232 Modern Dogs 



unfortunate monarch met his death on the 

 scaffold. 



But let us leave such a troublous period, and at 

 once enter upon that epoch in the history of the 

 greyhound when he was used much in the same 

 fashion as he is to-day. In Elizabeth's reign the 

 first rules and regulations as to coursing were drawn 

 up at the instance of the Duke of Norfolk, and they 

 are very similar to those of the present day. That 

 dog which led to the hare, won, if no other points were 

 made ; the hare had to have twelve score (?) yards 

 law ; two wrenches stood for one turn ; a go-by was 

 equal to two turns. If a dog that led and beat his 

 opponent stood still in the field, and refused to go 

 further he lost the course ; if, by accident, a dog 

 was run over in his course, the trial was void, and 

 he who did the mischief had to make reparation. 

 There were other regulations likewise, but this 

 short summary will show how closely they approach 

 the rules in force at the present time. 



In 1776, the Earl of Orford established the 

 Swaffham (Norfolk) Coursing Club, the earliest of its 

 kind, and contemporary writers tell us this was the 

 turning point in the popularity of the sport. In 

 I 798, the club numbered twenty-four members, there 

 being one vacancy, and in addition there were the 

 lady patroness, the Marchioness of Townsend ; 



