At this point, perhaps, in steps the fancier, or, the man who takes up the breed rather from its appearance than its practical qualities. At first he accepts what he finds, and does not get far away from the proper type ; but presently, as he has no other means of testing his results, he lays down certain rules or points for his guidance, and very often attaches undue importance to some one of these that readily strikes the eye, forcing it unduly to the expense of, and out of its proper relation to, the rest; and as he does not apply the touchstone of a practical trial in its proper vocation to his production, he errs more and more in the direction of his arbitrary requirements, and the breed loses that harmony of combined qualities which constituted its original 'character,' and which had been kept in due relation by practical requirements.

That the Deerhound has suffered considerably from a mania for size is only too certain, and that it will suffer more yet is to be feared, unless judges will set their faces against allowing themselves to be influenced by mere size and bulk. In proof of my assertion, subjoined is an extract from a letter received, some quarter of a century ago, from a gentleman who bred and exhibited some of the best specimens when shows were in their infancy:

'Some twenty years ago, before shows began, there were two or three owners of the breed, and a few dogs might be called pure.

The late Duke of Leeds had as pure blood of the old breed as any one. After shows were the fashion, great size, at the expense of other qualities, was considered necessary, and lately there has been much resort to crossing. I am an advocate for size myself, but speed must not be sacrificed to it. If you desire a true guide to tell whether a dog has been crossed, look at his ear first. If that is small, and lies folded close to his head, like a Greyhound's, I should consider that a very great point in his favour as to his purity; but if his ears droop, and are large, no matter what his size and appearance were, I should be quite certain he had a cross somewhere. I consider size and shape before colour, and the purest dogs of old time had little white upon them - the less the better on the feet and legs; but colour is always a superficial matter, and can always be regulated as the breeder chooses. Size and form, especially combining strength and great speed, are far more difficult to obtain.'

I can commend every word of the foregoing to the careful consideration of every admirer of the Deerhound, especially those with regard to the ear, as close observation has convinced me of their perfect truth, as I have invariably noticed, in those strains which have been notoriously crossed within a recent period, that, though they might pass muster in other respects, they had large, heavy, hanging ears.

As regards the size required in the Deerhound for work in the Highlands, there seems to be no doubt that a dog over 30m. at the shoulder would be useless. Indeed, one authority, whose family claim to have kept the purest breed in the Highlands, solely for work, for upwards of the last sixty years, puts the height at 26 in. up to 28in. He says: 'Larger dogs may be good enough for racing, but for hard work, so far as my experience has gone, I always found an ordinary sized dog do his work much better.'

The following opinions of the two greatest authorities that could be produced, Lochiel and Horatio Ross, Esq., must convince even those who, by their arguments and aims, seem to think that the Deerhound can never be too large for his work. The former observes: ' Personally, I do not like dogs over 30m., and prefer them between 28m. and 301'n. They get too coarse at a great height, and quite useless for real work. Great size too often depends on feeding, and if thus produced gives a coarse and soft dog, quite unsuitedior the purpose for which he is intended.' The latter states, that for deerstalking a height of ' 28m. to 301'n. is ample. A very large dog is never a good dog; he gets beat going up hill.' What is the use of theory against opinions like these?

The Late Lieut

Colonel Inge, who for many years possessed one of the most extensive deer forests in Scotland, and whose kennel of Deerhounds fetched large prices on their disposal at Aldridge's many years ago, was of the same opinion, and informed my father that large dogs were useless for deerstalking. I have had personal knowledge of five kennels of Deerhounds, kept for work alone in the Highlands, and from all connected with them I have always heard the same opinion expressed as to the uselessness of the very large dogs. In the case of three noted show dogs of late years, all about 31 in. highland of another that created a sensation in America, I was informed by each of their owners that they were parted with because they were too big for work in the Highlands - and not one exceeded 31in. at the shoulder, and three of them were symmetrical, and well made for big dogs. These three were (Old) Torunn, Bran (1st prize, Crystal Palace, 1872), and Sir Boriss. The remaining one was never exhibited in England. It will be recollected, perhaps, that McNeil's Buskar, the largest of the dogs which took part in the deer course described in the Appendix to Scrope's ' Deerstalking,' was only 28m. in height. Those who wish to see the original of Landseer's sketch will find it in the Bell Collection in the National Gallery. The animal certainly looks rather light in substance, but it is fair to call to mind that McNeil, referring to it, stated that the portrait scarcely gave a correct idea of the muscle and bone of the original; and this must have been so, as the dog girthed 32m., or 4m. more than its height, and few Deerhounds exceed, or attain to, this proportionate depth of chest. McNeil's dogs, as is well known, were used for coursing the deer in the Island of Jura, and from the very fact of the place being an island, the practice was not subject to the disadvantages which it would have been on the mainland, by driving the deer far away. Now, if McNeil's dogs, which did not exceed 28m. in height, were equal to the task of coursing and pulling down a cold (i.e. unwounded) stag, it seems reasonable to infer that a larger dog could hardly be necessary for deerstalking where it was only, or chiefly, used for the purpose of retrieving the wounded deer.