CHAPTER XXXII. 



THE GREYHOUND. 



OF all the breeds of dog which were held in high estimation by out forefathers, the Greyhound 

 is undoubtedly the most popular in the present day. Its utility as a provider of the means of 

 sport may certainly not be as extensive as it was formerly ; but the Greyhound still exists in 

 its old capacity of the courser's indispensable companion ; and has not, like the Bloodhound, found 

 its vocation gone. It must not, however, be imagined that even in former days the Greyhound 

 was to be found in very large numbers throughout the country, for stringent laws were passed 

 which prohibited those beneath a certain station in life possessing this breed of dog. Such an 

 edict was published in the reign of King Canute, and severe penalties were inflicted upon those 

 who set them at defiance. 



This is by no means the first mention of the Greyhound, early as the date is, for the 

 existence of dogs which hunted by sight and not by scent is mentioned by Arrian, who is also 

 known by the name of the younger Xenophon. What the precise class of dog was to which 

 he refers cannot now be discussed ; but the fact remains undisputed that dogs existed in the 

 second century which hunted by sight, and this is one of the characteristics of the modern 

 Greyhound. From the frequent reference, moreover, to this class of dog in the writings of all 

 sporting authors from the most remote periods, it is evident that Greyhounds were always the 

 popular dog with sportsmen ; and it is further noticeable that they were employed in the capture 

 of animals other than hares in those days. The wolf and the wild boar were both hunted with 

 Greyhounds, who must presumably have been both larger and more powerful dogs than those 

 of the present day, or they would have been unable to have coped with such powerful foes. 

 As a proof of the value set upon Greyhounds, it is remarkable that prior to the signing of Magna 

 Charta by King John we learn that the destruction of a Greyhound was looked upon as an 

 act "equally criminal with the murder of a fellow man." We are further informed that Grey- 

 hounds were " frequently taken in payment as money by the kings for the renewal of grants, 

 and in the satisfaction of fines and forfeitures." One fine paid to King John in 1203 consisted 

 of 500 marks, ten horses, and ten leashes of Greyhounds ; another, seven years later, was one 

 swift running horse and six Greyhounds. 



One of the most ancient, and at the same time most hackneyed descriptions of a Greyhound 

 is that given by Juliana Berners in "The Book of St. Albans," to which work reference has been 

 made in the first chapter of this book. The doggrel, however, may be of interest to many who 

 have not seen it in extenso, and we therefore giv i it at length for their edification : 



"THE PROPERTIES OF A GOOD GREHOUNDE. 



"A grehounde shold be heeded lyke a snake, 

 And neckyd like a drake ; 

 Footed lyke a catte, 

 Tayllyd lyke a ratte ; 



