CHAPTER XV 



THE BASSET HOUND 



THE conformation of the Basset makes him con- 

 spicuous among other varieties of hounds. Although 

 he stands on short legs only a few inches high, and 

 usually crooked like those of the Dachshund, at the 

 same time he has a heavy, powerful-looking body, 

 with a head much resembling that of the Bloodhound. 

 He is an importation from France, whence he was 

 brought by the late Sir Everett Millais, son of the 

 great artist, in 1874. Lord Onslow and the late 

 Mr. G. R. Krehl also imported hounds at about the 

 same time, and it did not take us long to appreciate 

 their good points. For a time, however, there were 

 not sufficient from which to breed, and at first Sir 

 Everett (then only Mr. Millais) crossed with a beagle. 

 This strain was, fortunately, soon given up, and by 

 1880 there were enough Bassets in the country to 

 justify a class at Wolverhampton Show. Over here 

 the Basset has been bred on fairly uniform lines, 

 except that the rough and smooth differ somewhat 

 in several essential features. In France and Belgium, 

 however, there are a number of varying types, all 

 more or less related, it is true, and yet with marked 

 differences. [The type favoured in this country has 



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