Modern Dogs. 



the body, loins ; legs, and general symmetry of the 

 animal. 



This was, however, so marked about two years ago 

 that even those who had been the means of causing 

 such retrogression noticed the error they had made, 

 and are now, I fancy, doing their best to remedy their 

 mistake. So, possibly in a couple of years more, our 

 race of mastiffs will have become more symmetrical, 

 will have lost their cow-hocksj crooked fore legs, 

 and hollowed backs, which combined render their 

 gait an awkward rolling movement, more like that 

 of an aged shorthorn going into the byre than that 

 which ought to be possessed by a leading family 

 of the canine race. 



Some of our modern mastiffs of the Crown 

 Prince strain would, I am afraid, have made but 

 sorry protectors for an English warrior who lay 

 grievously wounded on the field of Agincourt. 



Although considerable diversity of opinion has 

 existed, and will always exist, as to the origin of 

 the mastiff, there is little doubt that it is the 

 oldest variety of dog connected with Great Britain, 

 and upon this most authorities appear to be agreed, 

 though there are occasional admirers of the bull- 

 dog who would have us believe that that variety of 

 the canine race was one of the original dogs of 

 the British Isles. History has told us that during 



