A Class of Champions. 33 



reminded me so much of him as the dog Rattler, who 

 did so much winning. Jock, who is said to have run 

 two seasons with the Grove Hounds, had his tail cut, but 

 the portion left on was longer than is usually seen at the 

 present day, and I fancy Jock, docked as short as Mr. Luke 

 Turner's Spice, would have presented but a sorry spectacle. 



Allusion has been made to the extraordinary class of dogs 

 which appeared at the Crystal Palace show in 1870, where 

 Old Jock, then eleven years old, came second to the black 

 and tan headed Trimmer. This was the dog " champion " 

 class of those days, the qualification being the win of a 

 first prize. The competitors were Old Jock, Old Trap, 

 Trimmer, and Rival, all shown by Mr. Murchison ; Mr. 

 W. J. Harrison's Jocko; Mr. F. Sale's Tyrant, Hornet, 

 and Tartar ; the Marquis of Huntley's Bounce, Messrs. 

 Bewley and Carson's Quiz, and Mr. W. Gamon's Chance. 

 Nor was the corresponding class of bitches much inferior, 

 for it included the Durham bitch, Mr. Sarsfield's Fussy, 

 who won ; Grove Nettle, Bellona, and Themis, Mr. 

 Murchison's; Mr. Pilgrim's Gem, the Marquis of Huntley's 

 Mischief, Mr. J. Statter's Kate, Mr. F. Sale's Nectar, 

 Mr. Gamon's Lively, and Mr. J. B. Nichols' Frisk. Grove 

 Nettle was given reserve here, second honours falling to 

 Themis, a comparatively poor specimen as compared w T ith 

 others in the group. 



Poor old Jock! he died full of honours in 1871 whilst in 

 the possession of Mr. J. H. Murchison, who had bought 

 him from Mr. W. Cropper. S. W. Smith was at the time 

 of the purchase in charge of Mr. Murchison's kennels, in 

 Northamptonshire, and I will let him tell in his own words 

 how he brought Jock to his new home. " Old Jock, like 

 the others that had come from Mr. Cropper's, was not to be 



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