The Clumber Spaniel 219 



give here, though not quite in order, another quotation from Mercer. "Colonel 

 Hamilton in his 'Recollections,' which are of shooting incidents in the early 

 days of the century, writes: 'A spaniel known as the Clumber breed. His 

 Grace always shooting over them in the woods, is much sought after by 

 sportsmen'; then he enumerates their many excellencies." Now we will give 

 the Hamilton facts. It is true he did write of incidents dating before 1800. 

 He was not, however, speaking of the Clumber as an old breed dog, but 

 as one of the breeds of the then present time. He wrote in i860. Mr. 

 Mercer could hardly have seen the original or he would surely have quoted at 

 greater length, for this is what Colonel Hamilton wrote: "This spaniel is red 

 and white, is larger than the usual spaniel, strong made, an intelligent coun- 

 tenance, dark eyes and the ears not very long. These dogs have excellent 

 noses and display great spirit in beating strong covers, and after having 

 been shot over two or three seasons, become very valuable for pheasant 

 and cock shooting. They are naturally ill tempered and rarely form any 

 attachment but to their master, or gamekeeper. I had one of this breed 

 which I gave to a relative. I brought him up from a puppy; he was very 

 much attached to me and was a twelvemonth old when I parted with him. 

 He recollected me for a year afterward, and was still very caressing. But 

 the second year he had forgotten me and growled when I went to pat him. 

 My friend told me he was the best dog among his spaniels. He had the 

 shooting over a thousand acres of woodland, the greater part of which was 

 particularly strong, from blackthorn, high sedges and long grass." 



Colonel Hamilton was such a discursive writer that one does not 

 know whether he has got all the facts regarding anything till he has read 

 the entire book and pieced statements together, as we have done in the case 

 of the Irish setter he mentions. So also in this case we get additions to 

 patch out with. In a chapter on pheasant shooting and suggestions to a 

 young sportsman he recommends his going to " a chain of cover in Oxford- 

 shire known as the Quarters, and covering about one thousand acres." He 

 describes them in almost the same language as used above. "They consist 

 of three large woods . . . with a phalanx of blackthorn, bramble, 

 thick underwood and in some parts long sedgy grass." 



The connecting link is found in reading a further recommendation to 

 the young sportsman: "He should have two or three brace of strong 

 spaniels, like the Clumber breed, and a good retriever." There is then 

 this footnote : " I gave one of these dogs three or four years ago to a young 



