184 LETTER XXX. 



THE BLOOD HOUND 



is, of all the canine race, the most beautifully formed, 

 and superior to almost every other kind in sagacity. 

 They are generally of a brown, or reddish colour, and 

 seldom bark. These dogs were formerly much used 

 in several parts of this country that were infested with 

 robbers and murderers, especially on the frontiers be- 

 tween England and Scotland; and their exquisite 

 scent and wonderful sagacity in tracing the delin- 

 quent, 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: nis snufiing 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 recovery 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 asto- 

 nishment at the wonderful instincts with which the 

 Creator has endowed the animal race, must at the 

 ;-;ime time inspire us with gratitude for the favors con- 

 ierred on us bv his gracious Providence in allotting 

 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. 



I cannot dismiss this subject, without mentioning a 

 custom established in se.veral convents situated among, 

 the Alpine mountains, which ,does honour to human 

 nature. In these sequestered and uninhabited tracks, 

 travellers inform us that a breed of dogs are trained. 



