THE BLACK WOLF. 153 



mal, and there is an indication that, like the former, 

 it assimilates more with dogs than the grey wolf, 

 for the Arabs eat its flesh like game, which proves 

 that it cannot have the very offensive smell that 

 real wolves possess. 



In the British islands wolves existed even to a 

 late period, although there was at all times a ten- 

 dency to their being extirpated. " NuUos fovet 

 Brittania" (Jupos) is a quotation from Textor, cited 

 by Gesner; and it is probable that the Romans 

 laboured to clear the island of them. The Saxon 

 monarchs pursued the same measures, as is attested 

 by the tribute of wolves' heads they demanded from 

 the Welsh. The more lawless Norman conquerors 

 were, however, not so patriotic ; they bestowed only 

 lands by the tenure of keeping dogs to hunt wolves. 

 Whether they were real wolves or only wild dogs, 

 is a question that cannot now be clearly decided ; it 

 is nevertheless worth observing, that the Celtic 

 terms faol^ mactire, and hlaidd^ designating the 

 wolf, are not so often found in the old manuscripts 

 as the Gaelic mada alluidh^ ferocious dog, smdijiadh 

 choin and faolchu^ wild dog, or fool teach^ wolf- 

 mouth, or the Welsh gwyddgwn^ wild dogs. Tradi- 

 tion, in North Britain, likewise favours the opinion 

 that the so-called wolf was in reality a wild dog, 

 resembling the Irish wolf-hound, and was the parent 

 of the gazehound.* It hunted in packs. The last 



* It is, however, not at all clear what we are to understand 

 by gazehound. 



