Jumat, 27 Februari 2009
Group of Mr. Walton's Performing Dogs -- 1878
(click picture to enlarge)
Whippet mention by Walsh, 1882 (1878)
The dogs of the British Islands, being a series of articles on the points of their various breeds, and the treatment of the diseases to which they are subject (1882)
Author: Walsh, J. H. (John Henry), 1810-1888 Publisher: London : "The Field" Office
[appears it may have previously been published is 1878 from other references]
The Italian greyhound, as now bred to a weight of 5lb. or 6lb., is wholly useless in any kind of chase ; but he was formerly sometimes slipped at rabbits, and I have seen a brace, belonging to a lady who was a well-known follower of the chase in Worcestershire thirty years ago, course and kill rabbits in very good style. But, though imported from Italy, they were about 10lb. or 12lb. in weight, and in these days would be classed as " whippets." This last named breed is extensively used at Manchester and in the Midland districts for rabbit coursing, and is a cross between the Italian and the English greyhound, or between the latter and the smooth English terrier. All these greyhound breeds are usually considered to be void of intelligence and fidelity ; but this is a mistake, and certainly the trick performed by
THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND. 249
Mr. Walton's whippet, as shown in the engraving of the poodle published with the article on that dog in the Appendix, marks a high order of mental power, and a like degree of obedience, founded on love for his trainer, since no severity would lead to its execution. These whippets are so quick and clever as to cope with the short turns of the rabbit ; but they are not fast enough for the hare, and the sport for which they are bred is confined to the artisan and mining classes of the districts in which it is the fashion.
Author: Walsh, J. H. (John Henry), 1810-1888 Publisher: London : "The Field" Office
[appears it may have previously been published is 1878 from other references]
The Italian greyhound, as now bred to a weight of 5lb. or 6lb., is wholly useless in any kind of chase ; but he was formerly sometimes slipped at rabbits, and I have seen a brace, belonging to a lady who was a well-known follower of the chase in Worcestershire thirty years ago, course and kill rabbits in very good style. But, though imported from Italy, they were about 10lb. or 12lb. in weight, and in these days would be classed as " whippets." This last named breed is extensively used at Manchester and in the Midland districts for rabbit coursing, and is a cross between the Italian and the English greyhound, or between the latter and the smooth English terrier. All these greyhound breeds are usually considered to be void of intelligence and fidelity ; but this is a mistake, and certainly the trick performed by
THE ITALIAN GREYHOUND. 249
Mr. Walton's whippet, as shown in the engraving of the poodle published with the article on that dog in the Appendix, marks a high order of mental power, and a like degree of obedience, founded on love for his trainer, since no severity would lead to its execution. These whippets are so quick and clever as to cope with the short turns of the rabbit ; but they are not fast enough for the hare, and the sport for which they are bred is confined to the artisan and mining classes of the districts in which it is the fashion.
The White English Terrier -- in British Dogs, Dalziel 1881
p. 375
THE white English terrier, like many other breeds, has undergone considerable modification since public dog shows came into being. How the modern dog of that name was manufactured I do not pretend to say with certainty. Mr. James Eoocroft, Mr. Peter Swindells, and a few other Lancashire fanciers could throw light on the subject, but I shall not be very far out if I say a small dash of a light coloured and rather weedy fox terrier, a strong dash of bull terrier, and a double dash of whippet are about the proportions, and the correct ingredients used.
THE white English terrier, like many other breeds, has undergone considerable modification since public dog shows came into being. How the modern dog of that name was manufactured I do not pretend to say with certainty. Mr. James Eoocroft, Mr. Peter Swindells, and a few other Lancashire fanciers could throw light on the subject, but I shall not be very far out if I say a small dash of a light coloured and rather weedy fox terrier, a strong dash of bull terrier, and a double dash of whippet are about the proportions, and the correct ingredients used.
The Whippet Club -- England
The Whippet Club became a registered club with the Kennel Club on October 5th, 1899.
Beginning of dogshows and the Kennel Club
The Kennel Club A History and Record of Its Work By Edward William Jaquet, 1905
p. 1
INTRODUCTORY.--The need apparent for some paramount authority to control canine affairs.--First Dog Show held at Newcastle, 1859.--Dog Shows preceded Field Trials.--Early Field Trials Procedure.--The Kennel Club the outcome of the Early Crystal Palace Shows.--The Late Mr. Shirley and others arrange for a Dog Show at the Crystal Palace, 1870.--Early Crystal Palace Shows.--Committee Meetings held at the British Hotel.--Kennel Club Founded 1873.--The Club's First Show, June, 1873.--The Stud Book Compiled.--First General Meeting of Members of the Club, 1874.--The aims and objects of the Club defined.
p.3
The need for an authority to legislate in canine matters had become apparent owing to the increasing importance and popularity of Dog Shows and Field Trials. The first volume of the Kennel Club Stud Book, a work to which I shall have to refer at greater length presently, contains information concerning important Shows held between the years 1859 and 1873. The first Dog Show ever held took place in the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne, on the 28th and 29th June, 1859, and was organised by Messrs. Shorthose and Pape, at the suggestion of Mr. R. Brailsford. The exhibits were confined to Pointers and Setters, of which there were sixty entries, and three judges were appointed for each breed. As these gentlemen were the forerunners of a long line of successors, their names may be recorded. The classes for Pointers were judged by Messrs. J. Jobling. T. Robson and J. H. Walsh, and those for Setters by Messrs. F. Foulger, R. Brailsford and J. H. Walsh.
Dog Shows preceded Field Trials by six years. The first trial of dogs in the Field ever held took place on Tuesday, the 18th April, 1865, at Southill, Bedfordshire, over the estate of Mr. Samuel Whitbread, M.P. The judges were the Rev. T. Pearce, of Morden Vicarage, near Blandford, and Mr. Walker, of Halifax, Mr. Bailey— steward to Mr. Samuel Whitbread—-being the Steward of the Beat.
p. 4
On the 2nd February, 1869, the National Dog Club was started, a society whos.- first and only show was held in June of the same year ; the Show was not by any means a financial success, and the National Dog Club practically collapsed soon after that event. In these circumstances owing to the risk involved it was no easy matter to form a Committee who would undertake to run another exhibition in or near London. However, after some negotiations arrangements were made to hold a show at the Crystal Palace in June, 1870, the details of the Show were jointly arranged by Mr. Shirley and the la1r- Mr. J. H. Murchison. Besides these gentlemen the Committee consisted of the late Earl of Caledon, the Viscount Holmesdale. Mr. T. C. Mewick, M.P. (afterwards Sir Thomas Mewick), Rev. F. \V. Adye, Mr. J. H. Dawes, Mr. George Earl, Mr. Richard Garth, Q.C., Mr. S. Lang, Mr. J. Cumming Macdona (now M.P. for the Rother- hithe division of Southwark), Mr. R. J. L. Price, Mr. G. R. Rogerson and Mr. Whitehouse, with Mr. G. Nutt as Secretary and Manager The show was, as an exhibition, a good one, but financially was a failure, and the Committee had to bear a heavy loss. The following year several of the Members of the Committee of the previous Show declined to act again. However, a second exhibition was held, and on this occasion the loss sustained was much less than that of the previous year.
p. 5
The Kennel Club's first show took place at the Crystal Palace. Sydenham, on the 17th. 1Sth, 19th. and 2oth June, 1873. The number of entries was 975. The following gentlemen formed the Committee:—Mr. Shirley (Chairman), The Marquess of Huntly, Mr. G. Brewis, Mr.- J. W. Dawes, Mr. F. R. Hemming, Mr. S. Lang. Mr. Macdona, Mr. Murchison, and Mr. Whitehouse. The Manager was Mr. J. Douglas, and the Secretary of the show Mr. W. Roue.
The'>http://books.google.com/books?id=fJ1copqUhbIC&lpg=PA312&ots=jop8Lqnx-u&dq=k.c.s.b.%20%22kennel%20club%22&pg=PA1&ci=60,696,812,332&source=bookclip
p. 1
INTRODUCTORY.--The need apparent for some paramount authority to control canine affairs.--First Dog Show held at Newcastle, 1859.--Dog Shows preceded Field Trials.--Early Field Trials Procedure.--The Kennel Club the outcome of the Early Crystal Palace Shows.--The Late Mr. Shirley and others arrange for a Dog Show at the Crystal Palace, 1870.--Early Crystal Palace Shows.--Committee Meetings held at the British Hotel.--Kennel Club Founded 1873.--The Club's First Show, June, 1873.--The Stud Book Compiled.--First General Meeting of Members of the Club, 1874.--The aims and objects of the Club defined.
p.3
The need for an authority to legislate in canine matters had become apparent owing to the increasing importance and popularity of Dog Shows and Field Trials. The first volume of the Kennel Club Stud Book, a work to which I shall have to refer at greater length presently, contains information concerning important Shows held between the years 1859 and 1873. The first Dog Show ever held took place in the Town Hall, Newcastle-on-Tyne, on the 28th and 29th June, 1859, and was organised by Messrs. Shorthose and Pape, at the suggestion of Mr. R. Brailsford. The exhibits were confined to Pointers and Setters, of which there were sixty entries, and three judges were appointed for each breed. As these gentlemen were the forerunners of a long line of successors, their names may be recorded. The classes for Pointers were judged by Messrs. J. Jobling. T. Robson and J. H. Walsh, and those for Setters by Messrs. F. Foulger, R. Brailsford and J. H. Walsh.
