THE ENGLISH }VAI^ER SPANIEL. 459 



water (missing our marcke) whereat we directed our leuell, which otherwise we should hardly 

 recouer, and oftentimes the restore to vs our shaftes which we thought neuer to see, touche 

 or handle againe, after they were lost, for which circumstaunces they are called Inquisitores, 

 searchers, and finders. Although the ducke otherwhiles notably deceaueth both the dogge 

 and the master, by dyuing vnder the water, and also by naturall subtilty, for if any man 

 shall approche to the place where they builde, breede, and syt, the hennes go out of 

 their neastes, offering themselues voluntarily to the hands, as it were, of such as draw nie 

 their neastes. And a certaine weaknesse of their winges pretended, and infirmitie of their 

 feete dissembled, they go so slowly and so leasurely, that to a mans thinking it were no 

 masteryes to take them. By which deceiptfull tricke they doe as it were entyse and 

 allure men to follow them, till they be drawne a long distaunce from theyr neastes, which 

 being compassed by their prouident conning, or conning providence they cut of all incon- 

 ueniences which might growe of their returne, by using many carefull and curious caucates, 

 least theyr often haunting bewray y c place where the young ducklings be hatched. Great 

 therefore is theyr desire, & earnest is theyr study to take heede, not only to theyr 

 broode but also to themselues. For when they haue an ynkling that they are espied they 

 hide themselves vnder turfes or sedges, wherewith they couer and shrowde themselues so 

 closely and so craftely, that (notwithstanding the place where they lurkc be found and 

 perfectly perceaued) there they will harbour without harme, except the water spaniell by 

 quicke smelling discouer theyr deceiptes." 



The Doctor's allusion to the " long, rough and curled heare not obtayned by extra- 

 ordinary trades," is proof positive that, even in the halcyon days of the sixteenth century, dogs 

 were subjected to manipulation in order that their appearance might be improved ; and that 

 the custom of shaving off superfluous hair is not by any means the modern institution which 

 some suppose it to be. The remarks which accompany the description given of the dog are 

 useful in showing that even in those early days the qualities of the Water Spaniel were highly 

 estimated by sportsmen, and that the dog was used to retrieve wounded birds in the times 

 of the Good Queen Bess. 



It may possibly appear to some of our readers that the above quotation from the writings 

 of Dr. Caius might have appeared more appropriately in immediate juxtaposition with the ex- 

 tracts we have selected from other writers who succeeded him. It, however, appeared to us 

 that as the description given by Dr. Caius was the earliest which was published, it would 

 be preferable to let it appear in the Water-Spaniel chapter, as our readers would then have 

 a better opportunity for comparing his views with those of modern dog authorities. It cannot 

 be maintained that the above description at all represents the accompanying illustration of the 

 Water Spaniel, according to the views of the author of the " Sportsman's Cabinet ; " but it 

 must be remembered that modern opinions coincide much more nearly with the opinions of 

 Dr. Caius than of the later writer, and we have before hinted that in our opinion the frequent 

 crossing of the Water-dog and Spaniel is beyond all question. 



In fact, the origin of the later English Water Spaniel may, we think, be very readily traced 

 to the Water-dog and Spaniel, and the words of Youatt, which were quoted in the chapter 

 on Water Spaniels, were no doubt meant to refer to this dog by the writer when he produced 

 his work. As this theory seems to be generally accepted, it may be almost worth while 

 suggesting that steps might be taken to resuscitate the breed, and, if a few fair specimens of 

 the old type could be secured, we have no doubt that it could be done, and that it would 



