228 
SETTER DOGS. 
heels, will hardly find terms too severe for the depraved human character that conld encourage 
or cherish such an epitome of the most brutal features of the canine nature. Dog and man 
suit each other admirably ; and, had there been no human ruffian, there would have been no 
canine representation of his own ruffianism. 
That such a similarity should exist is an absolute necessity, inasmuch as the more power- 
ful nature will inevitably expel the weaker, unless there is something in common between their 
characters, which will enable the higher being to convey its meaning to the lower, and the 
lower to receive obediently the mandates of the higher. As the two natures become more 
assimilated, they produce a corresponding effect in the outer form, and the resemblance 
extends to form and feature as well as to character. We notice the same effect to be produced 
ENGLISH SETTER .— Canis familiaris. 
among human beings when they are much thrown together, and a similar though not so 
evident a phenomenon takes place between the man and the brute. 
The very form of the Dog tells its character as clearly as the human countenance betrays 
the disposition of the spirit which moulds its lines. It is most truly said by Bailey, in that 
mine o i golden poetry, ‘ ‘ Festus ’ ’ : — 
“All animals are living hieroglyphs — 
The dashing Dog and stealthy-stepping cat. 
Hawk, hull, and all that breathe, mean something more 
To the true eye than their shapes show ; for all 
Vere made in love, and made to be beloved.” 
As the pointers derive their name from their habits of standing still and pointing at any 
game which they may discover, so the Settees have earned their title from their custom of 
“ setting” or crouching when they perceive their game. In the olden days of sporting, the 
Setter used always to drop as? soon as it found the game, but at the present day the animal is 
in so far the imitator of the ponder, that it remains erect while marking down its game. 
There are several breeds of < se animals : the ordinary English Setter, the Russian Setter, 
and the Irish Setter. 
