46 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



amongst the number. Mr. H. D. Kingdon, of Wilhayne, Colyton, Devon, lays claim to the 

 possession of the pure Lyme Hall blood : but the inferiority of such of his strain as have corne 

 beneath our notice is so conspicuous when compared with the specimens of the gentlemen 

 alluded to above, who undoubtedly do possess it, that we are impressed with the belief that if 

 Mr. Kingdon's dogs are really more than " reputed " Lyme Hall Mastiffs, they signally fail to 

 represent the type in a manner worthy of so valuable a strain. 



About the year 1872 several gentlemen interested in the breeding and exhibiting of this 

 class of dog banded together with the object of founding the present Mastiff Club. The 

 principal aim of this Society was the improvement of the breed up to a standard of excellence 

 agreed upon by the members, and show committees were to be invited to co-operate with the 

 Club in their endeavours to benefit the Mastiff according to their ability. Unfortunately, 

 considerable dissatisfaction was caused by some most arbitrary rules, one of which was to the 

 effect that the members pledged themselves to exhibit at no dog show where others than 

 members of the Mastiff Club officiated as judges of this variety. The result of this suicidal 

 policy was an utter lack of support from breeders, and the exhibition held under their auspices 

 in connection with the Northampton show of 1876 was only productive of fo.ur entries ; an 

 almost similar fiasco occurring at Bristol in the autumn of 1877. Great exception has also been 

 taken to the appearance of several dogs which have been exhibited by certain of the members ; 

 and though we are not able to state positively what is the exact standard aimed at by the Club, 

 we are, from the specimens shown by them, in a position to form an opinion concerning their 

 type, which is not at all in harmony with that held by the members of the Mastiff Club. 



Before leaving the subject of famous Mastiff exhibitors, it might be as well to add the names 

 of some of those best known dogs from whom our future champions are destined to spring, and 

 who themselves have been the heroes of many a hard-fought fight. Amongst them may be 

 named Governor, Tiger, King, Lion, Turk, Nell, Quaker, Beauty, Rajah, Kay's Empress, Queen, 

 Monarch, Punch, Granby, Bowness, Argus, Lottie, Nero, Countess, The Shah, Colonel, Wolsey, 

 Cardinal, Mr. Banbury's Princess, Mab, and many others. 



POINTS OF THE MASTIFF. 



The following detailed description and valuation of the several principal points or characteristics 

 of this breed will be found in accordance with the opinions of the majority, if not all, of the 

 most prominent breeders, exhibitors, and owners of Mastiffs. 



General Appearance, Size, and Symmetry, In this we have to consider the special duties of the 

 Mastiff in the present day. He is no longer a savage kept to bait " the bull, the bear, and the 

 lion/' as history (somewhat doubtful in its accuracy as to the last-named animal) informs us he 

 was ; nor the mere drudge of the butcher, to keep his wild and doomed cattle in the shambles, and 

 fight for him when required ; nor even the mere chained slave the ban-dog of the country 

 house whose bay, however welcome to those who approached near home, must have had an 

 awful sameness in it to the poor brute who, night after night, month by month, and year after 

 year, listened to the echoes of his own dismal howl as he bayed the moon, or hoarsely barked 

 warning and defiance to all who approached with predatory aim. , 



Now, although there are still enough and to spare of the ban-dog sort, who are by their 

 owners called Mastiffs, and may no doubt lay claim to possession of a fair portion of Mastiff 

 blood, they are impure, and suffer so from the cruelty of close confinement that they lose even the 

 characteristics of the breed, which a kinder and more judicious treatment would develop, both in 



