THE BASSET-HOUND 



was at that time under the impression that Model was the first of the 

 breed imported, and that hound was certainly the first of his kind 

 exhibited at an English dog show. It appears, however, from 

 a pamphlet ("Bassets: their Use and Breeding") subsequently 

 written and published by Mr. Millais, and to which it will be 

 necessary to refer on several points, that Lord Onslow possessed, 

 prior to Model's importation, several Bassets, which had been given 

 to him by Lord Gal way, who had been presented with them by 

 Comte Tournon, of Montmelas. These are the first imported 

 Bassets on record ; but it would be against fair inference from 

 undoubted evidence to suppose that Bassets, like other French 

 breeds, had not been brought to England centuries ago, although 

 the blood has been absorbed and lost in the flood of other varieties. 

 At the time, however, that Mr. Millais obtained Model, no other 

 representative of the breed could be found in this country, and his 

 owner, therefore, resorted to a Beagle cross, claiming that in the 

 second generation he was able to show hounds at the Agricultural 

 Hall in 1877 which it was impossible to distinguish from pure 

 Bassets. He gave up this strain when Lord Onslow imported Fino 

 and Finette from Comte le Couteulx, the breeder of Model. 



The next great impulse towards popularising these hounds here 

 was, undoubtedly, the importation of specimens from the best 

 French kennels, by " Wildfowler " and Mr. G. R. Krehl ; to a 

 remarkable extent by the latter's Fino de Paris, a hound of great 

 beauty and of concentrated pedigree, whose blood runs in the 

 majority of Bassets of the day. 



Fino de Paris deserves a few words to himself, so potent has his 

 influence been upon the breed. Mr. Krehl showed excellent 

 judgment in acquiring him in 1880. Mr. Millais, who could have 

 had him at an earlier date, believed him to be Model's brother, but 

 he had the bloodhound type of head to which we have bred since, 

 while Model's was more on the lines of a Foxhound's. Now we may 

 trace the foundation of the breed as it is to-day in Great Britain. 

 The union of Model with Lord Onslow's Finette produced Garenne 

 and Proctor. The latter, put to Juno, a bitch imported by Lord 

 Onslow, produced Cigarette, who became the dam of Medore by 

 Champion Bourbon (Fino de Paris ex Guinevere). The alliance of 

 Medore with Fino VI. (a son of Fino V. by Vivien, a grand- 

 daughter of Fino de Paris) resulted in the birth of Champions 

 Forester, Fresco, Merlin, and Flora, all names of great moment in 

 the Basset-hound world. 



The next potent factor in the establishment of the breed in this 

 country came into play in 1883. It is related of certain voyagers 

 that, when in immediate danger of shipwreck, and it was found no 

 one of their number was capable of conducting the devotions 

 suitable to the perilous occasion, a brilliant idea presented itself to 



