[ 7 ] 



four hundred is often considered a mere 

 trifle; whereas, till very lately, a Pack of 

 Hounds, on which every thing depends, 

 was only considered worth a few hundreds. 

 Yet Shakespeare himself appears to have 

 known the value of a Hound ; for, in his 

 " Induction " to the " Taming of the 

 Shrew," a nobleman returned from hunt- 

 ing thus speaks of his hounds with delight 

 to his huntsman : 



" Lord. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my 

 hounds ; 

 Brach Merriman,— the poor cur is emboss'd, 

 And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach. 

 Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good 

 At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault ? 

 I would not lose the dog for twenty pound. 



Hunt. Why, Belman is as good as he, my Lord ; 

 He cried upon it at the merest loss, 

 And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent : 

 Trust me, I take him for the better dog." 



The sum of twenty pounds for a single 

 Hound in Shakespeare's time (and that not 

 the best in the Pack either), was no incon- 



