74 EEMINISCEXCES OF A SPOETSMAN. 



Hollinshed, in his description of Ireland and tlie Irish 

 written in 1586, has the following notice : " They are 

 not without wolves, and greyhounds to hunt them, 

 bigger of bone and limb than a colt." Of the courage 

 of the ancient wolf-dog, or as some call them deer- 

 hound, there can be little doubt, from the nature of 

 the animal for which he was used. If any proof were 

 wanting, an incident mentioned by Evelyn in his "Diary" 

 of 1670, when present at a bull-fight in the bear gar- 

 dens, is conclusive. He says : " The bulls (meaning the 

 bull-dogs) did exceedingly well ; but the Irish wolf-dog 

 exceeded, which was a tall greyhound, a stately crea- 

 ture indeed, who beat a cruel mastiff." I am indebted 

 to that clever and intelligent authoress, Mrs. S. Carter 

 Hall, for her recollections of an Irish wolf-dog and his 

 master, which I cannot do better than relate in her own 

 words : — 



" When I was a child, I had a very close friendship 

 with a genuine old wolf-dog, Bruno by name ; he was 

 the property of an old friend of my grandmother's who 

 claimed descent from the Irish kings. His name was 

 O'Toole ; his manners were the most courtly you can 

 imagine, as they might well be, for he had spent much 

 time and fortune at the French court when Marie- 

 Antoinette was in her prime and beauty. His visits 

 Y\^ere by jubilees, — there was the kind, dignified old 

 gentleman who told me tales, — there was his tall gaunt 

 dog, grey with age, and yet with me full of play ; and 

 there were two rough terriers which Bruno kejDt in ad- 

 mirable order. He managed the little one by simply 

 placing his paw upon it when it was too frisky ; but Vixen, 

 the large one, like many ladies, had a will of her own, 

 and entertained some idea of being mistress. Bruno 



