522 
ANIMAL PATHOLOGY. 
objects, and suffering many a fair prey to escape him. The open 
mouth — the protruded and blackened tongue — the half-closed 
eye, and the rolling gait will at once characterize him. He, pro- 
bably, is far distant from his home — then he seeks some other 
shelter. A favourite one is the ale-house by the road side, into 
which he skulks, and, creeping under the settle or table, he rolls 
himself up, and sleeps a good twelve hours or more. It is 
dangerous to disturb his slumbers; for with his muscular 
strength his desire to do mischief returns, and the slightest 
touch or attempt to caress him is repaid by a fatal wound. Let 
this be a caution to you never to meddle with a sleeping dog in 
a way-side house; and, indeed, never to meddle with him 
when asleep anywhere. 
ff a shelter like this does not offer itself, and he is still far 
from home, he seeks some barn. Not many years since a hay- 
maker sought shelter for the night in a barn in the neighbourhood 
of Harrow. He placed his pitchfork in a corner, and stretching 
himself on some straw, he composed himself to sleep. He was 
awakened in the night by a heavy weight pressing on his chest. 
He half-unconsciously turned to liberate himself from it, when 
he heard a fearful growl, and was immediately seized by the 
throat by some powerful animal. It was a dog of the large bull- 
breed, that had sought the same refuge, and had selected the 
man’s bosom for his resting-place. He struggled to throw off 
the assailant, but he was only seized and lacerated in a different 
part. It was pitch dark — and in the confusion of the struggle 
he could no longer recollect the direction in which he had 
placed his fork. The beast, with all the ferocity of his breed, 
continued to worry him. He was wounded in every part — 
he was worn out by the loss of blood and the extremity of his 
agony, when he fortunately felt the longed-for weapon. He 
seized it : with his little remaining strength he aimed it at the 
heart of his antagonist, and exulted when he felt him quit his 
hold, and drop dead by his side. Early in the morning he 
found his way to a surgeon. He and the brute from which he 
had escaped were forwarded to the Middlesex Hospital. The 
carcass of the dog was immediately sent to me. It was that of a 
rabid dog. The poor fellow’s wounds were properly treated, and 
in a few weeks he was sent home ; but a very little time passed 
ere he sickened, and died hydrophobous. 
The ferocious and dumb Madness . — I have already hinted 
not only at the indisposition but the inability of some rabid dogs 
to bite. There is in some cases at the early period of the disease, 
in others beginning to appear when the strength of the dog is 
nearly worn away, a peculiar paralysis of the muscles of the 
