THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 55 



terrier ; then, to obtain a finer skin, an Italian 

 greyhound is selected for her mate. But as 

 the ears of the produce are an eyesore to the 

 connoisseur, a beagle is resorted to, and then 

 little is seen of that unsightly defect in the 

 next generation. Lastly, to complete the mixture, 

 the bulldog is now called on to give the 

 necessary courage ; and the composite animals, 

 thus elaborated, become, after due selection, the 

 sires and dams of the modern fox-terriers. 

 This version of their origin," continued he, " I 

 received from a man well qualified to speak 

 on the subject." 



The bulldog blood thus infused imparts 

 courage, it is true, to the so-called terrier ; he 

 is matchless at killing any number of rats in 

 a given time ; will fight any dog of his weight 

 in a Westminster pit ; draw a badger heavier 

 than himself out of his long box ; and turn 

 up a tom-cat possessed even of ten lives, before 

 poor pussy can utter a wail. But the ferocity 

 of that blood is in reality ill suited — nay, is 

 fatal — to fox-hunting purposes ; for a terrier 

 that goes to ground and fastens on his fox, as 

 one so bred will do, is far more likely to 

 spoil sport than promote it ; he goes in to 

 kill, not to bolt, the object of his attack. 



Besides, such animals, if more than one slip 

 into a fox-earth, are too apt to forget the game, 

 and fight each other, the death of one being 



