OF SELBORNE. 293 



and feathers, and all matters, indiscriminately. This falcon 

 was probably driven from the mountains of North Wales or 

 Scotland, where they are known to breed, by rigorous 

 weather and deep snows that had lately fallen. 1 



LETTER LVIII. 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON. 



near neighbour, a young gentleman in the 

 service of the East India Company, has 

 brought home a dog and a bitch of the 

 Chinese breed from Canton ; such as are 

 fattened in that country for the purpose of 

 being eaten : they are about the size of a moderate spaniel ; 

 of a pale yellow colour, with coarse bristling hairs on their 

 b^cks ; sharp upright cars, and peaked heads, which give 

 them a very fox-like appearance. Their hind legs are un- 

 usually straight, without any bend at the hock or ham, to 

 such a degree as to give them an awkward gait when they 

 trot. When they are in motion their tails are curved high 

 over their backs like those of some hounds, and have a bare 

 place each on the outside, from the tip midway, that does 

 not seem to be matter of accident, but somewhat singular. 

 Their eyes are jet black, small, and piercing : the insides of 

 their lips and mouths of the same colour, and their tongues 

 blue. The bitch has a dew-claw on each hind-leg ; the dog 

 has none. When taken out into a field the bitch showed 

 some disposition for hunting, and dwelt on the scent of a 

 covey of partridges till she sprung them, giving her tongue 

 all the time. The dogs in South America are dumb ; but 

 these bark much in a short thick manner, like foxes ; and 



1 Although it is possible that this bird may have been migrating 

 from the north, it is not unlikely to have been a wanderer from the 

 Sussex or Dorsetshire sea-cliffs. See page 291, note 2. ED. 