Dog Shows preceded Field Trials by six years. The first trial of dogs in the Field ever held took place on Tuesday, the 18th April, 1865, at Southill, Bedfordshire, over the estate of Mr. Samuel Whitbread, M.P. The judges were the Rev. T. Pearce, of Morden Vicarage, near Blandford, and Mr. Walker, of Halifax, Mr. Bailey— steward to Mr. Samuel Whitbread—-being the Steward of the Beat.
p. 4
On the 2nd February, 1869, the National Dog Club was started, a society whos.- first and only show was held in June of the same year ; the Show was not by any means a financial success, and the National Dog Club practically collapsed soon after that event. In these circumstances owing to the risk involved it was no easy matter to form a Committee who would undertake to run another exhibition in or near London. However, after some negotiations arrangements were made to hold a show at the Crystal Palace in June, 1870, the details of the Show were jointly arranged by Mr. Shirley and the la1r- Mr. J. H. Murchison. Besides these gentlemen the Committee consisted of the late Earl of Caledon, the Viscount Holmesdale. Mr. T. C. Mewick, M.P. (afterwards Sir Thomas Mewick), Rev. F. \V. Adye, Mr. J. H. Dawes, Mr. George Earl, Mr. Richard Garth, Q.C., Mr. S. Lang, Mr. J. Cumming Macdona (now M.P. for the Rother- hithe division of Southwark), Mr. R. J. L. Price, Mr. G. R. Rogerson and Mr. Whitehouse, with Mr. G. Nutt as Secretary and Manager The show was, as an exhibition, a good one, but financially was a failure, and the Committee had to bear a heavy loss. The following year several of the Members of the Committee of the previous Show declined to act again. However, a second exhibition was held, and on this occasion the loss sustained was much less than that of the previous year.
p. 5
The Kennel Club's first show took place at the Crystal Palace. Sydenham, on the 17th. 1Sth, 19th. and 2oth June, 1873. The number of entries was 975. The following gentlemen formed the Committee:—Mr. Shirley (Chairman), The Marquess of Huntly, Mr. G. Brewis, Mr.- J. W. Dawes, Mr. F. R. Hemming, Mr. S. Lang. Mr. Macdona, Mr. Murchison, and Mr. Whitehouse. The Manager was Mr. J. Douglas, and the Secretary of the show Mr. W. Roue.
The'>http://books.google.com/books?id=fJ1copqUhbIC&lpg=PA312&ots=jop8Lqnx-u&dq=k.c.s.b.%20%22kennel%20club%22&pg=PA1&ci=60,696,812,332&source=bookclip
Dalziel on studying the history of dogs--1881
This is from page 4 of British Dogs, 1881:
No book on dogs would be complete without some notice of the history and development of the various breeds, as far as it can be traced by direct testimony or fair inference, but we have not attempted that well-trodden ground which has hitherto proved so barren, and discussed the vexed question of the origin of the dog, which remains to the present time hopelessly obscure, and surrounded with the entanglements of contradictory opinions waiting to be unravelled by a Darwin or a Wallace.
In reference, however, to the origin of the very great number of varieties which exist, and are ever increasing, we may in many instances hazard a speculation which may be accepted or rejected at the reader's option.
We cannot accept the theory propounded by a recent writer that each country or district had a peculiar type of wild dog created for it from which the various breeds of domesticated dogs have sprung. Varieties can, we think, be accounted for more reasonably and more in accord with the result of modern research.
No book on dogs would be complete without some notice of the history and development of the various breeds, as far as it can be traced by direct testimony or fair inference, but we have not attempted that well-trodden ground which has hitherto proved so barren, and discussed the vexed question of the origin of the dog, which remains to the present time hopelessly obscure, and surrounded with the entanglements of contradictory opinions waiting to be unravelled by a Darwin or a Wallace.
In reference, however, to the origin of the very great number of varieties which exist, and are ever increasing, we may in many instances hazard a speculation which may be accepted or rejected at the reader's option.
We cannot accept the theory propounded by a recent writer that each country or district had a peculiar type of wild dog created for it from which the various breeds of domesticated dogs have sprung. Varieties can, we think, be accounted for more reasonably and more in accord with the result of modern research.
British Dogs--Dalziel 1881
BRITISH DOGS:
THEIR VARIETIES, HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, BREEDING, MANAGEMENT, AND EXHIBITION.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS OF DOGS OF THE DAY.
BY HUGH DALZIEL (" CORSINCON")
Author of "The Diseases of Dogs" " The Diseases of Horses,” &c.
ASSISTED BY EMINENT FANCIERS.
LONDON :
"THE BAZAAR" OFFICE, 170, STRAND, W.C.
p. ii
LONDON :
PRINTED BY ALFRED BPADLEY, 170, STRAND, W.C.
(~1881)
p. v.
Dogs Used in Field Sports.
GROUP I. --DOGS THAT HUNT THEIR GAME BY SIGHT AND KILL.
Including--The Greyhound, the Scotch Deerhound, the Irish Wolfhound, the Scotch Rough-haired Greyhound, the Lurcher, the Whippet, the Siberian Wolfhound, the Persian Greyhound 13-49
p. 9
The classification we shall adopt is as follows:
DIVISION I. DOGS USED IN FIELD SPORTS.
Group I. --Those that pursue and kill their game, depending entirely or mainly on sight and speed, and little or not at all on their scenting powers, with varieties bred directly from them : Greyhounds, deerhounds, whippets, lurchers, &c.
p. 13
THEIR VARIETIES, HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, BREEDING, MANAGEMENT, AND EXHIBITION.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS OF DOGS OF THE DAY.
BY HUGH DALZIEL (" CORSINCON")
Author of "The Diseases of Dogs" " The Diseases of Horses,” &c.
ASSISTED BY EMINENT FANCIERS.
LONDON :
"THE BAZAAR" OFFICE, 170, STRAND, W.C.
p. ii
LONDON :
PRINTED BY ALFRED BPADLEY, 170, STRAND, W.C.
(~1881)
p. v.
Dogs Used in Field Sports.
GROUP I. --DOGS THAT HUNT THEIR GAME BY SIGHT AND KILL.
Including--The Greyhound, the Scotch Deerhound, the Irish Wolfhound, the Scotch Rough-haired Greyhound, the Lurcher, the Whippet, the Siberian Wolfhound, the Persian Greyhound 13-49
p. 9
The classification we shall adopt is as follows:
DIVISION I. DOGS USED IN FIELD SPORTS.
Group I. --Those that pursue and kill their game, depending entirely or mainly on sight and speed, and little or not at all on their scenting powers, with varieties bred directly from them : Greyhounds, deerhounds, whippets, lurchers, &c.
p. 13
The whole of this group is included in Cuvier's first division, "characterised by head more or less elongated, parietal bones insensibly approaching each other, and the condyles of the lower jaw placed in a horizontal line with the upper molar teeth." The general form is light and elegant, chest deep, with flank more or less tucked up, long and strong back, and great length from hip bone to hock joint; the whole appearance giving the impression of great swiftness, which is a distinguishing property of the whole group, although not possessed in an equal degree by each variety. All more or less show the characteristics of the Canes celeres of the ancients, and although not in every case running their game strictly by sight, that is also a leading characteristic of all.
p. 45
CHAPTER VI.--THE WHIPPET.
BY CORSINCON.
THE whippet, or snap dog, as he is also called, is a great favourite with workmen in Durham and other northern counties, and the Darlington Show never fails to bring together a large collection of them.
It is not, however, for the show bench, but the race ground that he is bred, where they are matched against each other for speed and for their superiority in rabbit coursing. I cannot describe them better than by saying they are a greyhound on a small scale with a dash of terrier.
An account of the dog racing for which these whippets or snap dogs are used, and which is so popular with the working classes in many parts of the north, will be interesting.
The dogs are handicapped according to their known performances, &c.,and the distance run is two hundred yards. They are entered as "Thomson's Eose, 19 1/2lb.," as the case may be, and the weight appears on the handicap card. Dogs are weighed in an hour before the time set for the first heat, and are allowed four ounces over the declared weight. The winner of the heat is weighed again immediately the heat is run. For the second heat eight ounces are allowed. For the final race additional extra weight is allowed, that being run on the following Saturday. The dog generally gets a light meal half a pigeon, or a chop, or piece of steak after running his second trial heat on the second Saturday ; so he weighs a bit heavier the second time of scaling. The modus operandi will be best illustrated by the following description of a race meeting recently held at Farnworth Recreation Grounds, near Bolton. There were sixty odd heats of three dogs. The course is a perfectly level path of twelve yards in width. The dogs are stripped and put on their marks, each being held by his owner, or a man for him, and the starter goes behind them with the pistol. Meanwhile a man the dog knows starts off in front of him, carrying a big piece of linen rag, or some conspicuous object, sometimes a big tuft of grass or a pigeon's wing ; and every now and then, as he runs up the course, he will turn round and "Hi" to the dog, at the same time waving the cloth up and down. When these runners up have got pretty
p.46
near the finish, the pistol is fired and the dogs are released. The runners up must then get over the ten-yard mark, beyond the finish line, and the dogs, running right on, snatch the cloth with their teeth and hang to it like grim death. Each dog has a piece of ribbon round his neck, according to his station red, white, or blue ; and the judge or referee, as he is called, holds up a flag of the winning colour to show which has won. The cloth is called "bait," and "live bait" is forbidden.
The following is a copy of rules in force at a number of racing grounds in the Manchester district, which will make the working of this popular pastime clear :
1. All dogs that have never run at these grounds must be entered in their real owner's name and residence, also the town or place in which
p. 45
CHAPTER VI.--THE WHIPPET.
