unrelenting deity of cruelty, and let
us add hypocrisy — as goading him with spikes in his most tender parts, pouring
aquafortis upon his wounded back and loins — disjointing his tail—and all this in
the greater excess, in proportion to the kindness, forbearance, and inaptitude for
mischief and aggression, in the animal ! — our pen drops from the hand with horror
and detestation, calling for blood instead of ink, if it must proceed. The legs
of the Bull Dog have been repeatedly cut off, at the lower joints, and the high-
couraged and desperate brute has, in that state of mutilation, run at the bull, and like
Widdrington, fought upon his stumps ! This infamous and beastly act of cruelty
however, degenerates into mere peccadillo, when compared with the ineffable and
countless tortures inflicted on the Bull.

Can we sufficiently express our surprise, our utter astonishment, that enormities
like these, should not only be tolerated, but supported by authority and public
opinion, beneath the sun of intellectual philosophy, which illumines the nineteenth
century ? How can either philosophy or common sense, endure to hear the

Y

158 TORTURES OF HIGH CONSIDERATION, AND BY AUTHORITY !

barbarous and beastly sophism, that cruelties inflicted on the bodies of beasts bound
to the stake, can possibly contribute to elevate the human courage, and fit men for
gallant soldiers and defenders of their Country ? This granted for argument sake,
the greatest cruelties and wickedness for such purposes, are legitimate. The reli-
gion of these pious sophisters is then most convenient, and allows of the commission of
evil for the attainment of good, on which principle, perjury, murder, or any other
convenient and productive crime, may be defended. We formerly entertained
ourselves with the arguments, such as they were, of that redoubtable Orator, who
defended alike, Bull-baiting, and human slavery. That man had, in an eminent
degree, the gift of the gab ; and at the same time, the pre-eminent art of confound-
ing every subject, beyond all possibility of its being developed and comprehended,
either by himself or others. He was the very Hierophant of confusion, and his
mind the chosen tabernacle of that goddess ; he had, in truth, been so much in the
habit of shaking up right and wrong, in his bag, together, that he had long lost
the faculty of distinguishing the one from the other. We have moreover read
somewhere, that many of our modern Saints, distinguished themselves in opposing
any public measure for the protection of brute animals, and securing to them a
due and needful share of justice : those very Saints, it is averred, who if their
Mouchards were sufficiently staunch and vigilant to bring proof of the facts, would
indict and punish our Cats for catching mice, or committing fornication on the
Sunday. Behold, a Holy Alliance, entered into, between Fanaticism and Bull-
baiting !

MASTIFF VARIETIES. 159

THE MASTIFF.

THE MASTIFF, BAN-DOG, or Keeper, appears indubitably, and in opposition to
the authority of Buffbn, to be a primitive species of the Dog1, which is merely to
say that, an established breed under such denomination, has been known as long- as
tradition or record extend. . We speak however of the British Mastiff only, as at
least the most ancient, since they were sought in this Country, whilst under the
dominion of the ancient Romans; their Emperors, according to the account
delivered down by Historians, sending officers hither, whose business it was to select
Mastiffs of the largest size and most distinguished courage and ferocity, for the
purpose of exhibition in the combats of the Amphitheatre, both against wild beasts
and men ! From hence it is obvious that, if this peculiar race were not confined to
Britain, they were yet to be found here in superior perfection. The scientific des-
cription of the Mastiff, cants familiar is Anglicus, seems to indicate him as of an
English breed, peculiar to this Country.

Dogs are at all periods especially liable to an intermixture of breeds, and we
read in very early times of Mastiff Varieties ; for example, of the smaller and
mongrel Mastiffs. The old Ban Dog, a race long since extinct, is supposed to have
been of the latter. The original and true bred Mastiff is described as follows, and
no doubt with sufficient accuracy, from the few specimens which have been seen by
persons in years — of considerable height, of the largest size in frame, bone, and
substance, colour generally dark brinded, head thick, ears moderately pendulous,
lips large and loose, resembling those of the Blood Hound, eyes bright and expres-
sive of courage with a degree of fierceness, tail large, rather short and slightly
erected. The bold and stately figure of this superior of the Canine species, was
well calculated to inspire awe in both man and beast, whilst the generosity, faith-
fulness, and sagacity of his nature, ensured him respect and love in the human race.
His bark was the loudest, most solemn, and full toned, at the same time had in it much
of the music of thorough bass, and when heard in a still night, at the distance of a
mile or two from a lone Country House, emitted repetitions of sound, at once
terrific and pleasing. The baying of the Mastiff at the Moon, and the howling of
the Spaniel at the same object, we have often heard with an indescribable thrill of
pleasing sensation.

The character of this dog, as handed down from days of yore, and when he was
possessed in this Country, in his original purity of blood, stands on a great eminence
for intelligence, the most sagacious vigilance, and incorruptible fidelity. His
courage, if we may credit these traditions, partook even of the refinement of

160 DUTIES AND MANNER OF THE MASTIFF.

humanity, and far from being stimulated, like the Bull Dog, by a savage thirst of
blood, having torn down a man, the object of his pursuit, he would stand over, and
keep his prisoner in safe custody, without offering farther injury. It is even
reported of a Mastiff, that having caught a strange person upon his premises at
midnight, he attended the suspected thief backward and forward, casting at every
turn a jealous look, and uttering a threatening growl, until at last he saw the
stranger clear of his domain, permitting him to depart without inflicting upon him
the smallest injury. We can even credit this, from something nearly similar which
we have witnessed -, at the same time, we must acknowledge, that we should not be
very ready, personally to volunteer such an experiment with the Yard Dogs of the
present day. The courage of the old Mastiff was fully equal to that of the modern
Bull Dog — he would never give up a contest, whilst life or powers of exertion
remained; he had at the same time, nothing quarrelsome in his disposition, nor
was he tyrannical or unfriendly to inferior dogs. There was this remarkable
and specific difference in their mode of attack, between the Mastiff and the Bull
Dog ; the former perhaps always barks before he bites, the latter bites without
giving tongue at all.

The usual training of the Mastiff, was to keep him chained in his kennel through-
out the day, and to loose him at night, at the locking up the gates of those premises
which it was his duty to guard. The intent of this, he instinctively comprehended,
in a very short time, as those dogs which are naturally keepers, will almost imme-
diately learn to guard any thing, a labourer's coat for instance, committed to their
charge. Becoming accustomed to the extent of the yards, or places within his
watch, and having satisfied his desire for sleep during the day, he wrould continue
pacing backward and forward, marching and countermarching, with all the regu-
larity of a sentinel throughout the night ; at intervals examining every corner,
and occasionally challenging with a warning bark, but on any real cause of alarm,
his barking was loud, sharp, and quickly repeated, a distinction of which
those within doors were well aware, and by which they were effectually alarmed.
When morning comes, this faithful guardian hastens to greet the man whose duty
it is to relieve him from his charge, with wagging of his tail, gentle action, and a
few low sonorous barks demonstrative of his satisfaction, and with a kind lick of the
hands, if the man be a favourite ; but with none of the fawning of the Spaniel,
which is incongruous with his nature, and beneath his natural dignity of character.
He now willingly retires to his kennel, submits to his chain without a murmur,
and without any apparent desire to wander abroad. Such are the familiar day and
night of the MASTIFF-KEEPER.

We have already adverted to the ill consequences which occasionally occur to dogs
subjected to this constant confinement, and of which madness has sometimes been
the result. Periodical purges, and exercise with an attendant whom they will
follow, and sometimes the admission of bitches to them in the Spring, have been

SIR JOHN FIELDING'S AUTHORITY— WAPPITS. 161

found the proper remedies, by those who value their dog's. Formerly, the mastiff
spaded bitch was deemed the most vigilant and fierce guardian.

After all these high commendations of the Mastiff, which protected the property,
and sweetened the rest of our forefathers, but the pure breed of which, is no longer
to be found among us, we cannot help inclining to the opinion of the late Justice,
Sir John Fielding, who like justice herself which he administered, was blind,
namely, of the superior utility of the Wappit, over every species of the large dog,
however fierce ; and more particularly since the loss or degeneration of the pure
Mastiff breed. Sir John gathered from the best authority, that of the thieves
themselves, with whom he had the honour of a more numerous acquaintance than
any other man, that they never dreaded half so much the attacks of the fiercest
large dog, as the tongues of the smallest, which they could find no possible means
to quiet, but knocking them on the head, and that, these everlasting and active
babblers rendered quite impracticable. Besides, these sleep lightly, and may even be
said to be watchful in their sleep. A bitch in heat, it was said, would quiet the
large dogs, but not the small and real Wappits. Perhaps a large Yard Dog should
have an attendant of the smaller kind, whence would arise a double security, from
the courage of the one, and from the alarm given by the barkings of the other. Or
a cry of a couple or two of Wappits, make an excellent guard, running from place
to place, and encouraging each other to give tongue and tattle on the approach of
a stranger : they might, at the same time, well earn their daily bread at a Coun-
try House, as vermin-killers.

It might be deemed extraordinary, did not things upon a level in point of com-
mon sense, often occur, that no one, dealer, sportsman, or other, should find it worth
while, to preserve the so-long-famed breed of the English Mastiff in its original
purity, and that we should prefer the execrable and useless race of the Bull Dog.
So it has happened however, and if there be any true bred Mastiffs left in the
Country, they must need be things to be far fetched and dear bought. So we
found it, many years ago, when we purchased one at a considerable price, as a
guard in a lonely situation. If size and kindness of nature alone, had constituted
the Mastiff, we had been suited to perfection ; but as a guard, the dog was of no
kind of use, having no faculty to make distinction between friends and foes, but
ready at all times, to associate and shake hands with all men. We were sorry to
part with this jolly and good-natured animal, but he was too expensive for a use-
less inmate. What, in fine however, ought to diminish our regret at the loss of the old
English Mastiff, is, as we have before observed, the satisfactory substitution of the
Newfoundland Dog ; a race which merits to be kept pure, and free from our
silly and boyish propensity to crossing of breeds.

To recur to History, during those polite and enlightened times, when our high-
minded Kings, and delicate Queens, and Princesses, experienced such ecstatic
delight in the Royal amusement of Bear Bailing, three Mastiffs were considered

162 COMBATS OF MASTIFFS WITH A LION — LOATHSOME CRUELTY.

a match for a bear, and four for a Lion. Stow, in his annals, gives the following-
account of a combat between three Mastiffs and a Lion, in the presence of King
James the First.

" One of the Dogs being turned into the Den, was soon disabled by the Lion,
who took it by the neck and dragged it about, without its retaining the least
power of resistance ; at this moment, another dog was let loose, which he very
soon served in the same manner ; but the third being turned into the den, instantly
seized the lion by the lip, and so held him for a considerable time, till being
severely torn by his claws, the dog was obliged to quit his hold ; but the lion
being greatly exhausted by the conflict, refused to renew the engagement, and
taking a sudden leap over the dogs, fled into the interior part of the den. Two of
the dogs soon died of the wounds they had received ; the last survived, and was
taken great care of by the King's Son, (Prince Henry,) who said, " that he who had
fought with the King of beasts, should never after be opposed to any animal of an
inferior description/'

The custom of keeping wild beasts prisoners for life, seems to have been common
to all Nations. We shall not enter into the rationale of this lengthened curiosity.
In course, a pack of various wild and savage beasts, is still kept in the Tower of
London, in obedience to precedent, before which, mens' hats fly off as in a storm.
Little curiosity is however excited by these rarities at present ; but one relative
circumstance has often inspired us with contempt and abhorrence, we had almost
said, of human nature ! We allude to the pleasure that thick-sculled bipeds expe-
rience, in casting living puppies and cats to the wild beasts, listening to the crump-
ing the bones of the victims, and enjoying the exquisite music of their screams
and groans ! Oh ! give us four legs, and make beasts of us at once ! These
are among the sights with which children are indulged, the lessons which they
are taught.

Notwithstanding all that has been said on the good-nature and docility of the
Mastiff, it is obvious there must be exceptions to the general rule, and equally so,
that dogs of such size and power, must be capable of great mischief when so
disposed : as an example of great consequence, whenever they take to hunting
Sheep. It therefore stands the keepers of these dogs in hand, to be extremely
watchful of them, and not suffer them to stray unattended from home, to the risk of
their acquiring vicious habits. Another needful caution respects personal risk
from such animals, in consequence of sudden, indeed unaccountable fits of passion,
which may seize them ; such is also the case of Stallions, the danger of
horse play being proverbial. But the grounds of these cautions will be better
elucidated, and their consequence more sensibly felt, by an example to the
purpose.

Nearly twenty years since, a Butcher at Mitcham, in Surry, had reared, as he
supposed, a true-bred Mastiff from a puppy : butchers, however, are not generally

MASTIFF FEROCITY — IMPRUDENCE OF DOG FANCIERS. 163

very accurate or discriminating in matters of pedigree, any more than Horse
Dealers, on the same account, in respect to horses ; and not at all improbably, this
true-bred Mastiff might have a dip or two of the Bull Dog blood in him. How-
ever that might be, our Butcher was extremely attached to his dog, and the at-
tachment appeared to be mutual, the dog following his master abroad on all occa-
sions. Some horse-flesh being purchased, part of it was given to the dog, but not
satisfied with his allowance, he took an opportunity of laying hold of the remaining
portion, when the Master attempting to take it from him, this favourite seized his
arm with the ferocity of a tiger, and tore away the flesh to the very bone ; quit-
ting hold of the arm, he instantly flew at the man's throat, on which he fastened
in such a true bull-dog style, that he could be disengaged by no other means, than
by a rope fixed round his neck by the neighbours, who were most fortunately at
hand, or beyond doubt, the man would have been killed. The dog was nearly
strangled before he could be compelled to quit his gripe. But the most curious
part of the story remains to be related ; yet however curious, it is not without
parallel, and that among persons who ought to be more prone to reflection than
butchers. So ardent and extraordinary was this man's attachment to his dog, that
no importunity could prevail on him to permit the animal to be destroyed, not-
withstanding his own life was for a considerable time, in imminent danger from
the wounds he had received ! But wonders are not to cease yet-— it turned out to
be merely ' a fit of the brute' in the dog, a sudden gust of passion on being deprived
of his fill of that which seemed luxurious to his canine appetite— horse-flesh ; and
he afterwards returned to his former habits of attachment to his master, of quiet-
ness, gentleness, and docility !

As a proper appendage to the above confiding attachment of the butcher, the
following fact will be appropriate. The death of the Hon. Mrs. Duff, a few years
since, by a bite in the face, from a favourite dog, which proved to be rabid, must
still be fresh in the public mind. Soon after this happened, it chanced that the
favourite Spaniel of a man of rank, became diseased, exhibiting some of the most
prominent symptoms of rabies : it was in vain nevertheless, to urge the extreme
danger of the case, and the injustice even, to persons within reach of exposure, by
running the risk of suffering an animal in that state to live. But no arguments
could prevail, although strengthened by a memento of the fate of the unfortunate
lady— the dog was preserved, and the risk wantonly defied, of the most deplorable
calamity which can happen to human nature.

But a truce with the melancholy and desponding parts of our theme, and let us
make way for something more consoling, at least for that which may afford amuse-
ment which is not entirely destitute of profit. We have already descanted on the
solemn and not unpleasing music of the Mastiff's howl ; but brother Hogg, the
celebrated Ettrick Shepherd and Poet, leaves us behind at a vast distance, in regard
to this branch of canine qualification. The Poet narrates that, when he was

164 CANINE PSALMODY— ANECDOTE.

Shepherd to a certain farmer, in whose house the daily family prayers were accom-
panied by psalmody, the Sheep Dog also joined loudly and fervently in the pious
choir ! What a hitherto unthought of qualification in the Dog-, and which could
only have been discovered in Scotland, the land of Saints, as Walter Scott has
proved. And how might old Gervaise Markhams idea of a musical pack, be
improved upon, and its uses and purposes be extended. Nor will the hint, we
should hope, be thrown away upon certain of our Societies in the South. An im-
port of Scotch psalm-singing Dogs might turn out a profitable speculation . Suppose
for instance, one of these put up to auction at Tattersalfs or Aldridge 's, what a theme
would it be for the Auctioneer to enlarge upon, in addition to the other qualifica-
tions of the dog, and what a spur to the eagerness of the surrounding bidders, that
he was one of the first-rate Psalm-singers of the North, and would chaunt a stave
with any Parish Clerk in Britain!

