THE MODERN GREYHOUND. 15 



and aptitude for the uses designed and the position to be 

 filled. 



This being so, in estimating the Greyhound's claim to be 

 the handsomest of the canine race we must remember for 

 what his various excellencies, resulting in a whole which is 

 so strikingly elegant, are designed. Speed is the first and 

 greatest quality a dog of this breed can possess; to make 

 a perfect dog there are other attributes he must not be defi- 

 cient in, but wanting in pace he can never hope to excel. 

 The most superficial knowledge of coursing or coursing 

 literature will show this, and it is a quality which, 

 although developed to its present high pitch, has always 

 been recognised as most important. Chaucer says : 



Greihounds he hadde as swift as fowl of flight ; 



And again following the example of the immortal scoundrel, 

 Wegg to drop into poetry, Sir Walter Scott in his intro- 

 duction to " Marmion " thus eulogises the speed of the 

 Greyhound : 



Eemember'st thou my Greyhounds true? 

 O'er holt or hill there never flew, 

 From leash or slip there never sprang, 

 More fleet of foot, more sure of fang. 



Well does he deserve the encomium of Markham, who 

 declares he is "of all dogs whatsoever the most princely, 

 strong, nimble, swift, and valient." 



In addition to speed, the dog must have strength to last 

 out a severe course, nimbleness in turning, the capacity to 

 catch and bear the hare in his stride, good killing powers, 

 and vital force to give him dash, staunchness, and endur- 

 ance. What a dog possessing these qualities should be 