BY CORSINCON.
THE whippet, or snap dog, as he is also called, is a great favourite with workmen in Durham and other northern counties, and the Darlington Show never fails to bring together a large collection of them.
It is not, however, for the show bench, but the race ground that he is bred, where they are matched against each other for speed and for their superiority in rabbit coursing. I cannot describe them better than by saying they are a greyhound on a small scale with a dash of terrier.
An account of the dog racing for which these whippets or snap dogs are used, and which is so popular with the working classes in many parts of the north, will be interesting.
The dogs are handicapped according to their known performances, &c.,and the distance run is two hundred yards. They are entered as "Thomson's Eose, 19 1/2lb.," as the case may be, and the weight appears on the handicap card. Dogs are weighed in an hour before the time set for the first heat, and are allowed four ounces over the declared weight. The winner of the heat is weighed again immediately the heat is run. For the second heat eight ounces are allowed. For the final race additional extra weight is allowed, that being run on the following Saturday. The dog generally gets a light meal half a pigeon, or a chop, or piece of steak after running his second trial heat on the second Saturday ; so he weighs a bit heavier the second time of scaling. The modus operandi will be best illustrated by the following description of a race meeting recently held at Farnworth Recreation Grounds, near Bolton. There were sixty odd heats of three dogs. The course is a perfectly level path of twelve yards in width. The dogs are stripped and put on their marks, each being held by his owner, or a man for him, and the starter goes behind them with the pistol. Meanwhile a man the dog knows starts off in front of him, carrying a big piece of linen rag, or some conspicuous object, sometimes a big tuft of grass or a pigeon's wing ; and every now and then, as he runs up the course, he will turn round and "Hi" to the dog, at the same time waving the cloth up and down. When these runners up have got pretty
p.46
near the finish, the pistol is fired and the dogs are released. The runners up must then get over the ten-yard mark, beyond the finish line, and the dogs, running right on, snatch the cloth with their teeth and hang to it like grim death. Each dog has a piece of ribbon round his neck, according to his station red, white, or blue ; and the judge or referee, as he is called, holds up a flag of the winning colour to show which has won. The cloth is called "bait," and "live bait" is forbidden.
The following is a copy of rules in force at a number of racing grounds in the Manchester district, which will make the working of this popular pastime clear :
1. All dogs that have never run at these grounds must be entered in their real owner's name and residence, also the town or place in which
they are kept, or they will lose all claim in any handicap, and will be subject to inspection at the scales ; and no person will be allowed to run with live bait.
2. Any person objecting to a dog on the mark, that heat shall be postponed. The objector and owner shall stake in the hands of the handicapper or referee (pound) 1 each at the time of objection, which must be made into (pound) 5 each before the last heat is run. If it cannot be proved on the day of objection, the dog will run under protest. The person who owns the dog shall leave it with the proprietor or handicapper until the objection is proved right or wrong—if it is proved wrong the money to be paid to the objector ; but if not proved the money to be paid to the owner of the said dog.
3. In any case of running-up for a wrong dog, both the owner, the
2. Any person objecting to a dog on the mark, that heat shall be postponed. The objector and owner shall stake in the hands of the handicapper or referee (pound) 1 each at the time of objection, which must be made into (pound) 5 each before the last heat is run. If it cannot be proved on the day of objection, the dog will run under protest. The person who owns the dog shall leave it with the proprietor or handicapper until the objection is proved right or wrong—if it is proved wrong the money to be paid to the objector ; but if not proved the money to be paid to the owner of the said dog.
3. In any case of running-up for a wrong dog, both the owner, the
p. 47
"runner," and the dog will be disqualified. They will be expelled from the grounds for twelve months, and will not be allowed to enter any handicap during that time. Their names will also be published in the sporting papers.
4. Any owner of dogs attempting to weigh, or sending any other person to weigh a wrong dog, both owner and dog shall be excluded from the grounds for twelve months.
5. If a dog be disqualified after running, the second dog in the heat shall be placed first, and if it is not possible to tell the second dog, all the dogs in the heat shall run again, except the one disqualified. All bets void on the heat.
6. Should the dogs go when the cap is fired, and not the shot, they shall run again in all cases ; and any dog slipped before the cap or shot is fired, shall forfeit all claim to the handicap, except all the dogs go, then it shall be a race.
7. Only one runner-up allowed with each dog. Any one not at the mark when the previous heat is over will be disqualified in any part of the race. The runners to be ten or fifteen yards over the mark, according to the rules of the ground, when the dogs finish, or the dogs they represent will be disqualified. In all heats dogs must start at their respective marks.
8. All bets stand whether the dogs run or not, excepting bets on heats, when backers must have a race for their money.
9. That entries for dog handicaps shall close on Saturdays (Monday morning's post in time) ; and no entries will be taken after Monday morning on any account. This rule applies only to handicaps run on two succeeding Saturdays ; when run on other days it will be subject to alteration as announced in bills.
10. If the proprietors and handicappers at any of these grounds make a mistake in a dog's start, and, not detecting it, allow any dog to run the first day, it shall not be disqualified through the handicapper having made a mistake in the start, and all bets must stand.
11. Any dog entered " old " and not over five years old will be disqualified in any part of the race, and lose all claim to bets or stakes. No age will be taken after eight months old.
12. FINAL HEAT.—All dogs in the final heat shall be subject to weighing and inspection. In weighing, they will be allowed 6oz. in
"runner," and the dog will be disqualified. They will be expelled from the grounds for twelve months, and will not be allowed to enter any handicap during that time. Their names will also be published in the sporting papers.
4. Any owner of dogs attempting to weigh, or sending any other person to weigh a wrong dog, both owner and dog shall be excluded from the grounds for twelve months.
5. If a dog be disqualified after running, the second dog in the heat shall be placed first, and if it is not possible to tell the second dog, all the dogs in the heat shall run again, except the one disqualified. All bets void on the heat.
6. Should the dogs go when the cap is fired, and not the shot, they shall run again in all cases ; and any dog slipped before the cap or shot is fired, shall forfeit all claim to the handicap, except all the dogs go, then it shall be a race.
7. Only one runner-up allowed with each dog. Any one not at the mark when the previous heat is over will be disqualified in any part of the race. The runners to be ten or fifteen yards over the mark, according to the rules of the ground, when the dogs finish, or the dogs they represent will be disqualified. In all heats dogs must start at their respective marks.
8. All bets stand whether the dogs run or not, excepting bets on heats, when backers must have a race for their money.
9. That entries for dog handicaps shall close on Saturdays (Monday morning's post in time) ; and no entries will be taken after Monday morning on any account. This rule applies only to handicaps run on two succeeding Saturdays ; when run on other days it will be subject to alteration as announced in bills.
10. If the proprietors and handicappers at any of these grounds make a mistake in a dog's start, and, not detecting it, allow any dog to run the first day, it shall not be disqualified through the handicapper having made a mistake in the start, and all bets must stand.
11. Any dog entered " old " and not over five years old will be disqualified in any part of the race, and lose all claim to bets or stakes. No age will be taken after eight months old.
12. FINAL HEAT.—All dogs in the final heat shall be subject to weighing and inspection. In weighing, they will be allowed 6oz. in
p. 48
addition to the usual allowance ; and anyone taking his dog off the course before the referee declares "All right," shall forfeit all claim to stakes and bets.
All disputes to be settled by the referee.
addition to the usual allowance ; and anyone taking his dog off the course before the referee declares "All right," shall forfeit all claim to stakes and bets.
All disputes to be settled by the referee.
Senin, 23 Februari 2009
Another Manchester Reference
C.S.R. Blue Book of Dogdom, F. J. Skinner, compiler, 1911
Third Annual Volume of the Breeders' and Exhibitors' of Dogs Guide Book and Directory 1911
(Published by the Bulletin Company :: New York City)
There are two sizes of the Black and Tan—the Toy and the large Black and Tan. The latter weighs from ten to twenty pounds, and the other as small as It Is possible to breed them. He Is pre-eminently the rat dog of the Terriers, and his origin Is supposed to be a combination of the Whippet, Bull Terrier and White English Terrier. In England he was used in the Manchester district quite freely for rat-killing, as that was a favorite pastime for years among the residents of that section.
Third Annual Volume of the Breeders' and Exhibitors' of Dogs Guide Book and Directory 1911
(Published by the Bulletin Company :: New York City)
There are two sizes of the Black and Tan—the Toy and the large Black and Tan. The latter weighs from ten to twenty pounds, and the other as small as It Is possible to breed them. He Is pre-eminently the rat dog of the Terriers, and his origin Is supposed to be a combination of the Whippet, Bull Terrier and White English Terrier. In England he was used in the Manchester district quite freely for rat-killing, as that was a favorite pastime for years among the residents of that section.
Timeline 1711-1730 & Paintings of American Women
.
1711 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Subject: Henriette Charlotte de Chastaigner, Mrs Nathaniel Broughton. Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Gibbes for an accurate image.)
1715 Artist: Henrietta Johnson 1674-1729. Subject: Mary Magdalen Gendron, Mrs Samuel Prioleu 1691-1765 Museum of Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Image from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact MESDA for an accurate image.)
1715
Yamasee tribes attack and kill several hundred male & female Carolina settlers.
Rhode Island legalizes slavery.
Maryland declares all slaves entering the province and their descendants to be slaves for life.
1716
South Carolina settlers and their Cherokee allies attack and defeat the Yamassee.
The first group of black slaves is brought to the Louisiana territory.
