FRENCH BREEDS. 501 



period the St. Hubert was recognised by the name of the Dog of Flanders, and was divided 

 into two breeds, viz., the black St. Hubert and the white. Reference has already been made 

 to the above fact ; but the origin of the breed may be traced to a famous Belgian breed, of 

 which an early writer, Sirius Italicus, writes in the following terms, according to the Count 

 Couteulx: 



"This Belgian dog follows the wild boars closely and cleverly; silently, and with his nose to 

 the earth." This would seem to show that the progenitors of the breed were silent hunters, and 

 therefore very different from their descendants. Blacks were decidedly the favourite colour, 

 and the monks of the abbey of St. Hubert kept up this strain in honour of the memory of 

 the founder of their order. In consequence of the preference for this colour it was the more 

 common of the two ; it may be said the blacks were marked with red (tan) on the eyebrows 

 and feet. The St. Hubert was distinguishable by his long ears. His back was very muscular 

 but rather long, and he was not high on the leg. He showed a well-developed dewlap, possessed 

 a fine nose, and great stamina, but was very s'ow (from which it seems rather probable that 

 the legs of the original hounds were not quite straight), and was, in addition, a keen and bold 

 hunter. In spite of the preference which was popularly awarded to the black variety, we 

 have it on the authority of a writer of the name of Salnove, that St. Hubert himself had 

 two varieties, white and black, in the Ardennes. Nevertheless, the two earliest known 

 packs (which existed in 1620, one of which belonged to the Cardinal de la Guise and the 

 other to the Marquis de Souvray) were both made up of black-and-tan St. Huberts. These 

 dogs were powerfully built but were very headstrong, quarrelsome amongst each other, and 

 savage towards men, so had to be kept well under control ; though, as the heroes of many a 

 famous chase, their name is a household one amongst French sportsmen. 



According to Count Couteulx the St. Huberts made their appearance in this country at 

 the time of the Conquest, and again in the reign of James I., as some specimens of the 

 breed were included in the present of dogs made to that monarch by the French king Henry IV. 

 He adds that the breed has sadly degenerated on the Continent, but that good specimens can 

 be found in England, though in many instances they have been crossed with the Mastiff. As 

 a proof of the similarity or identity of the St. Hubert with our modern Bloodhound, it may be 

 stated that the specimen selected for the illustration of the St. Hubert in Count Couteulx's 

 work is Col. Cowen's Bloodhound Druid. The best packs of the St. Hubert which are in 

 existence are those of M. L. Claverie, a Saint Sicaire, par la Roche-Chalais (Dordogne), and 

 M. Piston d'Eauboune, au chateau de Fournil, pres Mussidan (Dordogne). 



Cliien de Norinandie. 



There appears to have been no mention of this hound until the time of Louis XIV., but 

 during his reign this king, who was anxious to improve the pace of his hounds, which had 

 also it appears grown clumsy, introduced Normandy blood into his kennel. This action was 

 literally the beginning of the end of the beautiful white Greffiers du Roi, who have been treated 

 of above. 



The hound of Normandy is from 24 to 28 inches in height, and usually tricolour, or orange- 

 and-white in colour. The head, as will be seen in our illustration, is long, and the forehead 

 has two large frontal bumps, and he has a large nose. His head is wrinkled, and he is 

 heavily flewed. The eyes are full, and the haw shows well. Ears, thin, long, and velvety. 



