[1] See on this whole subject ch. viii. of Wilkinson's _Ancient
Egyptians_ (ii. 78-92, ed. Birch, 1878).
[2] See Layard (_Nineveh_, ii. 431, 432), who cites Ammian. Marcell.
xxvi. 6, and Athen. xii. 9.
[3] Engl. transl. by Blane.
[4] Hehn, _Kulturpflanzen u. Hausthiere_, p. 327.
[5] References will be found in Smith's _Dictionary of Christian
Antiquities_--art. on "Hunting."
[6] "Vita omnis in venationibus ... consistit," Caes. _B.G._, vi. 21.
"Quoties bella non ineunt, multum venatibus, plus per otium
transigunt," Tacitus, _Germ._ 15.
[7] See Strutt, _Sports and Pastimes_, who also gives an
illustration, "taken from a manuscriptal painting of the 9th century
in the Cotton Library," representing "a Saxon chieftain, attended by
his huntsman and a couple of hounds, pursuing the wild swine in a
forest."
[8] See Lappenberg, _Hist. of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings_
(ii. 361, Thorpe's trans.).
[9] _Le Art de venerie_, translated with preface and notes by Sir
Henry Dryden (1893), new edition by Miss A. Dryden (1909), including
_The Craft of Venerie_ from a 15th-century MS. and a 13th-century
poem _La Chasse d'on cerf_.
HUNTING DOG (_Lycaon pictus_), an African wild dog, differing from the
rest of the family in having only four toes on each foot, and its
blotched coloration of ochery yellow, black and white. The species is
nearly as large as a mastiff, with long limbs, broad flat head, short
muzzle and large erect ears, and presents a superficial resemblance to
the spotted hyena on which account it is sometimes called the hyena-dog.
"Mimicry" has been suggested as an explanation of this likeness; but it
is difficult to see what advantage a strong animal hunting in packs like
the present species can gain by being mistaken for a hyena, as it is in
every respect fully qualified to take care of itself. These wild dogs
are found in nearly the whole of Africa south and east of the Sahara.
The statement of Gordon Cumming that a pack "could run into the swiftest
or overcome the largest and most powerful antelope," is abundantly
confirmed, and these dogs do great damage to sheep flocks. Several local
races of the species have been named.
[Illustration: Cape Hunting Dog (_Lycaon pictus_).]
HUNTINGDON, EARLS OF. GEORGE HASTINGS, 1st earl of Huntingdon[1] (c.
1488-1545), was the son and successor of Edward, 2nd Baron Hastings (d.
1506), and the grandson of William, Baron Hastings, who was put to death
by Richard III. in 1483. Being in high favour with Henry VIII., he was
created earl of Huntingdon in 1529, and he was one of the royalist
leaders during the suppression of the rising known as the Pilgrimage of
Grace in 1536. His eldest son FRANCIS, the 2nd earl (c. 1514-1561), was
a close friend and political ally of John Dudley, duke of
Northumberland, sharing the duke's fall and imprisonment after the death
of Edward VI. in 1553; but he was quickly released, and was employed on
public business by Mary. His brother Edward (c. 1520-1572) was one of
Mary's most valuable servants; a stout Roman Catholic, he was master of
the horse and then lord chamberlain to the queen, and was created Baron
Hastings of Loughborough in 1558, this title becoming extinct when he
died.
The 2nd earl's eldest son HENRY, the 3rd earl (c. 1535-1595), married
Northumberland's daughter Catherine. His mother was Catherine Pole (d.
1576), a descendant of George, duke of Clarence; and, asserting that he
was thus entitled to succeed Elizabeth on the English throne, Huntingdon
won a certain amount of support, especially from the Protestants and the
enemies of Mary, queen of Scots. In 1572 he was appointed president of
the council of the north, and during the troubled period between the
flight of Mary to England in 1568 and the defeat of the Spanish armada
twenty years later he was frequently employed in the north of England.
It was doubtless felt that the earl's own title to the crown was a
pledge that he would show scant sympathy with the advocates of Mary's
claim. He assisted George Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, to remove the
Scottish queen from Wingfield to Tutbury, and for a short time in 1569
he was one of her custodians. Huntingdon was responsible for the
compilation of an elaborate history of the Hastings family, a manuscript
copy of which is now in the British Museum. As he died childless, his
earldom passed to his brother George. Another brother, Sir Francis
Hastings (d. 1610), was a member of parliament and a prominent puritan
during Elizabeth's reign, but is perhaps more celebrated as a writer.
GEORGE, the 4th earl (c. 1540-1604), was the grandfather of HENRY, the
5th earl (1586-1643), and the father of Henry Hastings (c. 1560-1650), a
famous sportsman, whose character has been delineated by the 1st earl of
Shaftesbury (see L. Howard, _A Collection of Letters_, &c., 1753). The
6th earl was the 5th earl's son FERDINANDO (c. 1608-1656). His brother
Henry, Baron Loughborough (c. 1610-1667), won fame as a royalist during
the Civil War, and was created a baron in 1643.
THEOPHILUS, the 7th earl (1650-1701), was the only surviving son of the
6th earl. In early life he showed some animus against the Roman
Catholics and a certain sympathy for the duke of Monmouth; afterwards,
however, he was a firm supporter of James II., who appointed him to
several official positions. He remained in England after the king's
flight and was imprisoned, but after his release he continued to show
his hostility to William III. One of his daughters, Lady Elizabeth
Hastings (1682-1739), gained celebrity for her charities and her piety.
Her beauty drew encomiums from Congreve and from Steele in the pages of
the _Tatler_, and her other qualities were praised by William Law. She
was a benefactor to Queen's College, Oxford.
The 7th earl's sons, George and Theophilus, succeeded in turn to the
earldom. GEORGE (1677-1705) was a soldier who served under Marlborough,
and THEOPHILUS (1696-1746) was the husband of the famous Selina,
countess of Huntingdon (q.v.). Theophilus was succeeded by his son
FRANCIS (1729-1789), on whose death unmarried the baronies passed to his
sister Elizabeth (1731-1808), wife of John Rawdon, earl of Moira, and
the earldom became dormant.
The title of earl of Huntingdon was assumed by THEOPHILUS HENRY HASTINGS
(1728-1804), a descendant of the 2nd earl, who, however, had taken no
steps to prove his title when he died. But, aided by his friend Henry
Nugent Bell (1792-1822), his nephew and heir, HANS FRANCIS HASTINGS
(1779-1828), was more energetic, and in 1818 his right to the earldom
was declared proved, and he took his seat in the House of Lords. He did
not, however, recover the estates. Before thus becoming the 11th (or
12th) earl, Hastings had served for many years in the navy, and after
the event he was appointed governor of Dominica. He died on the 9th of
December 1828 and was succeeded by his son FRANCIS THEOPHILUS HENRY
(1808-1875), whose grandson, WARNER FRANCIS, became 14th or 15th earl of
Huntingdon in 1885. Another of the 11th earl's sons was Vice-admiral
George Fowler Hastings (1814-1876).
See H. N. Bell, _The Huntingdon Peerage_ (1820).