1717-18 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Mary Griffith (Mrs Robert Brewton, Mrs William Loughton) 1698-1761. South Carolina Governor's Mansion. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce.)
1717
Scots-Irish immigration begins, with most settling to western Pennsylvania.
New York enacts a fugitive slave law.
1718
French found New Orleans.
Blackbeard, the pirate, is killed, putting an end to pirate raids along the southern colonial coast.
North Carolina’s first free school, endowed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, opens at Bath.
1719 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Subject: Judith DuBose (Mrs Joseph Wragg) 1698-1769. Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Gibbes for an accurate image.)
1719-41
The American Weekly Mercury is the first newspaper launched in Philadelphia by Andrew Bradford (1686-1742). It would publish six of Franklin's "Busy-Body Papers" in 1729 and continue publication until 1746.
The Boston Gazette is the second newspaper in Boston is launched by William Brooker (fl. 1715-1720) and printed by Benjamin Franklin's older half-brother, James Franklin (1697-1735). The paper would become the official organ of the government and continue until 1741.
1720 Attributed to Gerrit or Gerardus Duyckinck Subject: Portrait of a Lady Original Oil on wood Dimensions 41 1/4 x 32 3/4 in. (104.8 x 83.2 cm) Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1972 (1972.263.1) Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reproduction by oceansbridge.com. (Contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an accurate image.)
1720 Artist: Gerardus Duyckinck 1695-1746. Subject: Mrs Johannes van Braght b 1673. Her husband was an alderman for the City of New York. New York Historical Society. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the New York Historical Society for an accurate image.)
1720
Estimated population of colonies: 475,000. Including Boston (pop. 12,000), Philadelphia (pop. 10,000), and New York (pop. 7000).
A smallpox epidemic in Boston prompts Cotton Mather and Zabdiel Boylston to experiment with inoculation against the disease. Mather had learned of the practice from Onesimus, his slave, who had himself been inoculated as a child and knew inoculation to be a widely accepted medical practice in Africa.
1720-25 Attributed to Schuyler Limner (active ca. 1715–1725) Portrait of a Lady (possibly Tryntje Otten Veeder) Original Oil on canvas Dimensions 28 x 24 1/2 in. (71.1 x 62.2 cm) Gift of Mrs. Eddie Thornton Baylis, 1976 (1977.135) Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reproduction by passionforpaintings.com. (Contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an accurate image.)
Benjamin Franklin leaves Boston for Philadelphia, a trip that he chronicles in his Autobiography.
South Carolina planters settle along the Lower Cape Fear River and begin developing the rice and naval stores industries. They bring large numbers of enslaved people and establish a large, plantation-style slave system.
Virginia abolishes manumissions.
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1720-28 Artist: Gerardus Duyckinck 1695-1746 Subject: Grace Mears, Mrs Moses Levy Museum of the City of New York. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Museum of the City of New York for an accurate image.)
1724
The French build forts on the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the Niagara rivers.
French Louisiana prohibits slaves from marrying without the permission of their owners.
The population of male & female black slaves in the American colonies reaches 75,000.
Riots occur in Philadelphia as poor people tear down the pillories and stocks and burn them.
1725 Artist: Charles Bridges 1670-1747. Subject: Evelyn(1708-1737) daughter of William Byrd II and Lucy Parke. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for an accurate image.)
1725
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay; August 26
1726
Zabdiel Boylston: An Historical Account of the Smallpox Inoculated in New England. Boylston details his experiments with smallpox inoculation in Boston, in which only 6 of his 244 patients die of the disease. This figure compared with the 844 out of 5,757 Bostonians who died of smallpox naturally during the same epidemic. One of the first of its kind written by an American physician.
1727 Artist: John Smibert 1688 - 1751. Subject: Eleanor Nightengale Original oil on canvas Dimensions: 49 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (125.73 x 100.33 cm.) ID Number: 1993.76 Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr. ((Reproduction by 1st-art-gallery.com. Contact the Dallas Museum of Art for an accurate image.)
1727
George II becomes king of England
Benjamin Franklin founds the Junto Club.
Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776): History of the Five Nations. Colden's greatest achievement is this tribal history of the Iroquois Indians based on firsthand observation.
1728
Elizabeth Hanson (1684-1737) writes God's Mercy Surmounting Man's Cruelty, a polished literary account of Hanson's 1724 capture by the French and Indians. (See Hanson's account on this blog.)
Jewish colonists in New York City build the first American synagogue.
1729 Artist: John Smibert 1688-1751. Subject: Mrs. Tyng. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Reproduction at popartmachine.com. Contact the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusettes for an accurate image.)
1729
Benjamin Franklin prints, publishes and largely writes the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette.
See Burt, Daniel S., editor. THE CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: AMERICA'S LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE COLONIAL ERA TO MODERN TIMES. Houghton Mifflin Internet.
Yale Law School, The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. New Haven, CT.
HISTORY MATTERS. American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning (Graduate Center, CUNY) and the Center for History and New Media (George Mason University). Internet. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
.
1711 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Subject: Henriette Charlotte de Chastaigner, Mrs Nathaniel Broughton. Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Gibbes for an accurate image.)1711
Pennsylvania prohibits the importation of male & female blacks and Indians.
Rhode Island prohibits the clandestine importation of male & female black and Indian slaves. (See this blog for more information of enslaved women in the 18th century.)
1711-13
Tuscarora Indian War in North and South Carolina. Hostilities break out between Native Americans and settlers in North Carolina after the massacre of male & female settlers there.
1712
The Carolina colony is officially divided into North Carolina and South Carolina.
Charles II's Grant of New England to the Duke of York, 1676 - Exemplified by Queen Anne; October 30
The Pennsylvania assembly bans the import of male & female slaves into that colony.
In Massachusetts, the first sperm whale is captured at sea by an American from Nantucket.
Grace Smith writes The Dying Mothers Legacy: Or the Good and Heavenly Counsel of that Eminent and Pious Matron, Mrs. Grace Smith, late Widow to Mr. Ralph Smith of Eastham in New-England. Left as a Perpetual Monitor to Her Surviving Children; As It Was Taken from Her Own Mouth a Little Before Her Death, by the Minister From that Town Where She Died. Boston, Printed and sold by Timothy Green, at the lower-end of Middle-Street, 1712
An alleged slave revolt in New York City leads to violent outbreaks. Nine whites are killed and eighteen slaves are executed.
New York declares it illegal for male & female blacks, Indians, and slaves to murder other blacks, Indians, and slaves. And New York forbids freed blacks, Indians, and mulatto slaves from owning real estate and holding property.
In Charleston, South Carolina male & female slaves are forbidden from hiring themselves out.
1713
England's South Sea Company is allowed to transport 4,800 male & female slaves per year into the Spanish colonies of North America.
Queen Anne's War ends with the Treaty of Utrecht.
1714
George I becomes king of England (r. 1714–27).
Tea is introduced for the first time into the American Colonies.
Pennsylvania prohibits the importation of male & female blacks and Indians.
Rhode Island prohibits the clandestine importation of male & female black and Indian slaves. (See this blog for more information of enslaved women in the 18th century.)
1711-13
Tuscarora Indian War in North and South Carolina. Hostilities break out between Native Americans and settlers in North Carolina after the massacre of male & female settlers there.
1712
The Carolina colony is officially divided into North Carolina and South Carolina.
Charles II's Grant of New England to the Duke of York, 1676 - Exemplified by Queen Anne; October 30
The Pennsylvania assembly bans the import of male & female slaves into that colony.
In Massachusetts, the first sperm whale is captured at sea by an American from Nantucket.
Grace Smith writes The Dying Mothers Legacy: Or the Good and Heavenly Counsel of that Eminent and Pious Matron, Mrs. Grace Smith, late Widow to Mr. Ralph Smith of Eastham in New-England. Left as a Perpetual Monitor to Her Surviving Children; As It Was Taken from Her Own Mouth a Little Before Her Death, by the Minister From that Town Where She Died. Boston, Printed and sold by Timothy Green, at the lower-end of Middle-Street, 1712
An alleged slave revolt in New York City leads to violent outbreaks. Nine whites are killed and eighteen slaves are executed.
New York declares it illegal for male & female blacks, Indians, and slaves to murder other blacks, Indians, and slaves. And New York forbids freed blacks, Indians, and mulatto slaves from owning real estate and holding property.
In Charleston, South Carolina male & female slaves are forbidden from hiring themselves out.
1713
England's South Sea Company is allowed to transport 4,800 male & female slaves per year into the Spanish colonies of North America.
Queen Anne's War ends with the Treaty of Utrecht.
1714
George I becomes king of England (r. 1714–27).
Tea is introduced for the first time into the American Colonies.
1715 Artist: Henrietta Johnson 1674-1729. Subject: Mary Magdalen Gendron, Mrs Samuel Prioleu 1691-1765 Museum of Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Image from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact MESDA for an accurate image.)1715
Yamasee tribes attack and kill several hundred male & female Carolina settlers.
Rhode Island legalizes slavery.
Maryland declares all slaves entering the province and their descendants to be slaves for life.
1716
South Carolina settlers and their Cherokee allies attack and defeat the Yamassee.
The first group of black slaves is brought to the Louisiana territory.
1717-18 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Mary Griffith (Mrs Robert Brewton, Mrs William Loughton) 1698-1761. South Carolina Governor's Mansion. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce.)1717
Scots-Irish immigration begins, with most settling to western Pennsylvania.
New York enacts a fugitive slave law.
1718
French found New Orleans.
The Tuscarora people are defeated in a war with North Carolina colonists. With many of their people killed they move north to live with other Iroquois nations in New York Colony.
