698 The Dog Book 



"With the advent of the smutty coloured Russians breeders mingled 

 their blood with that of the Hollanders, with the result that faces — ^through 

 Rawlin's Crusoe, a good headed Dutchman — and Mr. Bishop's Pompey — 

 bred half Dutch and half Russian — showed a slight improvement, while 

 colour and shadings were a distinct advancement. 



"Still, the winning specimens, typical as they were, lacked that 

 grandeur in head which the ideal called for. Nor was it until my mother 

 became the owner of Click that really grand heads and beautiful expressions 

 were seen on the bench. Click has long been a household name in pugdom, 

 as for more than twenty-five years the crack winners have traced back to 

 him. In fact, all the grand skulls, big, appealing eyes, square muzzles and 

 short faces are due to Click. Chiefly through his daughter Cloudy — ^which 

 was also owned by my mother — and in a minor degree through his union 

 with Gipsey, a long faced, undershot creature, belonging to Mrs. Lee, of 

 Toy Spaniel fame, has his name become so closely associated with cham- 

 pions. 



"Gipsey had three litters, containing specimens worthy of the highest 

 praise. Unfortunately, however, Mrs. Lee, besides dogs, had in her cramped 

 quarters a pet monkey, which in, spite of his owner's vigilance, succeeded 

 in either killing the offspring or mutilating them. One of these was Odin, 

 whose name is to be found in many pedigrees. In his case, the monkey 

 had bitten oflF his tail to such effect that hardly any vestige of it was left. 



"As to Click himself, he was an apricot fawn, with an ideal head and 

 expression and most beautiful eyes. He was on the leg, rather narrow be- 

 hind, and as rough in coat as Mrs. Gould's Black Knight. In fact, alter 

 the latter's colour and one would have a very good sample of Click. 



"Click's parents — Lamb and Moss — ^were Chinese beyond dispute. 

 They were captured in the Emperor of China's palace during the siege of 

 Pekin in 1867 or 1868, and were brought to England by the then Marquis 

 of Wellesley, I think. Anyhow, they were given to a Mrs. St. John, who 

 brought them several times to our house. Alike as two peas, they were 

 solid apricot fawn, without a suspicion of white; had lovely heads and ex- 

 pressions; but, unlike their son, they were close to the ground, and a shade 

 long in body. The pair were so much alike that my mother was firmly of 

 the opinion they were brother and sister. 



" I have purposely referred to the colour of Lamb and Moss, because 

 when Click became a success as a sire the story was circulated that his oar- 



