The Bulldog. 22 1 



his larger and coarser brother " Allan Vautre, kept only to bait the bear 

 and wild boar," had become extinct on account of the cessation of its 

 employment. The introduction of the sport referred to is thus given in 

 the "Survey of Stamford": "William, Earl Warren, lord of this 

 town in the time of King John (A.D. 1199 to 1216), standing upon the 

 castle walls of Stamford, saw two bulls fighting for a cow in the meadow 

 till all the butchers' dogs, great and small, pursued one of the bulls 

 (being maddened with noise and multitude) clean through the town. This 

 sight so pleased the said earl that he gave all those meadows (called the 

 Castle Meadows) where first the bull duel began for a common to the 

 butchers of the town, after the first grass was eaten, on condition they 

 find a mad bull the day six weeks before Christmas Day for the con- 

 tinuance of that sport every year." 



A yet ignobler band is guarded round 

 With dogs of war the bull their prize ; 

 And now he bellows, humbled to the ground, 

 And now they sprawl in howlings to the skies. 



****** 



Now bull ! now dogge ! 'loo, Paris, loo ! 

 The bull has the game : 'ware horns, ho I 



In bull-baiting the object the dog was required to effect was that termed 

 " pinning and holding," which was to seize the bull by the muzzle " and 

 not leave it ; " the bull's nose being his most tender part, he was, when 

 seized by it, rendered helpless. The bull in fighting naturally lowers his 

 head to use his horns, and was often provided with a hole in which to bury 

 his nose some old veterans ("game' ' bulls), not so indulged, would scrape 

 one for themselves ; it was therefore necessary for the dog to keep his 

 own head close to the ground, or, as it was termed, to " play low ; " the 

 larger dogs were obliged to crawl on their bellies to avoid being above the 

 bull's horns, hence the smallest dog of the kind capable of accomplishing 

 the object required was selected, it being useless to sacrifice large dogs 

 when smaller and more active, though equally courageous dogs, answered 

 the purpose better. The dog found to be the best suited to the require- 

 ments, and actually used by our ancestors until the cessation of bull 

 baiting, was from 14in. to 18in. high, weighing 401b. or 501b., very broad 

 muscular, and compact, as shown ia pictures still extant, notably an 

 engraving dated 1734, from a picture by Moreland, of three bull-dogs of 

 exactly the same type as that of the purest bred dogs of the present day 