Blackbeard, the pirate, is killed, putting an end to pirate raids along the southern colonial coast.
North Carolina’s first free school, endowed by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, opens at Bath.
1719 Artist: Henrietta Johnston 1674-1729. Subject: Judith DuBose (Mrs Joseph Wragg) 1698-1769. Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. (Image from old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Gibbes for an accurate image.)1719-41
The American Weekly Mercury is the first newspaper launched in Philadelphia by Andrew Bradford (1686-1742). It would publish six of Franklin's "Busy-Body Papers" in 1729 and continue publication until 1746.
The Boston Gazette is the second newspaper in Boston is launched by William Brooker (fl. 1715-1720) and printed by Benjamin Franklin's older half-brother, James Franklin (1697-1735). The paper would become the official organ of the government and continue until 1741.
1720 Attributed to Gerrit or Gerardus Duyckinck Subject: Portrait of a Lady Original Oil on wood Dimensions 41 1/4 x 32 3/4 in. (104.8 x 83.2 cm) Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1972 (1972.263.1) Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reproduction by oceansbridge.com. (Contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an accurate image.)1720 Artist: Gerardus Duyckinck 1695-1746. Subject: Mrs Johannes van Braght b 1673. Her husband was an alderman for the City of New York. New York Historical Society. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the New York Historical Society for an accurate image.)1720
Estimated population of colonies: 475,000. Including Boston (pop. 12,000), Philadelphia (pop. 10,000), and New York (pop. 7000).
A smallpox epidemic in Boston prompts Cotton Mather and Zabdiel Boylston to experiment with inoculation against the disease. Mather had learned of the practice from Onesimus, his slave, who had himself been inoculated as a child and knew inoculation to be a widely accepted medical practice in Africa.
1720-25 Attributed to Schuyler Limner (active ca. 1715–1725) Portrait of a Lady (possibly Tryntje Otten Veeder) Original Oil on canvas Dimensions 28 x 24 1/2 in. (71.1 x 62.2 cm) Gift of Mrs. Eddie Thornton Baylis, 1976 (1977.135) Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reproduction by passionforpaintings.com. (Contact the Metropolitan Museum of Art for an accurate image.)Benjamin Franklin leaves Boston for Philadelphia, a trip that he chronicles in his Autobiography.
South Carolina planters settle along the Lower Cape Fear River and begin developing the rice and naval stores industries. They bring large numbers of enslaved people and establish a large, plantation-style slave system.
Virginia abolishes manumissions.
1720-28 Artist: Gerardus Duyckinck 1695-1746 Subject: Grace Mears, Mrs Moses Levy Museum of the City of New York. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Museum of the City of New York for an accurate image.)1724
The French build forts on the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence, and the Niagara rivers.
French Louisiana prohibits slaves from marrying without the permission of their owners.
The population of male & female black slaves in the American colonies reaches 75,000.
Riots occur in Philadelphia as poor people tear down the pillories and stocks and burn them.
1725 Artist: Charles Bridges 1670-1747. Subject: Evelyn(1708-1737) daughter of William Byrd II and Lucy Parke. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. (This image is from an old lecture slide. Do not copy or reproduce. Contact the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for an accurate image.) 1725
Explanatory Charter of Massachusetts Bay; August 26
1726
Zabdiel Boylston: An Historical Account of the Smallpox Inoculated in New England. Boylston details his experiments with smallpox inoculation in Boston, in which only 6 of his 244 patients die of the disease. This figure compared with the 844 out of 5,757 Bostonians who died of smallpox naturally during the same epidemic. One of the first of its kind written by an American physician.
1727 Artist: John Smibert 1688 - 1751. Subject: Eleanor Nightengale Original oil on canvas Dimensions: 49 1/2 x 39 1/2 in. (125.73 x 100.33 cm.) ID Number: 1993.76 Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr. ((Reproduction by 1st-art-gallery.com. Contact the Dallas Museum of Art for an accurate image.)1727
George II becomes king of England
Benjamin Franklin founds the Junto Club.
Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776): History of the Five Nations. Colden's greatest achievement is this tribal history of the Iroquois Indians based on firsthand observation.
1728
Elizabeth Hanson (1684-1737) writes God's Mercy Surmounting Man's Cruelty, a polished literary account of Hanson's 1724 capture by the French and Indians. (See Hanson's account on this blog.)
Jewish colonists in New York City build the first American synagogue.
1729 Artist: John Smibert 1688-1751. Subject: Mrs. Tyng. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Reproduction at popartmachine.com. Contact the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusettes for an accurate image.)1729
Benjamin Franklin prints, publishes and largely writes the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette.
See Burt, Daniel S., editor. THE CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE: AMERICA'S LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE COLONIAL ERA TO MODERN TIMES. Houghton Mifflin Internet.
Yale Law School, The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. New Haven, CT.
HISTORY MATTERS. American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning (Graduate Center, CUNY) and the Center for History and New Media (George Mason University). Internet. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
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JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID
Self-Portrait1791
Oil on canvas
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
From paintingdb.com
Self PortraitOil on canvas, 1794
Musée du Louvre, Paris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jacques-Louis David (30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era.
Jacques-Louis David was born into a prosperous family in Paris. When he was about nine his father was killed in a duel and his mother left him with his prosperous architect uncles. They saw to it that he received an excellent education at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, but he was never a good student: he had a facial tumor that impeded his speech, and he was always preoccupied with drawing. He covered his notebooks with drawings, and he once said, "I was always hiding behind the instructor’s chair, drawing for the duration of the class". Soon, he desired to be a painter, but his uncles and mother wanted him to be an architect. He overcame the opposition, and went to learn from François Boucher, the leading painter of the time, who was also a distant relative.
Boucher decided that instead of taking over David’s tutelage, he would send David to his friend Joseph-Marie Vien, painter who embraced the classical reaction to Rococo. There David attended the Royal Academy, based in what is now the Louvre.
David attempted to win the Prix de Rome, an art scholarship to the French Academy in Rome, four times between 1770 and 1774; once, he lost according to legend because he had not consulted Vien, one of the judges. Another time, he lost because a few other students had been competing for years, and Vien felt David's education could wait for these other mediocre painters. In protest, he attempted to starve himself to death. Finally, in 1774, David won the Prix de Rome. , he would have had to attend another school before attending the Academy in Rome, but Vien's influence kept him out of it. He went to Italy with Vien in 1775, as Vien had been appointed director of the French Academy at Rome. While in Italy, David observed the Italian masterpieces and the ruins of ancient Rome. David filled twelve sketchbooks with material that he would derive from for the rest of his life. He met the influential early neoclassical painter Raphael Mengs and through Mengs was introduced to the pathbreaking theories of art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann. While in Rome, he studied great masters, and came to favor above all others Raphael. In 1779, David was able to see the ruins of Pompeii, and was filled with wonder. After this, he sought to revolutionize the art world with the "eternal" concepts of classicism.
David's fellow students at the academy found him difficult to get along with, but they recognized his genius. David was allowed to stay at the French Academy in Rome for an extra year, but after 5 years in Rome, he returned to Paris. There, he found people ready to use their influence for him, and he was made a member of the Royal Academy. He sent the Academy two paintings, and both were included in the Salon of 1781, a high honor. He was praised by his famous contemporary painters, but the administration of the Royal Academy was very hostile to this young upstart. After the Salon, the King granted David lodging in the Louvre, an ancient and much desired privilege of great artists. When the contractor of the King's buildings, M. Pecol, was arranging with David, he asked the artist to marry his daughter, Marguerite Charlotte. This marriage brought him money and eventually four children. David had his own pupils, about 40 to 50, and was commissioned by the government to paint "Horace defended by his Father", but Jacques soon decided, "Only in Rome can I paint Romans." His father in law provided the money he needed for the trip, and David headed for Rome with his wife and three of his students, one of whom, Jean-Germain Drouais, was the Prix de Rome winner of that year.
The Oath of the HoratiiYear 1784
Oil on canvas
Louvre Paris, France
Source Web Gallery of Art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Rome, David painted his famous Oath of the Horatii, 1784. In this piece, the artist references Enlightenment values while alluding to Rousseau’s social contract. The republican ideal of the general will becomes the focus of the painting with all three sons positioned in compliance with the father. The Oath between the characters can be read as an act of unification of men to the binding of the state. The issue of gender roles also becomes apparent in this piece, as the women in Horatii greatly contrast the group of brothers. David depicts the father with his back to the women, shutting them out of the oath making ritual; they also appear to be smaller in scale than the male figures. The masculine virility and discipline displayed by the men’s rigid and confident stances is also severely contrasted to the slouching, swooning female softness created in the other half of the composition. Here we see the clear division of male-female attributes which confined the sexes to specific roles, under Rousseau’s popular doctrines.
Tennis Court OathYear 1791
crayon
Musée national du Château de Versailles Versailles, France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After executing the King, war broke out between the new Republic and virtually every major power in Europe. David, as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, which was headed by Robespierre, contributed directly to the reign of Terror. The committee was severe. Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine; an event recorded in a famous sketch by David. Portable guillotines killed failed generals, aristocrats, priests and perceived enemies. David organized his last festival: the festival of the Supreme Being.
These themes and motifs would carry on into his later works Oath of the Tennis Court,1791. This piece, although remaining unfinished, was to commemorate the National Assembly’s resolve to take a solemn oath never to disband until the constitution was established and protected; the commitment to self-sacrifice for the republic. Commissioned by the Society of Friends of the Constitution, David set out in 1790, to transform the contemporary event into a major historical picture, which would appear at the Salon of 1791 as a large pen and ink drawing. As in the Oath of the Horatii, David represents the unity of men in the service of a patriotic ideal. What was essentially an act of intellect and reason, David creates with great drama in this work. The very power of the people appears to be “blowing” through the scene with the stormy weather, in a sense alluding to the storm that would be the revolution.
