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THE FOXHOUND. 



boldly at the nearest foe, whether man or Dog, and often inflicting by the stroke of its 

 sharp antlers a mortal wound upon any Dog that may be within its reach. Some 

 degree of cunning is also requisite, so that the Dog may not rush blindly upon its fate, 

 but may craftily watch its opportunity, and seize its quarry without suffering for its 

 boldness. 



When the country was more open, and less broken up into fields and enclosures than 

 is the case at the present, stag-hunting was a comparatively easy task, but in the 

 present day, when a free Englishman can hardly walk half-a-mile without being checked 

 by a wall or fence, or a warning notice, the stag has so much the advantage of the 

 hounds and horses that the chase has gradually sunk into comparative disuse. With 

 one or two exceptions, the royal Staghounds are now almost the only representatives of 

 this once popular and exciting sport. 



STAGHOUND.-Cau/s familiarly. 



OF ALL the Dogs which are known by the common title of " hound," the FOXHOUND 

 is the best known. There are few animals which have received more attention than 

 the Foxhound, and none perhaps which have so entirely fulfilled the wishes of its 

 teachers. A well-known sporting author, who writes under the nom de plume of " Stone- 

 henge," remarks, with pardonable enthusiasm, that " the modern Foxhound is one of 

 the most wonderful animals in creation." The efforts which have been made, and the 

 sums which have been spent, in the endeavor to make this animal as perfect as 

 possible, are scarcely credible. 



Without in the least disparaging any efforts to improve the nature and the character 

 of any animal, we cannot but draw a sad comparison between the unwearying pains that 

 are bestowed upon the condition of the Foxhound, and the neglected state of many a 

 human being in the vicinity of the palatial dog-kennel and the magnificent stables. At 

 one establishment, eight or ten thousand pounds per annum have been expended upon 

 the Dogs and horses, and this for a series of many years. As might be expected, the 

 command of such enormous sums of money, backed by great judgment on the parts of the 

 owners and trainers of hounds, has produced a race of Dogs that fr speed, endurance, 



