THE IIARRIEK. 359 



SO stain the ground that she often escaped by such 

 means ; whereas the modern hound, if the scent be 

 tolerably good, forces her from her foil to fly the 

 country, and very often beyond her knowledge, 

 when a good straightforward run is the almost 

 invariable result. The observation of Mr. Beck- 

 ford holds good here. He could not, he said, ima- 

 gine a hound too well bred to show sport, and kill 

 his game ; but he could readily conceive the reverse, 

 when the game ran stout and well. 



To Sir John Dashwood King, Bart, of West 

 Wycombe Park, Bucks, is the credit due for what 

 may be termed the living model of the present im- 

 proved harrier ; and so characteristically stamped 

 are his sort of hound, now widely spread, that they 

 are recognised by a sportsman at the first glance. 

 Their standard hei^-ht did not exceed ei^-hteen 

 inches, and, therefore, in that respect, they were 

 not an overmatch for their game ; but from the 

 great equality of their size and speed, combined 

 with rare hunting qualities, they killed more hares, 

 with good runs, than any other pack in the king- 

 dom, and for many, many years in succession cer- 

 tainly '' bore the bell."' Sir John kept them more 

 than thirty years, at Bourton-on-the-Hill, Glou- 

 cestershire, near the four-shire stone on the Oxford 

 and Worcester road, where his father kept them 

 before him ; hunting partly in the vales of War- 

 wickshire and Worcestershire, and partly over the 

 Cotsvvold Hills, which latter country is famous for 

 the stoutness of its hares, frequently standing an 

 huur before this celebrated pack, after having been 



