CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 199 



as their mummies have been found. The Greeks and Romans had watch-dogs, hounds, grey- 

 hounds, and spaniels. The latter people were accustomed to send to Britain for the native 

 mastiff of that country. One of the mosaics found at Pompeii represented a dog fastened by a 

 chain, with an inscription, " Cave canem /" " Beware of the dog !" 



The Israelites appear to have regarded the dog with peculiar abhorrence as an unclean animal, 

 perhaps because of the preference given to it by the Egyptians. In this aversion they have been 

 followed by the Mohammedans. In the Scriptures there are abundant allusions to the dog ; 

 as, for example, Exodus, xxii. 31 ; 1 Kings, xxi. 19 and 23 ; 2 Kings, ix. 30, and elsewhere. The 

 passages like the following, " In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs 

 lick thy blood, even thine;'' " The dogs shall eat Jezebel, by the wall of Jezreel ;" bring to mind 

 the description of Byron, who had traveled in the East, and was familiar with the habits of those 

 masterless dogs that " wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied :" 



" He saw the lean dogs beneath the wall. 

 Hold o'er the dead their carnival ; 

 Gorging and growling in carcass and limb, 

 They were too busy to bark at him. 

 From a Tartar's skull they had stripp'd the flesh, 

 As ye peel the fig when the fruit is fresh : 

 And their white tusks crunch'd o'er the whiter skull, 

 As it slipp'd through their jaws when their edge grew duh : 

 As they lazily munch'd the bones of the dead, 

 As they scarce could rise from the spot where they fed ; 

 So well had they broken a lingering fast, 

 With those who had fallen for that night's repast" 



The aversion of the Israelites to the dog, so far back as the time of the Prophets, is strangely 

 contrasted with the respect entertained for it in Greece. The story of Ulysses and his dog 

 furnishes a striking illustration of this. Twenty years had passed since Argus, the favorite dog 

 of Ulysses, had been parted from his master. The monarch at length wended his way home- 

 ward, and, disguised as a beggar, for his life would have been sacrificed had he been known, 

 stood at the entrance of his palace door. There he met with an old dependent who had formerly 

 served him with fidelity, and was yet faithful to his memory .; but age and hardship and care, and 

 the disguise which he now wore, had so altered the wanderer, that the good Eumaeus had not the 

 most distant suspicion with whom he was conversing ; but— 



" Near to the gates, conferring as they drew, 

 Argus the dog his ancient master knew. 

 And, not unconscious of the voice and tread, 

 Lifts to the sound his ears, and rears his head- 

 He knew his lord, he knew, and strove to meet; 

 In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet : 

 Yet, all he could, his tail, his ears, his eyes, 

 Salute his master, and confess his joys." 



The histories of Greece and Rome, as well as the vestiges of their arts of design, abundantly 

 prove that the dog was as much the attached friend and favorite companion of man in the 

 days of their highest civilization, as he is at the present time among refined and enlightened 

 nations. In all ages he seems to have been used very much as now, for the purposes of the 

 chase, as the playmate of children, the pet of the fair ; as the guard of the household at night, 

 the protector of the person by day. It is wonderful to consider the range of useful and agreeable 

 qualities in this species : the fine scent, the admirable speed, the indomitable courage, the 

 amazing strength of some ; the surpassing instincts, the playful humor, the winning graces of 

 others; the quick intelligence, loving friendship, and unfailing fidelity of all. . In this country 

 ,we are apt to consider the dog almost exclusively in his ministrations to our pleasures and 

 pastimes. In many parts of Europe — hitched to a small cart — he is the patient and profit- 

 able drudge of the poorer classes. Even in our cities, we may see him frequently brought into 

 this service by the ash-man, patiently standing at his post until the load is ready, and then 

 .tugging at the draft like a very horse. 



