THE BLOODHOUND. 229 



clcvelopcd to any great extent in the bitch, however well-bred 

 she may be. 



" Marmion, the subject of the present memoir, has frequently 

 distinguished himself in running deer, and I cannot do better, 

 perhaps, than insert the following extract from a letter, written 

 in true sportsmanlike spirit, by one who also saw him perform 

 last summer for the first time : — 



" ' I started for Winslow on Sunday afternoon, taking with 

 me Dorcas and Marmion ; supped with Lowndes, and started 

 for the Chase at four o'clock the next morning. We first tried 

 a wood near Solden for an outlying deer, but, not being able to 

 find him, we returned to the Chase, and immediately found a 

 fine buck, and, after a run of an hour and a half, he was shot 

 by the keeper. During this run, both Dorcas and Marmion 

 behaved in a style that called forth the admiration of Mr. 

 Lowdnes and his keepers, although unable afterwards to render 

 any effectual assistance, as they were both thoroughly beaten 

 and winded. We ran several others, but were unable to kill, 

 the dogs being knocked up by the first two chases. You cannot, 

 I am sure, fancy any sport so truly grand as hunting deer in 

 the Chase, with eight couple of bloodhounds, all giving tongue, 

 £ind making music enough to wake the dead ; the only fault to 

 be found is that, if you follow the hounds, the riding is most 

 dangerous. Altogether, our day's sport made an impression 

 on me such as I shall never forget. Buck-hunting ends on 

 the 25th of September, but when the acorns fall, the does get 

 fat, and they are hunted in like manner with the bucks.' 



" I have frequently seen Marmion, in the course of last 

 winter, in company with several other dogs belonging to me 

 and to the gentleman whose letter I have just quoted, run a 

 man, who had merely trodden upon a piece of flesh, or put a 

 little blood on his shoes, after three or four houi-s' ' law ' ; often 

 during a frost, and again across a cold and flooded country, 

 almost without a check. A more kind or generous- tempered 

 animal does not exist when kept loose in a kennel ; but, when 



