ALPINE MASTirP.] THE B O Gr, AND ITS VAEIETIES; 



[BULLDOa. 



the appearence of the ]S"ewfoundland ; and the 

 other as having a short one, and bearing a re- 

 semblance to the great Dane, both iu the cha- 

 racter of its hair and the colour. 



E-eferring to the origin of the pious act ^f the 

 monks of St. Bernard, in having dogs trained 

 to the humane purpose of saving human life, 

 Mr. Eichardson says, that " the dog originally 

 trained to this service was a large and powerlul 

 mastiff, short-coated, deep-jowled, of a yellovr 

 colour, with a long, fine tail. L'Ami, who was 

 brought, in 1829, from the convent on the 

 Great St. Bernard, was of this description. 

 He was exhibited in both London and Liver- 

 pool to many thousands of people, at the charge 

 of one shilling admission. I was favoured by 

 Mr Clark, of Holborn, with a full account of 

 the true doga of St. Bernard, obtained by him 

 from the very best authorities. A good many 

 years ago, a pestilence made its appearance 

 amongst the dogs of the convent, and all were 

 destroyed save o]ie single specimen. Under 

 these circumstances, the monks had no alter- 

 native but to cross the breed, which they did , 

 with the Spanish or Pyrenean wolf-dog — the | 

 most likely cross to which they could have re- 

 sorted ; hence arose the race of dogs ordinarily : 

 known as St. Bernards. Some of the true j 

 race have now been restored ; but they are 

 very scarce, and are not to be possessed under 

 enormous prices ; in fact, not to be had from 

 the convent at all ; Mr. Clark being acquainted 

 with a nobleman who offered one hundred 

 guineas for a brace of puppies, without suc- 

 cess. Hence the mistakes arising from spurious 

 dogs, supposed to be original, merely because 

 they came from the mountain. 

 *' * * * 



In Dublin these dogs used to be common. 

 They were introduced by a Preuchman, named 

 Casserane, in Ormond Market. He had a male 

 and female, and their whelps were eagerly 

 purchased at five guineas each, as soon as 

 weaned. "W. Plood, Esq., of Stillorgan, pos- 

 sessed a noble specimen ; and there was, also, 

 a beautiful specimen, named ' Donna,' in the 

 possession of John Eichardson, Esq., of New- 

 ineton Terrace, Eathmiues. Donna was 

 celebrated as a water-dog. She was gentle, 

 but very wild and playful, and her tremendous 

 size rendered her romping caresses anything 

 but ao-reeable. Mr. Eichardson went, on one 

 ° 470 



occasion, to bathe, accompanied by Donna, 

 who watched the progress of unrobing with 

 much apparent curiosity. No sooner had her 

 master plunged into the water, however, than 

 she sprang after him, and, doubtless uneasy 

 for his safety, seized him by the shoulder, and 

 dragged him, in spite of all his resistance — 

 and he is both a powerful man and a capital 



swimmer — with more zeal than gentleness, to 

 land ; nor could he ever enter the water in 

 Donna's presence." 



THE BRITISH BULLDOG. 

 Of all the dogs of this group, none sur- 

 pass in obstinacy or ferocity the bulldog. 

 This animal is smaller than the mastiff, but 

 more cdmpactly formed ; the chest is broad 

 and deep ; the loins narrow ; the tail slender 

 and arched up ; the limbs short and robust ; 

 the head is broad and thick ; the muzzle short 

 and deep ; the jaws strong, the lower jaw often 

 advancing, so that the inferior incisor teeth 

 overshoot the upper ; the ears are short and 

 semi-erect ; the nostrils distended ; the eyes 

 scowling ; and the whole expression calculated 

 to inspire terror. This dog is distinguished 

 by tenacity of tooth, and indomitable resolu- 

 ' tion. In all his habits and propensities he is 

 essentially gladiatorial : he is a fighting dog, 

 i and nothing else. His intelligence is very 

 I limited ; and though dogs of this breed are at- 

 tached to their masters, they exhibit iu the 

 ■ demonstration of their feelings, unless when 

 incited to combat, a perfect contrast to the 

 Newfoundland dog or spaniel. These latter 

 delight to accompany their master in his 

 walks, and scour the fields and lanes in the 

 exuberance of delight ; the bulldog skulks at 

 his master's heels, and regards, with a sus- 

 picious glance, everything and everybody that 

 passes by ; nor, indeed, is it safe to approach 

 the animal, for he often attacks without the 

 slightest provocation. A cross between the 

 bulldog and the terrier is celebrated for spirit 

 and determination. 



" The British bulldog," says Mr. Eichard- 

 son, " is, when a good dog, perhaps one of the 

 most courageous animals in existence. I am 

 obliged to qualify my meed of praise, however, 

 as I have myself seen bulldogs, not merely of 

 very doubtful courage, but absolutely cowards. 

 I attribute this moral degeneracy to the prac- 



