142 British Dogs. 



CHAPTER XXVL THE CLUMBER SPANIEL. 

 BY CORSINCON. 



THE Clumber is unquestionably the aristocrat of the spaniel family, in 

 comparison to whom his modern black brother of the benches is a mere 

 parvenu, and the Irish water spaniel as an unkempt kerne to a 

 polished gentleman. The grave and somewhat weird Sussex cannot 

 compare with him in dignity of demeanour, and the busy little cocker, 

 with his fussy usefulness, neat and taking though he be, is commonplace in 

 comparison with the Clumber, whose manners, solemn, slow, and almost 

 dull, are yet stamped with that repose which the least imaginative may 

 easily conceive rests on the proud consciousness of his long descent. 



How the variety of spaniel under consideration came into being I have 

 failed to discover. That the present characteristics he presents have for 

 several generations of men been preserved by in-and-in breeding appears 

 pretty certain, and for long the breed was confined to the Newcastle 

 family, from one of whose seats they take their name. 



But how a dog differing so considerably from other spaniels first 

 originated is a puzzle to me which I would like solved. His long barrel, 

 short legs, general heavy and inactive appearance, differ widely from the 

 sprightly cocker and ordinary springer ; and then, again, his big heavy 

 head, large truncated muzzle, deep eyes, sometimes showing the haw, 

 suggest a cross with a short-legged hound, which the fact of his being 

 mute in questing seems to contradict. But, as I must have a theory of 

 his origin, I content myself with imagining that the introduction of 

 French bassets to the Clumber kennels may have produced the form and 

 stamped him with many of the peculiar features which distinguish him 

 from other breeds of spaniels. 



The Clumber, if pure bred, invariably hunts mute ; they have 

 excellent noses ; from their low build, great strength, thick flat coats, 

 and close lying ears they are extremely well fitted to force their way 

 through and under the thickest tangles of briar, whin, or bramble, but it 

 is not now in 



Thridding the sombre boskage of the wood 