The following remarkable example of canine sagacity, was said at the time to be
well authenticated. In the Autumn of the year before the last (1818,) a Lady
walking over Lansdown, near Bath, was overtaken by a large Mastiff dog, which
had just left two men, who were travelling the same road, with a horse and cart.
The dog continued to follow the Lady, at the same time endeavouring to make her
sensible of something, which he could not otherwise express, by looking in her face,
and then pointing behind with his nose. Failing to make himself understood, he
next placed himself so completely in front of the object of his solicitude, as to
prevent her proceeding, still looking stedfastly in her face. The Lady became
somewhat alarmed ; but judging from the manner of the dog, which did not
appear vicious, or to have any mischief in view, that something about her person
must have engaged his attention, she examined her dress, and missed her laced
shawl. The dog perceiving that he was at length understood, immediately turned
back : the Lady followed him, and was conducted by him, to the spot where her
shawl laid — some distance back in the road. On her taking it up, and replacing
it on her person, this interesting quadruped immediately ran off at full speed,
after his master, apparently much delighted at the service he had rendered ;
leaving the Lady in a state of astonishment, which did not permit her at the
instant, to reward her benefactor with those caresses which he so highly merited.

Most probably, this dog, in the above relation, called a Mastiff, was chiefly of
the Newfoundland breed,. a mastiff-substitute, the entire Mastiff not being re-
marked for the qualities here described. We embrace this opportunity to ac-
knowledge, that the Portrait which we exhibit of the Mastiff, must not be
considered as a specimen of the pure original race— for where could our Artist
find one of that description ? but of the Mastiffs or large Yard Dogs of the present
time. This portrait, which was from the life, obviously shews a hound cross—
a portion of the old Mastiff, joined with the Blood Hound or Southern Hound.

As long ago nearly as we can remember, a man exhibited a carriage drawn by

M. CHABERT— DRAUGHT DOGS IN LONDON AND ABROAD. 165

six dogs. These were of the largest and most powerful which we have ever wit-
nessed, and perhaps approached as nearly the form of the old Mastiff, as any which
have been seen in these latter times. Monsieur Chabert, whom we had lately the
honour to quote, has arrived in the Metropolis from Bath, with his great Siberian
Wolf dog, which he now offers to the public for the sum of two hundred pounds.
He has a Gig, purposely constructed, in which, he says, this dog can draw him
thirty miles in a day. This brings us once more to the subject of draught dogs, in
which they greatly excel us upon the Continent, and still more in their very exten-
sive use of that kind of draught. The Mastiff, such as he is at present found,
from his size, bone, and strength, is certainly among the breeds best adapted to that
purpose.

It has been already remarked that, the use of dogs for draught, is rather upon
the increase in London, although hitherto, there has not been much selection
used in the case, nor any great solicitude shewn to obtain the largest and most
powerful kinds ; doubtless, from this business being in the hands of labourers only.
We are not aware that dogs are much, or at all, applied to this purpose in the
Country, or to any rural business ; although we recollect that, some schemer for-
merly proposed them for the plough, upon lands particularly, which are injured by
the heavy tread of horses or oxen. But how many of the most powerful dogs would
it require, to plough an acre in a day, of heavy land, the kind of land which receives
injury fcom compression ? We have nevertheless heard it asserted, that there is
light, thin soil, of which four good dogs would be able to plough an acre per day, with
a light and well-formed implement.

We have not visited Holland or Belgium, for many years, and when there, did
not pay that particular attention to the draught Dogs, which has since been shewn
by the late humane Mr. Pratt. Our curiosity was mostly attracted by the full-fed,
large and heavy black draught Horses, of those Countries, and their Cows clothed,
for it was in the winter season, like our saddle horses. The Dutch generally, who
possess the means, have a very just regard for the comforts and well-being of their
animals of every description. We observed also, that the flesh of their beef and
their hares, is lighter in colour, than that of the same animals in our own Country.
According to Mr. Pratt, there is not an idle dog, of a size equal to labour, in the
whole of the Seven Provinces. They may be seen in all parts of the Hague, and
other Towns, tugging at barrows and light carts, with their tongues forced out of
their mouths almost to the ground, by excessive exertion, and their poor palpitating
hearts ready to beat through their sides. They are harnessed three, four, five, and
sometimes six abreast, drawing men and goods with the speed of little horses. In
passing from the Hague Gate to Scheveling, may be seen, at any hour of the day,
an incredible number of carriages loaded with fish and men, and drawn by Dogs,
which go upon a long trot, and frequently, when driven by young men or boys, at
full gallop, throughout the distance from gate to gate, which is a full mile and half.

166

TREATMENT QF DOGS FOOD.

Every Dutchman, to analogyze for a convenient phrase, has, in this affair been
sworn at Highgage — he will never walk when he can ride, be it but for half a mile.
In the Dog-days, these patient, laborious, and most willing animals, are sometimes
driven to such excess, that they drop down upon the road, and there remain until
their exhausted powers are renewed for fresh and unceasing labours. They have
however the full benefit of the Sabbath, resting undisturbed on that day. Canine
Madness is not more frequent in that Country than in this. In the summer
season, the best draught dogs, near the sea-side, are driven down to the beach
daily, and even several times in the day, to bathe and repose themselves, and some
of them have light clothing to preserve them from the flies.

Various receipts have been published, and indeed continue to be so, for the best
mode of feeding dogs, as if there were some mystery or difficulty in it. Potatoes
and Oatmeal, are certainly the Itestjill-up for the purpose, and Horse-flesh should
be allowed, whenever it can be obtained. The best method is to skin the potatoes,
and put them into boiling water : when they are about half boiled, add oatmeal,
after the rate of two pounds to a peck of potatoes, stirring and boiling the whole
sufficiently, to make a thick soup. Some salt ought to be allowed, and more espe-
cially when no animal food is given with the soup ; and also, when it is.

APPENDIX

THE TURF.

WE have repeated in the present Work, and indeed had already given proof of
the fact, in the BRITISH FIELD SPORTS, that the business of the TW/"had greatly
increased of late years ; in truth that its increase had become commensurate with
the increase of the population of these Kingdoms ; and, as we cannot suppose that
under such circumstances, light and intelligence have been retrograde, it will be
rational to conclude that, the science, business, and pleasure of Horse Coursing,
have been found in an enlightened age, worthy the attention and pursuit of
men, the most distinguished for their rank in society, and for their skill in the
science of life. Breeding for the Turf seems to proceed in an increasing ratio, and
bloojl is now almost universally diffused through the Equine genus of this Country,
with scarcely the exception of the horse for slow draught. Our studs also afford
a considerable surplus of horses for exportation to the Continent, to the United
States of America, and even to the East Indies; and the British Race Horse is uni-
versally allowed to stand proudly at the head of the whole genus, for size and powers,
for symmetry and beauty; and is thence chosen by foreigners, to improve the breeds
of their Country, both with respect to figure and utility. Our improvement in the
management of this invaluable and national race of horses, has long been conspi-
cuous, in respect to their stable treatment, exercise, and purgings ; in all which
cases, we have shaken off much of the barbarism, harshness, and fanciful discipline
of former days. In fine, our thorough-bred Horses have long since excelled their
originals of the South Eastern Deserts, nor do we find it possible to import from
thence any specimens, for symmetry of form, beauty, or useful qualification, equal to
our own.

Having freely acknowledged thus much, we may be allowed to give our sen-
timents with equal freedom in the other direction ; and to state our opinion that,
however greatly we have improved, we have not yet reached that ultimate
point, bordering on perfection, which it is within our power to attain. The
attainment of this desirable, indeed national object, must depend entirely on the
practical, and experimental personal exertions of Sporting Gentlemen and Breeders,
of enlarged and unprejudiced mind : of men in the well-informed ranks of society,

170 DEFECTS IN THE TURF SYSTEM— DONCASTER.

who will condescend to bestow a portion of their time on a most interesting-, and
highly useful pursuit, which has certainly suffered, and its advancement been
retarded, from its committal, with few exceptions, to ignorant and incapable
hands, and with the additional misfortune of a powerful interest also subsisting
in opposition to any beneficial change. But interest must necessarily be a power-
ful and leading motive to all ranks, and considering the vast sums at stake in breed-
ing or training the Race Horse, can it be doubted whether or not, an actual and
practical knowledge on these points, ought to form a prime object of solicitude ?
Having during a long series of years, as opportunity has served, taken practical
views and formed opinions on this subject, we shall, by and by, although it
may probably be a repetition, refer to certain common defects in our Turf
System, and we flatter ourselves propose such as may prove effective remedies.

Inclination however leads us to give precedence to a little Anecdotal History of
late Turf transactions — we allude to the well-known dispute respecting the START
for the St. Leger Slakes, during the last Meeting at Doncaster ; on which the
Jockey Club have since decided with an equity and impartiality, from which, to
the best of our information, that honourable body, consisting of men of the most
distinguished rank and fortune in this Country, have never been known, in a single
instance, to swerve. Reckoning the amount of the Stakes, and of the very con-
siderable sums depending in bets, a heavy and extensive interest was at issue on
this occasion ; and, as in the everlasting whirl of affairs, every fresh occurrence is apt
to obliterate the recollection of its predecessors, of however weighty import, and as
men's memories are treacherous, and their attachment to bad customs, in an
equal degree, tenacious, it is highly for the interest of the Sporting World, that
the affair should be thoroughly canvassed, put fairly upon record, and that proper
regulations in the case should be established, and due care taken, that in future,
they never be infringed.

The St. Leger Stakes of twenty-five guineas each, for three year old Colts, eight
stone two pounds ; Fillies, eight stone — St. Leger Course — fifty subscribers, was
run for on Monday, September 28, 1819, fourteen horses starting, of which the
three following only were placed :

Mr. J. Ferguson's b. c. Antonio, by Octavian, dam by Evander,
ridden by T. Nicholson ------------1

Mr. Pierse's b. c. by Walton, out of Lisette -------2

Lord Ellington's b. c. Archibald, by Stamford ----- 3

In consequence of Col. Cradock's b. c. Sir Walter, by Whitworth—Mr. Lamb-
tons br. c. Agricola, by Sir H. Dimsdale—Mr. Jaquess b. c. by Thunderbolt-
Mr. Watson's b. c. Harmonious, by Walton— and Mr. Uppleby's ch. c. Wildboy,
by Amadis, not getting off when the word was given to start (not being ready) the

FALSE STARTS FOR THE ST. L.EGER— DECISION. 171

fourteen started without them, and the Stewards of Doncaster Races, declaring it
a false start, the following horses started again, and came in as under —

Col. Cradock's b. c. Sir Walter, by Whitworth, out of Esther,
ridden by William Scott ......-.---1

Mr. Pierse's b. c. by Walton, out of Lisette- ------ 2

Lord Eglington's b. c. Archibald, by Stamford, out of Blue
Stockings -------------^--3

Seven others also started, but were not placed.

The Stewards of the Race apparently, acted on the spur of the moment, and
without sufficient premeditation, in allowing a second start ; on the other hand,
Mr. Ferguson, the proprietor of Antonio, the winning horse, was guided by
sound discretion, and due confidence in the justice of that Court, to which he was
aware the cause must be referred, in declining again to start his horse. Reference
having since been made to the Jockey Club, their decision was as follows —

" Newmarket, Tuesday, October 5th, 1819. The Stewards of the Jockey Club
having taken into consideration, the Case laid before them by the Stewards of
Doncaster Races, respecting the St. Leger, and having examined Mr. Lockwood,
the person appointed by the Stewards of Doncaster to start and judge the Race, are
decidedly of opinion, that the Race should have been given to Antonio ; and con-
sequently that the Stewards should not have allowed a second Race. — By order of
the Stewards of the Jockey Club. (Signed) " EDWARD WEATHERBY."

Our uninformed Readers should be apprized that, in a Sporting view, the
decision of the Jockey Club is final ; from thence, there can be no other appeal
than to the Courts of Law.

This may truly be said to have been a sporting Race : seven to four were betted
against the favourite, Mr. Pierse's Colt, and one hundred to three against Antonio,
the Winner. One hundred to three, and one hundred to four, against several
others. To enter into the merits of the dispute respecting this double start, it
cannot be denied with any degree of impartiality, that there was meditated un-
fairness in the transaction, and that blame ought to attach somewhere; sentiments,
the truth of which, we apprehend, will be fully borne out by the contents of the
following letter, published in December last, in the Sporting Magazine, and
obviously written by a Sportsman, not only well acquainted with certain manoeuvres,
too generally made use of in Racing, and which have been practised of late years
to an excess which must be its own cure, but also the particular state of the late
transactions at Doncaster.

172 CORRESPONDENCE ON THE FALSE STARTS.

" It was my intention ere this, to have prepared for your Magazine, some
remarks upon a subject which concerns in no small degree, the interests of all, who
are in any manner connected with the turf. The subject to which I allude is the
late race for the St. Leger Stakes, at Doncaster. The object I have in view, in
thus intruding upon your notice, is to point out what I conceive to be the cause of the
late confusion which took place at Doncaster. It would appear, it is the object of
the riders to harrass and irritate the warm-tempered horses, as much as possible by
the frequency of false starts. An idea at one time prevailed, that the Lisette Colt,
(Mr. Pierse's, the favourite) was of a very irritable disposition, consequently we
immediately see the object there was in view, in making so many false starts. Now,
Sir, if stakes like the St. Leger, Derby, Oaks, &c. are to be won or lost at the
pleasure of men intituled Jockies, there is an end to racing. If it is to depend on
the caprice of such men, whether the horses are to go off at the first start, or at the
eighth or twelfth, I cannot but anticipate a speedy dissolution to such stakes.
When Prince Paul started for Derby, it is solely to the great number of false
starts that his defeat was attributed. When Altisidora won the St. Leger, there
were no less than ten starts before the horses could get away. From these instances
I conclude such conduct in Riders highly improper and reprehensible — to one man
I point in particular. He is a man rendered conspicuous, not for his superior
ability in jockeyship only, but also for the continual practice of this stale trick.
His conduct at M; when on G was such as to draw forth the just in-
dignation of the surrounding multitude. Such men are unworthy the support of
any Gentleman, and when we see such notorious characters employed, we have but
too much reason to suspect their conduct is winked at. I do not undertake to
point out a method of starting, by which that confusion, similar to what took place
at Doncaster, can be avoided, but really the difficulty .appears so small, that the
least study would suggest one."

It will be but candid, or fair play, so state the arguments of another practical
Sportsman, who takes a directly opposite view of the question.—

He urges that — " although more Horses are entered for the stakes this year,
than ever were entered before, there is no ground why the start should be altered :
besides, if any method be fixed upon for the future starts at this Race, it must
either emanate from the Members of the Jockey Club, or be approved of and adopted
by them. It is well known, and has been often proved, of how little consequence
it is, whether the Jockey gets the first at the start, or gets only what is termed, a
tolerably good start, which every one may do, for the distance is such, that in the
latter case, when the horses have passed the Hill, (Doncaster Course) he has it in
his power to take what place he chuses, provided his horse has sufficient speed, for

REGULATION FOR THE START. 173

there, the horses that are exhausted fall back, and continue to do so, to the end of
the race, till, as is often the case, there are only two or three which come in, and
are able to try for the Stakes ; and in case a Jockey cannot obtain the place he
chuses, after the Hill is passed, on account of the deficiency of speed in his horse,
he could not have won the race if he had had the best possible start. To prove this
assertion I may instance the time, when the late Duke of Hamilton's William won
the St. Leger, almost in a canter, although he lost two hundred yards at starting :
also the time, when Altisidora, Tiger, and Camelopard, the three first favourites,
came 'm first, second, and third, notwithstanding1 they were jaded by so many false
starts. If it were necessary, I could instance many more cases; but it must
be evident to every thinking person, that as so few horses try for the race at
the last, a horse may win as easily with a fair start, as with the best start
imaginable."

This Gentleman perhaps, like many other correct logicians, does not perceive
that he has argued perfectly well, to no manner of purpose : that he has gone only
skin-deep, leaving the marrow of the question still in the cavity of the bone, and
untouched. All his arguments will doubtless apply, regulation or no regulation —
the question remains, is, or is not, a new regulation necessary. To decide that
question experimentally, we need go no farther back, than the history of the late
double start at Doncaster, with all its trouble, vexations, and risks. . As to the
necessity of applying to the Jockey Club for a regulation, which by way of emphasis,
we have placed in Italics, that appears to be one of the most curious of objections.
With what propriety or efficiency, could any Turf rule intended to be obligatory
and permanent, be elsewhere obtained ?

