county of Mayo, the seat of Sir John Browne, ancestor
to Lord Kilmaine, I have no doubt they were a gigantic greyhound. My
departed friend described them as being very gentle, and says that Sir
John Browne allowed them to come into his dining-room, where they put
their heads over the shoulders of those who sat at table. They were
not smooth-skinned, like our greyhounds, but rough and curly-haired.
The Irish poets call the wolf-dog 'Cu,' and the common greyhound
'Gayer;' a marked distinction, the word 'Cu' signifying a champion.'

"The colour of these dogs varies, but the most esteemed are dark
iron-grey, with white breast. They are, however, to be found of a
yellowish or sandy hue, brindled, or even white. In former times, as
will be seen from Lord Falkland's letter quoted above, this latter
colour was by many preferred. It is described as a stately, majestic
animal, extremely good-tempered and quiet in his disposition, unless
when irritated or excited, when he becomes furious; and is, in
consequence of his tremendous strength, a truly formidable animal."

Goldsmith asserts that he had seen a dozen of these dogs, and informs
us "that the largest was about four feet high, or as tall as a calf of
a year old. They are generally of a white or cinnamon colour, and more
robust than the greyhound--their aspect mild, and their disposition
gentle and peaceable. It is said that their strength is so great, that
in combat the mastiff or bull-dog is far from equal to them. They
commonly seize their antagonists by the back and shake them to death.
These dogs were never serviceable for hunting, either the stag, the
fox, or the hare. Their chief utility was in hunting wolves, and to
this breed may be attributed the final extirpation of those ferocious
animals in England and Wales in early times in the woody districts."

Having thus given these different accounts of the Irish wolf-dog, I
may add that some persons are of opinion that there were two kinds of
them--one partaking of the shape and disposition of the mastiff, and
the other of the Highland deer-hound. It is not improbable that a
noble cross of dogs might have been made from these two sorts. At all
events I have fairly stated the whole of the information I have been
able to obtain respecting these dogs, and my readers must form their
own opinions. The following anecdote, recently communicated to me, is
given in the words of the writer:--

"Two whelps were made a present to