122 THE BLOOD-HOUND. 



out admiring the wonderful works of the Creator, displayed in 

 the various modifications of animal instinct. 



THE BLOOD-HOUND 



Is, of all the canine race, the most beautifully formed, and 

 superior to almost every other kind in sagacity. They are gene- 

 rally of a brown, or reddish colour, and seldom bark. These 

 dogs were formerly much used in several parts of Great Britain, 

 that were infested with robbers and murderers, especially on the 

 frontiers between England and Scotland ; and their exquisite 

 scent, and wonderful sagacity in tracing the delinquent, are 

 finely depicted by Somerville : 



" Soon the sagacious brute, his curling tail 

 Flourish'd in air, low bending plies around 

 His busy nose, the steaming vapour snuffs 

 Inquisitive, nor leaves one turf untried, 

 Till, conscious of the recent stains, his heart 

 Beats quick : his snuffing nose, his active tail, 

 Attest his joy : then with deep opening mouth, 

 That makes the welkin tremble, he proclaims 

 Th' audacious felon." 



For these purposes, the blood-hound is happily no longer 

 necessary ; and as its present use is chiefly confined to the re- 

 covery of deer, that have escaped, after being wounded by a shot, 

 the breed has become much less numerous than it was in former 

 times. 



These considerations, while they excite our astonishment at 

 the wonderful instincts with which the Creator has endowed the 

 animal race, must at the same time inspire us with gratitude for 

 the favours conferred on us by his gracious Providence, in allot- 

 ting to us our period of existence in an age of civilization, and in 

 a country where a well-regulated government, by the equitable 

 administration of laws, provides for individual security. 



We cannot dismiss this subject, without mentioning a custom 

 established in several convents situated among the Alpine moun- 

 tains, which does honour to human nature. In these sequestered 

 and uninhabited tracts, travellers inform us that a breed of dogs 

 are trained to go in search of persons who have lost their way 

 in those unfrequented regions. They are every morning sent out 

 with an apparatus fastened to their collars, containing refresh- 

 ments, and written directions to the travellers to follow these 

 sagacious animals to the convent, where they are hospitably en- 

 tertained. By this singular and humane practice, we are assured 

 that many lives are frequently preserved. 



In all the Mahometan countries, dogs are excluded from the 

 habitations* of men; while cats, on the other hand, are held in 

 the highest esteem, and indulgently treated in every family. The 



