THE ST. BEENAED DOG. 187 



Legs and Feet (value 10). Of course, in so large a dog the legs must be 

 straight and strong ; while the feet also must be large, in order to a^oid 

 sinking thimigh the snow. The last point is greatly insisted on by the monks, 

 who prefer even what would be considered here a splay foot to a small and 

 compact one. 



Dewdaws (value 5). There is no doubt that the double dewclaw on the hind 

 legs has in some way been introduced into the strain of dogs used at the two Alpine 

 monasteries, but how it is now impossible to say. Both Tell and Monarque 

 exhibited this peculiarity, as well as most of the dogs admitted to be imported 

 from the Hospice. Gessler, however, who showed every other point of the breed in 

 a very marked degree, had no dew-claw at all on his hind legs, and his son Alp, 

 though out of Hedwig, sister to Tell, was equally deficient. It is very doubtful 

 whether this peculiarity is sufficiently permanent in any strain to be an evidence of 

 purity or impurity, and consequently its value is only placed at 5, making the 

 negative deduction 10 when wholly absent. 



The Temperament (value 5) of the St. Bernard is very similar to that of the 

 mastiff that is to say, if suitably managed, the dog is capable of great control 

 over his actions, whether in the absence or presence of his owner. When kept on 

 the chain he is, like other dogs, apt to become savage, and there is almost always 

 an instinctive dislike to tramps and vagabonds. He is a capital watch and guard, 

 and attaches himself strongly to his master or mistress. 



The Colour (value 5) of this dog varies greatly. The most common is red and 

 white, the white being preferred when distributed after the pattern described above. 

 Fawn and white and brindled and white come next, marked in the same way, the 

 brindle being a very rich one, with an orange-tawny shade in it, as shown in Tell, 

 and in a lesser degree by his nephew, Alp. Sometimes the dog is wholly white, or 

 very nearly so, as in the case of Hospice and Sir C. H. Isham's Leo. 



The Coat (value 5) in the rough variety is wavy over the body, bushy in the 

 tail, and feathering the legs, being generally silky, but sparsely so, on the ears. 

 In the smooth variety the depth and thickness of the coat are the points to be 

 regarded. 



Mr. Macdona's rough dog Tell (dead) was by Hero (descended from the 

 celebrated Hospice dog Barry) out of Diane. He was a winner of twenty-five 

 first prizes at various shows between the years 1865 and 1870 inclusive. He was 

 own brother to Hedwig, dam of Alp. 



Mr. Macdona's smooth dog Monarque, afterwards Mr. Murchison's (also dead), 

 was bred by Mr. Schumacher, of Berne, by his Souldan out of Diane. First shown 

 in 1869, he went on winning numberless prizes up to 1873, being about equally 

 successful with Tell in this respect. 



