"Carlyle" and "Marcus." 51 



sort, and one that did not remain long upon the show 

 bench. 



Prior to the era of the two last-named dogs, other nota- 

 bilities were to the fore, one named Carlyle, a big sable, 

 first shown by Mr. Skidmore, of Nantwich; later by 

 Dr. James and Mr. Ashwen, creating quite a sensation by 

 reason of the great length of his head and face. His ears 

 were bad, so was his type, and the unusual length of his 

 head was owing to the fact of his being very much " pig- 

 jawed, i.e., the upper jaw and teeth projected in front 

 of the lower, a deformity in my eyes, but one which did 

 not appear to keep him out of the prize lists. So he was 

 bred from, and may be responsible in some degree for the 

 narrow heads that are so far from uncommon in this year 

 of grace 1890. A better dog than this was old Hero. I 

 think the same that was shown by Mr. E. Oldroyd, so early 

 as 1873, and the almost black Marcus, which Mr. W. W. 

 Thomson had imported from Scotland (Carlyle' s home), 

 was far above the average a collie, in fact, if a little short 

 in the neck and rather loaded at his shoulders. 



This was a stamp of dog of a kind often admired on the 

 benches at the Edinburgh and Glasgow shows, and time 

 after time such were found winning chief prizes. Person- 

 ally, I regret the almost total extinction of these black and 

 black and white specimens, many of them having white 

 collars or frills, white breasts, and white at the tips of their 

 tails. Such were usually useful-looking dogs for work, not 

 too low on their legs, nor with a superabundance of coat. 

 Their feet were thick and tight, their activity could not 

 be surpassed, and in correct expression and character they 

 were not excelled by the best of the more modern strains. 

 Some specimens of the latter might beat these black and 



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