202 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Dogs 



Muzzle less acute; ears sub- Terrier, rough and smooth, 

 erect; hair short or wiry. Turnspit. 



Barbary dog. 

 Lurcher, &c. 



Ears moderate, narrow, gene- 

 rally pendulous ; muzzle 

 produced. 



Ears moderately large, pen- 

 dent ; muzzle moderate ; 

 hair long. 



Ears moderately large and 

 pendent ; muzzle deep and 

 strong ; hair long or 

 wiry. 



Ears large and pendent ; 

 muzzle long and deep; 

 nose large; hair close. 



Great Danish dog. 

 Irish wolf-dog. 

 Scotch Grey-hound, or Deer- 

 hound. 

 English ditto. 

 Italian ditto. 

 Persian ditto. 

 Albanian dog, &c. 



Spaniel. 

 Water-Spaniel. 

 Rough water-dog. 

 Setter, &c. 

 Italian wolf-dog. 

 Newfoundland dog. 

 Labrador dog. 

 Alpine dog, &c. 

 Pointer. 



Harrier. 



Fox-hound. 



Old English hound. 



Blood-hound. 



African hound, &c. 



Ears moderate, pendent ; Cuban mastiff. 

 muzzle short and thick ; Mastiff, 

 hair short. Ban-dog. 



Bull-dog. 



Corsican bull-dog, &c. 



Pug-dog ? 



This and every other attempt to arrange the 

 various breeds of dogs under different heads will 

 necessarily be defective, from our want of informa- 

 tion respecting the races of antiquity ; an accurate 

 knowledge of which would throw considerable light 

 on our modern varieties. We know indeed that 

 the Greeks and Romans had valuable dogs for 

 hunting various wild animals, and paid great atten- 

 tion to them, but. we know little beyond. They 

 had watch-dogs, hounds, a greyhound breed, and 

 probably a breed of spaniels, the Canis Tuscus, also 

 described as Proles de sanguine Ibero. Fig. 894 

 is a copy of a dog represented on a mosaic pave- 

 ment at Pompeii, fastened by a chain, with the 

 caution " Cave canem " (" Beware the dog ") written 

 at its feet : the small sharp ears and elongated muzzle 

 give it a wild aspect : it appears to be a strongly- 

 made, vigorous animal ; but if it represent the Dogue 

 de forte race of the Romans, we cannot wonder at 

 their sending to Britain for our old indigenous 

 mastiff. 



In Egypt the dog was a favourite, and carefully 

 bred, and, as the paintings of that people prove, 

 there were several breeds. It would appear, indeed, 

 that some kinds were regarded with religious vene- 

 ration, and embalmed after death. Mummies, of 

 them are still found. We have seen the remains of 

 a red short-haired dog thus preserved. Figs. 895 

 and 896 are outlines of dogs from Egyptian paint- 

 ings. Fig. 895, a, two hounds, or a hound and 

 greyhound in couples. The style of colouring on 

 the foremost dog, regarded as a hound, reminds us 

 of the hounds of modern days ; b is evidently a 

 pet domestic dog, with sharp ears and a curled tail ; 

 c, a hound; d, a short-legged dog, not unlike our 

 turnspit, with sharp ears, and which appears to have 

 been a favourite ; e is probably a watch-dog of 

 the " forte race," excepting that its tail is more 

 curled, it has a striking resemblance to the Roman 

 house-dog (Fig. 894) : / is a hunting-dog, as it 

 would seem, being found frequently in attendance 

 on chasseurs. Fig. 896 represents a huntsman 

 bringing home an antelope with a brace of coupled 

 hounds. The modern greyhound of Arabia (Fig. 

 885) so closely resembles the delineations of the 

 ancient greyhound, that we cannot doubt their affi- 

 nity. The Egyptians in the chase used the bow 

 and spear, and intercepted the game as it fled 

 before the hounds, discharging their arrows when- 

 ever it came within range. W hen afierce antelope, 

 as the Leucoryx, was brought to bay, the hunter 

 gallantly used his spear, as the boar-hunter of the 

 middle ages in Europe. On the level plains of 

 Egypt the chasseur often followed in his chariot, 

 urging his horses to the full speed, and endeavour- 

 ing to meet the game, or place himself in the 

 direction the dogs were forcing it to take, with his 

 bow and arrows ready. It was perhaps the par- 

 tiality evinced by the Egyptians to the dog, that led 

 the- Israelites to regard'it with abhorrence, as an 

 unclean animal ; in which feeling they have been 

 followed by the Mohammedans. Be this as it may, 

 Palestine " is the country in which this animal has 

 the longest been refused that entire domestication 

 with man which he has enjoyed in most other 

 lands ; in other words, the treatment of the dog has 

 almost always in Palestine been such as it has only 

 in other countries been subject to since the propa- 

 gation of the Moslem faith. And since the ideas 

 concerning dogs have been much the same with 

 the ancient Jews and modern Moslems, there is no 



doubt that the existing practices of the latter 

 illustrate the ancient practices of the former. 