But, having at some length, made a clear stage j to come to the start of the
question — nobody can deny, that a grievance has been proved ; and should it be
urged that, here is a case made of much cry and little wool, and that there need no
ghost to be disquieted and brought up, to prescribe a remedy, it may well be
answered, why has a nuisance susceptible of a prompt and easy abatement, been
suffered to continue so long, and why so much argufication pro and con on the
premises ? A start ought evidently to be a certain thing, clear of all contingency,
since all the parties concerned, horse and man, however various and unequal their
qualifications, in that respect, necessarily stand upon a level, each taking his own
chance. On this simple, therefore just ground, and to avoid the possibility of
dispute, misapprehension, or Jockeyship, one decisive start only is lawful, the word
being given by the proper officer of the course, by beat of drum, or sound of bugle.
For example, to round or complete the proposition, suppose the signals, at conve-
nient periods — a beat of the drum for the horses to assemble, another for them to
saddle, mount, and chuse places, and a blast of the bugle for the start. This regu-
lation, should it be honoured with the sanction of the Jockey Club, to be announced

A A

174 CUSTOM AND MOTIVES OF FALSE STARTING.

throughout the first or present Season, in the Bills of fare of every Race Course
throughout these Kingdoms.

We have preferred the sounding a bugle or drum, to the dropping of a flag, since
the flag, it has been said, might alarm some young horses, and cause them to
swerve, or bolt. In regard to the difficulty experienced by Riders of young restiff,
or fractious horses, and the uncertainty of starting such, those contingencies are
obviously, and in the view of common sense, their own and the proprietor's chance,
or if you will, misfortune, and which every Jockey is fairly bound to risk, equally
with that other possible risk of breaking his neck. It is an unfair expectation in
any one, to be insured from these risks, granting such insurance possible, since it
must be done at the expense of some other, namely, of him who rides a horse that
will start readily and well, a legitimate advantage or fair pull, of which he ought
not to be deprived, and in which no competitor can claim a right to share. And
after all the logic which can be chopped upon the subject, the arguments of a Cor-
respondent above quoted, will in a certain degree, maintain their validity in a fair
point of view— the start is not of that mighty consequence, in a race of any consi-
siderable length, which has been assigned to it. Indeed could Old Dick Goodison
start up from his resting place, mounted upon Rocket, as we have seen him in days
of yore, ready to start for a quarter of a mile race, he might tell our Younkers
something about starting. In short, not the Rouge et Noir, in which there was
a good pull, but the parfail egalite of the business seems to decide that, all Race
Horses, speedy or stout, hot and choleric or cool tempered, restiff or quiet, should
take their equal chance, both in the placing, and at the start ; in the same manner
as all, however various their qualifications and powers, must each depend upon his
own individual exertions, or good luck in the race.

We have been dilating on fair advantages. In these, the fair and equal
rights of the Turf, every Sportsman ought to be protected. So far as regulation
goes, lies the province of the Jockey Club, and that honourable body cannot give
protection to any thing-, unfair, since it is absolutely contrary to the nature of
their institution. Nor ought any custom or thing of that description, upon the
Turf, to be suffered to derive encouragement from inattention or neglect. The
false starts, every man who frequents the Race Course, well knows to have had
certain motives not of the fairest kind, and to have become so much the order of the
Course, that they have been for a long time looked upon by Jockies as a fair pull \
and a readiness in getting up a false start, and raising a call-back, have been
deemed accomplishments in a Jockey, well worth the labour of acquisition. Nor
has this manoeuvre wanted the encouragement of Gentlemen, at least trainers of
Race Horses, many of whom it is not whispered, are equally fond of a pull per fas
aut nefas, as their trainers and jockeys. " Every one," says an intelligent
Oxfordshire Sportsman, " knows that Jockies are sometimes ordered not to go off,
till the Judge has been several times disappointed, and the order given that they

ALL'S WELL AT DONCASTER— ACCIDENTS. 17.5

shall positively start on the next signal. When 'Sam won the Derby, there were
ten false starts* and the Judge declared the next start should be final (as was the
case at Doncaster) and on the next signal being given, they all started, a con-
vincing proof that they could all have started, had they wished to do so." It has
been proposed that, when the field of horses is numerous, the Jockies should draw
lots for places ; and when they had so done, the unquiet horses would not keep
them ; certainly were any thing of this kind desirable or necessary, nothing could
be so fair as drawing lots.

That famous old proverb — all's well that ends well, seems to apply well to Don-
caster on this occasion. The dispute has been equitably settled by the proper au-
thority ; the bets have been been paid by those whose habit it is to pay ; there is a
numerous Subscription for the next St. Leger, and there can be no doubt, so exem-
plary as the general management of the Race Course at Doncaster has hitherto
been, but that some adequate regulation will be adopted with respect to the start.
In the mean time, the Corporation of Doncaster has lately enlarged to such an
extent that part of their Race Course, from which the horses start for the St. Leger
Stakes, that thirty horses, if necessary, may start a-breast of each other. It has
been determined also, it seems, by the Doncaster Jockey Club, in future to associate
three experienced Sporting Gentlemen with their Stewards, whenever the latter
shall not have had sufficient practice upon the Turf. And to crown the whole,
Mr. Ferguson, the proprietor of Antonio, a most respectable Innkeeper, at Catte-
rick Bridge, has not only fairly received the Stakes which he fairly won, but sold
the winning horse to Mr. Clifton, for one thousand Guineas.

We have borne testimony, on universal report, for we have never been nearer to
Doncaster than Tuxford in the clays, to the excellent order and management of
the Race Course at the former place ; and more particularly, in that essential
respect of keeping the Course clear during the race, and protecting the lives and
limbs of the actors and spectators of the passing scene. This laudable example, we
understand, has been followed by the Stewards of the Race at the City of Oxford ;
and if our information be correct, for we have made no further inquiries, on a plan
recommended and published by us, two or three years since, in the Sporting Maga-
zine. We believe, no additional observations on this head, are needful, but to
remind those, who have the means in their power to prevent the recurrence of such
fatal accidents as have too long and too often disgraced the English Race Course,
that a heavy responsibility must necessarily attach to apathy and neglect.

As faithful historians, it is however our bounden duty to speak with impartiality,
and in giving the character of the Course at Doncaster, not to overlook that of
certain persons, said to be its constant attendants. This will moreover form a
proper introduction to a material branch of our subject. A certain Gentleman of
the Turf, of high character and eminence, is stated to have made the following
reply to an enquirer, who professed to have rather a weighty cause for suspicion :—

176 CURRENT SUSPICIONS— ANECDOTE.

" I thought you were aware of the set who, for many years, have attended Don-
caster : for my part, I have long since declined having a guinea, either upon the
St. Leger Stakes, or any other race there." Such a circumstance has now and
then occurred, as a favourite breaking down, conveniently as has been averred,
within a week of the race. For our own part, we can scarcely find room in our
mind for such an idea, as a horse being villainously and purposely lamed ; and vet
the certainty that Race Horses have been poisoned, for the same purpose of base and
criminal interest, is enough to stagger and unsettle the most liberal faith and opi-
nion of human nature.

The following intelligence, published soon after the late disputed race, is re-
markable, but on which it is not within our power to make any comments. That
task we commit to those in the secret. " Mr. Lambton, from some cause or other,
changed his trainer j and Mr. Watt dismissed his former trainer, Old Sykes, for
reasons that were not publicly assigned. Perhaps this circumstance may operate
usefully. It had long been suspected, that there were trainers in the habit of
speaking very highly of their own horses, and then employing friends or some con-
fidential persons to bet against them to a large amount ; thereby ensuring to them-
selves a certain gain, while their masters were certain losers."

We can speak positively to something of this kind, which happened many years
ago. One evening, being accidentally left tete a tete with a certain character of
great eminence on the Turf, and neither of us having any other engagement, time
and wine passed on, hearts expanded, reserve gradually gave way, sporting subjects
were discussed, and some curious Anecdotes popped out under the shade of night,
which might have shunned the sober light of the morning. Among others, I
heard a particular account, and as I had good reason to conclude, from a party
principally concerned, of a successful ruse played off the preceding season, which
had the additional success to escape all suspicion. A Gentleman of high eminence
in other respects, but never for his success in Race Horses, had one from which he
expected remuneration for past misfortunes, and with that view, he was disposed
to back the horse to a considerable amount. A short time previous to the period
fixed for the race, he made a journey to the Stables, in order to ascertain the con-
dition of the race, and take the benefit of the training Groom's opinion. Both
were favourable; and barring accidents, winning a certainty. No sooner had the
Gentleman departed, than a confidential express was dispatched to London, and an
engagement formed with certain well-known honourable Sporting Gentlemen
there, in consequence of which, bets to a considerable amount were made, the
Groom standing as much as suited his convenience. The reader is aware on which
side the money was laid, and that the horse lost, which he did very cleverly.

These things, however, are not put forward on our part, as novelties, or rarities,
and that they are not such, perhaps some of our readers can give a feeling assent.
According to late current report, many Gentlemen, trainers of Race Horses, have

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC TRAINING. 177

become exceedingly dissatisfied, and complain that they can find 110 means of keep-
ing- the qualifications of their horses secret, and thence have determined upon
training at home. But such a measure can be carried into effect, by those only, who
have good exercise-ground upon their own estates, or in their vicinity. With
respect to public training, as at Newmarket and elsewhere, there certainly must be
some considerable advantages in it : and in regard to the disadvantage complained
of, it is a handy-cap affair, in which all share alike, and which offers the hedge of
sufficient personal attention, scrutiny into character, and due share of any intelli
gence to be obtained. Many are had, to be sure, but many offer themselves ; and
who is most to blame, when such an offer is accepted ?

But to come to a point of the highest consequence to the interests of the Turf,
and of sound reason, we can have no doubt, that where one horse has been lamed
fraudently and wickedly, one hundred have been broken down by the existing
remains of the ancient and absurd system of training, which are yet cherished by
habitual prejudices, and obviously, in no small degree, by certain parties, from
interested motives. The Proprietors themselves of Race Horses, in fact, instead
of following the successful example of Sir Charles Bunbitry, have shewn them-
selves as lingering and tardy, in casting off the slough of these inveterate preju-
dices, as their grooms and trainers, to whose guidance in the affair, they have
generally submitted with an implicit faith. Training is a good thing, Purging is
a good thing; ergo, a Racer cannot have too much of them. Ahorse with bones of
adamant, tendons of steel, and sinews of a super-animal fibrous contexture, would
scarcely be able to bear up against the perpetual repetition and attrition of such
discipline : and when he breaks down — oh ! he has been carefully and sufficiently
trained, he has had his chance ; if it will do, advertise him as a Stallion ; if not,
sell him, and buy another. Such is the usual logic of the stable, and it passes for
sterling. The Philosophical and Practical Treatise on Horses, published
in 1796, so far as we know, was the first publication which adverted specifically
to the custom of overtraining the Race Horse ; and the sentiments of the Author
on that subject, were honoured with the approbation of the then Duke of Bedford,
and several other intelligent and experienced Sporting Gentlemen.

Having corresponded occasionally with the Sporting Magazine, during the last
two or three and twenty years, we assume a greater freedom of quotation ; and
finding in the Number for last December, a letter much to our present purpose, and,
no doubt, written by some person of experience, and who well knows the existing
circumstances of the Turf, whether in the North or in the South, we extract and
address it to the serious consideration of our Sporting Readers. —

" It is an observation which every day's experience proves to be true, that the
Newmarket Horses, however high their reputation may be there, never win
in the North of England. If they were started immediately on their arrival

178 COMPARISON OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH COUNTRY RACERS.

this might be easily accounted for ; but those which are sent down to run for the
St. Leger Stakes, generally arrive at Doncaster a fortnight or three weeks before-
hand, that they may be used to the stables, the air, and the water. The trainer
and the jockey come along with them, so that they have their usual customs and
advantages, and on these grounds have no excuse for their ill success.

" But the observation made by the North Country trainers is, that the New-
market trainers train over highly, and never seem to have done galloping their
horsas. This we believe was very discernable in the case of Sultan, at the last
Doncaster Races. A day or two before the Races, he appeared in the highest con-
dition ; but we understand his Newmarket trainer thought otherwise, and would
give him a severe gallop of four miles, and the course being uncommonly hard at
the time, he broke down in coming in, and so lost his chance for the St. Leger
Stakes, for which he had been training so long.

" The Northern Jockies, more cunning, gave their horses nothing but slight
gallops, and latterly, only a good deal of walking exercise, which kept their
muscles and sinews in sufficient play, and did not endanger their giving way, by
strong exertions over ground, which at that time was as hard as a London
pavement.

u The Newmarket fashion of always keeping a horse ready to start, when a
match is made, never answers when a horse is kept up for a great stake, which
horse has been put at ease, a long time previously. Besides, it is a well ascertained
fact, that no animal, game Cock, Horse, or Greyhound, will long stand at what
is technically called hi&mark"

The signature to the above letter is AMATUER, but the substance of it is the result
of much practical observation, and well merits the serious attention of all trainers
of Race Horses, whether of the North or the South. With respect to antiquity
and celebrity, either in the breed or training of the Horse, Yorkshire claims the
precedence, but in succeeding times, the palm has been pretty equally divided, and
the balance in regard to the number of capital Racers bred, has necessarily perhaps
inclined to the South, from the gradual and great extension of the breeding
system. Horses, winning and being* beaten alternately and reciprocally, in the
North, and South, is an old theme, of which we well recollect the discussion,
when Mr. Stapylton's Magog, first came up to Newmarket ; but if our memory
serve us faithfully, the Northern grooms were represented in those days, as the
greatest disciplinarians ; and if they have since, as the letter-writer asserts,
outrun their brethren at Newmarket, in improved practice, and in relaxing' the
rigour of ancient pedantic usage, it is another proof of the acuteness of northern
intellect.

A Horse breaks down in running — in all probability nine such accidents in ten,
result from injuries done to the legs and joints, and from impending lameness, in

CASES OP OVER-TRAINING. 179

consequence of excess of training* : and we submit, whether it may not be received
as a general truth that, hitherto, training a horse for the race, has been far more
injurious to him than the race itself. The case of Sultan above quoted, we have
often seen repeated ; sometimes with impunity, at others with similar definitive
effect. A notable instance at this moment presents itself. One of the first horses
of his day, was within ten or twelve days of a great match, on which very heavy
sums depended. He was in the highest condition, his flesh as firm as wax, his legs
as fine as those of a sucking foal, although an aged horse ; but being a good feeder
when well, and of a cheerful airy temper, his muscles appeared still plump, and it
would not have been quite practicable to have drawn him through a ring. Although
this horse's mark and trim had been so long known, and it might have been well
supposed that condition, health, and fine action, must be the best proof of his
being, at the instant, up to the height of it, yet the trainer, sticking to the old
text, that wo horse can run without plenty of time and work, determined that another
sweat and a sharp rally were necessary, in order that the horse might come to the
post in the highest state of perfection. Those he had, and went through them ap-
parently without injury, but he lost a great portion of his hilarity and his appetite ;
and the next morning, the lad who looked after him, found his Lack-sinews swelled
up to his knees, and one of his fore feet marked, that is to say, pointed forward, in
order to mark the inflammation which had commenced in the pastern joint, and
which is usually succeeded by debility and actual lameness. All this, however, was
nothing, in the view of the trainer, unless a favourable opportunity for a new
exertion of his skill. Some customary stable mess was next forced down the
horse's throat, he was put into a loose stable, and for several days, could take only
walking exercise. We have repeatedly seen stout and hard-feeding' horses sweated
off their stomachs and out of their spirits, and the edge of that moderate share of
speed which they possessed, and which was of such immense consequence to them,
or rather to their proprietors, entirely blunted. It is proper however to ac-
knowledge, that we are speaking of Newmarket in times long past ; and
we are ready to allow, that considerable improvement may have taken place
there, in the management of the Race Horse, although some farther strides
in that course, are necessary, in order to reach successfully the ending-post.

We used to boast in the South, that the Northern horses generally came up to
Newmarket to be beaten ; but perhaps our memories acted conveniently in the matter.
They have generally run well there, often capitally. Witness Sampson, and Bay
Malton. A really capital horse would win according- to his rank, in any part of
England ; but with middling racers, and such as may expect to meet with their
peers, travelling is a matter of great concern, as well as difference of air and water ;
for it is wonderful, upon what even trifling circumstances, the higher and top-keys
of speed and wind depend, and how differently the same horse shall either g-allop
or trot, this week and the next. After long travel, in order to do justice to the

180 GRAND TRIAL STAKES.

Racer, the interval before the race should be as long as possible, at least ten days j
and the intermediate training- of the mildest description— walking- exercise, can-
tering-, short brushing- gallops, if the ground be good, but no sweat ; which last
rule might perhaps be made absolute ; for a sweat soon after a long journey, will
be probable to take more from the edge of a horse's speed, than he will afterwards
recover in the whole season.

