BREEDS , 235 



find, at the branch establishment below the crest, 

 a stalwart male and female sunning themselves on 

 the steps. Perhaps the monks at the St. Bernard 

 had said nothing of them, because their coats were 

 smoother than they ought to have been, and not 

 altogether correct in colour. Be that as it may, 

 the breed seems to have got up again there, and I 

 believe the race was replenished from England. For 

 Englishmen took to importing them, and notably 

 Albert Smith, the comic entertainer, who was filling 

 the Egyptian Hall with the story of his ascent of 

 Mont Blanc. His pluck was better than his wind, 

 but his guides managed to haul him up somehow, 

 and he made the most of the mountain marvels he 

 saw, including those St. Bernard members of the 

 Humane Society. Now there is no fear of the dog 

 dying out, for it pays to breed him, and he draws 

 at shows like hunters or shire horses. As the deer- 

 hound or wolfhound adorned the baronial hall, the 

 St. Bernard is a noble appendage to any mansion. 

 Not unlike the Newfoundland in shape, look, and 

 coat, he is even more massive and imposing. He 

 may stand over three feet at the shoulder, and the 

 girth of the foreleg, above the elbow, will be more 

 than a foot. Think what strength that implies in 

 an admirably proportioned body ! 



No dog is more sociable or companionable 

 than the collie. Some thirty years ago he became 

 fashionable in the south : breeders who make 

 money by him have studied his points, and he has 

 multiplied in a beauty approaching perfection. It 



