THE DOG KIND. 



313 



down when it scents the birds, till ihe net be 

 drawn over them. I have read somewhere 

 that the famous poet, Lord Surry, was the 

 first who taught dogs toset; it being an amuse- 

 ment to this day only known in England. 



" The Water-Spaniel was another species 

 used in fowling. This seems to be the most 

 docile of all the dog kind ; and this docility 

 is particularly owing to his natural attach- 

 ment to man. Many other kinds will not bear 

 correction ; but this patient creature, though 

 very fierce to strangers, seems unalterable in 

 his affections ; and blows and ill usage seem 

 only to increase his regard. 



" The Lap-dog, at the time of Doctor Caius, 

 was of Maltese breed ; at present it comes 

 from different countries ; in general, the more 

 awkward or extraordinary these are, the more 

 they are prized. 



" The Shepherd's dog has been already 

 mentioned, and as for the Mastiff he is too 

 common to require a description. Doctor 

 Caius tells us, that three of these were reckon- 

 ed a match for a bear, and four for a lion. 

 However, we are told that three of them over- 

 came a lion in the time of King James the 

 first ; two of them being disabled in the com- 

 'bat, the third obliged the lion to seek for safe- 

 ty by flight. 



"As to the last division, namely, of the 

 Wappe, the Turnspit, and the Dancer, these 

 were mongrels, of no certain shape, and made 

 use of only to alarm the family, or, being taught 

 a variety of tricks, were carried about as a 

 show. 



" With regard to those of later importation, 

 the Bull-dog, as Mr. Buffon supposes, is a 

 breed between the small Dane and the Eng- 

 lish mastiff. The large Dane is the tallest 

 dog that is generally bred in England. It is 

 somewhat between a mastiffand a gray-hound 

 in shape, being more slender than the one 

 and much stronger than the other. They 

 are chiefly used rather for show than service, 

 being neither good in the yard nor the field. 

 The highest are most esteemed; and they 

 generally cut off their ears to improve their 

 figure, as some absurdly suppose. The har- 

 lequin is not much unlike the small Dane, 

 being an useless animal, somewhat between 

 an Italian gray-hound and a Dutch mastiff 

 To these several others might be added, such 



as the pug-dog, the black breed, and the poin- 

 ter; but, in fact, the varieties are so nume- 

 rous as to fatigue even the most ardent cu- 

 riosity." 



Of these of the foreign kinds, I shall mention 

 only three, which are more remarkable than 

 any of the rest. The Lion-Dog greatly resem- 

 bles that animal, in miniature, from whence 

 it takes the name. The hair of the fore-part 

 of its body is extremely long, while that of 

 the hinder-part is as short. The nose is short, 

 the tail long, and tufted at the point, so that 

 in all these particulars it is entirely like the 

 lion. However, it differs very much from 

 that fierce animal in nature and disposition, 

 being one of the smallest animals of its kind, 

 extremely feeble, timid, and inactive. It 

 comes originally from Malta, where it is found 

 BO small that women carry it about in their 

 sleeves. 



That animal falsely called the Turkish-dog, 

 differs greatly from the rest of the kind, in 

 being entirely without hair. The skin, which 

 is perfectly bare, is of a flesh colour, with 

 brown spots; and their figure, at first view, 

 is rather disgusting. These seem to be of 

 the small Danish breed, brought into a warm 

 climate, and there, by a succession of gene- 

 rations, divested of their hair. For this rea- 

 son, they are extremely chilly, and unable to 

 endure the cold of our climate; and even in 

 the midst of summer, they continue to shiver 

 as we see men in a frosty day. Their spots 

 are brown, as was said, well marked, and ea- 

 sily distinguishable in summer, but in the cold 

 of winter they entirely disappear. They are 

 called the Turkish breed, although brought 

 from a much warmer climate ; for some of 

 them have been known to come from the warm- 

 est parts of Africa and the East Indies. 



" The last variety, and the most wonderful 

 of all that I shall mention, is the Great Irish 

 Wolf-dog, that may be considered as the first 

 of the canine species. This animal, which is 

 very rare, even in the only country in the 

 world where it is to be found, is rather kept 

 for show than use, there being neither wolves 

 nor any other formidable beasts of prey in 

 Ireland, that seem to require so powerful an 

 antagonist. The wolf-dog is therefore bred 

 up in the houses of the great, or such gentle- 

 men as choose to keep him as a curiosity, being 



