In all tropical countries he is no longer so, becoming, even should a good breed be introduced there from Europe, very much inferior in a few generations in all respects to what we have him in Great Britain, where they appear to be found in the greatest perfection. In hot climates the dog has not the same strength or swiftness, nor is he of equal courage, sincerity, and gentleness of character which peculiarly distinguish him from all other animals at home. Among orientals he is no longer treated in the same manner as he is in Europe, nor in fact does his character, as it exists among them, deserve equal kindness to that usually shown this faithful animal in Britain; but in Asia he is driven from their households by the Mohammedans and Hindoos alike, being regarded by them all as useless, and a pest. In China, he is fattened for the table, and the flesh of dogs is as much liked by them as mutton is by us, being exposed for sale by their butchers and in their cook-shops. At Canton, I have seen the hind quarters of dogs hanging up in the most prominent parts of their shops exposed for sale. They are considered in China as a most dainty food, and are consumed by both the rich and the poor. The breeds common in that country are apparently peculiar to itself, and they are apparently objects of more attention to their owners than elsewhere in Asia, the Celestials perhaps having an eye to their tender haunches, which bad treatment would toughen and spoil. They do not appear to be of greater sagacity than the other tropical breeds, although more bulky and stronger-looking than most of the other sorts I have seen. CHAPTER XIV. All strangers coming to Manilla should endeavour to make an excursion to the great inland lake, or Laguna de Bay, as it is likely well to repay the inconvenience one has to stand in such an excursion from exposure to the sun, &c. The lake is of very considerable extent, measuring, I think, about twenty-eight miles at its greatest length, by about twenty-two at its extreme breadth; it is formed by an amphitheatre of mountains, the various streams from which feed it; and its opening or outlet forms the origin of the river Pasig, which, bathing the walls of the fortress of Santiago and the capital of the Philippines, flows into the arm of the sea called Manilla Bay. About Christmastide there are many visitors to the lake, as from the then cooler season the necessary exposure to the heat of a midday sun in a slightly-covered boat is comparatively innocuous, and much less disagreeable than it would prove at any other time of the year. Several foreigners are in the habit of making an annual excursion there from Manilla to spend these holidays, during which there is no other amusement in town than church-going and procession-staring.