240 DOGS 



of the watery Hebrides and the sound of the melan- 

 choly ocean. I like the Dandie Dinmont, though 

 his somewhat misshapen head seems out of pro- 

 portion to the body, but the brain is full of wisdom, 

 and the strong jaws can close like a fox-trap. Bred 

 on the Borders, he was the very dog to bury him- 

 self in the fox-earths, to run the hill-fox home 

 to his lair in the rocks, and to worry the litters of 

 cubs which would have grown into formidable 

 enemies to the lambs. As for the Irish terrier, he 

 is comparatively a new discovery, as we know him 

 in England. Rough as a badger, hard as nails, 

 good alike on the dry land and in the morass, he 

 has all the fire of the Celt, with his powers of 

 endurance. As befits a bog-trotting or bog-jumping 

 dog, he is longer in the legs and shorter in the 

 body than his Scottish cousin. The Yorkshire 

 terriers — the Airedales and Bedlingtons — are not 

 unlike the Irish in appearance and qualities, and 

 much the same weight, though more civilised 

 looking. But with any one of the terrier breeds 

 you can hardly go wrong ; they are all game and 

 inquisitive, kindly and companionable. 



Spaniels, like terriers, are of various sorts. Not to 

 speak of the tiny King Charles, a pampered darling 

 only good for a lapdog, and the brisk little cocker, 

 of long and illustrious descent, they range up to the 

 heavy Clumber. Like terriers, they make capital 

 companions, though as they are silky in their coats, 

 they are more ladylike in their ways. But they are 



