NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 17 



Var. C — Danish Dog, Can.fam. danicus^ Desm.; Grand Danois, 

 Buffon6, 



own opinion it is, at least, not the genuine source from whence we derive o\ir 

 greyhounds. Still less is it connected in any way with either the bull-dog or 

 the mastiff of England ; but much more with the boar and wolf-hound. Sir 

 William Clayton observes, " The French matin is tall and slender for his 

 size, and resembles a half-bred greyhound." Mr. Wilson also says, " It ap- 

 peared to me a kind of lurcher ; and if I were to analyse its characters, I 

 would say it was an intermediate between the shepherd's dog and the grey- 

 hound." It may be added, that it is strong, courageous, and swift; yet not 

 deficient in the sense of smell, and was originally of a fawn colour, though I 

 believe it is now often varied. Buffon's fanciftil theories made this dog, which 

 in its origin he considers a native of temperate climes, to become the Danish 

 dog when carried to the north, and the greyhound when under the influence 

 of the south. It is evident he could not become the English greyhound by 

 this principle ; and, indeed, we have sufficient reason to believe we derive the 

 greyhound from a very different source, as will at once appear if the reader 

 will turn to the classic pages of Arrian, lately translated by a learned writer 

 under the name of a Graduate of Medicine. It is to be regretted that Mr. 

 Griffith did not lend his powerful aid to a more critical examination of the 

 sources of these several varieties. Original and valuable as are some of his 

 elucidations, he is lamentably meagre here, instead of a close investigation ; 

 he appears to conclude that the Molossian or Albanian dog, the French matin, 

 the Irish greyhound, with the Danish dog, and even the modem greyhound, 

 are but ramifications of each other. This is settling the matter concisely, but 

 certainly not satisfactorily. We know that the ancients were jealous of the 

 breeds of their dogs, and preserved them in purity with care ; nor should we 

 have received from them varieties so well defined as we find them, had their 

 inter-ramifications been thus diffused. 



® Danish dog. Misconceptions arise, by either confounding this dog with 

 the Dalmatian, or otherwise from not considering the Dane in two distinct 

 varieties : 1 . The Great Dane, Le Grand Danois, Buffon, which is considered 

 as one of the largest dogs known. Marco Paolo must have inflated those 

 probably which he describes as having seen of the size of asses. They are 

 smooth coated, and appear to have been of a light fawn colour ; but are now 

 often seen brindled, or broadly spotted, or patched with a dingy brown on the 

 original ground. The dogs of Epirus, so famed for their strength and courage, 

 were of this kind. (Aristotle, lib. iii, c. 21. Pliny also notices them in terms 

 of admiration, lib. viii, c. 40.) It appears to have a near connexion with 

 the smooth varieties of the German boar-hound. 2. The Lesser Dane, Dal- 



B 



