27! 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



in the Spaniel world, both with shooting 

 men and exhibitors, and the breed, in my 

 opinion, well deserves from both points 

 of view the position which it occupies in 

 the public esteem. No other variety with 

 which I am acquainted is better equipped 

 mentally and physically for the work it is 

 called upon to do in aid of the gun ; and 

 few, certainly none of the Spaniels, surpass 

 or even equal it in appearance. 



As a sporting dog, the Clumber is pos- 

 sessed of the very best of noses, a natural 

 inclination both to hunt his game and re- 

 trieve it when killed, great keenness and 

 perseverance, wonderful endurance and ac- 

 tivity considering his massive build, and as 

 a rule is very easy to train, being highly in- 

 telligent and most docile and " biddable." 

 Of course, some Clumbers among the 

 many that exist are fools, just as there are 

 imbeciles and weaklings among all races, 

 human as well as canine ; but they are the 

 exceptions, and, as a rule, the man wiio 

 owns a good dog of this breed, whether he 

 uses it as a retriever for driven birds, 

 works it in a team, or uses it as his 

 sole companion when he goes gunning, 

 possesses a treasure. The great success 

 of these Spaniels in the Field Trials 

 promoted by both the societies which foster 

 those most useful institutions is enough to 

 prove this, and more convincing still is tlie 

 tenacity with which the fortunate pos- 

 sessors of old strains, mostly residents in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of the original 

 home of the breed, have held on to them 

 and continued to breed and use them year 

 after year for many generations. 



As a show dog, his massive frame, power- 

 ful limbs, pure white coat, with its pale 

 lemon markings and frecklings, and, above 

 all, his solemn and majestic aspect, mark 

 him out as a true aristocrat, with all the 

 beauty of refinement which comes from a 

 long line of cultured ancestors. 



I have already alluded to the theory that 

 these dogs owe their origin to Baron Cuvier's 

 Alpine Spaniel, and have therefore some 

 affinity with the modern St. Bernard, an 

 idea that is to a great extent borne out 

 by a certain amount of resemblance (though 



with several points of difference) between 

 these breeds in the shape of the head and 

 ears, and the general colouring. This, how- 

 ever, is pure speculation, and quite impos- 

 sible of being proved, since all research so 

 far has failed to carry their history back 

 any farther than the last quarter of the 

 eighteenth century. About that time the 

 Due de Noailles presented some Spaniels, 

 probably his whole kennel, which he brought 

 from France, to the second Duke of New- 

 castle, from whose place. Clumber Park, 

 the breed has taken its name. Beyond 

 this it seems impossible to go, and although 

 Mr. Phillips and I, when we were writing 

 " The Sporting Spaniel," were able to avail 

 ourselves of the help of several French 

 Spaniel experts, no trace of their origin 

 could be discovered in that country, where, 

 indeed, the Clumber seems to be generally 

 looked upon as a purely English breed. 



There is a most interesting picture by 

 Francis Wheatley, R.A., in the hall at 

 Clumber Park representing the second Duke 

 seated on a shooting pony. Colonel Litch- 

 field, and Mansell, the head keeper, with 

 three Spaniels, believed to be three of the 

 original draft. This picture was painted 

 in 1788, and is thus nearly half a century 

 older than the picture by C. Hancock, 

 painted in 1834, of Lord Middleton and his 

 Clumbers, which is now in the possession of 

 Lord Wenlock at Escrick Park ; but it is 

 interesting to note how little tlie type of 

 the present-day Clumber has varied from 

 that depicted by both these famous artists. 

 The same can hardly be said of any other 

 breed of dog which has passed through 

 the crucible heated by the fiery furnace of 

 the " fancier's " imagination, and probably 

 few have been less altered and spoilt by 

 show bench fads and exaggerations. 



From Clumber Park specimens found 

 their way to most of the other great houses 

 in the neighbourhood, notably to Althorp 

 Park, VVelbeck Abbey, Birdsall House, 

 Thoresby Hall, and Osberton Hall. It is 

 from the kennels at the last-named place, 

 owned by Mr. Foljambe, that most of the 

 progenitors of the Clumbers which have 

 earned notoriety on the show bench de- 