A study for The Distribution of the Eagle StandardsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Distribution of the Eagle Standards is an 1810 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting a ceremony arranged by Napoleon after his assumption of power as emperor. In it he sought to revive the military ethos of the Roman empire. However, the ceremony, and the painting that commemorated it, also provided an important model for the use of the Roman salute and its revival at public ceremonies organised by fascists and the Nazis during the 20th century.
The event took place on December 5, 1804, three days after his coronation. Napoleon distributed standards based on the "eagles" of the legions of Rome. The standards represented the regiments raised by the various Departments of France, and were intended to institute feelings of pride and loyalty among the troops who would be the backbone of Napoleon's new regime. Napoleon gave an emotional speech in which he insisted that troops should defend the standards with their lives.
In early sketches of the painting David included a winged figure of Nike,floating over the troops, but Napoleon objected to such an unrealistic feature. He also insisted that his wife Josephine be removed from the composition. He was preparing to divorce her, since she had failed to provide his heir.
The final painting depicted the moment when Napoleon blessed the standards being held out towards him. Napoleon has his arm raised in imitation of ancient "adlocutio" scenes, which depict Classical heroes addressing troops. David's composition was heavily influenced by the friezes on Trajan's column
Le Serment de l'armée fait à l'EmpereurVersailles, musée national du chateau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 1787, David did not become the Director of the French Academy in Rome, which was a position he wanted dearly. The Count in charge of the appointments said David was too young, but said he would support him in 6 to 12 years. This situation would be one of many that would cause him to lash out at the Academy in years to come.
The Death of SocratesOil on canvas, 1787
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the salon of 1787, David exhibited his famous Death of Socrates. "Condemned to death, Socrates, strong, calm and at peace, discusses the immortality of the soul. Surrounded by Crito, his grieving friends and students, he is teaching, philosophizing for the hemlock brew which will ensure a peaceful death... The wife of Socrates can be seen grieving alone outside the chamber, dismissed for her weakness. Plato is depicted as an old man seated at the end of the bed." Critics compared the Socrates with Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling and Raphael's Stanze, and one, after ten visits to the Salon, described it as "in every sense perfect". Denis Diderot said it looked like he copied it from some ancient bas-relief. The painting was very much in tune with the political climate at the time. For this painting, David was not honored by a royal "works of encouragement".
The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His SonsYear Paris 1789
Oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For his next painting, David created The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons. The work had tremendous appeal for the time. Before the opening of the Salon, the French Revolution had begun. The National Assembly had been established, and the Bastille had fallen. The royal court did not want propaganda agitating the people, so all paintings had to be checked before being hung.
Portrait of Monsieur de Lavoisierand his Wife, chemist Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
1788
Oil on canvas
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife is a double portrait of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier and his wife and collaborator Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze, commissioned from the French painter Jacques-Louis David in 1788 by Marie-Anne (who had been taught drawing by David). It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
David was paid 7,000 livres for it on 16 December 1788 and the painting was left by Marie-Anne to her great-niece in 1836. It remained in the collection of the comtesse de Chazelles and her descendents until 1924, when it was bought by John Davison Rockefeller. Rockefeller gave it to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in 1927, and it was acquired from this institution by the Metropolitan Museum in 1977.
It shows the couple in his office, with a wood-panelled floor and walls of false marble with three classical pilasters. In the centre the couple face the viewer, with both their heads in three-quarters profile. Marie-Anne is shown standing in profile looking at the viewer. Her costume is that in fashion at the end of the 18th century - a white wig, a white dress with a lace collar and a blue fabric belt. She rests on her husband's shoudlder, with her right hand leaning on the table.
Antoine Lavoisier is seated, wearing a black vest, culottes, stockings and buckled shoes, a white shirt, a white neckscarf and a powdered wig. His face turns towards his wife and he rests his left arm on the table, whilst writing with his right hand using a feather pen. The table is covered with a scarlet tablecloth, many papers, a casket, an inkwell with two more feather pens, a barometer, a gasometer, a water still and a glass bell jar. A large round-bottom flask and a tap are on the floor to the right, by the table. To the table's extreme left is a chair with a large document-case and black cloth on it.
The signature is bottom left, on the table - L DAVID, PARISIIS ANNO, 1788.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Death of Marat1793
Oil on canvas
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
© Web Gallery of Art
created by Emil Kren and Daniel Marx
The Death of Marat can be regarded as David's finest work, in which he has perfectly succeeded in immortalizing a contemporary political event as an image of social ideals. David's painting of Marat represents the peak of his involvement in the Revolution where invention, style, fervent belief and devotion combine to produce one of the most perfect examples of political painting. David presented the painting to the Convention on 14 November 1793.
Jean-Paul Marat saw himself as a friend of the people, he was a doctor of medicine and a physicist, and above all he was editor of the news-sheet Ami du peuple. He suffered from a skin disease and had to perform his business for the revolution in a soothing bath. This is where David shows him, in the moment after the pernicious murder by Charlotte Corday, a supporter of the aristocracy. David had seen his fellow party member and friend the day before. Under the impact of their personal friendship David created his painting "as if in a trance," as one of his pupils later reported.
David takes the viewer into Marat's private room, making him the witness of the moments immediately after the murder. Marat's head and arm have sunk down, but the dead hand still holds pen and paper. This snapshot of exactly the minute between the last breath and death in the bathroom had an immense impact at the time, and it still has the same effect today.
David has used a dark, immeasurable background to intensify the significance. The boldness of the high half of the room above the figure concentrates attention on the lowered head, and makes us all the more aware of the vacuum that has been created. The distribution of light here has been reversed from the usual practice, with dark above light. This is not only one of the most moving paintings of the time, but David has also created a secularised image of martyrdom. The painting has often, and rightly, been compared with Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome; in both the most striking element is the arm hanging down lifeless. Revolutionary as the painting of this period claimed to be, it is evident here that it very often had recourse to the iconography and pictorial vocabulary of the religious art of the past.
(© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Kren and Daniel Marx)
Despite the haste in which the portrait of Marat was painted (the work was completed and presented to the National Convention less than four months after Marat's death), it is generally considered to be David's best work, a definite step towards modernity, an inspired (and inspiring) political statement. At the time of its creation, all contemporary sources clearly indicate that the painting was not to be dissociated, neither in its exhibition nor in its evaluation, from The Death of Lepelletier, the two functioning as a pair if not properly as a "diptych". Till David's death in 1825, it remained so, the two paintings sharing the same fate from success to oblivion. The unfortunate disappearance of The Death of Lepelletier does not allow us today to watch The Death of Marat the way David had planned it.
After executing the King, war broke out between the new French Republic and virtually every major power in Europe. David, as a member of the Committee of Public Safety, which was headed by Robespierre, contributed directly to the reign of Terror. The committee was severe. Marie Antoinette went to the guillotine; an event recorded in a famous sketch by David. Portable guillotines killed failed generals, aristocrats, priests and perceived enemies. Soon, the war began to go well; French troops marched across the southern half of the Netherlands (which would later become Belgium), and the emergency that had placed the Committee of Public Safety in control was no more. Then plotters seized Robespierre at the National Convention and he was later guillotined, in effect ending the reign of terror. David was arrested and placed in prison. There he painted his own portrait, showing him much younger than he actually was, as well as that of his jailer. After David’s wife visited him in jail, he conceived the idea of telling the story of the Sabine Women. The Sabine Women Enforcing Peace by Running between the Combatants, also called The Intervention of the Sabine Women is said to have been painted to honor his wife, with the theme being love prevailing over conflict. The painting was also seen as a plea for the people to reunite after the bloodshed of the revolution. This work also brought him to the attention of Napoleon.
When he was finally released to the country, France had changed. His wife managed to get David released from prison, and he wrote letters to his former wife, and told her he never ceased loving her. He remarried her in 1796. Finally, wholly restored to his position, he retreated to his studio, took pupils and retired from politics.
In one of history's great coincidences, David's close association with the Committee of Public Safety during the Terror resulted in his signing of the death warrant for one Alexandre de Beauharnais, a minor noble. De Beauharnais's widow, Rose-Marie Josèphe de Tascher de Beauharnais would later be known to the world as Joséphine Bonaparte, Empress of the French. It was her coronation by her husband, Napoleon I, that David depicted so memorably in the Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine, 2 December 1804.
Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon Iand Coronation of the Empress Josephine
Oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre, Paris
From paintingdb.com
After Napoleon's successful coup d'etat in 1799, as First Consul he commissioned David to commemorate his daring crossing of the Alps. The crossing of the St. Bernard Pass had allowed the French to surprise the Austrian army and win victory at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800. Although Napoleon had crossed the Alps on a mule, he requested that he be portrayed "calm upon a fiery steed". David complied with Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard. After the proclamation of the Empire in 1804, David became the official court painter of the regime.
