Of dogs hunting by keenness of sight and fleetness of foot, the Greyhound possesses an inherent right to occupy the highest place in the group. The modern Greyhound, the most elegant of the canine race, the highest achievement of man's skill in manipulating the plastic nature of the dog and forming it to his special requirements, as he is stripped, in all his beauty of outline and wonderful development, not only of muscle, but of that hidden fire which gives dash, energy, and daring, stands revealed a manufactured article, the acme of perfection in beauty of outline and fitness of purpose. Whether we see him trying conclusions on the meadows of Lurgan, the rough hillsides of Crawford John, or for the blue ribbon of the leash on the classic flats of Altcar, he is still the same - the dog in whom the genius of man has so mingled the blood of all the best varieties of the Celtic Canes celeres, that no one can lay special claim to him. He is a combination of art and Nature that challenges the world, unequalled in speed, spirit, and perseverance, and in elegance and beauty of form as far removed from many of his clumsy ancestors as an English thoroughbred is from a coarse dray-horse.

It is not intended here to attempt to trace the history of the Greyhound, or to follow his development from the comparatively coarse but more powerful dog from which he was evolved. It is clear, however, to those who study the history of the ancients, that more than four thousand years ago the Egyptians had developed his form, swiftness, and wind, so as to enable him to hunt with the kings of those very remote times. Of this records are actually existent; but the probability is that such a dog lived more than 30,000 years ago. This is deduced from the fact that in the very earliest times of which we have records a very high type of Greyhound is met with.

The Greyhound, having been always kept for the chase, would naturally undergo modifications with the changes in the manner of hunting, the nature of the wild animals he was trained to hunt, and the characteristics of the country in which he was used; and having always, until very recent times, been restricted to the possession of persons of the higher ranks, he would have greater care, and his improvement be the better secured. That his possession was so restricted is shown by the Forest Laws of King Canute, which prohibited any one under the degree of a gentleman from keeping a Greyhound; and an old Welsh proverb says: "You may know a gentleman by his horse, his hawk, and his Greyhound." In the Welsh laws of Howel Dda (who died 948) the King's Buckhound, or Covert-hound, is valued at a pound, his Greyhound at six-score pence; and, in the Code of 1080, and the Dimetian Code of 1180, the Greyhound is valued at half that of the Buckhound. The alteration in the game laws of modern times, coupled with the great increase of wealth and leisure, have, by giving impetus to the natural desire for field sports characteristic of Englishmen, led to the present great and increasing popularity of coursing, and consequent diffusion of Greyhounds through all classes, heightening an honourable competition, and securing a continued if not a greater care and certainty of the dog's still further improvement.

It is impossible to separate the Greyhound from coursing as we understand it; for, although the sport existed, and was practised in a manner similar to our present system, some seventeen hundred years ago, as described by Arrian in the second century, the thorough organisation of the sport, and the condensation of the laws governing it, are not only essentially British, but, in their present shape, quite modern ; and it is the conditions of the sport that have produced the Greyhound of to-day.

If we go back to the earlier centuries of the history of our country, we find the Greyhound used in pursuit of the wolf, boar, deer, etc., in conjunction with other dogs of more powerful build. Still, we can easily perceive that, to take a share in such sports at all, he must have been probably larger, certainly stronger, coarser, and more inured to hardships, whilst he would not be kept so strictly to sight hunting as the demands of the present require; but the material out of which the present dog has been made was there, and his form and characteristics, even to minute detail, were recognised, and have been described with an accuracy of which no other breed of dogs has had the advantage, else might we be in a better position to understand the value of claims for old descent set up for so many varieties.

The whole group to which the Greyhound belongs is distinguished by the elongated head; the parietal, side and upper, or partition bones of the head, shelving in towards each other; high proportionate stature, deep chest, arched loins, tucked-up flank, and long, fine tail; and such general form as is outlined in this description is seen in perfection in the Greyhound. To some it may sound contradictory to speak in one sentence of elegance and beauty of form, and in the next of a tucked-up flank; and Fox-terrier and Mastiff men, who want their favourites with well-ribbed back, deep loin, and flanks well filled, to make a form as square as a prize Shorthorn, may object; but we must remember that beauty largely consists in fitness and aptitude for the uses designed, and the position to be filled.

This being so, in estimating the Greyhound's claim to be the handsomest of the canine race we must remember for what his various excellencies, resulting in a whole which is so strikingly elegant, are designed. Speed is the first and greatest quality a dog of this breed can possess. To make a perfect dog, there are other attributes he must not be deficient in; but wanting in pace, he can never hope to excel. The most superficial knowledge of coursing or coursing literature will show this, and it is a quality which, although developed to its present high pitch, has always been recognised as most important. Chaucer says: -

Greihounds he hadde as swift as fowl of flight; and again, Sir Walter Scott, in his Introduction to "Marmion," thus eulogises the speed of the Greyhound: -

Remember'st thou my Greyhounds true? O'er holt or hill there never flew, From leash or slip there never sprang, More fleet of foot, more sure of fang.

Well does he deserve the encomium of Markham, who declares he is, "of all dogs whatsoever, the most princely, strong, nimble, swift, and valient."