188 
VEETEBEATA. 
THE HYE.\A-DOG. 
other quadrupeds in large packs, AvMcli are led bv a chief. These are daring and ferocious, and 
will sometimes attack mankind. 
Genus DOG, Canis^ or Cayds familiaris. — In many respects, this is the most remarkable 
brute in the whole circle of animated nature. Endowed with speed, endurance, sagacity, acute 
senses and instincts often surpassing reason, he at the same time seeks the society of man, and 
with affecting docility and attachment, places at his disposal all those high faculties which nature 
has bestowed npon him. He follows man to every quarter of the globe ; he lives in his house ; 
feeds fi-om his master's table, or even from his hand ; enters into his feelings, studies his coun- 
tenance, and joys or sorrows with him in active sympath}^ He romps with him in the yard, 
strolls with him over the fields, hunts for him, fights for him, and, if need be, dies for him. So 
intimate is this alliance that the dog becomes impressed with his master's character, and at last 
reflects his manners : you can generally judge of the lord of the manor by the reception which 
his dog gives you at the gate. The dog partakes of man's social condition : in civilized society, 
he is civiHzed ; among savages, he also is a savage. So striking are these effects of domestication, 
that Landseer, the celebrated painter of animals, has happily and humorously represented almost 
every class of society by groups of dogs. The character of this animal is so beautifully drawn by 
Bufton, that we cannot do better than give the substance of it : 
" The dog, independently of the beauty of his form, his vivacity, force, and swiftness, is 
possessed of all those internal qualifications that can conciliate the affections of man, and make 
the tyrant a protector. A natural share of courage, an angry and ferocious disposition, renders 
the dog in its savage state a formidable enemy to all other animals : bnt these readily give 
way to very different cpalities in the domestic dog, whose only ambition seems the desire to 
please : he is seen to come crouching along, to lay his force, his courage, and all his useful 
talents at the feet of his master ; he waits his orders, to which he pays implicit obedience ; he 
consults his looks, and a single glance is sufficient to put him in motion ; he is more faithful 
even than the most boasted among men ; he is constant in his affections, friendly without 
interest, and grateful for the slightest favors : much more mindful of benefits received than 
injuries offered, he is not driven off by unkindness ; he still continues humble, submissive, and 
imploring, his only hope to be serviceable, his only terror to displease. He licks the hand 
that has been just lifted to strike him, and at last disarms resentment by submissive perseverance. 
" More docile than man, more obedient than any other animal, he is not only instructed in a 
short time, but he also conforms to the dispositions and the manners of those who command 
him. He takes his tone from the house he inhabits ; like the rest of the domestics, he is 
