Mr. Montagu Williams' Dog. 77 



clear, the thief was convicted of stealing the dog, which 

 at the same time wore a collar, and in the end was found 

 guilty of stealing the collar also. The sentence was 

 eighteen months' imprisonment for the one offence, and 

 twelve months for the other, the two sentences to run con- 

 secutively a terribly severe punishment, which made the 

 dog thief wince, and with an oath declare he had " paid 

 dearly for those pieces." 



These stories, at any rate, point a moral or two. If my 

 reader be a dog thief, which may heaven forbid! let him 

 refrain from filching the dog of a popular barrister practising 

 in the criminal courts ; and if he own a valuable and 

 sagacious dog, which I hope will be his lot, he will find 

 its merits better appreciated as a companion in a large 

 town than as a faithful servant in a remote country district. 

 I doubt whether Montagu Williams' dog was a handsomer 

 animal than that of Messrs. Ridley ; it had not proved 

 so sagacious, still its owner was willing to pay 20 for its 

 return, where a County Court judge refused to give more 

 than 10 damages in the other instance. Whether the 

 dog that got the thief two years and six months' hard 

 labour, which might be likened to a penalty of several 

 hundred pounds, was the better or more valuable of the 

 two, is extremely unlikely. 



In addition to the extra good smooth-coated sheep dogs 

 already named are Mr. Swinhoe's Semiramis and Somnus ; 

 Mr. Megson's Pickmere and Heatherfield Pearl ; and Mr. 

 Mercer's Maida and Drumlin Merl. 



The mirled or marbled-colour, with " china " or " wall 

 eyes," as already hinted, is frequently found in the smooth 

 variety, many of the best specimens being of that unusual 

 shade, sometimes intermixed with brown, giving an almost 