These considerations introduce the idea of a fair mode, on which to decide the
point of superiority between the Northern and Southern Racers ; and this it ap-
pears would be by their annual meeting at a half-way house, that the travel and
other circumstances might be equal between them. Suppose then, we fix upon
Nottingham, and propose an annual Sweepstakes there, over the Course, to continue
ten years, for horses of all ages, carrying the usual weights, one hundred guineas
each, half forfeit— horses bred and trained in the neighbourhood, to carry extra
weight. This race to be denominated " THE GRAND TRIAL STAKES FOR
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HORSES." With all submission, we propose this to
the Noblemen and Gentlemen assembled at Newmarket first Spring Meeting 1820.
It would be a prize worth training and running for.

From the above investigation of the subject, we must venture to conclude, it
will appear rational that, in training the Race Horse, moderation, or even rather
underdoing the business, will be far the least risk of the two extremes, and this
more especially, with respect to two and three year old stock, the soft and expand-
ing tendons and sinews of which, must necessarily be so liable to strain and injury :
and these reasons carry still more cogency and force, when our English custom is
considered of making size the second, or even tantamount object inbreeding for the
Course. Those large and heavy three year olds have seldom underpinning suffi-
ciently substantial, to support the weight above : what then must be the conse-
quence, with the common addition of an enormous weight of sweaters ? The oldest
trainers can give the most numerous answers to that question. Whatever may be
the race, from five hundred yards to four mile heats, surely the horse, fresh upon
his legs, and in full vigour of health and spirit, must, form and weight to be carried
being equal, prove superior to a competitor trained to the bone-lean condition of a
dog-horse, with his feet and joints so constantly shaken by work, that if he cannot
be positively deemed lame, the same hesitation must be observed in pronouncing
' him sound. Allowing that the former, our frisky and high-mettled Racer, have
to carry a number of pounds more solid flesh than his meagre antagonist, this is
not to be reckoned on a level in the scale, with dead weight, as any horse of common
sense, that is to say, feeling, will tell you extempore.

It may be pronounced that, even KINGS must not expect to have their royal
concerns ably and faithfully managed, unless they will condescend to a sufficient
degree of inspection and superintendance : without such labour, how are they able
to judge even, of the merits of their servants ? We apply this once more and once

BREEDING PRO AND CON— EXAMPLES. 181

for all to the Proprietors of Race Horses, who besides we would counsel to proceed
farther on the Course, than to be mere smatterers. We except, however, those
Noble Lords and Honourable Gentlemen who breed and train horses out of pure
ostentation, and with the mere view of ridding themselves of a superfluous and
burdensome load of cash. They need no advice— they are in the right road.

Thus, in the event considered on all sides, it may perhaps turn out best, to train
and race sound horses ; although some folks may jeer, and dub us conjurers, for
hazarding so monstrous a speculation. Perhaps also in breeding, it might be worth
while to consider the argument of Mr. Cline, and pay more attention to the size of
the Mare, and less to that of the Stallion : and also that of John Lawrence, which
goes to the paying less attention to the fashionable blood, and more to the form of
both Stallion and Mare. We cite his Christian name, because John is not Richard
—even as Richard, in days past, published an advertisement with his book, to
assure the Public, that Richard is not John ! His friend Count Veltheim, in
his late judicious remarks on English horses, is perfectly just, on the striking in-
feriority of form to be observed in the brood mare, compared with the stallion.
We should certainly be gainers in every point of view, individual and national, by
breeding for form equally as for blood and size ; but we do not assert this without
experience of the difficulties in the case, of the length of time, the attention, the
brains, and the care required ; and that it would be, to use an ancient and vulgar
phrase — to make a toil of a pleasure.

Not however to be so fashionable, as to overlook the altera pars of the question,
we present the reader with some facts collected by a Sportsman somevyears since,
which appear as a contra-indication to the theory of Mr. Cline ; being1 in favour of
the common practice of chusing superior size in the Stallion, since the Mares
hereafter quoted, no doubt, bred, almost universally, by horses of far larger size
than themselves. The Sportsman alluded to, after many years experience of the
Turf and the Breeding Stud, decided that, there were more good brood mares of a
moderate size, that is, from fourteen hands two inches, to fifteen hands in height,
than of a greater size. Among a great number of examples which he adduced in
proof of this decision, the following are selected— »

The famous Widdrington Mare.

Madge, the dam of Miss Cleveland.

The Hartley Little Mare.

Mr. Pratt' s Squirt Mare.

Colonel O' Kelly's Tartar Mare.

Mr. Cradock's Syphon Mare, the dam of Pencil, $v?,

Queen Mob.

Faith, by Pacolet, dam of Marcia, fyc.

B B

182 BREEDING THE ARABIAN HORSE — ROAD HORSES.

Mr. Goodrick's Old England Mare.

Lardella, by Syphon.

Baron Nile*s Dam.

Young Marsk Mare, dam of Mary Ann and Warner, and grandam

of young1 Chariot, Ashton, fyc.
Gentle Kitty, by Silvio.
Calash, by King Herod.

The Herod Mare, dam of Precipitate, Gohanna, fyc.
Tuberose, by King Herod.
Contessina, by Snap.
Nike.

Eclipse Mare, dam of St. George.
Eliza, dam of Scud.
Mary, dam of Harmless.
Pewet.

Mate/tern Mare, dam of Diamond, 6fc.
Miss Tims.

Nina, dam of Guildford.
Seedling, dam of Master Jackey, 6fc.
Rosina, dam of Governor, fyc.
Snap Mare, dam of Shuttle, fyc.

The curious and inquisitive Turf Breeder will experience much gratification,
and receive information on which he may depend, touching" the interesting subject
of the Arabian horse, from Count Rzewusky's memoir, published in the Sporting
Magazine, for February 1820. The various and contradictory accounts of Eastern
Travellers on this subject, of which few of them knew any thing to the purpose,
has been a common, immemorial, and lamentable theme. The Polish Count how-
ever, although he may not be deeply informed on that particular branch of equine
science, English Horse-Racing, is one of the most experienced men in Europe, on
the general subject of the Horse, and one of the greatest breeders upon the Conti-
nent, having several very extensive studs, and one even in Arabia itself, on the
border of the Desert. He is at present collecting the best specimens of the
Horse, to be found in those regions, and through him probably, may be removed
the old difficulty of procuring the highest bred horses of that celebrated Country.

On the affair of breeding Horses for the Road and for common purposes, we are
tempted to say a few words. People affect to wonder why so many wretched
animals are bred, to burden the earth and to waste good provender ; and at the
difficulty of procuring a good horse, at any price. But do not we jolly Englishmen
drink execrable wine with a gusto, and swear it is the best in the world, and prefer
not only adulterated bread and beer, but every thing else in a state of adulteration,

NEWMARKET NOTICE OF THE JOCKEY CLUB. 183

to that which is pure and genuine ? This is genuine unadulterated refinement.
With respect to the knowledge of a good horse from a bad one, it is about even
betting between the generality of breeders and of purchasers — and if size, and a
cock-tail, and shewy carriage be sufficient, why should a breeder look farther —
why should he think of thrusting a good nag upon a man, against the grain, and at
the same time, of reducing his own chance for a good price ? A good nag cannot
be bred and supported until fit for work, that is, until five years old, under perhaps,
from fifty to eighty pounds ; and at last a man may very likely, purchase an equally
good one at a London Repository, for half the money. Here lie the difficulties of
the case ; nevertheless, an intelligent and persevering Breeder might, in process of
time, amply repay himself ; since according to the universal prevalence of anomaly,
capital horses whilst young and fresh, never fail, in this Country, to command a
capital price. When a good hack might be bovight for ten or twelve pounds, we
have known one sold for a hundred.

The catalogue of discouragements in Horse breeding, is so extensive, that a
memorandum on the other side the question, may help to cheer the spirits of the
Breeder. — Mr. Thomas Allenson, of East Kirby, Lincolnshire, has a mare now in
his possession, that has bred him a foal for seventeen successive years, and is now
in foal to the horse Hero. If like produce like, it must surely be an object to breeders
to obtain stock from this prolific mare, and Mr. Allenson's price ought to be
accordingly.

NOTICE BY THE JOCKEY CLUB.

The Jockey Club have issued the following notice. — Newmarket, July 13th,
1819. At a Meeting of the Stewards and Members of the Jockey Club, it was
resolved, in order to defray the expense of repairing the Course and Exercise
Ground, that one Guinea annually, be paid in respect of every Race Horse, that
shall be trained or exercised, or that shall run any private Trial, or public Race
thereon. That the same shall be paid by the Stable-keeper or servant, having the
care of such Horse, and be charged by him to the owner of such Horse. That every
such Stable-keeper shall, immediately after the Second Spring Meeting, and the
Houghton Meeting in every year, deliver to the keeper of the Match Book at New-
market, a list of the Horses which have been under his care, liable to pay the said
charge, and shall then also pay to the Keeper of the Match Book, the money due
for each Horse. And that the first payment of such charge, shall be made
at ther end of the next Houghton Meeting, upon every Horse liable thereto,
between the 1st of August next, ensuing the date of this Resolution, and
that period.

(Signed) THOMAS CHARLES BUNBURY,

FOLEY, ^Stewards.

B. CRAVEN.

184 TAKE HEED!

FATAL ACCIDENTS TO RACING STALLIONS AND MARES.

Men take physic, but never take WARNING. But the warning1 voice must not be
silenced, since some few may hear and profit.—

An Arabian Stallion, imported at the expense of nearly one thousand pounds,
was killed at a Stable in Piccadilly, by a kick upon the testes by a Mare he
was leaping.

Otho, sire of Dorimant, the best horse of his year at Newmarket, had his
thigh broken by a Mare, and was shot by order of his Proprietor, the late
Lord Ossory, at Ampshill, by the Game Keeper, the gun being charged with a
candle.

King Herod died of a mortification in his sheath, occasioned by mere neglect and
nastiness, although a Stallion of such high consequence and worth, being suffered
to lie in his loose stable, with the dung and filth baked upon him !

The late Earl Grosvenor's Pantaloon, by Matchem, killed himself accidentally,
by jumping about in his Paddock at Knavestock, in Essex, shortly after we had
seen him there.

In the old time, Mr. Pantons Molly, was matched against the Duke of Boltons
Terror, and to run two hours afterwards against Badger. Molly fell in running
the first match, and died in great agonies.

Carver's Pincher running at Ipswich, was immediately after the race seized
with violent gripes, which we witnessing, have since judged, arose from inani-
tion, faintness, and the effects of cold upon the stomach and intestines; to
which the old custom of stinting horses too long before the race, and bringing
them to the starting post, feeble and too much reduced, may in all probability have
contributed.

The Duke of Hamilton's bay Mare Crazy, in 1808 dropped down dead under the
Groom, in running a sweat at Ashton, near Lancaster.

The Stallion Wizard, by Sorcerer, worth two thousand Pounds, killed himself
by running against a bar in the stable-yard, in 1813.

Witchcraft, in the same year, worth six or seven hundred pounds, had his leg
broken by the kick of a mare, and was obliged to be shot.

The black Horse, Thunderbolt, in his prime, aged thirteen years, got by
Sorcerer, full brother to Smolensko, a Stallion of the greatest size and reputation?
the property of Sir Charles Bunbury, of Great Barton, Suffolk, perished there, in
October 1819, in the following singular manner, against which no human prudence
could have guarded. He was found in the morning, cast in his loose stable, stifled,
his hip dislocated, and his head and body almost beaten to pieces by his struggles.
One of his fore hoofs was hitched fast, in the throat-band of his head-stall, which

SIR THOMAS CHARLES BUNBURY. 185

happened, it is supposed, from his attempting* to scratch his head, or ear, with his
foot. The poor animal must have suffered great agonies, and on discovery he was
immediately ordered to be shot. Perhaps, in consequence of this accident, horses,
at any rate, quiet ones, should be left in their loose stable, without any head-stall.
(Referring at this moment, to a fine portrait of Thunderbolt, in the Sporting
Magazine, for February 1819, we were forcibly stricken at the sight of the ominous
and fatal head-stall, in which the horse was painted !) At three years old, and
whilst in training, Sir Charles Bunbury, refused nearly, and might have obtained,
full two thousand guineas for him. He was soon after, accidentally lamed, and
turned into the Stud. As an accompaniment of ill fortune, Sir Charles also lost
about the same time, his training Groom, James Tric/cer, aged twenty -six years,
fifteen of which he had spent in the service of the honourable Baronet, with credit
to himself and satisfaction to his Employer. Having had some personal know-
ledge of this young man, we have satisfaction in paying this tribute to his
memory.

SIR THOMAS CHARLES BUNBURY, BART. ofBunbury and Stanney, in the County
Palatine of Chester, and of Milden Hall, and Great Barton, in the County of
Suffolk, will have attained his eightieth year, should he survive until the month of
May or June, in the present year, 1820. The first time we saw Sir Charles upon
the Course, was in the year 1767 ; and, on turning to the Racing Calendar for
1765, we observe, he had, in that year, six Racers in training. Thus Sir Charles
has been unremittingly, an extensive breeder and trainer of Race Horses, nearly
three-score years ; is at present Senior Steward of the Jockey Club, and has filled
the post of Steward to the Club, with little intermission, during- nearly half
a century. BELLARIO~HIGHFLYER~ SORCERER— THUNDERBOLT—SMOLENSK©,
have each contributed, at different and distant periods, to the honour, and profit
of Great Barton.

The above Chapter of Accidents, might be divided into an infinitely greater
number of verses ; but if these should fail of the beneficial effect which we
meditate, the greatest number possible to be collected, would be equally fallible.

CRUELTIES EXERCISED UPON ANIMALS.

The really efficient method to reform this wickedness, so disgraceful to our
Country, is not by suppressing, but by making public the disgusting facts ;
by instructing the ignorant, reminding the thoughtless, and exposing the har-
dened delinquent. Above all by strongly recommending to parents, the indispen-
sable duty of instructing their children, in this essential branch of morals.

No animal upon the face of the Earth, suffers an equal share of miseries, and
cruel afflictions, with the horse— and it is with reluctance and shame, we make

186 CRUELTIES OF HORSE DEALERS.

the assertion, that on our experience, we believe, no body of men in this Country,
are in the habit of exercising so great cruelties upon the animals in their possession,
as the Horse-Dealers and their dependants. We do not pretend to assert that there
are not naturally just and humane men in that class, as in all others, but their oc-
cupation as it ever has been managed, tends to depress all conscience, and eradicate
all sensibility.

" At the Police Office, Bow Street, on Monday, February 21, Mr. M. a
respectable Solicitor residing in the Adelphi, applied to the sitting Magistrate,
under the following circumstances- —

" A few days before, he went to Tattersall's, with the intention of buying a
Horse, and he soon found one whose paces and appearance pleased him much, but
he was determined to have nothing to do with it, if it was in the hands of a Dealer,
which he told the man who had the care of it. The man assured him it was the
property of a retired Merchant, Mr. Hazeltine, who had considerable estates in
Hertfordshire, and a Town -house in Jewiii Street, where he was occasionally to be
seen, and that he himself was Mr. H's. Groom. Mr. M. was satisfied with this
assurance, paid forty guineas for the horse, and sent his servant home with it to
the Adelphi. On riding the horse however, the next day, he found the poor animal
was greatly distressed with the slightest exertion, notwithstanding it appeared to
go freely, and to be in good bodily health. He was at a loss to account for this,
till at length, some friend suggested that, it had probably been plugged, and re-
commended that the shoes should be taken off, in order to ascertain the fact. Its
shoes were taken off accordingly, and it was found that under one of the shoes on
the fore feet, a hole had been made through the horny substance of the hoof, to the
quick, in which hole a small plug of iron had been placed, and the whole covered
the shoe, so that when the foot was put to the ground, the poor animal was in great
pain. The horse, it appeared, had been previously lame in the other foot, and
this inhuman practice had been resorted to, to prevent him shewing his lame-
ness, by making him use both legs alike. Mr. M. added that it was a new invention
among fraudulent horse-dealers, and he feared it was too generally practised. He
also discovered that the fellow of whom he bought the horse, had falsely represented
himself as a Gentleman's servant."

