240 FOX-HUNTING FROM SHIRE TO SHIRE 



and of the foxhound, Canon Kingsley once wrote, 

 " Next to an old Greek statue there are few such 

 combinations of grace and strength as in a fine 

 foxhound. Majesty is the only word ; for if he 

 were ten feet high instead of twenty-three inches, 

 with what animal on earth could you compare him ? 

 It is a joy to see such perfection alive/' That it is 

 possible to fault even the most approved model 

 hounds, only adds zest to the worship of the ideal ; 

 for after all it must be remembered that the statue 

 of the Venus of Milo — the most superb piece of 

 sculpture worked at the end of the grand Greek 

 period, was inspired by the limbs of eleven of 

 the most beautiful ladies of the time. Human per- 

 fection in every detail is only supposed to exist in 

 the brain of the artist. 



The Belvoir hounds have aristocracy of bearing in 

 keeping with their high lineage, and Ben Capell is 

 unrivalled at putting before the critics a succession 

 of beautiful models, who stand so that every line of 

 their symmetry can be appreciated at a glance. The 

 foxhound represents the highest type of breeding ; the 

 result of nature, not limited, but developed by high 

 civilisation. So far as the Belvoir are concerned, after 

 visiting the kennel regularly during the past twenty 

 years, and following the expert opinion of Captain 

 Pennell Elmhirst, " Brooksby " of the Field, it would 

 appear that they are surpassing even their own 

 standard of excellence. Very closely bred, they are a 

 proof how closel}^ a pack of hounds may be inter- 

 related, without loss of constitution or working powers. 

 The Belvoir hounds to-day will measure or weigh 

 against those seen on the benches generations previ- 

 ously ; for bone and muscle have been consolidated 

 in a marvellous way, and that too without any loss 

 of the beautiful quality. Weighty sires are to be 



