352 HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 



hour after the lighter Beagles have given it up. 

 Their slowness also disposes them to receive the 

 directions of the huntsman : but as they are able to 

 hunt a cold scent, they are too apt to make it so, 

 by their want of speed, and tedious exactness. 



These Dogs were once common in every part of 

 this island, and were formerly much larger than at 

 present. 



The breed, which has been gradually declining, 

 and its size studiously diminished by a mixture of 

 other kinds, in order to increase its speed, is now 

 almost extinct. 



It seems to have been accurately described by 

 Shakespeare in the following lines : 



" My Hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, 



" So flew'd, so sanded; and their heads are hung 



" With ears that sweep away the morning dew; 



" Crook-knee'd and dew-lapp'd, like Thessalian bulls; 



" Slow in pursuit; but match'd in mouth like bells, 



>( Each under each 



Besides these, there is a variety called the Kibble- 

 Hound^ produced by a mixture of the Beagle and 

 the Old English Hound. 



THE BLOOD-HOUND. 



WAS in great request with our ancestors; and as 

 it was remarkable for the fineness of its scent, it 

 was frequently employed in recovering game that 

 had escaped wounded from the hunter. It could 

 follow, with great certainty, the footsteps of a man 

 to a considerable distance: and in barbarous and 

 uncivilized times, when the thief or murderer had 

 fled, this useful creature would trace him through 



