THE BREEDING OF HOUNDS 27 



the strength of his labour to have no ease till he 

 come up to those faults, that he will, out of the willing- 

 nesse of his own nature, double his courage to pursue them 

 swiftly, seeing his ease is ever the greater, by how much 

 he keepeth ever neerer to the hounds ; for the danger of 

 bursting, melting his grease, and other infirmities, the 

 discretion of the rider and skill of the keeper must 

 prevent." 



My readers will perhaps pardon me for making one 

 more quotation from this ancient authority, in which, I 

 think, he has very nearly hit the bull's eye. 



"If it bee for cunning hunters, you shall breed your 

 dogges from the slowest and largest of the northern 

 hounds, and the swiftest and slenderest of the west country 

 hounds, being both male and female, approved to be 

 staunch, faire, and even running, of perfect fine scent, and 

 not given to hie off (skirters) or look for advantages. 

 These hounds will neither be so exceeding slow, that you 

 will wait many days without some fruit of your labour, 

 nor so unnimble that you shall need men to help them 

 over every hedge, as I have many times seen to my much 

 wonder, but, having both strength and nimbleness, will 

 hold you in continual delight and exercise ; for they are 

 neither so swift that they will far outrunne the scent, and 

 so fetch many tedious rings to recover it, nor so slow that 

 for want of speed they will lose the scent, and let it grow 

 cold by their own lasinesse ; so that I conclude the middle- 

 sized hound of good strength, sound mouth, and reason- 

 able speed, which will make a horse gallop fast and not 

 runne, is the best for the true art and use of hunting.'' 



It is manifest, therefore, that in Markham's time two 

 distinct breeds of fox-hounds were well known ; and this 

 distinction may be clearly seen in the kennels of the Duke 