Napoleon at the St. Bernard Pass1801
Oil on canvas
Museum of Art History, Vienna
From paintingdb.com
After the fall of Napoleon and the Bourbon monarchy restoration David was banished in 1816 as a regicide, and fled to Brussels, where he spent his last 10 years. During this period he returned to mythological subjects and intimate portraiture. He had a huge number of pupils, and his influence was felt (both positively and negatively) by the majority of French 19th-century painters. He was a revolutionary artist in both a technical and a political sense. His compositional innovations effected a complete rupture with Rococo fantasy; he is considered the greatest single figure in European painting between the late Rococo and the Romantic era. David died on 29 December 1825.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Minggu, 22 Februari 2009
Manorley May
whelped 1899 --owned by Fred Bottomley 17" tall and 19 pounds chosen as the ideal whippet in Compton's 20th Century Dogs 1904. resource credit: "Gazehounds: The Search For Truth" Constance Miller author. Said by Bottomly, "Her body and legs are perfect, and she is framed for speed and work . . . has proved herself a very fast bitch in handicap races, as well as a great winner on the show bench."http://thewhippetarchives.net/details.php?id=8810
The Complete Dog Book, 1921
The Complete Dog Book By William A. Bruette, 1921
This graceful breed is nothing more or less than a miniature Greyhound, and was originally known as a snap dog by the colliers and working men in the north of England, who originated the breed, and used them for rabbit coursing. In later years these dogs have been taught straight running. That is, they are held in leash at a given mark by an attendant while the owner or some other person standing at the other end of the track shakes a handkerchief at the dogs and encourages them to race for it. There is an official starter, and the dogs are liberated at the shot of a pistol and immediately make a dash, straining every nerve to get at the handkerchief. The usual course is two hundred yards, and the dogs are handicapped according to weight or previous performances.
The origin of the Whippet was probably obtained by a cross between the small Greyhound and the white English Terrier. They are keen little sportsmen, easily kept in condition, and of a most companionable disposition.
In selecting a Whippet puppy at from two to four months old, the points to look for are almost identical with those of the Greyhound, of which it is a miniature, except that less bone is required and probably a little more arch of loin, both of which
49
variations are calculated to give the Whippet a little more speed, if less "staying" power, speed only being the great desideratum in the Whippet.
The points of the Whippet may be briefly summed up by saying he should be an exact duplicate in miniature of the Greyhound.
The following is the description of the Whippet, as formulated by the Whippet Club:
Head.—Long and lean, rather wide between the eyes, and flat at the top; the jaw powerful, yet clearly cut; teeth level and white.
Eyes.—Bright and fiery.
Ears.—Small, fine in texture, and rose shape.
Neck.—Long and muscular, elegantly arched, and free from throatiness.
Shoulders.—Oblique and muscular.
Chest.—Deep and capacious.
Back.—Broad and square, rather long, and slightly arched over loin, which should be strong and powerful.
Forelegs.—Rather long, well set under dog, possessing fair amount of bone.
Hindquarters.—Strong and broad across, stifles well bent, thighs broad and muscular, hocks well let down.
Feet.—Round, well split up, with strong soles.
Tail.—Long, tapering, and nicely carried.
Coat.—Fine and close.
Color.—Black, red, white, brindle, fawn, blue, and the various mixtures of each.
Weight.—20 pounds.
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THE WHIPPET
This graceful breed is nothing more or less than a miniature Greyhound, and was originally known as a snap dog by the colliers and working men in the north of England, who originated the breed, and used them for rabbit coursing. In later years these dogs have been taught straight running. That is, they are held in leash at a given mark by an attendant while the owner or some other person standing at the other end of the track shakes a handkerchief at the dogs and encourages them to race for it. There is an official starter, and the dogs are liberated at the shot of a pistol and immediately make a dash, straining every nerve to get at the handkerchief. The usual course is two hundred yards, and the dogs are handicapped according to weight or previous performances.
The origin of the Whippet was probably obtained by a cross between the small Greyhound and the white English Terrier. They are keen little sportsmen, easily kept in condition, and of a most companionable disposition.
In selecting a Whippet puppy at from two to four months old, the points to look for are almost identical with those of the Greyhound, of which it is a miniature, except that less bone is required and probably a little more arch of loin, both of which
49
variations are calculated to give the Whippet a little more speed, if less "staying" power, speed only being the great desideratum in the Whippet.
The points of the Whippet may be briefly summed up by saying he should be an exact duplicate in miniature of the Greyhound.
The following is the description of the Whippet, as formulated by the Whippet Club:
Head.—Long and lean, rather wide between the eyes, and flat at the top; the jaw powerful, yet clearly cut; teeth level and white.
Eyes.—Bright and fiery.
Ears.—Small, fine in texture, and rose shape.
Neck.—Long and muscular, elegantly arched, and free from throatiness.
Shoulders.—Oblique and muscular.
Chest.—Deep and capacious.
Back.—Broad and square, rather long, and slightly arched over loin, which should be strong and powerful.
Forelegs.—Rather long, well set under dog, possessing fair amount of bone.
Hindquarters.—Strong and broad across, stifles well bent, thighs broad and muscular, hocks well let down.
Feet.—Round, well split up, with strong soles.
Tail.—Long, tapering, and nicely carried.
Coat.—Fine and close.
Color.—Black, red, white, brindle, fawn, blue, and the various mixtures of each.
Weight.—20 pounds.
50
Development of the Manchester Terrier
I was reading comments in some old dog books today. One was The Complete Dog Book By William A. Bruette, 1921. It makes a reference about the development of the Manchester Terrier from the Black and Tan Terrier. The reference was that John Hulme had bred his whippet to a terrier which served as the beginning of the Manchester variety. No dates were mentioned other than it was an accepted breed and Manchester was the breed hub by the 1860s. Supposedly, by 1827 a renowned example of Manchester Terrier was very successful in the rat pits. However a search indicated that possibly that was the Black and Tan Terrier bred to the whippet.
So it would seem that whippets were known as a breed or type prior to that date. Granted we all know how accurate breed histories can be... But I thought it was an interesting mention.
The Complete Dog Book By William A. Bruette, 1921
The Manchester district was a noted center for two "poor men's sports"--rat killing and rabbit coursing. A fancier by the name of John Hulme, with the idea of producing a dog that could be used at both contests, bred a whippet bitch to a celebrated rat-killing dog, a cross bred terrier dark brown in color. The result of this cross was very satisfactory, the dogs proved useful, and other fanciers in the neighborhood took to breeding them, and the
159
Manchester school of terriers was launched. They advanced in popularity rapidly and soon spread over the British Isles and were brought to this country in considerable numbers. The name Manchester was dropped as being too restricted in its designation, and they have since been known as the Black and Tan Terrier.
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GENERAL APPEARANCE.-A Terrier calculated to take his own part in the rat pit, and not of the Whippet type.
163
So it would seem that whippets were known as a breed or type prior to that date. Granted we all know how accurate breed histories can be... But I thought it was an interesting mention.
The Complete Dog Book By William A. Bruette, 1921
The Manchester district was a noted center for two "poor men's sports"--rat killing and rabbit coursing. A fancier by the name of John Hulme, with the idea of producing a dog that could be used at both contests, bred a whippet bitch to a celebrated rat-killing dog, a cross bred terrier dark brown in color. The result of this cross was very satisfactory, the dogs proved useful, and other fanciers in the neighborhood took to breeding them, and the
159
Manchester school of terriers was launched. They advanced in popularity rapidly and soon spread over the British Isles and were brought to this country in considerable numbers. The name Manchester was dropped as being too restricted in its designation, and they have since been known as the Black and Tan Terrier.
160
GENERAL APPEARANCE.-A Terrier calculated to take his own part in the rat pit, and not of the Whippet type.
163
'SUMMUM BONUM' IN LIFE
© 2007-2009 StasoSphere
From Cornerstone Books Home Page
Ralph Waldo Trine was a philosopher, mystic, teacher and author of many books, and was one of the early mentors of the New Thought Movement. His writings had a great influence on many of his contemporaries including Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science. He was a true pioneer in the area of life-transforming thought. No other New Thought author has sold more books than he, his writings reaching far beyond New Thought circles out to the general public, which has bought and read Trine's books without ever knowing that they were New Thought.
Trine was born on 6th September, 1866, in Mount Morris, northern Illinois. He was educated at Carthage College Academy, Knox College, A.B. 1891; and studied at the University of Winsconsin and later at John Hopkins University in the fields of history and political science. He was much interested in social and economic problems, having won a $100 prize for an essay on "The Effects of Human Education on the Prevention of Crime." After spending some time as a graduate student at the latter University, Ralph was a special correspondent for The Boston Daily Evening Transcript. Whilst working in this capacity, he built himself a little cabin on the edge of a pine grove - testament to the peace and simplicity of the man. He married a graduate of the School of Expression (which became Curry College) who became Grace Hyde Trine, an author and poetess in her own right, and together they had a son, Robert. Trine lived for years at Mt. Airy, New York, and was deeply involved in the metaphysical seminars at Oscawana.
He began his writing career in his early 30s. He was much influenced by the writings of Fitche, Emerson and the Scottish scientist, Henry Drummond, his "What All the World's A-Seeking" expanding on a number of the themes covered in Drummond's inspirational classic, "The Greatest Thing in the World." His remarkable seminal book, "In Tune with the Infinite" was launched in 1897 and went on to sell over 2 million copies, and has stood the test of time for over a century. It was read by such luminaries as Queen Victoria, Janet Gaynor and Henry Ford. It is interesting that Henry Ford, pioneer of mass produced automobiles, attributed his success directly to having read "In Tune with the Infinite." After reading the book, Ford ordered it on mass, and distributed copies freely to high profile industrialists. It's a true mark of how powerful the book was and still is!