Alas ! this is no new practice, but it is one of those infernal tricks which has
helped to bring torture and misery upon this victim-race, during many centuries
past. It may be found in that abominable code of torture and trickery published
in the days of Elizabeth and James, by Gervaise Markliam, which every proprietor
of Horses should, if possible, keep out of the way of his grooms and blacksmith.
What a consideration ! that numberless such cruelties were in full operation and
usage, in times when religious observances were at the height, and claimed

MORAL APATHY — HYPOCRISY — FIGGING AND FIRING. 187

a paramount attention from all classes ; and that men could spend half the day at
Church or Conventicle, and retire utterly void of the apprehension that cruelty to a
brute, is unjust and criminal ! But what a national disgrace are these practices in
England, and in the nineteenth century ! We say the disgrace is national, and the
nation itself responsible, for were it not for the general indifference, and apathy on
such matters— or must we say the general interested hypocrisy, and moral corrup-
tion—a few barbarous, white-livered, and felonious rascals, who richly deserve the
utmost stretch of the lex talionis, would not dare to perpetrate such atrocities. It
is a consolation that, we can aver there are some men concerned in horses, who have
hearts. A stable-keeper of great respectability, a man who * is merciful to his
beast,' lately assured us, that a Dealer within his knowledge, was in the habit of
causing broken glass to be nailed between the shoe and pared hoof of those horses
in the above predicament, of being lame with one foot. Our friend would not
disclose this dealer's name, or we would have blazoned it to the World, that wher-
ever our pages extended, the miscreant's infamy might be known and accursed.
The subject is horrible to view in all its bearings— a generous animal, endowed
with high sensibility, first of all lamed, most probably by unfair usage— as a re-
compense, put to the torture ! then doomed to receive, as a matter of course, the
additional torture of the whip and spur, to extort almost impossible exertions from
him. Men through ignorance, and the influence of custom, which seems to take
away all sense but of itself, commit the greatest crimes, to appearance uncon-
sciously. To the hardened delinquents, who may chance to look into our book, we
recommend useful reflection—let them ruminate on the writhings and tortures under
the accident of a broken limb, which may probably be their own case, and pause
before they inflict torture on an animal, which can feel as acutely as themselves—-
let them reflect on the horrors of a death-bed, to him, whose too faithful memory
may recall the appalling vision of a life void of mercy, spent in perpetrating cruel-
ties on helpless and innocent animals. We have often wondered that, executioners
can be found in Countries, where the insane atrocity of torture, is practised upon
criminals— we wonder also, how it can be possible to find a blacksmith beast
enough, coolly and deliberately to fasten a plug of iron, against the exquisitely
sensible quick of a poor horse's foot. No Gentleman, or conscientious proprietor of
horses, informed of the fact, should ever afterwards employ such a rascal.

We should infringe a duty we hold indispensable— we should betray a trust,
since our labours on this subject, have long since been accepted by the Public—-
were we to pass over another enormity, which we indeed denounced many years
since, but which we fear has increased, and is now practised to a horrible and
disgusting degree. We allude to the firing, that is exciting to action, the poor
worn down Stage-Horses, when exposed to sale. This is done by the severest
tortures of the whip : and, it is heart-breaking to the generous of heart, and more
especially to the lovers of the horse, to see the aged steed worn down with cruel

188 THEORETIC PHILANTHROPISTS OPPOSITE EXAMPLES.

and unfair labour, his shoulders galled and torn, his eyes probably whipped out, his
joints stiff, and every attempt at motion exquisitely painful, his limbs torn and
scarified by the burning- irons— -to see this most pitiable object— the tears, as we
have witnessed, dropping down his aged face ! dragged from his stall with hurry
and violence, his mouth galled by rude, and sharp checking with the bit, until he
reaches the spot, where he is to be cut and wealed with the whip, on his most
tender parts, with the whole force of a brutal villain bribed for that purpose, who
has yet left, so much shame of the foul and unnatural act he is perpetrating*, or so
much fear, as to affect to be angry with the poor creature and scold him. In the
mean time, this abomination is witnessed by a ring of fat-headed, unconcerned,
insensate boobies, who appear to see or know nothing of the real nature of it.
The horse thinks and perceives— what must he think of the justice of man ?
What a clamour would any of these wretches set up, for justice in their
own cause !

Fair and moderate excitement is all that is needed, and the foul treatment above
described, more frequently overshoots the mark, and mars the show instead of pro-
moting it. But conceding that such treatment were really profitable, it is the profit
of injustice and crime, and nearly allied to that of the highwayman and the thief;
whom, they, who themselves rob poor beasts of nature's dearest rights, are so
ready to consign to the gallows.

We have given abundant proof in various times and places, that we hold little
affinity of sentiment with those theoretic philanthropists, who argue from abuse
against use ; who condemn and call for the abolition of Sports which have their
foundation in nature, reason, legitimate diversion, and curiosity. We condemn
none but illegitimate sports, and the abuse of those which are legitimate. Of the
former, we trust, we have given a fair and just definition. We can now refresh
the memory of the reader with a few examples. First of theoretic philanthropists
—we have heard an eminent one say that, a man who obliges his horse to trot six-
teen miles in one hour, ought to be hanged. But just reasoning and practice would
have taught him, first, that emulation and exertion are indispensable, in order to
the perfect enjoyment of all nature's gifts ; and, that a capital horse properly
weighted, will perform the above task without unlawful trespass on his powers
and without injury. In the course of last year, a Gentleman, we believe of
Canterbury, won a considerable sum, by riding a certain distance over the road,
upon a number of different horses. This was denounced in one of the public papers,
in large characters, as ' an atrocious trespass on the powers of the horse.' But
such denunciation, is one of those misrepresentations which injure the cause that
they are intended to serve, by exciting alarm and ill-will, as seeming to aim at the
abolition of all use, instead of the correction of abuse. According to the account
which we examined, of this race against time, the task of no one of the horses, ex-
tended to more than seventeen miles in one hour ; a distance which any good hack,

PAIR RACING — THE ARABIAN HORSE.

in condition, and not over weighted, would run with comparative ease. Since
that race, however, we have had an account published of another, fully deserving- all
the anathemas which could be pronounced against it, and equalling-, in atrocity,
those murderous exercises of this kind, which have so often disgraced the moral
character of our Country. The horses were barbarously whipped, and spurred, and
beaten to death upon the road ! Races upon the road, or indeed any where else,
made by gross and ignorant blackguards, are an abominable nuisance. But the
following is of a very different and most exemplary description, and we beg to
propose it in all its bearings, to those who experience diversion or profit, from the
exertions of the horse. " In January last, J. E. Snaith, Esq. matched a horse of
fourteen hands, to run eleven miles in half an hour, over the Asltford road : a quarter
of an hour was occupied in doing the first five miles, when it being evident, that
the horse had not speed to accomplish the task, the rider pulled up at the
sixth mile."

We have already cited Count Rztwusky's Memoir ; the following extract from
thence, gives a curious account of the native disposition of the Arabian Horse, of
which the Kohlan is the superior race.— -

" Above all the horses in the World, the Kohlan is distinguished for the good-
ness of his qualities, and the beauty of his form.

" An uncommon mildness of temper ; an unalterable faithfulness to his Master ;
a courage and intrepidity as astonishing, as they are innate in his noble breast ; an
unfailing remembrance of the places where he has been, of the treatment he has
received— not to be led, not to be touched, but by his master— in the most horrid
confusion of a battle, cool and collected, he never forgets the place he came from,
and though mortally wounded, if he can gather up sufficient strength, he carries
back his desponding rider to his defeated tribe. His intelligence is wonderful.
He knows when he is sold, or even when his master is bargaining to sell him.
When the Proprietor and Purchaser meet for that purpose, in the stables, the
Kohlan soon guesses what is going on, becomes restless, gives from his beautiful
eye, a side glance at the interlocutors, scrapes the ground with his foot, and plainly
shews his discontent. Neither the buyer nor any other, dares to come near him :
but the bargain being struck ; when the Vender taking the Kohlan by the halter,
gives him up to the purchaser, with a slice of bread and some salt, and turns away,
never more to look at him as his own—an ancient custom of taking leave of a horse
and his recognising a new master— it is then that this generous and noble animal
becomes tractable, mild, and faithful to another, and proves himself immediately
attached to him, whom his passion a few minutes before, might have laid at his feet,
and trampled under his hoofs. This is not an idle story : 1 have been a witness of
and an actor in the interesting scene, having bought three Kohlans in 1810 and
1811, from Turkish prisoners. I made the bargain in the stables, and received

c c

190 CRUELTIES TO ANIMALS.

personally, and led off the most fierce, but intelligent animals, which, before the
above-mentioned ceremony, I should not have dared to approach. The fact has
been confirmed to me by all the Turkish and Arab prisoners, and by several rich
Arminian merchants, who deal in horses, and go generally to the desert to buy
them. The Kohlans also evince great warlike qualities ."

In cases of cruel aggression upon brute animals, the duty of instructing igno-
rance, punishing delinquency, and above all, of setting just and good examples,
naturally devolves upon the enlightened and opulent classes, upon the Magistracy
and the Clergy ; as the shame of a general dissolution of morals, in such respect,
must fall also upon them. Yet we have had newspaper, we hope, false intelligence,
of a Member of Parliament having lately made a present to his constituents, of a
BULL TO BE BAITED ! A pretty training this, to the young and unreflecting sons
of labour, for atrocities like the following :

In the last autumn, a man, named Edward Knight, a carter in the employ of
Mr. T Rowe, brewer of Padstow, Cornwall, was driving a cart belonging to his
master, when finding that the shaft-horse did not draw as he wished, he fastened
the tongue of the animal with a strong cord, to that which is called the spreader,
which keeps the traces behind the fore-horse, at a proper distance from each other.
The leader was then whipped, and the strain bore on the tongue of its companion j
the miserable sufferer drew back, whilst the miscreant continued to urge the other
horse forward, until several inches of the tongue of the wretched beast, were
actually torn off! The law will not reach this barbarous ruffian, but through the
owner of the horse, on the ground of injury to property, as if a property or being
which lives and feels, could possibly be assured of justice and mercy, without the
pale of the law's protection. They who formerly either with gravity or facetious -
ness, interdicted such legal protection, have since had plenty of opportunities to
congratulate themselves on the indirect encouragement, thereby afforded to bru-
tality and cruelty.

Extract from a York Newspaper, November 27, 1819. — " A short time ago, a
Stag was turned out on Bootham Stray, near this city, for public diversion ; and
under the pretence of hunting, all sorts of dogs were collected, and the poor animal
severely whipped, to cause it to run ; but neither whipping nor baiting had much
effect : it was soon caught, and kept until Monday last, when it was again turned
out — aguin baited, rather than hunted : a collection of money was then made from
the spectators of this gratifying sight, and then the tortured animal was kindly
freed from further anguish by death. We have already expressed our abhorrence
of bull-bailing ; and very sorry should we be, should it fall to our lot, to record any
further attempts to approximate., acts of brutal severity and unfeeling barbarity
with the healthful and noble sports of the field. An uncivilized Indian may de-
light in torture — a barbarian may boast of cruelty — but a true Briton, though he

TREATMENT OP FOX HOUNDS. 191

may pursue the chase with delight, will never be gratified with needless torture,
or unnecessary suffering."

This ought to bring to remembrance and reprobation the abomination of the
Easter or Cockney Hunt, upon Epping Forest, where the poor stag, when taken
and torn down, was formerly, CUT UP ALIVE, into pieces, to be sold to the sur-
rounding Abyssians '

With respect to the grand, legalized infamy of Bull-baiting, its continuance
depends entirely on the protection or sufferance of the pious upper and middling
classes, by no means on the will of the fashionably and affectedly contemned lower
orders. A former Duke of Bedford, as we have stated, set the example how this
noble chartered right may be got rid of, in the most ancient case of Tutbury ; and
as to the common, unauthorised baitings, any Magistrate, or any Householder
within the parish, may by application to the proper authorities, abate the nuisance,
as a breach of the peace. A friend of OUT'S lately, was alarmed by the spectacle of
a great crowd and bull brought to be baited in front of his residence. He imme-
diately sent for the beadle of the village, who warned the parties of the conse-
quence of a breach of the peace, and the bull was withdrawn.

Some years ago, we heard of a gentleman, in a northern county, whose charac-
ter otherwise, was generally humane, but who, strange incongruity, always hunted
and worried his sheep to death, with dogs, instead of the usual mode of killing
them!

" In June, 1816, two valuable horses carrying twelve stone each, were matched
to run from Estroio near Bedford, to the Peacock Inn, at Islington, and back
again (100 miles) in the shortest possible time. They were so cruelly urged be-
yond their strength, by the unfeeling inhumanity of their riders, and other bar-
barians who accompanied them, some on relays of horses, that on their return, one
of them dropped and died, having gone about seventy -six miles ; and the other
having gone about eighty-four miles, failed, and died the next day at Hitchin :
the inhabitants of which place, at the same time that they expressed their utter
abhorrence and detestation of such a cruel and disgraceful transaction, regretted
exceedingly, that the parties concerned in it, were not amenable to the laws of the
country for their conduct."

TREATMENT OF FOX HOUNDS.

" Although we have greatly improved in the management of Horses and
Hounds— first, as to cleanliness in the Stable and Kennel ; next in not keeping the
horses short of water, or the hounds short of food ; let me suggest another improve-
ment, which is, never to cut off any part of a Fox-hound's tail, or ever to round his
ears, nature designing the tail and ears, as a protection to the animal from briars,

192 CROPPING — SINGEING — NICKING THE HORSE.

when running in covert— and were the ears never taken off, so many fox hounds
would not lose their eyes : besides, what can be handsomer, or more becoming1,
than the ear of a fox -hound, or the feather of the stern ? and what is more un-
sightly, than a a fox-hound rounded too short? There is great cruelty not
only in the operation, but in depriving so noble an animal of the means of protect-
ing itself from the the thorns and brambles, when working in the coverts for our
amusement." — Sporting Magazine, January 1820.

The above sentiments arc in the true spirit both of humanity and utility— and
the same spirit, we hope, has dictated the almost total disuse of that silly and in-
jurious practice CROPPING the horse, formerly so general. The abominable
custom too, of SINGEING with a lighted candle the ears and head of the horse, has
been long since scouted, in all regular and good stables. The barbarity of
NICKING even, has given way, in a great degree. In looking over considerable
collections of Horses, as at Repositories and Fairs, we have of late years
observed an unusual disproportion of numbers between the males and females,
the former greatly predominating. We cannot readily account for this, with re-
gard to the usual course of nature. The dealers assert and lament that, all the
best mares are sent out of the Country : no doubt, a mere fallacy.

TROTTING IN HARNESS. — A long pending Match, in Yorkshire, to trot
two miles, in harness, took place on Monday, January 31, 1820, for one hundred
guineas, between Mr. James Dic/censons celebrated Mare, Fire Eater, and Mr.
Charles Tuck's brown Horse, Harlequin. It was won by the latter, which per-
formed the distance in six minutes, thirty-eight seconds.

Curious Turf Amateurs are reminded of the change introduced lately in the
portraits of RACE HORSES, the Jockey being represented holding a rein
in each hand ; this gives the idea of the late Samuel Chefney's loose rein,
in holding the horse whilst running. It is recommended to all Gentlemen, who
have their horses painted, not to omit the name, either upon the front or back of
the picture, an omission often to be regretted in old portraits.

STARVING A PACK or Fox HOUNDS. — Having admitted a letter on this
subject (page 61) from the Sporting Magazine, impartiality demands of us to admit
likewise the Answer, which appeared in the Magazine of December 1819,
as follows.

" T should think it degrading to the dignity of an old Sportsman, to take
serious notice of any anonymous matter published to the world, were it not for the
purpose of rescuing truth, and raising it from beneath the Irsimplings of falsehood
and calumny. In your magazine for the month of September last, under the head,

STARVING FOX HOUNDS. 193

— ' Inhumanity to Dog's,' is a letter dated September 1— evening-, and signed
Salopiensis, in which the writer describes a Kennel of Hounds, which he accident-
ally passed by, as being- kept and managed by the Proprietor, as far as regards
feeding- and other comforts, in a way shocking- to humanity. When a person sets
about, in g-ood earnest, to do a thing-, he would look like a fool, if he could not
assig-n a motive for what he is doing-. How prudent the writer in question, to tell
us that he had a motive, and how very judicious to assig-n one, the most ornamental
to human nature— humanity : but we have only his own bare declaration for that,
which I, and I am not alone in the opinion, firmly believe, is not intituled to the
least credit : for

" I know him to the bottom from within,
" His shallow centre to the utmost skin.

