We had a little Dane in our possession, whom we instructed, with little trouble, in a variety of tricks; although at first surly and stupid, he soon exhibited great aptness and pleasure in repeating the various lessons which we taught him. If he had been younger we might have given him an opportunity of displaying himself in the field, as we are confident, from his tractable disposition, that he might have been tutored, with perseverance, even sufficiently well to stand upon game. The dogs of Epirus were supposed to have been spotted like the Dalmatian, if not of the same breed. These dogs may also be the "spotted hounds" given by Pan to Diana.

Let the little Dane's intellectual abilities be what they may, long habit and association have so intimately connected him with the stable and its occupants that he seems no longer fit for any other purpose than that of following in the wake of the carriages of the wealthy. This he does with peculiar fondness and singular ingenuity; for, although constantly by the side or at the heels of the horses, or under the tongue of the vehicle, his sure retreat when attacked by other dogs, who seem to have an antipathy for these pampered and fancy attendants on the affluent, he seldom or never is trod upon, or otherwise injured.

The little Dane is often a good ratter; and a gentleman of this city informs me that his dogs not only exhibit an attachment to horses in general, but that one of them has a particular partiality for an old carriage-horse, with whom he has been intimately associated for many years, and always greets his return to the stable with every demonstration of delight, by jumping up and kissing him, &c.--L.]

THE FRENCH MATIN.

('Canis laniarius'). There is considerable difficulty in describing this variety. The French consider it as the progenitor of all the breeds of dogs that resemble and yet cannot be perfectly classed with the greyhound. It should rather be considered as a species in which are included a variety of dogs,--the Albanian, the Danish, the Irish greyhound, and almost the pure British greyhound. The head is elongated and the forehead flat, the ears pendulous towards the tips, and the colour of a yellowish fawn. This is the usual sheep-dog in France, in which country he is also employed as a house-dog. He discharges his duty most faithfully; and, notwithstanding his flat forehead, shows himself to possess a very high degree of intelligence.

[The French matin we have seen of every variety of colour, being mostly patched with brown, yellow, grey, black, or white. He is employed both in France and Germany in hunting the boar and wolf; which savage animals he fearlessly attacks with courage equal to any dog they possess.--L.]

THE GREYHOUND.

We find no mention of this dog in the early Grecian records. The 'pugnaces' and the 'sagaces' are mentioned; but the 'celeres'--the swift-footed--are not spoken of as a peculiar breed. The Celtic nations, the inhabitants of the northern continent of Europe and the Western Islands, were then scarcely known, and the swift-footed dogs were peculiar to those tribes. They were not, however, introduced into the more southern parts of Europe until after the dissolution of the Roman commonwealth.