Page images
PDF
EPUB

PREFACE.

THE author of this work is too sensible of the somewhat rugged form in which it is presented to the public; but the time occupied in its compilation having being taken from professional avocations, he is unable to bestow the revision on it which he could desire. To write a history of the British Dog would require still more extended research, and the present effort in that direction will, it is hoped, meet with favour. They who have had personal experience in similar labours, will, the author believes, be most indulgent in their judgment: they who have ever sought for accurate and original sources of information on any subject, are well aware how little the result is adequate, in many cases, to the amount of time and drudgery bestowed. In the event of any of his readers being kindly disposed to point out to the writer any historical information he has overlooked, or not had access to, it will be received with grateful thanks.

The few meagre scraps hitherto published on the history of the British Dog, and the ancient hunting establishments of England, have been so frequently copied by one writer from another, and inserted over and over again in periodicals, that the probabilities are strong in favour of original and genuine

research being received with interest by the public. Also, no author has, it is believed, ever attempted the collection of

other poets illustrative of the Portions of these poems are

the works of the English and sublime virtues of the dog. often quoted, and make many persons desirous of perusing the whole. Other poems of the kind, thongh of high merit, are nearly unknown to the general public. The presenting these, culled from many writers, both modern and ancient, will, it is hoped, fill a gap in our literature.

LONDON, 1866.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
« PreviousContinue »