THE MASTIFF FOR BAITING PURPOSES. IO7 



illustration of a horse banded by the neck to a' tree, being 

 baited by two large dogs, which were evidently not unlike 

 and quite as large as the mastiff in body, the drawing however 

 is very indifferent. One of the dogs has pinned the horse by 

 the nose. This illustration is from an M.S. in the Royal 

 Library. 



From Stow's Survey, p. 666, it is stated that baiting the 

 bear, bull, or horse in the open streets of London was prohib- 

 ited, under a penalty of twenty shillings, according to one of 

 the city laws. 



According to tradition the Stamford bull-running (a different 

 diversion to bull-baiting) took its rise, in the reign of King 

 John, from William, Earl of Warren and Lord of Stamford, 

 standing upon his castle walls in Stamford, and noticing two 

 bulls fighting, and the owner of one of them, a butcher in the 

 town, set " a great mastiff dog " (as it is worded) upon his 

 own bull, which forced it into the town ; the Earl was so 

 pleased with the sport and tumult that ensued, that he gave 

 the aftermath for ever, for grazing, to the butchers of the 

 town on condition that they annually furnished a bull-running. 

 The original account from which this tradition is taken is in 

 Richard Butcher's " Survey and Antiquities of the Towne of 

 Stamford, in the County of Lincolne," published in 1717, ch. 

 i, pages 76 and 77, being the second edition, an earlier one, 

 now very scarce, was published in London, A.D. 1646, small 

 4-to, which contains some poems. 



In this tradition we see the mastiff described as " a great 

 mastiff dog," and the first bull baiting at Stamford is stated 

 to have been on St. Brices day, Nov. I3th, A.D. 1209. 

 Stamford was also probably the last town in England in which 