" My intimate knowledge of the g-eneral management of the Pack, with which
I have hunted for upwards of twenty years, would have precluded the possibility
of even the most distant idea being- entertained by me, that Salopiensis alluded to
them, had not he mentioned the circumstance of ' nine of the best hounds having
died almost suddenly, not long- ag-o,' which I know was unfortunately the case about
a year ag-o, with nine of the hounds of the pack I hunt with, and which coincidence
left no doubt on my mind to what pack he alluded. Not satisfied with stating
that the hounds were in a state of starvation, ' shocking- to humanity,' at the time
he accidentally passed the kennel, he g-oes on to assert that, the death of the nine
dogs a year ago, ' was occasioned by overloading their stomachs with flesh, after
fasting three days, one of which they had been hunted.' Now a falsehood, if it is
intended to travel far, ought to carry with it not only possibility, but a very con-
siderable quantity of probability also : how much of these two very necessary in-
gredients attach to the assertions of Salopiensis t I will leave your readers, and
especially those who know, and hunted with the pack at the time, to judge; and
will myself assert without fear of contradiction, that the pack, at the time those
nine hounds died, were in as high condition in point of flesh, mettle, and spirit, as
any pack in the kingdom ; and moreover, it was the opinion of two physicians,
who humanely offered their services to attempt to save them, that they died from
the effects of poison. It is well known to all those who know any thing about the
management of a pack of well bred fox hounds, that the quality of food and quan-
tity must be proportioned to the work performed by them ; if they were to have
animal food every clay in the summer season, when in kennel doing nothing, they
would become so high in spirit, as to be perpetually quarrelling-, and tearing each
other to pieces, which was actually the case last summer, the master hound having
fallen a victim to the ferocious attack of the whole kennel, which quarrelsome
spirit rendered it necessary for even the huntsman himself, to approach the kennel

194 QUESTIONABLE ECONOMY IN FEEDING — GREAT RUNS.

with caution. I will ask, is the manifestation of such a spirit among- hounds, a
symptom of starvation ? unshackled reason will answer no. The very reverse is
undoubtedly the only cause. As the general appearance of the Pack, at all times,
sufficiently disproves the assertion of Salopiensis, I think it idleness and waste of
time to offer any further remarks on the subject, therefore beg to subscribe
myself, your obedient servant, and constant reader,

" AN OLD SPORTSMAN."

On the above letter, we have two or three remarks to make. We have had lon<r
and ample experience of certain economical deceptions, in regard to feeding both
dogs and horses, as it is pretended, according to their work. Economy is too apt
to outwit itself in the case : and with respect to dogs, naturally carniverous animals,
more especially hounds, destined to such severe labours, we hold that, although
they may be kept alive, they cannot be kept in their best state of health and con-
dition, without a certain portion of animal food, whether at work or at rest. How
is it possible for a pack of Hounds summered without flesh, to meet their labours in
the field, during the following season, in the highest state of their powers ? Salopi-
ensis has rejoined to the above letter, confirming with fresh arguments and proofs,
his original statement ; to which rejoinder, in the Sporting Magazine for January
1820, our Readers are referred.

HUNTING. — Mr. Osbaldeston, the successor of Mr. Meynell, continues to enjoy
(1818) in Leicestershire, all the Sport, which his large stud of Hunters, and his
numerous pack of Fox hounds can give. One mode he has adopted, seems to meet
with peculiar success : whenever the hounds come to a check, he takes a certain
part of the pack, and the huntsman the other, each making separate casts ; by which
method one or the other is sure to hit off the scent, and ultimately seldom fail to
kill their fox.

In the account of a fine run with Mr. Farquharson' s hounds in Dorsetshire,
last February, the chase lasting one hour and forty-three minutes, over flat grass
land, the writer observes with perfect non chalance — ' We have heard but of one
horse dying !'

Mr. Yealmans crack Harriers, the reputed completest in England, on the llth
of February, ran nine hares and killed them all. One of them ran the Vale of Black-
more, eight miles, perfectly straight.

TREATMENT OF HOUNDS. — " I am in the habit of hunting with a pack of
Hounds, where the Huntsman is too fond of rating his dogs, and will never give a
young hound credit for finding a fox, whereas they generally find him : it certainly
injures the hounds, and makes them slack in drawing. I would rather halloo a
young hound on to riot, and stop him when I ascertained he was wrong1, than rate

TREATMENT OP HOUNDS — CHASES — MAD FOXES. 195

him injustly ; as the hound in that case, does not know what to be at, and a timid
hound sometimes wont draw again for the day. Wait, and let your old hounds get
up to the challenge ; they will soon let you know if your game is on foot.
Flogging hounds in kennel is of no use ; correct them on the spot, where a fault is
committed, and you do good ; they know then, what they are beaten for.
A Correspondent of yours, I observed lately, remarks on the absurdity and
cruelty of rounding hounds, and cutting off part of their sterns. I perfectly agree
with him in opinion, it being about as useful and as ornamental, as the cropping
and nicking a horse, and about as humane an act."

SINGULAR THEATRE FOR THE DEATH OF THE DEER. — Some years since, the
Earl of Derby turned out from the Oaks, a noble Deer, for a day's sport with his
friends ; which, after having traced a very long tract of country, entered the grounds
of the late Mrs. Smith, of Ashled, near Epsom, Surry, and being closely pursued
by the hounds, it actually leaped through the drawing-room window, the sash of
which was down, followed by the pack in full cry. The consternation occasioned
in the family, by this strange event, is indescribable : almost miraculously, at that
critical moment, no one was in the apartment, some ladies having quitted it about
two minutes previously to the irruption of this novel and unexpected visitor, which
entered with so little ceremony. The window was almost dashed to atoms, and
every part of the room, with its rich carpet and corresponding furniture, covered
with blood and dirt. The animal was soon dispatched by the ferocity of the dogs,
and perhaps so curious an event is not to be found in the annals of Sporting. As
a companion to the above, a Stag graduating towards the City of Oxford, at length
took to one of the streets, through which he was followed by the hounds in full cry,
into a chapel, and there killed, during divine service.

RABIES IN FOXES. — By accounts from New York, in November 1818, rabies, or
madness similar to the canine, existed to a most alarming degree, in the Foxes of
Northumberland County. Upwards of forty persons had been bitten and sent to
the Stone. A most remarkable and dangerous symptom attends this malady in the
American fox — the afflicted animal, instead of avoiding the human species as when
in health, immediately makes toward them, and even enters houses at mid-day.
A Gentleman states that, he saw a fox enter a house-yard, although guarded by
several dogs, and that the dogs, instead of attacking the fox, immediately ran off
shewing great signs of fear, as dogs instinctively shun one of their own kind when
rabid. On another occasion, a fox made towards a boy who was walking along
the road ; the boy, to avoid him, leapt into a waggon which was passing, but the
fox pursued and bit him in several places. Much injury has likewise been done to
the cattle, and the greatest uneasiness prevails amongst the inhabitants, on
account of this singular and extraordinary malady. Foxes have been occasionally

196 CANINE ESTABLSHMENTS.

imported into this Country ; we trust, no Sportsman, who shall read the above,
will thereafter import any from America.

CANINE ESTABLISHMENTS. — The two largest Establishments of this kind, not
sporting- ones, are in the hands of two persons, who might be the least expected to
have them.-— The first is her Royal Highness tlie Dutchess of York, who has a most
numerous nursery of Dogs of the smaller species, of every age, and nearly of every
Country. Not having the happiness to enjoy any other nuisery, they occupy many
of her best apartments, and are carefully accommodated with cushions to rest their
wearied limbs, when they incline to repose; and it requires some dexterity, on
entering her Highness's apartments, to steer your way so scientifically, as not to
tread on any of these sleeping beauties.

Though some cynical philosophers might call this pursuit a mode of getting
through life dog-cheap, yet it affords some useful purposes. In the first place,
it is at least, an innocent mode of passing time ; and secondly, it has afforded many
opportunities for the painter, of exercising his talent, arid having his skill rewarded
by the munificence of her Royal Highness, who has almost found constant employ-
ment for the genius of an Animal Painter, Mr. Chalon, in painting these
favourites.

We are not sure, we might not add another Artist to the account, we mean the
Undertaker, as we understand, many of the more favoured animals have been buried
in the park at Oatlands, with all due ceremony and decorum, in some measure,
realizing the Elysium of Virgil —

cadem sequitur tellure repostos

Cura canuin.

The next LADY, who exhibits this remarkable attachment to the canine race, is
the beautiful and amiable VISCOUNTESS CASTL.EREAGH, who has the same excuse
to plead, as her Royal Highness of York— not having a nursery of her own, to
engage her attention, or employ her time. Her Academy of Dogs, if we may be
allowed the expression, is on a far different scale from those of the Dutchess of York,
hers being as diminutive as those of Lady Castlereagh, are grand and magnificent.
Whether the diplomatic interests of her Lord, may have favoured her wishes, is
uncertain ; but she possesses dogs of different Countries, wherever size and beauty
are to be found. Whoever may have the good fortune to meet this accomplished
lady, in her walks around her seat at North Cary, in Kent, will always find her
surrounded and defended by a most powerful and magnificent party of dogs, look-
ing * most terrible ihings,' but seeming most perfectly obedient to her voice.
Amongst her collection, we believe, she has Russian, Turkish, and Spanish dogs.

The following whimsical anecdote is mentioned, as having occurred to her

SHOOTING PONEY LADY MASSARENE's DOG. 197

Ladyship, as she was taking one of her accustomed walks, with her canine guard :
a man, who was walking on the road, came up, and taking off his hat, said — " /
supposes as how. Ma'am, you be a dog-fancier, or mayhap you exhibit with these
here animals at different pleaces, as may be agreable ; if so be, as it may be suit-
able, I should be glad to join company, having a few dancing dogs of my own."

Her Ladyship laughed, but with her accustomed grace and good-humour, in-
formed the man — " She was not in that line of business."

Sporting Magazine, June 1818.

SAGACITY AND STAUNCHNESS IN A SHOOTING PONEY. — " Being on a shooting
party the 18th of September 1819, mounted on a favourite old shooting poney, we
had beaten all day, without any success, when, on a sudden, to my great astonish-
ment, my poney stopped short, and I could not persuade him to move, either by
dint of whip or spur : I desired my keeper to forward, when the poney immediately
drew after him, and a covey of fifteen rose : T shot and bagged my bird.

" The above is an extraordinary instance of the sagacity of horses. £ have been
used to ride the poney, shooting, for the last fifteen years."

DEATH, WAKING, AND BURIAL OF THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF

MASSARENE'S DOG.

In a cause lately tried at Dublin, the lessees of the Earl of Massarene, versus
George Doran and the Countess of Massarene, his wife, in which a verdict was
given for the plaintiff, the following, among other curious evidence, occurred :
Mrs. Sowen, of Dublin, said, the Lord and Lady Massarene came to live in her
house, in the year 1802. She recollected an extraordinary occurrence respecting
the death of a dog. When the dog became ill, Lady Massarene took it out in a
carriage in order to obtain medical advice. Then brought it home, took it to the
drawing-room, and made a sad lamentation. Witness went in to know what was
the matter ; she beheld the dog lying on the carpet, Lady Massarene, on her knees
weeping over it, and Lord Massarene by her side, consoling her. His Lordship
then took the dog in his arms, and carried it to an open window, to give it a little
air ; after some time, he brought it in, and laid it again on the carpet. Lady
Massarene exclaimed, the dog is dying fast ; it is certainly gone ! His Lordship
assured her it was not, and told her that he had seen many people die, but that
was not the way they died ; and in order to convince- her, that the dog was not so
near death, as she supposed, he would shew her the manner in which people com-
monly die : he then stretched himself upon the carpet, continued quiet for a little
time, then turned himself from side to side, began to distort his features, stare
with his eyes, throw about his arms, work himself into the appearance of convul-

D D

198 MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.

sions, and then expire ! This scene being done, he returned to Lady Massarene
and the dog. The witness then left them, and retired to her own room. In the
morning- she found all the family in extreme distress, for the dog was actually
dead. The corps was suffered to remain, for some time, in the drawing-room, and
towards the evening, was carried into the bed-room of Mrs. O'Duran, tobe waked.
Next day, a number of people came to the house, among whom was a plumber,
with a lead-coffin for the dead, and a carpenter with an outer shell. The
plumber's account was 41. Us. When the defunct was put into the coffins, a car
was procured to carry it to Antrim Castle, and positive orders were given that,
fifty dogs should attend the funeral, in white scarfs, and that all the dogs of the
parish also, should be present.

SHOOTING MEMORABILIA FOR 1819-20.

With melancholy and desponding sensations we refer our readers to the laborious
CAUTIONS given in the British Field Sports, adding the following sad example to
the multitudinous list :

MONMOUTH. — One of those melancholy accidents resulting from Field Sports,
took place on Monday se'nnight. Mr. Cousins, a gentleman residing a few miles
from Abergavenny, left his house for the amusement of partridge-shooting, at ten
o'clock, and, about four in the afternoon, the report of a gun was heard by a per-
son in an adjoining field. This was followed by a loud barking of dogs, which in-
duced him to go to the spot whence the noise proceeded ; when he found Mr.
Cousins in an erect posture, leaning against the bank of the hedge, and at first
supposing him to be asleep ; but on approaching nearer, and looking more atten-
tively, he discovered his head shot in a dreadful manner, the brains covering his hat.
The fury of the animals would not, for some time, suffer any one to approach their
late master ; but assistance being procured, they were beat off, and the above
dreadful spectacle presented itself to view. Medical aid was instantly sent for,
but too late to prove any avail — he being a corpse ! It is supposed, that, in
getting over the hedge, the gun being cocked, the trigger was caught by a briar,
occasioned instant explosion, and literally blew his head in pieces! Mrs. Cousins
left her house in the morning of the same day, to visit Mrs. Bennett, of Trostrey
Lodge, (the death of whose husband had recently occurred) to assist in the sooth-
ing offices of friendship on such an occasion ; and it is rather singular, that Mr.
Cousins was to have appeared as chief mourner at the ceremony of interment, and
had prepared new mourning for the occasion.

Such has been, in some parts, the abundant breed of PARTRIDGES this year,

SHOOTING MATCHES. 199

that a father and son, in some fields between Oxford and Whitney, killed in one
morning last week, seventeen and a half brace, and in the afternoon ten brace,
making a total of twenty-seven brace and a half in one day.

T. W. Coke, Esq. and friends killed on his domain at Holkham, Norfolk, in the
first twelve days of the Shooting Season, 1819, three thousand eight hundred and
eighty-three head of game. We have not yet heard of any decay of the shooting
faculties of this most capital and veteran shot. His mental faculties also, for the
good of his country, remain in perfection.

A renewal of the SHOOTING MATCH between Capt. Thornhill, one of the best
shots in Hampshire, and Strong, the keeper to J. A. Thorn, Esq. of Melbourne
Manor, Oxon, lately took place, and the bet was doubled between Mr. Thorn, for
his keeper, and the Captain. The spot selected to start from on this match was
wkhin four miles of Maidenhead Thicket, on the road to Oxford, and each had
his poney and his adversary's friend as an umpire. Captain Thornhill bent his
course towards Hare-Hatch, on the Reading Road, and had good pheasant sport,
and from thence on to Hurst Manor, &c. a distance of about 26 miles. He had
32 shots, and bagged 11 pheasants, 14 partridges, and 5 hares. Strong directed
his course towards Henley Mills, by the late General Conway's Park, and from
thence he crossed the Thames to the Oxfordshire Hills, and closed his day's labour
there. He bagged 9 hares, 17 partridges, and 3 pheasants, in 28 shots, and lost
the match by one only. There were some heavy even bets pending, and Mr.
Thornhill has long been considered the best shot in the county of Hants.

A SWEEPSTAKE SHOOTING MATCH, of 20 guineas each, between three cele-
brated shots, Messrs. Palmer, Phipps, and Street, took place on Saturday, when
72 head of game were killed by four o'clock, P. M. Mr. Palmer took a direction
from Burnham in the line of Wycomb, and the water side, and he bagged twelve
and a half brace of partridges and two hares ; Mr. Phipps took a direction for
Maidenhead, across the river, to Bray Fields, and he killed 4 hares and 9 brace of
partridges ; and Mr. Street took a direction for Stoke and Gerrard's Cross, and
killed 11 brace of partridges and 1 hare. The sportsmen started together at day-
break, in Burnham Fields, each accompanied by an umpire chosen by the opposite
parties. They were allowed one barrel only, with unlimited charge, and only
seven shots were missed by the three.

