SPORT IN SHAKESPEARE ^y 



wool — or rather fur — with such a pack. I 

 confess I have often puzzled over this pass- 

 age, and wondered what kind of hound the 

 writer could possibly have had In his mind's 

 eye when he penned It. Had the quotation 

 been a modern one, I should have said that 

 It was a perfect description of a pack of 

 French bassets - a -janibes - torses, such as I 

 once had the pleasure to be a master of ; but 

 we know that this Is a modern breed, being 

 the result of a cross of the dachshund with 

 the long-eared French breeds, such as the 

 Arras. It is said, indeed, to date no further 

 back than the Restoration of '15, and to be 

 due to the emigres, who brought back the 

 crook-kneed breed from Germany. Be this 

 as It may, I do not believe the basset existed 

 in the days of Queen Bess. I know it has 

 been said that the old Enorlish bloodhound 



