FRENCH BREEDS. 497 



the above table have ceased to exist, and others have so nearly reached the climax of 

 extinction that any detailed notice of them is beyond our power. We will, however, do our 

 utmost to follow out M. de la Blanchere's order, though it will, from motives of convenience, 

 have to be slightly altered in the progress of our remarks. We desire, however, before we 

 proceed to acknowledge the great obligations we are under to Mr. George R. Krehl, of Hanover 

 Street, London, not only for the assistance he has afforded us, in procuring reliable information 

 from foreign sportsmen of his acquaintance, but also for the kind way in which he has placed 

 his idiomatic knowledge of French, and of French canine phraseology, at our disposal for the 

 translation of difficult technical passages. Mr. Krehl has desired us to acknowledge his in- 

 debtedness for much of the information he has furnished us with to the works of the Count de 

 Couteulx, M. de la Blanchere, and Baron de Noirmont, all of which have already been referred 

 to. We will commence with the French Hounds in M. de la Blanchere's list, and place in the 

 position of honour 



The Vende'en Hound. 



This breed, according to Count de Couteulx's opinion, is not a pure one, and he bases his 

 arguments mainly on the fact that smooth and rough-coated whelps appear in the same litter, 



WHITE VENDEEN HOUND (FOIL RAS). 



as is the case with St. Bernards and Sheep-dogs in this country. There are, however, better 

 reasons for considering the Vendeen Hound to be an offshoot of other breeds, for reliable 

 information has been published concerning the crosses which originated the two varieties. 



The smooth-coated (or poll ras) Vendeen Hounds, according to Couteulx, are descendants of 

 the white St. Huberts, a famous race of white Bloodhounds, which, according to the Baron 

 de Noirmont, existed in large numbers in the 15th century, an illustration of which we append- 

 These white dogs were however less popular with the nobility than the black breed, simply 

 because they were only suitable for the pursuit of deer, and were not adapted to general 

 sporting purposes. Baron de Noirmont relates the story of a certain gentleman who had 

 presented a dog of this breed, named Souillard, to the King (Louis XI.) who preferred the 

 grey variety. Gaston de Lyon, Seneschal of Toulouse, who was in the king's suite, however, 

 begged for Souillard to be given to the " wisest woman " in the kingdom namely, to Madame 

 de Beaujeau, who was a daughter of the king and a celebrated huntress. "I call you to order," 

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