 Among both we trace the despised, but not mal- 

 treated dog of the streets, and among both we dis- 

 cover that, with every predisposition to do without 

 them, certain breeds of dogs have forced their ser- 

 vices upon man, from the indispensable nature of 

 their help in hunting and in guarding the flocks." 



These street dogs (Figs. 883and 884), called Pariah 

 dogs in India, have excited the attention of all 

 travellers in India, Turkey, and the whole of the 

 Levant. They roam the streets of towns, cities, and 

 villages, owned by no one, but, for their services in 

 clearing away carrion and offal, universally tolerated. 

 We find allusions to them in the earliest records of 

 antiquity. Homer pictures them in conjunction 

 with vultures, as feeding upon the slain : — 



" Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore 

 Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore." 



Pope's Transl. 



In the Scriptures there are abundant allusions, as 

 for example, Exodus xxii. 31 ; 1 Kings xxi. 19 and 

 23 ; 2 Kings ix. 35, and elsewhere. The passages 

 of most force, " In the place where the dogs licked 

 the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even 

 thine;" and, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the 

 wall of Jezreel," bring to mind the picture of a 

 scene painted in modern days by a poet, who had 

 travelled in Greece and Turkey, and well knew the 

 habits of the 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 o'er 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 tig when the fruit is fresh ; 

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

 As it slipt through their jaws when their edge grew dull, 

 As they lazily mumbled the bones of the dead, 

 As they scarce could rise from the spot where they feu, 

 So well had they broken a lingering fast 

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



Byron's Siege of Corinth, 



Pariah dogs herd together in troops, and keep to 

 their respective districts ; they display all the qua- 

 lities and propensities of their race, and if they are 

 fierce and ravenous, it is because they are left to 

 their own resources, since to become at once do- 

 mestic they require only to be owned and noticed. 

 Colonel Sykes, speaking of the Pariah dog of 

 Dukhun, observes that it is there very numerous, 

 and not individual property, but breeds in the towns 

 and villages unmolested. He remarks that the 

 Turnspit dog, long-backed, with short crooked legs, 

 is frequently found among the Pariahs. There is 

 also a petted minute variety of the Pariah dog, 

 usually of a white colour, with long silky hair, cor- 

 responding to a common lap-dog of Europe ; this is 

 taught to carry flambeaux and lanterns. The last 

 variety noticed is the dog with hair so short as to 

 appear naked, like the Barbary or Egyptian dog. 

 It is known to Europeans by the name of the Polygar 

 dog. Of the Domesticated dogs, Colonel Sykes 

 states, that the first in size and strength is the 

 Brinjaree dog, which somewhat resembles the Per- 

 sian greyhound, but is much more powerful. 



It may here be expected that we should enter 

 into some details illustrating the intelligence and 

 fidelity of this animal, which seems expressly made 

 for man, which instinctively clings to him, and 

 which watches his every look and gesture. But 

 who from his own experience cannot bear testimony 

 to the good qualities of the dog! It has been 

 somewhere said, and with truth, that man is the god 

 of the dog, for to man he looks up with reverence 

 and affection, and the praise of his master is his 

 richest reward. Is this instinctive attachment of 

 the dog to man an acquired feeling, or is it an 

 original impulse implanted in its nature, by the All- 

 wise Creator, for man's benefit, so that in the pri- 

 mitive condition of society he might have a friend 

 and assistant, all-important in the chase, and in the 

 extirpation of wild beasts, which ere he can settle 

 in the land and found a colony, he must drive to a 

 distance or destroy ? 



We turn to our pictorial specimens, and one (Fig. 

 897) appeals strongly to our feelings ; it represents 

 a fine Newfoundland dog, dripping with the briny 

 water, and in whose face is depicted the utmost 

 anxiety, as if watching eagerly for assistance, while 

 one foot rests upon the shoulder of a wrecked sea- 

 man which he has succeeded in dragging to shore. 

 The picture tells its own story. 



The following anecdote respecting the Newfound- 

 land dog is very interesting : — 



" A native of Germany, fond of travelling, was 

 pursuing his course through Holland, accompanied 

 by a large Newfoundland^dog. Walking one even- 

 ing on a high bank, which formed one side of a 

 dike, or canal, so common in that country, his foot 

 slipped, and he was precipitated into the water, 

 and, being unable to swim, he soon became sense- 

 less. When he recovered his recollection, he found 

 himself in a cottage on the opposite side of the dike 

 to that from which he had fallen, surrounded by 



peasants, who had been using the means so gene- 

 rally practised in that country for restoring anima- 

 tion. The account given by the peasants was, that 

 one of them returning home from his labour ob- 

 served, at a considerable distance, a large dog in 

 the water swimming, and dragging, and sometimes 

 pushing, something which he seemed to have great 

 difficulty in supporting, but which he at length 

 succeeded in getting into a small creek on the op- 

 posite side to that on which the men were. 



