HISTOBY OF THE LINLITHGOW 



Turning again from the men — masters, sup- 

 porters, and huntsmen — to the hounds, there is 

 nothing to indicate where the original pack came 

 from, or what was its strength in the Hunt's 

 earhest days. The picture of " The Death of the 

 Fox," however, painted by Alexander Nasmyth 

 about the year 1795, gives some idea of the stamp 

 of hound in use at that time. In appearance the 

 hounds seem to have been small, perhaps not 

 more than twenty inches in height, deficient in 

 bone and substance, light in colour, and resembling 

 the harrier rather than the foxhound, but showing 

 quality and having great neck and shoulder. The 

 pictures of different dates in which the hounds 

 are depicted form in themselves a sort of history 

 of the latter, and it is interesting to compare one 

 picture with another since each, assuming always 

 that the drawing is correct, serves to illustrate 

 the type of hound existing at the time, and to 

 demonstrate the progress which has gradually 

 taken place in hound breeding. 



In 1806, what was evidently the Linlithgow 

 and Stirlingshire pack was advertised to be dis- 

 posed of by public sale,^ but it would seem that 

 the hounds were not sold in this way, and eventu- 

 ally remained in the country. Three or four years 

 later, fresh blood appears to have been obtained 

 from the kennel of a Mr Harley Drummond, since 

 the accounts for the year 1810 refer to a lawsuit 

 at his instance for the recovery of the price of 



1 ' Edinburgh Advertiser,' May 20, 1806 : vide p. 42. 

 14 



