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CHAPTER XLIII. 
THE SKYE TERRIER. 
BY CAPTAIN W. WILMER AND R. LEIGHTON. 
“From the dim shieling on the misty island, 
Mountains divide us and a world of seas ; 
Yet still our hearts are true, our hearts ave Highland, 
And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.” 
HAT the Skye Terrier should be called 
“the Heavenly Breed” is a tribute 
to the favour in which he is held by 
his admirers. Certainly when he is seen in 
perfection he is an exceedingly beautiful 
dog. As certainly 
believe that the Skye Terrier, with its well- 
groomed coat that falls in smooth cascades 
down its sides, and its veil of thick hair that 
obscures the tender softness of its dark and 
thoughtful eyes, is meant only to look 
beautiful upon the 
bench or to recline 
there is no breed 
more affectionate, 
more faithful, or 
more lovable. 
Among his charac- 
teristics are a long- 
enduring patience, 
a prompt obedi- 
ence, and a deep- 
hearted tenderness, 
combined with 
fearless courage. 
He is more sensi- 
tive to rebuke and 
punishment than 
most dogs, and will nurse resentment to 
those who are unjust to him ; not viciously, 
but with an almost human plaintiveness 
which demands an immediate reconciliation. 
He is staunch and firm as his native hills 
to those who are kind to him, and for 
entering into battle with an enemy there 
is no dog more recklessly daring and reso- 
lute. No one who has seen two Skye 
Terriers at grips will deny that they are 
‘terrible fechters.”” To separate them 
requires the exercise of concentrated 
strength and ingenuity. They have jaws 
like steel traps, which when once closed 
upon a victim are not loosened until they 
have done their work. 
Visitors to dog shows are disposed to 
mR. A M. SHAW'S FLORA (1877). 
From A DRAWING ON Wood BY C. BURTON BARBER, 
in comfortable in- 
dolence on silken 
cushions. This is 
a mistake. See a 
team of Skyes 
racing up a hill- 
side after a fugi- 
tive rabbit, tire- 
lessly burrowing 
after a rat, or dis- 
playing their terrier 
strategy around a 
fox’s earth or an 
otter’s holt, and 
you will admit that they are meant for 
sport, and are demons at it. Even 
their peculiarity of build is a proof that 
they are born to follow vermin under 
ground. They are long of body, with 
short, strong legs, adapted for burrowing. 
With the Dachshund they approximate 
more closely than any other breeds to the 
shape of the stoat, the weasel, and the otter, 
and so many animals which Nature has 
made long and low in order that they may 
inhabit earths and insinuate themselves 
into narrow passages in the moorland 
cairns. 
There is a tradition frequently referred 
to by writers on the Skye Terrier that the 
breed was originally the offspring of some 