"When the animal had pulled what he had 

 hitherto supported as far out of the water as he was 

 able, the peasant discovered that it was the body o» 

 a man. The dog, having shaken himself, began 

 industriously to lick the hands and face of "his 

 master, while the rustic hastened across ; and, hav- 

 ing obtained assistance, the body was conveyed to 

 a neighbouring house, where the usual means of 

 resuscitation soon restored him to sense and recol- 

 lection. Two very considerable bruises, with the 

 marks of teeth, appeared, one on his shoulder, the 

 other on the nape of the neck ; whence it was pre- 

 sumed that the faithful animal first seized his 

 master by the shoulder, and swam with him in this 

 manner for some time ; but that his sagacity had 

 prompted him to let. go his hold, and shift his grasp 

 to the neck, by which he had been enabled to 

 support the head out of the water. It was in the 

 latter position that the peasant observed the dog 

 making his way along the dike, which it appealed 

 he had done for a distance of nearly a quarter of a 

 mile. It is therefore probable that this gentleman 

 owed his life as much to the sagacity as to the 

 fidelity of his dog." 



Wordsworth, in a beautiful little poem, has given 

 an affecting instance of the fidelity of a dog, which 

 we need make no apology for quoting : — 



" A barking sound the shepherd hears, 

 A cry as of a dog or fox ; 

 He halts, and searches with his eyes 



Among the scattered rocks : 

 And now at distance can discern 

 A stirring in a brake of fern ; 

 From which immediately leaps out 

 A dog, and yelping runs about. 



The dog is not of mountain breed ; 



Its motions, too, are wild and shy ; 

 With something, as the shepherd think?, 



Unusual in its cry: 

 Nor is there any one in sight 

 All round, in hollow or in height ; 

 Nor shout nor whistle strikes his ear: 

 What is the creature doing here? 



It was a cove, a huge recess, 

 That keeps till June December's snow ; 



A lofty precipice in front, 

 A silent tarn* below. 



Far in the bosom of Helvellyn, 



Remote from public road or dwelling, 



Pathway, or cultivated land, 



From trace of human foot or hand. 



There sometimes does a leaping fish 



Send through the tarn a lonely cheer ; 

 The crags repeat the raven's croak 



In symphony austere. 

 Thither the rainbow comes, the cloud ; 

 And mists that spread the living shroud, 

 And sunbeams ; and the sounding blast 

 That, if it could, would hurry past, 

 But that enormous barrier binds it fast- 

 Not knowing what to think, awhile 



The shepherd stood ; then makes his way 

 Towards the dog, o'er rocks and stones, 



As quickly as he may ; 

 Nor far had "gone before he found 

 A human skeleton on the ground. 

 Sad sight I the shepherd wi th a sigh 

 Looks round to learn the history. 

 From those abrupt and perilous rocks 



The man had fallen, that place of fear! 

 At length upon the shepherd's mind 



It breaks, and all is clear : 

 He instantly recall'd the name, 

 And who he was and whence he came ; 

 Remember'd, too, the very day 

 On which the traveller pass'd this way. 

 But hear a wonder now, for sake 



Of which this mournful tale 1 tell I 

 A lasting monument of words 



This wonder merits well. 

 The dog, which still was hovering nigh, 

 Repeating the same timid cry. 

 This dog had been through three months' space 

 A dweller in that savage place. 



Yes, proof was pi un that since the dav 



On which the traveller thus had died 

 The dog had watched about the spot, 



Or by his master's side. 

 How nourished here through such long time 

 He knows, who gave that love sublime. 

 And gave that strength of feeling, great 

 Above all human estimate." 



" It is about thirty-seven years ago that the 

 fatal accident happened which furnished a subject 

 for the above beautiful poem by Mr. Wordsworth. 

 The circumstances were recently detailed to a 

 tourist bj one of the guides who conducts visitors 

 to th . si-Timits of Skiddaw and Helvellyn. The 

 unf( nna . man who perished amidst these soli- 

 tude.^ was a resident of Manchester, who was peri- 

 odical v in the habit of visiting the lakes, and who, 

 confic - kiss knowledge of the country, had ven- 

 tured ( rets me of the passes of Helvellyn, late 

 in a si. ^ernoon, in company only with his 



faithful dog Darkness, it is supposed, came on 

 before, his e* pectation ; he wandered from the track ; 

 and fell ova the rocks into one of those deep re- 



* Tarn is a snail lake, or mere, mostly in high mountains. 



