THE SETTER 
of Irish setters can ever mistake them for any other, no matter what 
colour the dog wears, and as soon as one of these modern Gordons 
begins to gallop, you say “There goes an Irishman in a black and tan 
coat.” All those of the Chapman kennel, and Stylish Ranger, Mr Sharpe’s, 
which is related to the Chapman dogs, bear a strong Irish look. I am 
not making little of the modern so-called Gordon, he has his strong 
points; all I say is, he is not a pure Gordon, but an Irish cross. The best 
of the modern Gordons in type were the dogs of Colonel le Gendre Starkie. 
These are of the true old Gordon type, but somewhat lighter, and lightened 
without exhibiting, as most of those other modern Gordons, the Irish 
head and the Irish tucked up back ribs, and want of depth of flank, and 
the Irish pointed muzzle. These dogs of Colonel Starkie’s, which he never 
exhibited, but kept for private sport, were as nearly as possible devoid 
of tan. The very best specimen of the modern Gordon the writer has 
seen is, without exception. Sir George Bullough’s Redruth Colonel and 
his Rhum Captain. These are a type to themselves. Gordon setters, judging 
by what we see at shows, will very shortly be extinct, for, unless it may 
be that the owners prefer not to show, classes of them, once well filled, 
are now all but empty, and, with the exception of Stylish Ranger, they 
are equally shy of field competitions. In America the same circumstances 
prevail, though in France a few sportsmen still favour them, where 
formerly they held the fort strongly. This is a pity, for the Gordon, 
judiciously bred, is a charming dog, and, for those who are not anxious 
to handle a whirlwind when shooting, their docility, good nose, and good 
temper make them pleasant and valuable shooting companions. 
The Irish setter is a very old breed, unquestionably. It was mentioned 
as far back as 1803, in an old work entitled “The Veteran Sportsman”; 
and no doubt, since the author then wrote of it as well known, even in 
his day, its origin is remote. It does not follow, however, that the dogs 
of the far-off day were quite the same as those we now know, for pedigrees 
do not appear to have been very carefully kept until about sixty years 
ago. Sportsmen in the long ago were somewhat more careless, and in 
the words of an old author, “ Gentlemen, indifferently curious, left such 
matters to their servants. The bitch, durante furorey was taken out for an 
airing. ‘ Plush ’ falls into beer at some hedge alehouse, the wanton slips 
out, and .... with a porterly mastiff — hence,” etc., etc. 
Coming, therefore, to more recent times, we find among Irish owners 
of the breed a pride in their setters, and care taken of the purity of blood. 
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