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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
114
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.
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