116 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



self to him. "Were it not so, we should see, in 

 various countries, an equal familiarity with various 

 other quadrupeds, according to the habits, the taste, 

 or the caprice of different nations. But, every 

 where, it is the dog only takes delight in associating 

 with us, in sharing our abode, and is even jealous 

 that our attention should be bestowed on him alone : 

 it is he who knows us personally, watches for us, 

 and warns us of danger. It is impossible for the 

 naturalist, when taking a survey of the whole ani- 

 mal creation, not to feel a conviction, that this 

 friendship betAveen two creatures so different from 

 each other, must be the result of the laws of nature ; 

 nor can the humane and feeling mind avoid the 

 belief, that kindness to those animals from which 

 he derives continued and essential assistance, is 

 part of his moral duty." 



Of the hybrids proceeding from wolves, jackals 

 and foxes, further details are likeAvise unnecessary ; 

 but, before mention is made of several feral races 

 of dogs now existing, it may be proper to allude to 

 a hybrid species pretended to be derived from a bear 

 and mastiff. Such an individual was lately exhi- 

 bited in London ; and a curious account of one is 

 found in the Histoires prodigeuses, par P. Bouais- 

 turau, Paris, 1582, quoted in the Penny Cyclo- 

 paedia, article Bear, to which we refer. But as no 

 true mastiff is sufficiently rugged to be tricked by 

 bearwards into the resemblance of even an hybrid, 

 and the engraving in the work shows also indica- 

 tions departing from that race, the difficulty may 