During a late visit at Lord Suffield's, in Norfolk, last week, his Grace the Duke
of Wellington shot at a hare as it was going out of Thorpe Wood, when a farmer's
servant, who was on the outside of the wood, was slightly wounded by some of the
shot from the Duke's Gun. His Grace was much affected by the accident. Mr.
Sharpe, a medical gentleman, passing by at the time, told the Duke that the young
man would suffer no inconvenience from the wounds, when his Grace rejoined the
party, and afterwards sent a donation of five pounds to the youth. — In the annals
of the sporting county of Norfolk, few instances are to be found that can vie with

200 GAME KILLED TAM HUTTSON.

the following statement, the result of the last day's shooting- this season, at Hoik-
ham Hall, when H. S. Partridge, Esq. and four friends, killed : — 253 pheasants,
23 hares, 14 rabbits, 3 partridges, 1 woodcock. — Total, 294 head of game.

The following quantity of game was shot at Woolverstone Park, Suffolk, the
seat of Charles Berners, Esq. in the last week : —

par. phea. hares rab. woodcocks.

26th

0

68

50

11

0

27th

0

174

60

15

0

28th

0

166

61

27

1

29th

6

106

39

20

1

GROUSE. — On the first day of Grouse Shooting, 1819, Mr. Atkinson of Cocker-
mouth, shot and bagged twenty brace.

The pestinential disease which attacked the Moor Game, in the Northern
counties of Scotland, in 1819, is said to have been produced in the high grounds
of Inverness Shire, by worms resembling maggots, which bred under the wings ;
in Atholl, by a species of lice, on the head and neck. In all probability, the
vermin was the effect, not the original cause of the disease.

MARK FOREST. — The slaughter of Grouse, at the Earl of Fife's, was not so great
this year, as in former seasons, but the number of red Deer killed was greater than
usual. The Marquis of Blandford, and the Earl of Fife were very successful
among the Deer : Sir William Elliot and Mr. Coke, M. P. of Derby, had great
success among the muir Fowl and Ptarmigan, but the latter were by no means so
numerous as usual, owing to bad weather in the spring, which destroyed the
young broods.

AULD TAM HUTTSON, game-keeper to His Grace the Duke of Buccleugh and
Queensberry, at Bowhill Forest, Selkirkshire, has killed, within the last fortnight,
(October 1819,) with the help of Jem Fletcher, his assistant keeper, 165 hares;
and in the course of the season, 173 brace of grouse, 115 brace of black cocks, 197
brace of partridges, and 112 brace of pheasants. One of the hares, weighed
9| Ibs. one black cock, 6 Ibs. 7 oz. and one pheasant, 3 Ibs. 10 oz. Auld Tarn, as
the late Duke used to style him, is now four score years of age, and yet he partakes
of the sports of the field, the same as when he was but thirty . He has been up-
wards of forty-three years in the Buccleugh family, the present being the third
Duke whom he has served : his experience on the muirs, is of sixty-three years du-
ration. When about forty-Jive, Tarn was allowed by all Sportsmen, who knew
him, to be the best shot in Scotland ; and at one period, he was almost as famous
a Jockey. In the late Duke's time, he rode a match against Hope, one of the
Duke's grooms from Yorkshire, and beat him cleverly. At that period Auld Tarn
was sixty -Jive. This was his last race.

GAME— DEATH OP MR. DOMAINE— NEW GUN. 201

GROUSE. — In 1819, Mr. Thomas Craig, game-keeper to the Governors and
Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital, in Alston Moor, killed forty-one birds in
seventeen shots, viz. thirteen shots brought down twenty -six birds, three shots nine
more, and the seventeenth shot laid down no fewer than six, making in all forty-
one. He also killed twelve plover in four shots — twice two and twice four.

The BLACK GAME were abundant on Ashdown Forest, Berks, in 1819, no dis-
temper appearing among them as in the North. These birds have spread much of
late years over Poole Heath, and with care and preservation, would soon become
abundant in that part of Dorsetshire.

EUSTON HALL, SUFFOLK. — His Royal Highness the Duke of York, with a
large shooting party, on a visit to His Grace the Duke of Graf ton, each day bagged
nearly two hundred head of Game.

Died on January 7, 1820, at West End, in the Parish of Feicstone, Yorkshire, in
his one hundred and tenth year, Mr. John Domaine. The chief amusement of his
life was hunting, which he always pursued on foot, and which he continued until
within the last five years of his life. He was never known to exchange his
clothes, however wet, and never experienced a day's confinement from illness in
his life. After he had attained his hundredth year, he complained that he was
grown old, and could not leap over a stile or a ditch with his accustomed agility.
. NEWLY-INVENTED GUN. — A gun of an entire novel construction, was exhi-
bited in December 1819, in the garden of York- Ho use, before the Duke of
York, the Adjutant-General to the Forces, the Quarter Master General, Earl
Cambden, and General Sir H. Taylor. It weighs less than the ordinary musket,
though composed of seven barrels — one of the common length, and in the same
position ; around it, at the breech, are the six others, of about three inches in length
only. The whole being charged, and the priming for the whole placed in the
magazine-chamber, which preserves it quite dry, and yields just sufficient, and no
more, to each charge. The simple art of cocking places each of the short barrels
successively, in complete connection with the long one, and that of shutting the
pan, primes it ; so that seven discharges may be effected in thirty seconds : and if
the long barrel be rifled, it produces the effect of a rifle gun, without the labour or
deformity of the ball, produced by the ordinary mode of loading. It is perfectly
safe and accurate, with great simplicity, every part being so guarded, as to pre-
vent the possibility of danger, error or impediment. The invention, it appears, is
equally applicable to great guns, pistols, or the arms used for the horse or coach-
guards. In the hands of game-keepers also, it must be a terrific weapon. His
Royal Highness minutely examined every part of it, and desired the ingenious in-
ventor to make four or five discharges, by which he put the balls, each time, in a
cluster round the mark.

GAME LAWS. — On September the 21st, 1819, Mr. William Garneys, son of
Thomas Garneys, Gent, of Kenton, Suffolk, was convicted in the penalty of five

20*2 GAME LAWS COACHES— HORSE STEALING.

pounds, for sporting- with a game certificate, but not qualified by estate. A dis-
tress warrant was directed to him ; but being- a minor, he has since been com-
mitted to the county goal at Ipswich, for three months ! E. Syer, Esq. of Clif-
ford's Inn, Middlesex, according to the public papers, was the informer, and the
Rev. J. Chevalier, of Aspal, M. D. a witness. Mr. Garneys, the father, it seems, is
qualified by estate, and to speak from memory, on this particular point, the land
on which the young man sported, was either in the occupation of the father, or an
approving friend. These notable British laws, if they can be said to merit that
sacred name, will be strained so hard, that anon they will experience a crash not
at all to the satisfaction of their supporters. Every example congenial with the
foregoing, should be put upon record,

STAGE COACH DRIVERS. — Some infamous delinquents of this description, have
arisen since our remarks. With respect to the punishment of a few months impri-
sonment, in a case of wilful and audacious hazarding the lives and limbs of others,
at best, it is but a sorry joke. To that rational part of the public, who enjoy and
patronize this fun, we have little farther to say; but to those who aim at preven-
tive punishment, we reiterate our former advice of suspension of the delinquent
from his occupation as a coachman, for a term of years, or for ever, according to
the nature of the case..

ANOTHER NATIONALLY CREDITABLE RECORD ! — " Horse-steating,abont twenty
years ago, was so very common in the North of England, and throughout Scot-
land, as to be by many, regarded, rather as an illegitimate means of subsistence,
than a serious crime ; but until within the two or three last years, the number of
offences of this description had decreased. It is now however so common in the
above-mentioned districts, that upon an average (1818) about six horses are stolen
weekly, scarcely one in twenty of which, is recovered." — Public Papers.

On the same authority, we state, as a caution, that several horses were killed last
year, by eating HAWS, which obstruct the stomach and intestines, in the same
manner as wheat ; inflammation and mortification suddenly ensuing.

From the same, of October, 1818. — A Steam Boat race has lately taken place,
in the Chesapeake, Virginia, between two rival boats of Richmond and some other
port. The Richmond boat was victorious. The victor is stated to have run eigh-
teen miles in one hour and ten minutes, nearly equalling the speed of the fastest
sailing American frigates.

THE AUTHOR'S FAREWELL. 203

In CONCLUSION, we anticipate certain cold-blooded objections, in that we have
treated too harshly, a certain class of delinquents, and that we have carried our
principles of justice due to beasts, in the vulgar phrase, to extremes ; the which
being interpreted is, there are many good people who cannot possibly make shift,
or render life tolerable, without the enjoyment of a moderate quantum of wrong-
and cruelty. We shall be further blamed, no doubt, for our rough and unmodish
style of calling men and things by their proper names : but really, our humble
wits are of the ancient cut, nor will our small portion of sagacity enable us to discover
those wonderful benefits, in extreme cases, now usually attributed to that excess
of lenient plaistering and onction, which has become the* universal mode. We have
neither the skill nor the talent to sooth and charm away obdurate profligacy.

Our metrical finale, for which we stand obliged to the ingenious Mr. Upton, we
strongly recommend to the serious consideration of all those juvenile Sportsmen,
who like the hero of the piece, may have inherited a handsome, but small fortune.
We can assure them, that there is the full force of reality in the fiction of the poet ;
and that we have at this moment, in memory, various such examples, which have
actually occurred in the course of our sporting pilgrimage. And now — after
having been occasionally, full often painfully, engaged on these subjects, during
more than half the usual term of life, we bid our readers heartily farewell, with
the humble offering of our best respects, and warmest wishes for their HEALTH,

WEALTH, AND MORAL IMPROVEMENT.

TEN THOUSAND POUNDS.

BY MR. UPTON

My father left ten thousand pounds,

And will'd it all to me;
My friends, like sunflowers, flock'd around,

As kind as kind could be.

This sent a buck, and that a hare,

And some the Lord knows what ;

In short, I thought I could declare,
No man such friends had got.

They ate my meat — they drank my wine;

In truth so kind were they,
That be the weather wet or fine,

They'd dine with me next day.

204

CONCLUSION.

They came : — and like the circling year,
The circling glass went round ;

Till something whisper'd in my ear,
" Ah, poor ten thousand pounds !

" Pshaw ! stuff!" cried I, " I'll hear it not,
" Besides, such friends are mine,

" That what they have, will be my lot,
" So push about the wine."

The glasses rung — the jest prevail'd

'Twas summer every day !
Till like a flower by blight assail'd,

My thousands dropt away.

Alas ! and so my friends dropt off,
Like rose leaves from the stem ;

My fallen state but met their scoff,
And I no more saw them !

One friend, one honest friend remain'd

When all the locusts flew,
One that ne'er shrunk, nor friendship feign' d,

My faithful dog, 'twas you.

INDEX.

Accidents fatal to Racing Stallions and Mares, 184. Me-
lancholy, 198.

Anne, Queen, our last horse-racing Sovereign, 6.

Appendix, 167.

Arabian, the Godolphin, p. 3. The Darley, sources of our
best racing blood. The Godolphin Arabian described,
4. The Wellesley Arab, 5. The first Arabian laced
in this Country, 6. Darley Arabian, acccount of, 6.
The Leedes Arabian, Sire of old Leedes, 6. Present
price of Arabian horses, and difficulty of obtaining mares,
10. Various races, ibid. Count Rzewttsky on the
Arabian Horse, 182. His description of the Kohlan, or
superior racer, 18,9.

Arabians of. the Desert, or Bedouins, great breeders of
horses, their character, 7. Anecdote of, 10.

Ass and Mule, 49 ; their non-improvement — wild and do-
mesticated state — uses, 50 ; horrible treatment — cruel
anecdote — baited by dogs — humane anecdote — not much
known till the reign of Elizabeth, 51 ; much and gene-
rally used of late — Asses used to cart coals, by Lord
Egremont — Anecdotes of Assinine performance — Mule,
52.

Badger Hunt, 73 ; infamous baiting, 74.

Bakewell, the great Breeder, 30 ; his offer of a Stallion to
the King.

Ball Morwick, his descendants of great repute in Ger-
many, 7.

Barbarities, 8, 14, 16, 19, 32, 50, 61, 69, 71. ibid. 72-3,
74, 94, 98, 112, 135, 144, 1*9, 156, 157, 162. Various
examples, 185. Old Markham the grand Text Book for
cruelties, 186. The disgrace of cruelty national, 187.
The merciful stable-keeper — Blacksmiths made pimps to
interested cruelty — Worn down Stage Horses — Fair
and moderate excitement on sale, necessary and
allowable, 188; Use and abuse — Pseudo — philanthro-
pists— calumnious leport of a race — unfair and fair ex-
amples, 18(1, 191. Protection of Brute Animals, a duty
of the Magistracy and Clergy, 190. Reported bad exam-
ple by a Member of Parliament, 190. Example of its
probable effect — Stag baiting to the disgrace of the
Magistracy and Aristocracy of Yorkshire — a \vet blanket
for the extinction of the infamy of Bull Baiting, 191.
The humane sheep-hunter — 194; only owe horse ridden
to death !

Beckford, Mr. 79, 82.

Boudrow, a translation of the word from the Irish, re-
quested, 34.

Bracken, Dr. his opinion, 36.

Buffon, Count, his hypothesis, 3, J)9, 152.

Bunbury, Sir Thomas Charles, his standing on the Turf,
185.

Cats, 56 ; humane rule with respect to them, 57 ; medicine,
130, Mahommed's cats — the Egyptian — capricious con-
duct of both English and Turks, 130.

Cattle and Horse plate work, national, proposed by the late
Lord Somerville, 31.

Chafin, Rev. William, 4, 76.

Charger, 21.

Childers Flying, or the Devonshire, 10, 41, described.

Chillaby, the mad Arabian, 11 ; attached to a lamb, 12.

Cline, Mr. 81.

Coaches, Stage, Management, 26. Innumerable and fatal
accidents, their causes and remedy, 27 — Police, 28 —
Drivers, 202.

Coke, Mr. imported the Godolphin Arabian, 4.

Coleridge, the modern bard of spell, and magic and witchery,
74, quoted.

Coursing, 64 — on foot. In Cyprus, 97. (See Greyhounds.)

Crossing, 75 — 89.

Crusades, 3.

Cumberland, the old Duke of, 37.

Devil-Kill, how to be obtained, and how to christen him
with Madeira, 43.

Dictionaries,*Sportsman's, 71, 79, 84.

Dog, 55 ; profound conjecture in his relation — Sporting
dogs ennumerated, 56 ; various races — Dog originally
unknown in America — Nature, habits, and diseases of the
dog — Distemper — Madness — Common and favourite breeds
— their management — Worming against madness, a
worm of the imagination — Necessity of air, exercise,
purgation, washing, combing, 57 ; Food animal and ve-
getable— Specific medicines, sulphur and calomel — (Va-
rieties of the Dog, see them by name) — London Draught
Dogs, 143: Siberian Dog — Sledge described, 144 —
Draught, 165; and management in London and on the
Continent — Feeding the Dog, 166 ; Canine Establish-
ments, extraordinary, 196.

— — - Beagles, 75 ; old established variety of dwarf hounds —
rough and smooth — musical — the small singing beagle, or
the ladies and the glove beagle — North and South
Country — character and description, 76 ; the Prince's
(present King's) Beagles.

Bull, 151 ; a variety, not a primitive species — origin

of Bull-baiting — torture of beasts permitted in England,
as an amusement ! — the hero of Culloden and Brougbton
— anecdote of Broughton — Bull Dog decreased in size,
1 53 — dangerous accident from Bull Dogs — a Bull Dog,
E E

INDEX.

a match for the Devil, 154 ; Bait at Ipswich — various ac-
counts of Bull-baiting, 155 — Bull Terrier — declining
price of Bull Dogs — Appeal to Professor Jackson on Bull-
baiting — Charters for Bull-baiting at Stamford and Tut-
bury, 156; solemn address to the inhabitants — Staver-
ton's bequest — mistaken principle in certain humane
publications, 157; Bull Dog fighting on his stumps! —
Tortures by logical and legal authority, 158 ; Union of
talents and confusion — reputed good-nature and Bull-
baiting — a new Holy Alliance.

Dog, Dalmatian, or coach Dog, 127 ; conjectures on origin
— Appendage of the coach establishment— a hound —
a shewy pack, 128; the Harlequin breed — Bengal
Harrier in Egypt — Egyptian Hound, 129 ; treatment
of Dogs by the Arabs and Turks — in Japan, 131 ;
Interruption to sport, in Essex, by meeting of Harriers
and Fox Hounds, 132.

