THE SKYE TERRIER. 99 
consider that I was quite justified in so doing; but I am not so 
sure about the colour (white), which I have never since that time 
met with in a purely-bred animal, and which I had previously 
tabooed in the first edition of this book, then just published. At 
the same time, I defined the coat as “long and straight, hard, and 
not silky, parted down the back, and nearly reaching the ground 
on each side, without the slightest curl or resemblance to wool.” 
When, therefore, my definition of the proper colour was quoted, I 
was able to retort on the coat, and putting one against the other, 
T held my own pretty well. “Quilick,” the original of my former 
illustration, was the son of imported parents, and when in full coat 
(which he was not at the time Mr. Wells drew his portrait) was a 
yery handsome dog. I remember well his owner attempting to 
persuade Mr. Wells to draw on his imagination in this respect, 
but, like Mr. Baker, he would only copy what was before him, and 
the truthfulness of his work is quite as much to be relied on as 
that of the latter gentleman. Anyhow, the discussion waxed warm 
after the Birmingham Show, but it was mild in comparison with 
the subsequent terrific fights in relation to the same breed, as well 
as the Dandie, the fox-terrier, and the Bedlington. 
For some years after Skyes were introduced in any number, the 
exhibits were confided to the drop-eared variety, which alone was 
prized in the South. At length, owing mainly to the exertions of 
Mr. H. Martin of Glasgow, a separate class was allotted to the two 
divisions, which cannot well be judged one against the other in 
the same class, and I shall, therefore, follow the precedent thus 
established. 
During the year 1875, Mr. Gordon Murray attempted to force 
his own notions of the Skye on the doggy world, but without much 
success, in spite of the circumstantial way in which he supported 
his ideas. The portrait published by him as the real Simon Pure 
was so unfortunately ugly, that it certainly required a strong 
backer to induce the British public to take him up, and Mr. 
Gordon Murray’s backbone was not stiff enough, if we may judge 
from the results. Anyhow, I shall ignore his definitions alto- 
gether, and describe the two breeds without any bias towards his 
“ Mogstads,” “ Drynocks,” or “ Camusennaries,” by which purely 
local names he distinguished his breeds. 
