SPANIELS.] 



THE DOG, AND ITS VAEIETIES; 



[BLENHEIM SPANIELS. 



tliey make excellent watch-doga inside a 

 house." 



THE KING CHARLES SPANIEL. 



This breed is distinguished by the shortness 

 of the muzzle — the round and bullet-like shape 

 of the head — the prominence of his eye — the 

 length of his ears — and his colour, which must 

 be black and tan. The Suffolk Sportsman 

 says — "the cocking or gun-spaniel of true 

 perfect breed is of one general or whole colour ; 

 either black, or black and tan, commonly called 

 King Charles's breed, or red in different 

 shades, paler and deeper;" and concluding 

 with "legs short and breeches behind." This 

 diminutive animal was the favourite of King 

 Charles II., who had some of this kind con- 

 stantly with him in his walks, and who was 

 more partial to his dogs than to his duties as 

 the sovereign of a great people. The breed is 

 preserved in the family of the Duke of Norfolk, 

 at Arundel Castle, where they are fondled and 

 petted, we believe, in such a manner, as to lift 

 them to the dignified position of being re- 

 garded as members of the family. James II., 

 of unfortunate memory, was, also, extremely 

 partial to these dogs, hence they have received 

 the title of " the royal race," and are now 

 generally regarded as such. 



In Loudon, where these dogs are bred with 

 great care, and to the highest degree of per- 

 fection, the Blenheim is frequently crossed 

 with the Charles, so that the variety of colour 

 on which the difference of nomenclature 

 depends often appears in the same litter ; the 

 black and tan being denominated " King 

 Charles," and the red and white " Blenheim." 



Several "spaniel clubs" have been formed, 

 with a view to promote the careful breeding of 

 these dogs ; and of some of these His late 

 Eoyal Highness the Prince Consort was patron, 

 both her majesty and the prince beiug enthu- 

 siastic admirers of them. His Eoyal Highness 

 had, at no sparing outlay, erected a superb 

 kennel for them at Windsor. 



The members of the spaniel clubs subscribe 

 a small sum each, and, with the amount con- 

 tributed, a handsome collar of silver,^ with gold 

 entablature, is purchased ; a particular day is 

 then named, and judges are appointed, when 

 each member brings to the club-room a dog of 

 bis own rearing, and that dog adjudged to 

 460 



possess the greatest number of good points 

 attains the collar as a prize. 



King Charles and Blenheim spaniels have 

 been known, in London, to fetch the price of 

 from 150 to 200 guineas! 



The affection of these dogs for their owners 

 is extreme ; and their general intelligence is 

 such, that they would seem almost to partici- 

 pate in the pleasures of a quiet drawing-room 

 conversation, when carried on by those who 

 are attached to them. They are capable of 

 serving in the field, but their continual yafiing 

 is very apt to mar the sport. They, however, 

 like other dogs of the species, could undergo 

 the process of training, and be made of con- 

 siderable use in some kinds of hunting. In 

 England, however, they live for other pur- 

 poses — for admiration and a couch in the lap 

 of a lady, where we will leave them to make 

 the following extract from Mr. Blaine : — 



" The old Marquis of Granby was the owner 

 of a very celebrated breed (of Spaniels) ; and, 

 in later times, the Duke of Marlborough, and 

 his descendants, have been famed for what was 

 known as the Blenheim breed ; and the late 

 Lady Charles Spencer, with whom we were on 

 terms of intimacy, kept numbers of them, and 

 was so devoted to their welfare, that, we 

 believe, she never wore a pin in any part of 

 her dress, fearing that it might be accidentally 

 the means of wounding one of these favourites. 

 They were, one and all, red and white, zealous 

 hunters in the field, but required much trouble 

 to break. A still more notorious variety, waa 

 the black and tan spaniel of King Charles, 

 which continued to be cultivated with such 

 jealous care, by the late Duke of Norfolk, that 

 no interest could obtain one without a strict 

 injunction from the owner, and almost a 

 solemn promise from the receiver, that he or 

 she would not breed from it in the direct line. 

 The late Duchess of York, who honoured us 

 with much condescending notice, by sending 

 for us frequently to Oatlands, either to consult 

 us on the ailments of the poor around her, or 

 on her brute favourites, of which, it is well 

 known, she had a varied assemblage, aflbrded 

 us a striking proof of what we have stated. 

 On one occasion, when we were accompanying 

 her royal highness to her menagerie, with 

 almost a kennel of canine favourites behind 

 her, after drawing our attention to a jet black 



