120 ANECDOTES AND VARIETIES. 



situations, burst their boundaries, and appear above ground : in that case, the scent 

 will be more powerful and divergent. 



The following story from the North, shews the Pointer in the character of a 

 hound, as well as a finder. A Gentleman in the county of Stirling, lately kept a 

 Greyhound and a Pointer; and being- fond of coursing, the Pointer was accustomed 

 to find the Hares, and the Greyhound to catch them. When the Season was over, 

 it was found that, the dogs were in the habit of going- out by themselves, and 

 killing hares for their own amusement. To prevent this, a large iron ring was 

 fastened to the Pointer's neck, by a leathern collar, which hung- down so as to pre- 

 vent the dog from running or jumping- dykes or fences. These animals however, 

 continued to strole together as usual, over the fields ; and one day, the Gentleman 

 suspecting them, resolved to watch, and to his surprize, found that, the moment 

 they thought they were unobserved, the Greyhound took up the iron ring in his 

 mouth, and carry in git, they set off to the hills, and began to hunt for hares as they 

 had been accustomed. They were followed, and it was observed that, whenever 

 the Pointer scented a Hare, the ring was dropped, and the Greyhound stood ready 

 to pounce upon poor puss, the moment the other drove her from her form ; but that 

 the Greyhound uniformly returned to assist his companion, after he had accom- 

 plished his object. This indeed, is a new kind of ring dropping. 



With respect to the Varieties of the Pointer the highly crossed and finished 

 modern dog, three parts lightyb.r hound, and his opposite, the slow and steady old 

 stager, with his heavy head, thick muns, and Spanish mien ; the two species 

 accord most befittingly, with our two distinguished species of Gunners ; the young-, 

 active, fashionable men of business in the line, and the slow, deliberate, and regular ; 

 the latter chiefly, perhaps, men iVun certain age exempli gratia, our young Sport- 

 ing Parsons, who take the lead at our Country Assemblies, are the oracles at all 

 Card parties, and in all societies of ladies, whom they take especial care to con- 

 ciliate by sermons of fifteen minutes precisely, both in very hot and very cold 

 weather and our grave and broad-beavered Rectors, who read the ancient 

 Fathers and make prosing sermons of an hour and half long, and may be admired 

 now and then upon the high road, sitting majestically upright on a stump tailed 

 gelding, of congenial gravity, an old servant bringing up the rear, in a sober 

 livery of somewhat antique costume, and mounted upon a sleek nag, of a size not 

 likely to flinch under the most respectable weight. We entreat our readers to 

 assure themselves that, we utter not these things in the guise of ridicule or re- 

 proach, but of approbation. 



There is a very good likeness, by Cooper, in our Sporting reference Book, 

 Wheble and Pitlmans Magazine for October 1815, of Don, the then reputed best 

 Pointer, in the County of Sussex, the property of Jasper Bates, Esq. of Parnshurst, 

 in that County, and perhaps afterwards a stallion of high repute, He appears, by 

 his portrait, to have been of the light breed, and his characteristics, most valuable 



