deer stalking may be surmised by a list that appears in Mr. Weston Bell's monograph of the variety (1892). Here some fifty-eight forests are named, and in but about seven of them is the deerhound kept. The collie is now more frequently trained and used to track the wounded stag, because he works more slowly, and is therefore less liable to unduly scare and alarm the deer. From the earliest institution of dog shows, classes have been provided for the deerhound, and these have resulted in a number of excellent animals being benched of a uniformity and quality that our excellent friend Charles St. John would scarcely have thought possible, and Mr. M'Neil would have deemed an impossibility.

There is no handsomer dog than the deerhound— he has the elegance of shape, the light airy appearance of the greyhound, a hard, crisp, and picturesque jacket, either of fawn or grey brindle, an eye as bright as that of the gazelle, but loving, still sharp and intelligent; and a good specimen has not a bad feature about him. His disposition is of the best; he is sensible and kindly; and friends of mine to whom I gave a puppy, on its death refused to be consoled by any other dog than one of the same variety.

"It's a blooming lurcher," is the yokel's idea of a deerhound, an opinion in which the cockney corner man evidently coincides. Either will pass a rude

remark about your aristocratic canine companion. The Scotchman away from home, be he out at elbows, or otherwise, pays compliments to the dog. If his shoes are down at the heels the chances are he is the remains of a chieftain of some great clan, and, on the strength of your possession of one of his native quadrupeds, will seek to allay his thirst, or penchant for Glenlivat, at your expense. Still, I do not fancy that the deerhound is quite so popular as a companion over the border as he is on this side the border. Englishmen have paid greater attention to his breeding; the honours to be gained at shows make it worth while their doing so; and, being more difficult to rear than most other dogs, he requires greater care in bringing up, and, if not allowed continual exercise, will become crooked on his fore legs, and out at the elbows-ungainly enough in little dogs, but a terrible eyesore in big ones. They will

not rear well in a kennel.

It has been said the deerhound is uncertain in his temper with children; in some cases this may be so, but not in all. Again, it has been stated that when a puppy he will chase anything that moves in front of him-sheep, poultry, &c. What puppy will not? All young dogs are alike in this particular, and if not carefully watched will, like your favourite little boy or girl, be for ever getting into mischief.

Deerhounds, like all other dogs, require early training, and when once broken off sheep and other "small deer," are as safe and reliable in the fields as any other of the canine race. As a fact, I believe that both pointers and setters, greyhounds, and even the collie himself, is as, "fond of mutton as the often maligned dog about which this article is being written. Many dogs have been spoiled by their manners being neglected during their puppyhood; no doubt others will be so in the future, and it is a pity that one so docile, handsome, sagacious, and aristocratic as the deerhound, should obtain an evil name through the negligence or over-indulgence of its owner.

As already stated, dog shows have been of infinite advantage in raising the deerhound to its present popularity, though prior to this epoch, what Sir Walter Scott writes of his Maida and other favourite hounds, with Landseer's fine paintings, had made the general public anxious to see such handsome dogs in the flesh. The first show at Birmingham, in 1860, provided two classes for them, but there were few entries, and both leading prizes were taken by Lieut.-Colonel Inge, of Thorpe, near Tamworth, who, at that time, possessed a capital strain of them. Later on the numbers increased, and in 1862 there were ten competitors in the dog class, but they were a mixed lot, though the winner, called Alder, bred by

Sir John Macneil, was a splendid specimen, which again took leading honour two years later. The succeeding show had, for some reason or other, a capital entry, sixteen in the one class, six in the other, and these included several dogs from the Highlands, one of the latter, called Oscar, now beating Alder, who looked old and worn, and was past his best.

About this period Lord Henry Bentinck took great pride in his deerhounds, and kept a fine kennel of them. Mr. McKenzie, Ross-shire; Mr. J. Wright, Yeldersby House, Derby; Mr. Menzies, Cherthill; Mr. Grant, Glenmorriston; Colonel Campbell of Monzie; Lord Boswell; Mr. W. Gordon, Guardbridge, Fifeshire; Lord Bredalbane; the Duke of Sutherland; Mr. Spencer Lucy, and Dr. Hadden, have all at one time or another had good deerhounds in their kennels, as well as many of the older Scottish families.

In 1871 we find a Cameron of Lochiel sending to Curzon Hall and taking a first prize with Bruce. Sir St. George Gore was a frequent exhibitor, and in 1865 he showed a deerhound that was quite smooth, a big coarse, ugly greyhound in appearance, that of course did not take a prize. Mr. H. C. Musters, Captain Graham, of Durnock, and a few others who admired the fine form of the Scotch dog, were

exhibiting about 1870. The following year had the celebrated Warrior, that won so many prizes up and down the country, mostly in variety classes. However, prior to him came one or two exceptionally good dogs, Mr Beasley's bitch Countess especially so; nor must Mr. Hickman's excellent bitch Morna be omitted, for he was not only good to look at, but could boast a lineage which contained some of the bluest blood of the day. Following a few years later was that fine old dog Bevis (Mr. Hood Wright's), so sober and sedate that in his declining years he took to the stage, and appeared with great success at one or two of the Sheffield pantomimes at Christmas.

There are now, at least a dozen shows held annually, at which classes are provided for this variety, and naturally new breeders have sprung up. Mr. E. Weston Bell, of Rossie, Perthshire, has got together a kennel containing a number of splendid deerhounds; and Mr. W. H. Singer, of Frome, Somerset; Mr. Walter Evans, Birchfield, Birmingham; Mr. R. H. Wright, Newton-le-Willows; Mr. H. P. Parker, Stourbridge; Mr. W. Gibbons, Stratford-on-Avon; Mr. A. Maxwell, Croft, near Darlington; Major Lewis, Bath, all possess deerhounds of the highest merit. Perhaps the best of the race, at the time I write, in the summer of