210 THE BOOK OF THE Doc. 



and was told there that they were Danish. He then went to Denmark, thinking he would see 

 more of the breed. When he got there he was told they were not Danish, but Irish, and 

 were brought over by some one from Ireland I forget whom. The dogs were of a very 

 peculiar colour a kind of brindle blue-and-white, sometimes all brindled, and sometimes a 

 great deal of white with large irregular brindle patches, and were much given to weak eyes. 

 They stood about 2 feet 4 or 6 inches at the shoulder, were smooth-haired, and were a most 

 powerful dog. Hamilton Rowan was very proud of being the only possessor of the breed, and 

 seldom went out without one or more accompanying him. 



In a second letter he goes on to say : " I can speak from personal knowledge, and 

 from having often seen the dogs, that the true breed of Irish Wolfdogs are smooth-haired, 

 not shaggy like the Scotch Deerhound. They were coarse-haired, like the Bloodhound. I am 

 not acquainted with the German Boarhound (i.e., Great Dane) ; very possibly they might 

 have been somewhat similar to the Irish breed. Hamilton Rowan's dogs were very power- 

 ful, and at the same time active dogs, with rather a sharp nose and shrill bark. My father 

 used to say that when he dined at Hamilton Rowan's the dogs used to be in the parlour, 

 and were so tall they could put their heads over the guests' shoulders when sitting at the 

 table, though the dogs were standing on the floor." 



Beyond the shadow of a doubt these dogs were simply Great Danes, as Mr. Rowan 

 had evidently been told in Paris ; the description leaves no doubt on that head. Richardson 

 tells us the fact was that Mr. Rowan owned some of the breed known as Great Danes, and he 

 never by any chance called them by a wrong name. He also owned a true Wolfdog, and 

 knew him to be such, calling him " the last of his race." This dog was a large rough Grey- 

 hound of iron-grey colour. Mr. Rowan subsequently presented this dog to Lord Nugent. In 

 corroboration of this fact the writer was informed by the late Sir John Power, who recollected 

 Mr. Rowan and his dogs, and who would have reached man's estate at the time, and been well 

 able to judge of them, being a thorough lover of the canine race, that Richardson's description 

 of the true Wolfdog belonging to Mr. Rowan was right. Mr. Betham remembers the dogs only 

 as a boy, and the distinction between the Danish dogs and the true old rough dog would 

 hardly have struck him ; hence his misconception on the matter. Mr. Betham's account is only 

 inserted and confuted to remove any impression that certain of Hamilton Rowan's dogs were 

 aught but Great Danes, which has been erroneously otherwise concluded. Mr. Betham confesses, 

 it will be seen, that he is not acquainted with the Great Dane or Boarhound, which are common 

 and plentiful in all Continental countries; he cannot, consequently, be considered a fair judge 

 on the subject. 



Youatt has this regarding the Irish Wolfdog : " This animal is nearly extinct, or only to 

 be met with at the mansions of one or two persons, by whom he is kept more for show than 

 use, the wild animals which he seemed powerful enough to conquer having long disappeared 

 from the kingdom. The beauty of his appearance and antiquity of his race are his only claims, 

 as he disdains the chase of stag, fox, or hare, though he is ever ready to protect the person 

 and property of his master. His size is various, some having attained the height of four feet. 

 He is shaped like the Greyhound, but stouter." 



Literature and the powers of depicting an animal in its correct form were in such a crude 

 and immature stage amongst the nobility and gentry of the land at the periods when we 

 have our first accounts of the Irish Wolfdog, that it is not in the least to be wondered at 

 that the imperfect descriptions given of the breed by such persons as were equal to the task 

 were allowed to go uncontradicted by the only people in whose hands the breed was likely to 



