CHINESE DOGS. 309 



Of 



LETTER CII. 



TO THE SAME. 





MY near neighbour, a young gentleman in the 

 service of the East India Company, has brought 

 home a dog and a bitch of the Chinese breed from 

 Canton ; such as are fattened in that country for 

 the purpose of being eaten : they are about the 

 size of a moderate spaniel ; of a pale yellow colour, 

 with coarse bristling hair on their backs ; sharp 

 upright ears, and peaked heads, which give them 

 a very fox-like appearance. Their hind legs are un- 

 usually straight, without any bend at the hock, or 

 ham, to such a degree as to give them an awkward 

 gait when they trot. When they are in motion, their 

 tails are curved high over their backs like those of 

 some hounds, and have a bare place each on the 

 outside from the tip midway, that does not seem 

 to be matter of accident, but somewhat singular. 

 Their eyes are jet-black, small, and piercing ; the 

 insides of their lips and mouths of the same colour, 

 and their tongues blue. The bitch has a dew-claw 

 on each hind leg ; the dog has none. When taken 

 out into a field, the bitch showed some disposition 

 for hunting, and dwelt on the scent of a covey of 

 partridges till she sprung them, giving her tongue 

 all the time. The dogs in South America are dumb ; 

 but these bark much in a short thick manner, like 

 foxes, and have a surly, savage demeanour, like their 

 ancestors, which are not domesticated, but bred up 

 in sties, where they are fed for the table with rice- 

 meal and other farinaceous food. These dogs, having 

 been taken on board as soon as weaned, could not learn 



