THE IRISH TERRIER. 



415 



there you have the Wolfhound head and outline. Spuds was a rare type; she 

 had her faults, and we all knew them, but her memory is more pleasant to our 

 mind than the sight of the modern prize-winners. To call the Irish Terriers of 

 to-day miniature Wolfhounds wou'd be sarcastic; the majority of them are 

 sour-faced, yellow-eyed, black-muzzled, chumpy-headed, and thickly built, and 

 with bone enough for a Clydesdale horse in fact, these overbred creatures are 

 utterly unlike anything else so ugly as themselves. Of course this is only our 

 own simple and inexperienced opinion, which judges and connoisseurs of the 

 breed are at liberty to dismiss with contempt. They may prefer the thick- 

 legged clodhoppers; we still linger on the memory of the graceful and sym- 

 metrical Terriers, rather light in build, and with only proportionate bone to 

 carry their weight. 



mt f 



IRISH TERRIER NORAH. 

 Owned by Dr. J. S. Niven, London, Canada. 



Spuds and her kind, though, were already cultivated descendants of the 

 big rough and shaggy dogs that the peasants kept for work. These Irish Ter- 

 riers were brimful of the splendid character that is attributed to the breed. 

 ,There was a world of love in their expressive brown eyes, their natures were 

 gentle with children and women in fact, so timid even did they appear that 

 strangers have been misled into thinking them without courage; but what a 

 mistake ! The caress-inviting and quiet creature in a moment, if a blow were 

 aimed at its master, was transformed into a fury. We could tell some won- 

 derful tales of the tractability, and the prowess, too, of the old sort, but we fear 

 to grow garrulous on a favorite and much-loved theme. 



Our thoughts were led back to "the old sort" by the sight of a dog that 



