236 Modern Dogs. 



not at all uncommon in England, and they could easily 

 have been brought over from France. In any case, 

 if the gallant Colonel was not actually the maker of 

 the modern English pointer, he had the credit of 

 being so, and, sportsman as he was, contrived 

 to get big prices for some of his dogs, and 

 obtain a reputation for them as being the best in 

 England. 



It was said that two bred by him, Pluto and Juno, 

 remained on point during the whole of the time 

 Sidney Gilpin, the animal painter, was taking a 

 sketch for their portraits, and this occupied about 

 an hour and a quarter. This was not, however, a 

 sufficiently extraordinary feat for his dogs, one of 

 which, the gallant Colonel stated, had stood on point 

 for five hours at a stretch, and was even then loth to 

 move in and spring the game ! Such a story as the 

 latter does not require much further exaggeration to 

 suggest others, like that dog frozen to death whilst 

 on point ; or its cousin, where a sportsman lost his 

 dog (it was not on an Irish mountain), and on 

 going over the same ground twelve months later 

 found the skeleton of his old favourite still standing 

 with one foot raised and on point, whilst six 

 yards away lay the bones of two brace and a half 

 of partridges, the feathers of the birds having 

 long before been blown to the four winds of the 



