15 DECEMBER 1961, Page 15

MAN AND CAVEMAN

S1R,—Alan Brien in his description of the Dordogne mentions the striking likeness of the village dogs to English foxhounds, and suggests that they 'seem to have strayed from some Lakeland print of John Peel's hunt.'

Some years ago, while visiting this district, I was assured by a local inhabitant that the dogs were indeed of British descent. The Duke of Wellington on his way north from Spain was supposed to have left behind some of his hounds. It would be interesting to know whether there is any historical justification for this tale. Did the British Army have with it a pack or packs of hounds, and was its route through the valley of. the Dordogne?