ck; bent fore-legs; over-bent fetlocks;
twisted feet; spreading toes; too curly a tail; weak hind-quarters,
cow hocks, and a general want of muscle; too short in body.

CHAPTER XVI

THE DEERHOUND

The Deerhound is one of the most decorative of dogs, impressively
stately and picturesque wherever he is seen, whether it be amid the
surroundings of the baronial hall, reclining at luxurious length
before the open hearth in the fitful light of the log fire that
flickers on polished armour and tarnished tapestry; out in the open,
straining at the leash as he scents the dewy air, or gracefully
bounding over the purple of his native hills. Grace and majesty are
in his every movement and attitude, and even to the most prosaic mind
there is about him the inseparable glamour of feudal romance and
poetry. He is at his best alert in the excitement of the chase; but
all too rare now is the inspiring sight that once was common among
the mountains of Morven and the glens of Argyll of the deep-voiced
hound speeding in pursuit of his antlered prey, racing him at full
stretch along the mountain's ridge, or baying him at last in the
fastness of darksome corrie or deep ravine. Gone are the good romantic
days of stalking beloved by Scrope. The Highlands have lost their
loneliness, and the inventions of the modern gunsmith have robbed
one of the grandest of hunting dogs of his glory, relegating him to
the life of a pedestrian pet, whose highest dignity is the winning
of a pecuniary prize under Kennel Club rules.

Historians of the Deerhound associate him with the original Irish
Wolfdog, of whom he is obviously a close relative, and it is sure
that when the wolf still lingered in the land it was the frequent
quarry of the Highland as of the Hibernian hound. Legend has it that
Prince Ossian, son of Fingal, King of Morven, hunted the wolf with
the grey, long-bounding dogs. "Swift-footed Luath" and "White-breasted
Bran" are among the names of Ossian's hounds. I am disposed to affirm
that the old Irish Wolfhound and the Highland Deerhound are not only
intimately allied in form and nature, but that they are two strains
of an identical breed, altered only in size by circumstance and
environment.

Whatever the source of the Highland Deerhound, and at whatever period
it became distinct from its now larger Irish relative, it was
recognised as a native dog in Scotland in very early times, and it
was distinguished as being superior in stren