- Greenland, 139 ; conjectural origin — description —
Hunt in their wild state, 140 — anecdote — Chabert's
great Russian dog — Arctic Dogs and Fox imported —
Artie varieties of the Dog, 141 — Qualities — Prey on
sheep — anecdote of Jowler, 142 — difference of character
between the Greenland and Newfoundland dog — anecdote
of Mr. Garland's dog, 143 — Danish Dog — ancient Alba-
nians of great size.

Harrier, 79 ; a modern variety — confusion respecting

the harrier — what the harrier really is, 80 ; pack de-
scribed— scent, HI — cross for Harriers — Harriers to hunt
the Roebuck — best time to enter young Hounds — manage
and reward, 82 : crack pack, 194.

Hound, Blood, 57, 58 ; nature and origin — American

Blood Hound — in Scotland, formerly, the Sleuth Hound —
description — few now kept, and those of questionable
blood— old stories of them — modern anecdote.

Hound, Fox, 67 ; breeding, 68 ; course of years re-
quired to rear a capital pack — Gamboy, the famous Essex
hound — Race over the B. C. Newmarket by two hounds,
69 ; Merkin 70, 75 ; hound originally harsh haired,
the greyhound, a smooth variety— curiods pack, 82 ;
treatment improved, 191; starving, 192; Psendo —
economy, 194; Mr. Osbaldeston's mode of hunting —
erroneous hunting a pack — flogging, rounding, docking,
1.95.

Hound, Grey or Gaze, 75-81 ; an ancient variety —

antiquity, use and worth, 83 ; ancient anecdotes — Grey-
hounds of the continent, 84 ; English, Italran, and Irish
Greyhound, 85 ; description, form and colour — choice —
anecdote — danger of liberty to Greyhounds, 86 ; old saw
— real mode for breeding — where the speediest Greyhounds
are to be found — the Italian, 87 ; anecdote of Duval the
Highwayman — description and character of the Italian
Greyhound, 88 ; trials in the 6eld, 89 ; the Dent Grc-y-
bounds — Greyhound, or Lurcher of India — of Persia, 90 ;
Battle with a Fox ; race between Greyhound and Mare,
97 ; Irish Greyhound, 9 1 ; originally from the East —
used to hunt the Wolf and Boar — breed proposed to de-
stroy the Wolf upon the Continent, 9.2 ; and to hunt the
royal Tyger in Bengal — Wolf and wild Boar hunts of An-
tiquity— ancient coursing matches, 93 — Coursing Deer,
by Queen Elizabeth, 94 — Laws of Coursing established in
her reign — Coursing the. Fox.

, Hound, Stag, 63 ; on srent by an old writer — the

slow and fine-nosed, 64 ; singular chases, 195.

Dog, Hound, Southern, 59 ; origin and description — th<
Talbot of former times — peculiar faculty of scent, 60 ;

music of hounds — modern style as to form — colour

speed — size, 61 ; description — breeding, 81.

Lurcher, 95 ; the Teazer of ancient times, origin,

character, and description — crossed and used by drovers,
96 ; Anecdotes.

Mastiff, or Ban, 57 ; how to manufacture Mastiffs —

the Mastiff, 159 ; antiquity of the British, exported tu
Rome — Ban Dog and mongrel Mastiff — Description and
solemn bark — high character, 160 — Training and Ma-
nagement— Wappit recommended to watch with the
Mastiff, 161 ; pure breed extinct — combat between Mas-
tiffs and a Lion, 162 ; cruelty in feeding wild beasts —
great danger from a Mastiff, 163 ; death of a lady from a
rabid Dog — Psalm-singing Dog of Scotland, 164 ; the
Dog and the Lady of Lansdown — Mastiffs, of many years
since, 1G5 — Monsieur Chabert and his Dog-gig.

Newfoundland, 133; origin and description — the

most useful of the whole race — his high qualities — dis-
graced by inferior crosses — cruel treatment in Newfound-
land— disease in that country from fever and hard-labour,
135 ; Anecdote of Mr. Mudford's Dog, and account of the
trial respecting it, 136'.

Pointer, English, 119 ; cross of the Fox-hound on the

old Spanish Pointer — Dash — Pointers taught to hunt deer,

'• hare, or fox — Truffle hunting at Ambresbury — Pointer
hunting in the North, 120 ; varieties of Pointers and Par-
sons— Don, a famous Sussex Pointer — Dash, the Eclipse
of Pointers, 191 ; his great price — Pluto and Juno, anec-
dote of — another anecdote in confirmation of the former,
192.

Pointer, Spanish, 115; or pointing hound — his his-
tory uncertain — succeeds the Setter, a Spaniel variety —
natural pointing — qualifications and description — when
obtained, destination — find and bring or not — breaking
and training, 116; cowed, or made desperate, by common
dog-breakers, 117; price — ware sheep !— -method of
breaking — terras — foolery of the puzzle-peg, 118 ; intro-
duction to tlic field — backing.

Pugs, 145 — their derivation — a noble parody on

Bulls and Pugs — Puggism defined — Pu£ and Pompey for-
merly applied to Berks and Hants Pigs — Description of
the Pug Dug, 146 — Epitaph on a Bitch — Lectures on
Heads, 147 — Term 1'ug derived from pugnus a Fist.
Calumnious character of the Pug Dog — End of " poor old
Pug," a piteous anecdote, 149.

Shepherd's, 93 — Description — Supposed Antiquity —

Button's hypothesis — this dog a heaven-born genius —
their great labour on the continent and superiority, 100 ;
drovers' dogs — worrying sheep — purity of blood in tin:
North and in Wales — Anecdotes, 101-2.

Seller, 123 ; originally a spaniel — first trained in the

14th century — well-known in 1685 — Setters in Ireland,
called English Spaniels — liiuli price in Ireland — character
and properties, 124; more useful than the pointer — Mr.
Mildred's Basto would take water — Setters take water —
preferred for pheasant and Moor Game, 125 — anecdotes
of Mr, Elwes's and Dr. Smith's Setters — Setters formerly
' omnium gatherum' — Peculiarities, 126 — fatal accident.

Spaniel, 103 ; the Springer — Mr. Daniel's remarks

examined — old English prejudice — varieties of the Spanitl,

INDEX.

104 ; anecdote — description and uses, 105 ; training-,
IOG ; improper crossing and dabbling — Marlborougb
breed.

Dog, Terrier, 71, not named by the old writers — uses —
infamous old mode of training — match and anecdotes, 72 ;
great use in the country, 73.

Water Spaniel, 107 ; conjectural origin — colour and

form — size, 108; training, 108-9; use in the Decoys —
anecdote, 110.

Water, 111; description — anecdotes of this breed,

112; chiefly found on the coasts — instruction and
management, 113; proper treatment, 114.

Domaiae, Mr. his death, 201.

Dungannon, O'Kelly's, attached to a lamb, 12.

Eclipse, 34 ; his stock characterized, 37 ; his pedigree and
description — his race over York, 38-39 ; a yearling pur-
chased for seventy-five guineas — his trial and performances,
39-40 ; winnings — vast sums raised from his stock — his
death and burial at Cannons — his probable speed, if free
from weight, 70.

Egreinont, Earl of, 30, 5 1 .

Eleanor, by Whiskey, won both Derby and Oaks Stakes,
following days, 12.

Equitation, English — seats on horseback, 24.

Forbin, Count, his travels and description of Arabian

horses, 10.
Fox, 56 ; Rabies in Foxes, 195.

Game, Moor, disease in, 200 ; abundant in Berks, increasing

in Dorset, 201.
Games, Olympic, 3.
Goldfinder, the Race Horse, 34, 38.
Gun, newly invented, 201.

Hack, or Hackney, 17; described — best pedigree of, 18;
breaking anil education of — riding school — form — reme-
dies for bad-matural paces— the canter — (Sec Stable.)

Hawking; Hawk with the. Greyhound, the constant at-
tendants of the Nobles and Gentry of old, 84 ; Falconry
revived by Colonel Thornton and Lord Gage.

Herod, King, the Race Horse, 34, 41, 42, 43, description,
pedigree, performances, stock, and great profit as a
Stallion, 44.

Horse — in his wild state — of America — of the Eastern
countries — courser of the Desert, 1-3 ; Horses of Eu-
rope, Asia, and Africa compared, 5 — Horse not indige-
nous to America, ibid — imported from the Levant, ibid—
Horse-racing, its commencement, 6 — various breeds used
for that purpose, ibid — English thorough breed, whence
derived, 6 — (See Racer, Hunter, and Hunting) — ancient
war Horse, 21 ; a Courser — war chariot — modern war-
Horse or Great Home — great trotting Horse, 22 ; regu-
lations for Horse-breeding — (See Mane'ge) — German
breed, 24 : coach horse and chariot horse described, 25 ;
where bred — cart Horse described, 29 ; heavy blacks,
Suffolks, &c. — Great Cart Horse, where bred — of Belgic
origin, 30 ; Heavy Blacks kept by the farmers of Berks
and Hants, 31 ; inferior sizes used as troop-horses and
funeral work, ibid — breeding for the road and common
purposes, 182 ; as to judgment, even betting between

the generality of breeders and of purchasers, 183 ; great
difficulties and great skill required — encouragement —
cropping, singeing, nicking, 192 ; scarcity of Mares —
Horse-stealing, 202 ; killed by haws.

Hunter and Hunting — rise of our present hunting system,
13; English Hunter desciibed, ibid — Hunting described,
14 ; the leaping bar, ibid — the Irish Hunters, famous
leapers — anecdotes of fatal leaps, 14, 15; training the
Hunter, 15; the Steeple-Hunt, 16; Hunting by the
Pole, 64 ; Deer, alias Calf-Hunting — number of Deer —
Hound Packs — Royal Stag Hunt described, 65 ; valid ob-
jection to Deer-Hunting — anecdote, 67 ; Pack of Hounds
for a Farmer, 73 ; comparison of Horse and Hound, 78 ;

Huttson, Auld Tarn, 200.

James, I. our first Sporting Monarch, 6.
Jennets, Spanish, the descendants of Barbs, 9.
Jockey Club, character of, 174 ; notice by, 183.
Jupiter, the Race Horse, 38 ; his pedigree and per-
formances.

Lath, son of the Godolphin Arabian, 4.
Laws, Game, 201,

Magazine, Sporting, 41 , 61 ; Letter on starving hounds — the
Sporting Book of Reference, 120, 124, 131, 142, 146,
155, 171, 175, 177, 182, 192, ibid.

Manage Continental of the War-Horse, 22 ; grand et petit —
Rules and Regulations for Cavalry, 23.

Marshall, Mr. horse-painter, 5 ; his dreadful accident, 26.

Marske, sire of Eclipse, 39 ; great price at which he covered,
40 ; his pedigree, performances, and history, 47.

Massarene, Lady, death, waking, and burial of her dog, 197.

Matchem the Racer, profit made of him by Mr. Fenwick, 39.

Meason, G. L. Esq. his fancy stud of ponies, 46.

Medley, old Jack, formerly keeper of the Sporting Coffee-
House in Round Court, 88.

Merlin, old, progenitor of Welch ponies, 17.

Meynell, Hugo, 69.

Middlesex, its notable, cheap, and profitable police, 58.

Napoleon, Emperor, importer of Southern horses — anecdote
of him, 7 — anecdote, 23.

Oakley, John, Jockey, 37.

O'Kelly, Dennis, 33 ; sketch of his profession and character,

34 ; his personal appearance — anecdotes of him to 36 ;

38, his price demanded for Eclipse — his profit by Eclipse.
Osborne, Lord Fnincis, Godolphin, .4.

Partridges, great plenty of, 198.

Pembroke, Earl of, celebrated writer on War-Horses, 22.

Ponies, Hobbies, and Galloways, 45 — anecdote — Shetland,
Newforester, and Welsh Ponies — African — Indian — Java-
nese beautiful — Arabian — Racing Ponies and Galloways
— trotting Ponies — Scots Hobbies, 46— Scots Galloways —
New Foresters, ibid 48.

Pounds, ten thousand, how to spend, 203.

Pugilism, British, its morality, 155.

Punch, Suffolk, 31 ; the old breed extinct — its supposed
origin— drawing dead pulls— jup-ji ! 32 — the new breed,
ibid — prices.

INDEX.

Racer and Racing, 9 ; peculiar (o Britain and Ireland —
most resembles the Arabian, but superior — the most
powerful, swift and lasting of the species — idea of tho-
rough breed gradually developed — none but accidental
mixtures in the British racing blood, 10 ; glorious uncer-
tainties of Turf-breeding and Horse-coursing, 11 ; no de-
generation in the Turf-breed — new blood not in repute,
ibid — test of true blood, ibid — (See Training for the Turf)
— portraits of the old Racers neglected and lost, 4 1 ; va-
lued by the German breeders — list of many now lost —
local advantages and disadvantages for Racers and Hun-
ters, 77 ; racing in France, 104 ; anecdote of a Sporting
race of former days — more Horses broken down from
ignorance than design, 177 ; proprietors and their grooms
equally prejudiced — Stable logic — Newmarket and York-
shire training compared, 177 ; training more injurious
than Racing, 179; examples — northern Horses Lave run
well at Newmarket — proper training after travel — names
of the Horses ought not to be omitted on the portraits
of Racers.

Race, Steam Boat, 202.

Regulus, old, or Martindale's, profit by him, 39.

Richmond, late Duke of, his melancholy death and euloge,
56.

Sale and Purchase, 20 ; warranty.

Saltorius, Sen. and Jun. 37.

Seymour, Horse-painter, 4, 37.

Shakespeare the Race Horse, 37, 40.

Shark the Racer, 47 ; his winnings.

Shooting, 113; Wild-Fowl, its ecstatic pleasure described,
114; Memorabilia, 198; matches, 199; Game killed,
200-201.

Squirt, the Racer, anecdote of him, 47.

Stable care and array, 18 ; loose stable, 19 ; error of hard
cold stones—feeding— trimming-cruppers— nicking— Shoe-
ing, ibid — La Fosse's system, 20.

Stakes, St. Ledger, at Doncaster, 170— account of the dis-
puted Race in 1819; hasty decision of tbe Stewards, 171;
final decision of the Jockey Club — arguments pro and
con, 172; Remarks and Regulations proposed, 173;
common practice of false starts, 174; all's well at Don-

caster, 175 ; improvements of the course there — sale of
Antonio — necessity of keeping every Race Course clear
during the running — a precious set reported to frequent
Doncaster, 176 ; training grooms discharged — Stakes,
grand Trial for Northern and Southern Horses, 180.

Stallions shamefully neglected and abused, 44.

Stubbs, the Horse-painter, effectually defended, 4.

Tattersall's, account of a horse there, resembling the Godol-
phin Arabian, 4.

Thornton, Col. Marquis of Chambord in France, 34, fig, 77,
84, 121.

Training the Racer, 12 ; Chifney's remarks — error in train-
ing, 68 ; moderation in training recommended, and sound
Racers with some flesh, rather than lame ones with none,
180.

Treatise on Horses, Philosophical and Practical, extract from,
23, 39, 157, 177.

Trotting in Harness, 192.

Turf; commencement of Racing, 13; Horse-coursing, its
character, 34 ; superiority of the Running Stables — con-
siderations on the Turf, 169 ; progressive improvement —
extension of racing — Blood, farther improvement neces-
sary and practicable, 170 ; an excellent channel for su-
perfluous cash, 181 ; preferable to run sound horses. —
opinion of Mr. Cline on breeding — of Mr. Lawrence — dif-
ficulties in the case — examples apparently in opposition to
Mr. Clitic's theory — instance of unfair and fair Racing —
Chifney's loose rein, 192.

Turkmainatti, the Godolphin, or crack Arabian of Ger-
many, 7.

Veltheira, Harbke de, Count, Chevalier of the orders of the
Red Eagle and of St. John of Prussia — his observations on
Horses, 7, 31, 181.

Wellington, Duke of, 199.

Western, C. C. Esq. M.P. his French cart stallion, Jl.

Wildman, Mr. Proprietor of Eclipse, 38, 39.

York, Duke of, 2ol.

ERRATA.

Page 40, line 15, read, " in the portrait."

41, line 18, dele , and read " Bay Bolton."

. 57, line 1, read " washing."

191, for " Duke of Bedford," read " Duke of Devonshire."

THE END.

W. WILSON', Printer, 4, Grcvilie-Strcet, Hatton-Garden, London.