248 THE SPORTING WORLD. 



sudden fracas of any sort among animals or 

 men, a natural kind of impulse they have to 

 seize is roiised and they will fasten on the 

 first object that strikes their attention, and 

 their ejrip is that of a vice. It is quite a 

 mistake to suppose the bull dog an ugly 

 animal, if highly and carefully bred and of a 

 favourable colour (say white) he is a symmet- 

 rically made and prettily turned animal, and his 

 countenance, instead of being as many are 

 forbidding, is bland and handsome, but he is 

 never to be trusted. But let us return to 

 the rat pit in which the bull dog would be 

 perfectly useless ; a small five-pound white terrier 

 would kill ten rats while the other was holding 

 and squeezing one. To the credit of the rat 

 pit its patronisers are not only particular as 

 regards the merits of their dogs but they pay 

 great attention to the breeding of them hand- 

 some, and many a smooth-haired little fellow, 

 a pet for a lady, will, when turned into the 



