although I would point out with all diffidence that it is as old as 

 Burns 



Here farmers gash, in ridin graith 

 Gaed hoddin bv their cotters : 



j 



There, swankies^ young, in braw braid claith 

 Are springin o'er the gutters. 



Of cheerful yesterdays and confident to-morrows, it may be said of 

 him, and the consequence is that if you once have a Griffon you 

 will always want to have one. Although among the toys he is not 

 of them, being a thorough sportsman all the way through. He 

 will do everything that is possible in this direction permitted of his 

 size. I am sure that he has often wished that he were bigger, so 

 that he could take his part with the terriers. The spirit to tackle 

 fox or badger is his if the physique has been denie.d him. 



The name tells you whence he comes, and about seventeen 

 years have passed since he was brought over into this country. 

 Before assenting to the generally accepted version of his origin it 

 would be well to enquire more closely into the matter. It is said 

 that he has sprung from the Yorkshire and Irish Terriers mixed 

 with the English Toy Spaniels, and that the years to his credit as a 

 distinct variety are not many. Is this correct? Mr. Howard 

 Spicer, whose interest in the breed has induced him to make 

 researches on the Continent, thinks otherwise. The picture galleries 

 will help us in our quest. In the painting by Jan Van Eyck, dated 



