THE BRUSSELS GRIFFON. 



457 



queror." I fail to see, however, that the 

 dog is less worthy of admiration on that 

 account. There comes a time, with canines 

 as well as with humans, when a lengthy 

 pedigree means an effete physique, "and 

 just as many of our belted earls have joined 

 hands with the off-shoots of a young, new, 

 and vigorous nation, so the shivering or 

 stertorous lap-dogs of our great-grand- 

 mothers have given place to the active, 

 spry, and intelligent Brussels Griffon. To 

 my mind, it is futile to inquire too closely 

 into his ancestry ; like Topsy, " he growed," 

 and we must love him for himself alone. 



Even in the last fifteen years we can 

 trace a certain advance in the evolution 

 of the Brussels Griffon. When the breed 

 was first introduced under this name into 

 this country, underjaw was accounted of 

 little or no importance, whereas now a 

 prominent chin is rightly recognised as 

 being one of the most important physical 

 characteristics of the race. Then, again, 

 quite a few years ago a Griffon with a red 

 pin-wire coat was rarely met with, but 

 now this point has been generally rectified, 

 and every show specimen of any account 

 whatever possesses the much-desired 

 covering. 



It must be admitted that, although they 

 "breed true," a litter of Brussels Griffon 

 puppies will usually be found to vary in 

 type and size, or even colouring, very 

 much more than is the case with some other 

 breeds. An interesting point in telegony 

 which I have noted is that if a Griffon 

 shows traces of an alien ancestor in its 

 appearance, its character and disposition 

 vary accordingly, and, as a rule, the more 

 typical the dog, the more nearly does it 

 approach the ideal Griffon in its charac- 

 teristics. This is very comforting to a 

 breeder, for who does not wish to love their 

 most beautiful dogs most ! It is so often 

 the mongrel puppies which have a way of 

 insinuating themselves into one's affections. 



The first authentic importations of Brus- 

 sels Griffons into this country were made 

 by Mrs. Kingscote, Miss Adela Gordon, 

 Mrs. Frank Pearce, and Fletcher, who at 

 that time (circa 1894) kept a dog-shop in 

 Regent Street. The present writer soon 

 followed, and it was at her house that, in 

 1896, the Griffon Bruxellois Club was first 



58 



suggested and then formed. The Brussels 

 Griffon Club of London was a later off- 

 shoot of this club, and, like many children, 

 would appear to be more vigorous than 

 its parent. Griffons soon made their ap- 

 pearance at shows and won many admirers, 

 though it must be admitted that their pro- 

 gress up the ladder of popularity was not 

 as rapid as might have been expected. I 

 attribute this fact almost entirely to two 

 causes : First and foremost, that in the 

 early days of the Griffon in England there 

 was so little uniformity in type and appear- 

 ance, and as often as not the name of 

 Brussels Griffon was given to a mere mon- 

 grel Yorkshire Terrier, so that there was 

 considerable doubt as to the identity of 

 the real article. In the second place, there 

 were at one time unfortunate dissensions 

 in connection with the breed which gave 

 the dog a bad name and nearly hanged 

 him ! The causes for these, however, have 

 now been removed, and as, in addition, 

 uniformity of type has become more prev- 

 alent so much so that the standard and 

 quality of Brussels Griffons is now much 

 higher in England than in their native 

 land increased popularity for the breed 

 is bound to occur. One is justified in 

 making this prognostication by the fact 

 that the breed is especially attractive in the 

 following points : It is hardy, compact, 

 portable, very intelligent, equally smart 

 and alert in appearance, affectionate, very 

 companionable, and, above all, it possesses 

 the special characteristic of wonderful eyes, 

 ever changing in expression, and compared 

 with which the eyes of many other toy 

 breeds appear as a glass bead to a fathom- 

 less lake. 



In September of 1900, at the Alexandra 

 Palace Show, Copthorne Pasha and his 

 son, the unbeaten Ch. Copthorne Top-o'- 

 the-Tree, made their first appearance, and 

 the former dog was destined to effect a 

 great influence on the breed in the way of 

 underjaws and true type, so much so that 

 for a time a large proportion of prize win- 

 ners at the principal shows were sired by 

 him. Other prominent sires at that time 

 were those owning the Rouge affix, belong- 

 ing to Mrs. Moseley, and Miss Gordon's 

 Cock-o'-the-North and Milord. 



All the chief winners have always varied 



