THE DANDIE DINMONT TERRIER. 105 



prizes have been awarded to dogs which differed from each other on points 

 which admit of no difference whatever in the case of dogs of a pure and 

 special breed ; and I am prepared to say that from time to time standards of 

 excellence for these "hybrid" Dandies have been made so as to suit the 

 particular animal owned by the fanciers ; and this, too, with the idea of 

 carrying out to a greater degree the determination of some that this so-called 

 Dandie shall be regarded as the true breed of Dandie. Further, I would 

 say that certain gentlemen, in order to establish a breed peculiar to their 

 own fanciful imaginations, have invented from time to time pedigrees worked 

 out, as it would appear, from certain celebrated kennels ; indeed, so far has 

 this gone, that many now come to regard these prize hybrids as belonging 

 to the true and original breed of Dandies as mentioned by Sir Walter Scott 

 in his " Guy Mannering." Never was there a greater error, and I take it that 

 the time has come when we should try once more to raise up amongst us the true 

 breed of the Dandie Dinmont, and repudiate as unquestionable mongrels the 

 bandy-legged, out-elbowed dogs which too often, alas ! take off the prizes 

 which should properly go to the genuine breed. Who does not remember the 

 description given by Sir Walter Scott of old Davidson's dogs, which he prided 

 himself so much on, especially the terriers Peppers and Mustards ; and then, 

 further on in the story, how it is stated that " the Deuke himself has sent as far as 

 Charlie's Hope to get ane o' Dandy Dinmont's Pepper and Mustard terriers " ? 

 Now, it would seem to me that those dogs were not what the hybrid Dandies 

 of the present day are ; for, as he says, " I had them a' regularly entered, first 

 wi' rottens (rats), then wi' stots (weasels), and then wi' the tods (foxes) and 

 brocks (badgers) ; and now they fear nothing that ever cam' wi' a hairy skin 

 on't." When in Scotland a few weeks since, I made a point of going to 

 Abbotsford, where, as your readers are aware, is the portrait of a Dandie 

 Dinmont painted by the late Sir Edwin Landseer, which dog, when alive, 

 belonged to the late Sir Walter Scott. I affirm that this dog was never the 

 same dog as the mongrel Dandie prize-dog of to-day. Some of your readers 

 may also be aware that Mr. H. Bradshaw Smith, of Blackwood House, 

 Ecclefechan, " the best authority, perhaps, in the world," had a pure Dandie 

 Dinmont terrier from old Davidson, and, when this dog died, had it stuffed. 

 I have seen this dog, and I say of this, as in the case of Sir Walter's dog 

 painted by Sir E. Landseer, that it is totally different from the sc-called 

 Dandie of to-day. 



It is further stated that this gentleman has in his kennels a great many dogs 

 descended in a direct line from the Charlie's Hope kennels of Peppers and 

 Mustards. These dogs 1 have seen and carefully examined, and my opinion 

 respecting them is similar to that above expressed concerning Landseer's 

 painting of Scott's Dandy and Mr. Bradshaw Smith's " stuffed " one. Further 



