X PREFACE TO 



himself whether the assertion be true, that ( the greyhound can run 

 in all forms.' To those gentlemen who have either lent the por- 

 traits already in their possession, or have gone to the trouble and 

 expense of procuring them expressly for me, I beg to tender my 

 cordial thanks, whilst to those who have been disappointed in 

 their expectations of seeing their favourites appear in my gallery, 

 I must offer the apology, that it is evident there must be some 

 limit. I have endeavoured to select the most characteristic 

 forms and the most remarkable performers, but some of those I 

 could wish to include were so badly painted as to be wholly 

 valueless, and others, which had been- well represented by the 

 artist, were already engraved as parts of large subjects, and the 

 copyright in the hands of those who denied me the privilege of 

 extracting individual portraits. This was especially the case with 

 ( Waterloo,' ' Heather Jock,' and other Scotch dogs, which I regret 

 that I am not able to offer to my readers, from the above cause, 

 although, through the kindness of Mr. Gibson, I had procured 

 copies of them all from his celebrated Caledonian Picture by 

 Ansdell. With these exceptions, however, I am enabled to offer 

 one or more specimens of nearly every breed which has been 

 more than commonly successful in public. Mr. H. Hall is so well 

 known as an animal painter, that his name is a guarantee for the 

 fidelity of the four portraits from his easel ; nevertheless, I cannot 

 help thinking that he has been led into a little flattery, in point 

 of length, in each instance. Messrs. Ansdell, Barraud, and 

 Calvert, also stand so high as to require no commendation from 

 me. But I may be pardoned for drawing attention to the 



