THE BULL-TERRIER. 719 



" Gracious God ! benevolent Parent of the universe ! what 

 prodigy must he be in a Christian land, who could thus dis- 

 grace his nature by such gigantic infamy, at which the blood 

 of a heathen, of a very Hottentot, might curdle ! Two useful 

 animals, the bull, which propagates our food, and the faithful 

 dog, which protects our property, to be thus tormented ! and 

 for what purposed Does it tend, as some have said,'" to 

 keep alive the spirit of the English character 1 In answer 

 to this we must remark, that the barbarous sport (if sport it 

 can be called) was totally unknown to the ancient bravery 

 of our ancestors ; was introduced into this country during 

 the reign of a bad king ; and earnestly do I pray to Almighty 

 God that in the reign of a most pious and benevolent prince 

 it may be for ever set aside. Cowards, of all men the least 

 unmoved, can both inflict and witness cruelties. The heroes 

 of a bull-bait, the patrons of mercenary pugilists, and the 

 champions of a cock-fight, can produce, I should think, but 

 few, if any, disciples brought up under their tuition, who 

 have done service to their country, either as warriors or 

 citizens ; but abundant are the testimonies which have been 

 registered at the gallows, of her devoted victims, trained up 

 by these pursuits of bull-baiting !" 



THE BULL-TERRIER. 



The bull-terrier has now become a fixed variety of the 

 dog : it was originally propagated by a cross between the 

 bull-dog and terrier, and in point of form is handsomer than 

 either of its progenitors. He is a sprightly and showy ani- 

 mal, and even better adapted for mischievous sport than 

 either of those dogs from which he has sprung. He is airy 

 and pleasant tempered, but possesses great fierceness when 

 his energies are called into action. His head is rather 



* Mr. Windham, in the House of Commons. 



