THE DOG. 
329 
Bedouin greyhound, mentioned before, and 
the old Irish hound, a very noble dog, of 
which the breed is now nearly or quite ex¬ 
tinct. The greyhound is not' remarkable 
for intelligence, and is mainly used in the 
noble English sport of hare-coursing, where 
twenty or thirty gentlemen, on fine horses, 
with huntsmen and a pack of these fleet 
dogs, spend their time and risk their necks 
in the pursuit of a poor, little, trembling, 
defenceless hare. Poor puss runs and 
doubles, and tries all her simple arts to 
escape her fearful enemies,—into whose jaws 
she is sure to fall sooner or later,—till her 
poor little beating heart sometimes bursts 
and she drops down dead.” 
“A noble sport, truly!” said Richard. 
“ Almost equal to worrying cats or pulling 
oif the wings of flies. But go on, aunt, if 
you please, and tell us about bloodhounds. 
Are they very furious ?” 
“ Hot unless they are made so by training, 
I believe,” replied Miss Winston ; “but in 
this case, as in some others, the man has 
brutalized the beast. The British blood¬ 
hound is a large and fine-looking dog, with 
a grand head and a thoughtful, dignified 
28 * 
