THE MODERN BASSET-HOUND. 69 
the Vendée type, and the Saintogne also follows in that direction, as 
well as the Poitou. The Bresse comes nearest to our old-fashioned 
harrier; and lastly, they have the Bassets and Briguets. The Bri- 
guets, which are used for hunting, have been so crossed and recrossed 
that they are no longer a distinct type, and are rarely capable of 
definition. The varieties of the Basset are innumerable, some 
being black and tan, and common throughout the Black Forest and 
the Vosges, while the others are either tricoloured or blue mottled. 
The tricolour has lately been introduced into England in large 
numbers, having been first shown to the English visitors at the 
French show of 1863. Since that time, Mr. E. Millais, Mr. Khrehl, 
and other Englishmen, have imported them largely, and at our 
large shows a good class of each sex is generally to be met with. 
X.—THE MODERN BASSET-HOUND. 
These hounds are used in France for hunting hares, and in this 
country have been tried for that purpose, and found to be supe- 
rior to our modern beagles in point of nose. They are one of 
the oldest and purest breeds in France. The earliest French 
authority, Du Fouilloux, gives two illustrations of them in his 
“La Venerie.” In regard to these illustrations, I have noticed 
with some amusement that, although our ancient author describes 
them as “ bassets d’Artois,” yet a dachshund-fancier has claimed 
them to be representatives of his hobby-breed; whereas I 
should imagine that dachshunds (a later offshoot of the Flemish 
basset-hound) entered as little into the philosophy of Du 
Fouilloux as our own bull-terrier. Du Fouilloux explains the 
title “‘d’Artois,” by telling us that the breed originally came from 
that province and near-lying Flanders. He divided them into two 
varieties—the Artesian, “with full-crooked fore-legs. smooth coats, 
brave, and having double rows of teeth like wolves;” the Flemish, 
“‘straight-legged, rough-coated, black, and sterns curled like a 
horn.” This division was confirmed by two later old authors, 
Sélincourt and Leverrier de la‘Conterie. The last named expressed 
his preference for the Flemish, as being “faster; but they gave 
tongue badly, and were babblers;” he found the Artesians 
“ courageous in going to earth (as shown in Du Fouilloux’s engray- 
