THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
instance, had but very little tan, and what there was was more of a sorrel 
hue, yet he had a grand frame, and was an undeniable good field dog. 
In many other instances, including dogs owned by the writer, he has 
noticed this circumstance. Another case of this was in the dogs of “ Sixty- 
one,” an old Wiltshire clergyman, an acquaintance of the writer in the 
sixties, who wrote most interesting articles in the “Field” over that 
nom deplume^ and for twenty -eight years rented from Sir James Mathieson 
practically the whole of the Isle of Lewis. He had a favourite breed of 
Gordons, which were totally unlike any other. He said that the grouse 
in those days on the island were not over thick, and the ordinary heavy 
Gordon would be too slow, and easily knocked up. His dogs were smaller 
and lighter made by far. They had no pretensions to compete with other 
Gordons of the day in beauty, for their coats, instead of showing the satin 
sheen so much admired, were harsh and wiry, and scanty in feather, 
but their great peculiarity was the almost total absence of tan. They were 
not black, because they had some tan, but it was very scanty, and more 
of a pale greyish or sorrel colour. However, they were very sporting 
looking, and admirably suited for the hard work and bad weather they 
had to stand in that island during winter, for their owner frequently 
stayed there from July to November, or even later, on the wild storm- 
swept island. Here, again, is an instance of excelling goodness in working 
qualities combined with an absence of rich tan markings. The writer 
can remember when the Gordons were blamed for their heaviness, and 
the Rev. W. Sergeantson, who used to judge setters at the shows a good 
deal in those days, was their chief critic. The Gordon must be lightened. 
That was the talk, and the writer has always been sorry for it, for the dog 
produced in response to that call has been, to his mind, unsatisfactory. 
The type has been lost, and a new type inferior to the old produced. 
Granted that the old type was heavy, what of that? They were fine 
dogs in their way; why should all breeds of setters be the same in 
type ? Are all horses the same ? Each type has its own place and 
usefulness, and such dogs as the old Gordon, if it could be found at the 
present day, would be invaluable for crossing, to correct some of the 
weedy, snipy-nosed, prick-eared animals often to be seen. But they are 
gone — and in their place is a dog more like an Irish setter. Put a red coat 
instead of a black and tan one on any of the modern Gordons and you 
would have an Irish setter of a sort, and the likeness is still more striking 
when they are seen at work. No one who has seen the peculiar action 
242 
