CHAPTER XVIII 

 THE GREYHOUND 



THE Greyhound is the oldest and most conservative of all 

 dogs, and his type has altered singularly little during the 

 seven thousand years in which he is known to have been 

 cherished for his speed, and kept by men for running down the 

 gazelle or coursing the hare. The earliest references to him 

 are far back in the primitive ages, long before he was beauti- 

 fully depicted by Assyrian artists, straining at the leash or 

 racing after his prey across the desert sands. The Egyptians 

 loved him and appreciated him centuries before the pyramids 

 were built. In those days he wore a feathered tail, and his ears 

 were heavy with a silken fringe of hair. His type was that of 

 the modern Arabian Slughi, who is the direct and unaltered 

 descendant of the ancient hound. The glorious King Solomon 

 referred to him (Proverbs xxx. 31) as being one of the four 

 things which " go well and are comely in going a lion, which 

 is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away from any ; 

 a Greyhound ; an he goat also ; and a king against whom there 

 is no rising up." 



That the Greyhound is " comely in going," as well as in 

 repose, was recognised very early by the Greeks, whose artists 

 were fond of introducing this graceful animal as an ornament 

 in their decorative workmanship. In their metal work, their 

 carvings in ivory and stone, and more particularly as parts 

 in the designs on their terra-cot ta oil bottles, wine coolers, 

 and other vases, the Greyhound is frequently to be seen, some- 

 times following the hare, and always in remarkably character- 

 istic attitudes. Usually these Greek Greyhounds are repre- 



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