DOGS OF THE OLDEN TIME. 263 



which bear so strong a resemblance to the Highland deer- 

 hound as to leave no doubt that they are intended to 

 represent this species. The date of this sculpture is con- 

 sidered by antiquaries, and in particular by Chalmers, to 

 have been previous to the introduction of Christianity, and 

 as early at least as the ninth century. 



These, though probably the earliest, are by no means the 

 only stones on which representations are given of these 

 dogs. On many others of great antiquity to be met with in 

 different parts of the country hunting scenes are represented, 

 in which the same species of dogs are introduced in full 

 pursuit of deer. 



Among the Anglo-Saxons, with whom the wild boar, 

 the wolf, and the hart were constant objects of sport, no 

 dogs were so highly prized as the original race of grey- 

 hounds. 



When a nobleman travelled, he never went without 

 these dogs. The hawk he bore on his wrist, and the grey- 

 hounds who ran before him, were certain testimonials of 

 his rank ; and in the ancient pipe-rolls, payments appear to 

 have been often made in these valuable animals. 



In the llth. century, so greatly were greyhounds in 

 estimation, that by the forest laws of Canute the Great, 

 no person under the rank of a gentleman was allowed to 

 keep one. 



At this period, and until after the Norman conquest, the 

 chase was always pursued on foot ; the Norrnans having 

 been the first to introduce the mode of following their game 

 on horseback. 



It is obvious, from the rough and uncultivated state of 

 the country, and the nature of the game which was then 

 the object of the chase (viz., deer of all sorts, wolves, and 

 foxes), that the dogs then used would be of a larger, fiercer, 

 and more shaggy description than the greyhounds of the 

 present day, which are bred solely for speed, and have, by 

 modern culture and experimental crosses, been rendered, in 

 all probability, a swifter animal, and better suited for 

 coursing the hare in a level country. 



As cultivation increased, the game for which the deer- 

 hound was particularly suited gradually diminished, and 



