THE ALAN OR ALAUNT. 49 



with forests) and through Afghanistan and 'through the 

 mountain valleys of Himalaya to Mongolia. The jealousies 

 of Oriental Governments as \\ell as natural difficulties have 

 interfered with the exploration of those parts of High Asia, 

 which still possess the Asiatic mastiff in more or less purity. 



But to account for the introduction of these Sarmatian 

 or Slavonic Asiatic mastiffs getting into Britain. 



It has been advanced that the Irish are undoubtedly 

 descended from a Scythian nation, and that at an early period 

 part of the country was colonized by the Phoenicians, and in 

 proof of the latter it has been urged that the specimens of the 

 Punic language preserved by Plautus arc almost pure Irish. 



The very word bitch, a female dog, would seem to be from 

 the Punic or Lybian language. The Irish word for a female 

 is " Bithm," while in Plautus we find the same word spelt 

 Bithym. 



Again the word " Brach " used by Shakespeare " When my 

 lady's brach may stand by the fire and stink " is evidently 

 allied to the Irish and British word " Brech " for a hound, 

 and the Spanish employ the same word " Braque " to denote 

 a pointer, and that dog appears to have taken its old Phoeni- 

 cian name with it into France. 



Again the Irish terms for the greyhound Cuib and Gibue 

 seem nearly allied to the Spanish word gibbo, hunched, and 

 gibboso, hunched back, which words are nearly allied to 

 " Gibbus," hunched backed, as used by Juvenal, and gibba 

 used by Suetonius. The word gibue being evidently the 

 Phoenician Irish applied to the greyhound on account of its 

 hunched or arched loins, which was a more prominent 

 characteristic formerly than of late years. 



