142 British War Dogs 



characteristics of the Scotch, and the Irish terrier partakes 

 to a remarkable degree of the impulsiveness and relish for 

 " a bit of a shcrap," of his master. The underlying ferocity 

 in the Prussian character, is strongly reflected by the 

 Great Dane — the favourite breed of the German students, 

 — and, until well tamed by long residence in this country, 

 is always capable of unexpected outbursts of anger. 



When travelling in Norway and Sweden, I have been 

 struck with the sedate and aloof demeanour of the dogs, 

 which so closely resembles the human inhabitants of these 

 countries. The very puppies disport themselves in a more 

 dignified manner, than is usually seen elsewhere. The gay 

 insouciance of the French, is well represented in the poodle, 

 the inscrutability of the Chinese in the chow, the wild 

 and lawless spirit of the mountainous races of middle 

 Europe, in the savage sheep dogs of these regions, — and 

 so on, in varying degrees all over the world one can see, 

 that the dog, the closest associate of man, partakes of 

 his master's qualities. 



Coming down to individuals, this is even more apparent, 

 and one can almost judge the character of any person, by 

 noticing the sort of dog they keep, or, to put it the other 

 way, the dog has been selected and trained according to 

 the tastes of the master or mistress, and reflects these 

 attributes of mind whatever they may be. Thus, at 

 opposite ends of the scale, one gets the keeper's night dog, 

 and the timid and circumscribed little lap-dog of the old 

 lady. In pondering this matter, therefore, it is perfectly 

 apparent, that the dog, owing to this intimate association 

 with man, very closely assimilates the characteristics of the 

 governing human race ; and, therefore, the most solemn 

 obligation rests with the latter to reflect only those qualities 

 which are desirable of perpetuation. This applies in rela- 



