THE GEEAT DANE. 265 



lines " Stonehenge " favours him with. The following, which I copy from the 

 Monograph of the Mastiffs by H. D. Eichardson, will to a great extent bear out the 

 statements I make. Eichardson (writing in about 1846 or 1847) says : 



This is, I think, the largest dog in existence, and it is likewise decidedly the most serviceable 

 as a destroyer of the wolf and the boar. In this country he is but seldom seen in a state of purity ; 

 and is, in any case, seldom recognised as what he really is. The Dane rarely stands less than 30in. 

 in height at the shoulder, and usually more. His head is broad at the temples, and the parietal 

 bones diverge much, thus marking him to be a true mastiff ; but, by a singular discrepancy, his 

 muzzle is lengthened more than even that of an ordinary hound, and the lips are not pendulous, or at 

 least very slightly so ; his coat, when thoroughbred, is rather short and fine ; the tail is fine and 

 tapering ; the neck long ; the ears small and carried back, but these are invariably taken off when the 

 dog is a whelp. The finest dog of this breed I ever saw was the celebrated Hector, the property of 

 his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. Hector stood 32in. at the shoulder, and when I saw him was about 

 eighteen years old, and his legs had begun to give way, and his back to fall in ; so that, I should 

 say, when a young dog, he stood at least an inch and a half higher, or 33Jin., a height equal to that 

 of many Shetland ponies. As many persons contradicted my assertion as to Hector's being the true 

 Saxon boar dog, the same that used to be kept in the royal establishments of that country, I took the 

 liberty of writing to his Grace on the subject, and was kindly favoured with the following reply : 

 " Sir, I received your letter on the 31st (yesterday). The dog Hector mentioned by you was bought 

 by my brother from a student at Dresden. Of his pedigree I know nothing, but understand the 

 breed is used to hunt the wild boar. His height I do not recollect, but he was the tallest dog I ever 

 saw. He must have been upwards of twenty years of age when he died, as he was supposed to be 

 eight years old when my brother bought him. Your obedient servant, BUCCLEUCH." 



I had likewise the honour of a letter from his Grace's secretary, who very kindly took the pains 

 to have the stuffed remains of poor Hector measured for me. In that state he measured but 29in. to 

 the shoulder ; this is, however, by no means much for a dog- to shrink, especially when death takes 

 place at so advanced an age. 



His Royal Highness Prince Albert has a very fine dog of this description, named Vulcan ; and Mr. 

 Maynard kindly furnished me with a description of him, from which I should be disposed to regard 

 him as being of a mixed race between the great rough boar dog mentioned in last chapter, and the 

 dog at present under consideration. His height is 30in. The colour of the Duke of Buccleuch' s dog 

 was a light slate ground, with large brown blotches distributed here and there ; that of his Eoyal 

 Highness's dog is a mixture of smoky grey and black, pretty equally distributed. The hair is close, 

 and inclined to be wiry, judging from a specimen sent me by Mr. Maynard. Mr. Hague, distiller, of 

 Bonnington, near Edinburgh, had a very beautiful dog of this description, colour a light fawn, with 

 markings of a deeper tint. The muzzle of these dogs presents a remarkable peculiarity, appearing as 

 if suddenly brought to a termination by a chop of a hatchet, so abruptly does it become blunt. 

 There are few dogs possessed of such determination as this. Shortly after Hector was brought to 

 Scotland, he selected and pursued a stag, singled him from the herd, and ran him through the domains 

 until he overtook him in the middle of the river Esk, where he killed him. 



In further proof of the gigantic size of this dog, a writer in a sporting magazine 

 Capt. Medwin says, speaking of a tremendous wolf which fell before his rifle : 

 " Monster as he was, there are dogs in the town of Heidelberg who would have 

 proved more than a match for him or any wolf. This part of Germany possesses a 

 breed much in esteem among the students of the University, larger, more muscular, 

 and fiercer than any with which I am acquainted ; and in saying this I do not forget 

 the dogs of the Pyrenees, St. Bernard, Greece, or Lapland. Our mastiffs, now 

 becoming rarer every day, are to them what a cat is to a tiger." I have taken 

 considerable interest in these dogs, ever since I first saw one at Heidelberg some 



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