NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 77 



managed thus, an amusement of almost a philosophic charac- 

 ter, in following which, the mind had time to contemplate the ef- 

 forts of one animal to elude pursuit, and of the other to frus- 

 trate those efforts. The Harrier is now, likewise, gone, hav- 

 ing been wholly superseded by the foxhound ; a dwarf vari- 

 ety of which dog is now bred for the purpose of hare-hunting, 

 an amusement which, I must add, is itself rapidly falling 

 into disrepute, as not being sufficiently exciting. Fox-hunt- 

 ers are in the habit of characterizing hare-hunting as an 

 amusement only fit for ladies and elderly gentlemen ! 



THE BEAGLE. 



The Beagle, the brach of olden time, is the smallest of our 

 hounds, and the most melodious in voice. The Beagle rarely 

 exceeds fourteen inches in height, and, if less, is so much the 

 more highly valued. I saw one some years ago, at Mr. No- 

 lan's, Dublin, only seven inches in height at the shoulder, 

 well-eared, and in every respect beautifully formed. Mr. 

 Beere, of Drumcondra, possesses a specimen almost as diminu- 

 tive. 



These little hounds were well-known in Queen Bess's 

 days, and that sovereign lady had little Beagles, called sing- 

 ing Beagles, so small that they could be placed in a man's 

 glove ! It was then quite of common occurrence that an 

 entire pack of them should be carried to the field in a pair of 

 panniers. 



There are, and seem ever to have been, two varieties of 

 Beagle a rough and a smooth. The former seems to have 

 been the dog noticed by Oppian, under the name of "Agas- 

 seus." 



THE KERRY BEAGLE. 



I introduce this hound here, although he should more prop- 

 erly have followed in the immediate steps of the staghound, 

 in order to point out the absurdity of his name. The Kerry 

 Beagle is a fine, tall, dashing hound, averaging twenty-six 

 inches in height, and occasionally individual dogs attain to 

 twenty-eight ; has deep chops ; broad, full, and pendulous 

 ears ; and, when highly bred, is hardly to be distinguished 

 from an indifferent bloodhound. In Ireland alone do we find 

 this hound. We have two packs both in the South one 

 belonging to John O'Connell, Esq., of Killarney, and the other 

 to H. Herbert, Esq., of Mucross. They appear to be the 



