Page:The power of the dog.djvu/78

 "Lords or Gentlemen which will follow this pastime" were admonished to have halt a dozen mats upon which to lie as a protection against the damp earth, and "some used to carrie a windbed whiche is made of leather strongly sowed on all the foure sides, and having a Pype at one of the corners to blowe it as you would blowe a Baggepype."

It was probably somewhere about the beginning of the last century that the fox terrier blossomed from the nondescript stage, into definite shape. When Peter Beckford, cousin of the author of "Vathek," published his classic work on hunting a hundred and thirty years ago, there were at least black, white, and red terriers, and doubtless also variants on these colours, as little trouble seems to have been taken over the breeding, so long as the dogs were staunch, and capable of doing the work for which they were required. The present day aristocrat of the show bench has in him the blood of a long line of ancestors who have done yeoman service in their time, and, though he may differ in details, the general conformation remains much the same. Of course, he is better looking, the signs of race being more apparent, but whether or no he is any the worse adapted to fulfil his duties is a subject of endless controversy into which I need not enter in this place. The chief point to consider in this connection is the family rather than the individual. The owner of a dog worth some £500 is not particularly keen about letting him run any risk of injury, but if