From New Thought Library
In "What All The World's A-Seeking" Ralph Waldo Trine has written, "What is the summum bonum in life? Human nature seems to run in this way, seems to be governed by a great paradoxical law which says, that whenever a man self-centred, thinking of, living for and in himself, is very desirous for place, for preferment, for honor, the very fact of his being thus is of itself a sufficient indicator that he is too small to have them, and mankind refuses to accord them. While the one who forgets self, and who, losing sight of these things, makes it his chief aim in life to help, to aid, and to serve others, by this very fact makes it known that he is large enough, is great enough to have them, and his fellow-men instinctively bestow them upon him. This is a great law which many would profit by to recognize. Our prevailing thought forces determine the mental atmosphere we create around us, and all who come within its influence are affected in one way or another, according to the quality of that atmosphere; and, though they may not always get the exact thoughts, they nevertheless get the effects of the emotions dominating the originator of the thoughts, and hence the creator of this particular mental atmosphere, and the more sensitively organized the person the more sensitive he or she is to this atmosphere, even at times to getting the exact and very thoughts. So even in this the prophecy is beginning to be fulfilled,—there is nothing hid that shall not be revealed.
And would we have all the world love us, we must first then love all the world,—merely a great scientific fact. Why is it that all people instinctively dislike and shun the little, the mean, the self-centred, the selfish, while all the world instinctively, irresistibly, loves and longs for the company of the great-hearted, the tender-hearted, the loving, the magnanimous, the sympathetic, the brave? The mere answer—because—will not satisfy. There is a deep, scientific reason for it, either this or it is not true.
Is it your ambition to become a great states man? Note the very first thing, then, the word itself,—states-man, a man who gives his life to the service of the State. And do you not recognize the fact that, when one says—a man who gives his life to the service of the State, it is but another way of saying—a man who gives his life to the service of his fellow-men; for what, after all, is any country, any State, in the true sense of the term, but the aggregate, the great body of its individual citizenship. And he who lives for and unto himself, who puts the interests of his own small self before the interests of the thousands, can never become a states-man; for a statesman must be a larger man than this.
The one great trouble with our country to-day is that we have but few statesmen. We have a great swarm, a great hoard of politicians; but it is only now and then that we find a man who is large enough truly to deserve the name—statesman. The large majority in public life to-day are there not for the purpose of serving the best interests of those whom they are supposed to represent, but they are there purely for self, purely for self-aggrandizement in this form or in that, as the case may be.
Let our public offices—municipal, state, and federal—be filled with men who are in love with the human kind, large men, men whose lives are founded upon this great law of service, and we will then have them filled with statesmen. Never let this glorious word be disgraced, degraded, by applying it to the little, self-centred whelps who are unable to get beyond the politician stage. Then enter public life; but enter it as a man, not as a barnacle: enter it as a statesman, not as a politician.
Is it the ambition of your life to accumulate great wealth, and thus to acquire a great name, and along with it happiness and satisfaction? Then remember that whether these will come to you will depend entirely upon the use and disposition you make of your wealth. If you regard it as a private trust to be used for the highest good of mankind, then well and good, these will come to you. If your object, however, is to pile it up, to hoard it, then neither will come; and you will find it a life as unsatisfactory as one can live.
There is, there can be, no greatness in things, in material things, of themselves. The greatness is determined entirely by the use and disposition made of them. The greatest greatness and the only true greatness in the world is unselfish love and service and self-devotion to one's fellow-men.
It is a great law of our being that we become like those things we contemplate. If we contemplate those that are true and noble and elevating, we grow in the likeness of these. If we contemplate merely material things, as gold or silver or copper or iron, our souls, our natures, and even our faces become like them, hard and flinty, robbed of their finer and better and grander qualities. Call to mind the person or picture of the miser, and you will quickly see that this is true. Merely nature's great law. He thought he was going to be a master: he finds himself the slave. Instead of possessing his wealth, his wealth possesses him. How often have we seen persons of nearly or quite this kind! Some can be found almost anywhere. You can call to mind a few, perhaps many.
True gentlemanliness and politeness always comes from within, and is born of a life of love, kindliness, and service. This is the universal language, known and understood everywhere, even when our words are not. There is, you know, a beautiful old proverb which says, "He who is kind and courteous to strangers thereby shows himself a citizen of the world." And there is nothing so remembered, and that so endears one to all mankind, as this universal language. Even dumb animals understand it and are affected by it. How quickly the dog, for example, knows and makes it known when he is spoken to and treated kindly or the reverse! And here shall not a word be spoken in connection with that great body of our fellow-creatures whom, because we do not understand their language, we are accustomed to call dumb? The attitude we have assumed toward these fellow-creatures, and the treatment they have been subjected to in the past, is something almost appalling.
Never should we forget that we are all the same in motive,—pleasure and happiness: we differ only in method; and this difference in method is solely by reason of some souls being at any particular time more fully evolved, and thus having a greater knowledge of the great, immutable laws under which we live, and by putting the life into more and ever more complete harmony with these higher laws and forces, and in this way bringing about the highest, the keenest, the most abiding pleasure and happiness instead of seeking it on the lower planes.
The wise man is he who, when he desires to rid a room of darkness or gloom, does not attempt to drive it out directly, but who throws open the doors and the windows, that the room may be flooded with the golden sunlight; for in its presence darkness and gloom cannot remain. So the way to help a fellow-man and a brother to the higher and better life is not by ever prating upon and holding up to view his errors, his faults, his shortcomings, any more than in the case of children, but by recognizing and ever calling forth the higher, the nobler, by opening the doors and the windows of his own soul, and thus bringing about a spiritual perception, that he may the more carefully listen to the inner voice, that he may the more carefully follow "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." For in the exact proportion that the interior perception comes will the outer life and conduct accord with it,—so far, and no farther.
Where in all the world's history is to be found a more beautiful or valuable incident than this? A group of men, self-centred, self-assertive, have found a poor woman who, in her blindness and weakness, has committed an error, the same one that they, in all probability, have committed not once, but many times; for the rule is that they are first to condemn who are-most at fault themselves. They bring her to the Master, they tell him that she has committed a sin,—ay, more, that she has been taken in the very act,—and ask what shall be done with her, informing him that, in accordance with the olden laws, such a one should be stoned.
But, quicker than thought, that great incarnation of spiritual power and insight reads their motives; and, after allowing them to give full expression to their accusations, he turns, and calmly says, "He among you that is without sin, let him cast the first stone." So saying, he stoops down, as if he is writing in the sand. The accusers, feeling the keen and just rebuke, in the mean time sneak out, until not one remains. The Master, after all have gone, turns to the woman, his sister, and kindly and gently says, "And where are thine accusers? doth no man condemn thee?" "No man, Lord." "And neither do I condemn thee: go thou, and sin no more." Oh, the beauty, the soul pathos! Oh, the royal-hearted brother! Oh, the invaluable lesson to us all!
We are at life from the wrong side. We have been giving all time and attention to the mere physical, the material, the external, the mere outward means of expression and the things that pertain thereto, thus missing the real life; and this we have called living, and seem, indeed, to be satisfied with the results. No wonder the cry has gone out again and again from many a human soul, Is life worth the living? But from one who has once commenced to live, this cry never has, nor can it ever come; for, when the kingdom is once found, life then ceases to be a plodding, and becomes an exultation, an ecstasy, a joy. Yes, you will find that all the evil, all the error, all the disease, all the suffering, all the fears, all the forebodings of life, are on the side of the physical, the material, the transient; while all the peace, all the joy, all the happiness, all the growth, all the life, all the rich, exulting, abounding life, is on the side of the spiritual, the ever-increasing, the eternal,—that that never changes, that has no end. Instead of crying out against the destiny of fate, let us cry out against the destiny of self, or rather against the destiny of the mistaken self; for everything that comes to us comes through causes which we ourselves or those before us have set into operation. Nothing comes by chance, for in all the wide universe there is absolutely no such thing as chance. We bring whatever comes. Are we not satisfied with the effects, the results? The thing then to do, is to change the causes; for we have everything in our own hands the moment we awake to a recognition of the true self.
We make our own heaven or our own hell, and the only heaven or hell that will ever be ours is that of our own making. The order of the universe is one thing: we take our lives out of harmony with and so pervert the laws under which we live, and make it another. The order is the all good. We pervert the laws, and what we call evil is the result,—simply the result of the violation of law; and we then wonder that a just and loving God could permit such and such things. We wonder at what we term the "strange, inscrutable dispensations of Providence," when all is of our own making. We can be our own best friends or we can be our own worst enemies; and the only real enemy one can ever have is the self, the very self.
Each individual life, after it has reached a certain age or degree of intelligence, lives in the midst of the surroundings or environments of its own creation; and this by reason of that wonderful power, the drawing power of mind, which is continually operating in every life, whether it is conscious of it or not.
We are all living, so to speak, in a vast ocean of thought. The very atmosphere about us is charged with the thought-forces that are being continually sent out.
A stalk of wheat and a stock of corn are growing side by side, within an inch of each other. The soil is the same for both; but the wheat converts the food it takes from the soil into wheat, the likeness of itself, while the corn converts the food it takes from the same soil into corn, the likeness of itself. What that which each has taken from the soil is converted into is determined by the soul, the interior life, the interior forces of each. This same grain taken as food by two persons will be converted into the body of a criminal in the one case, and into the body of a saint in the other, each after its kind; and its kind is determined by the inner life of each. And what again determines the inner life of each? The thoughts and emotions that are habitually entertained and that inevitably, sooner or later, manifest themselves in outer material form. Thought is the great builder in human life: it is the determining factor. Continually think thoughts that are good, and your life will show forth in goodness, and your body in health and beauty. Continually think evil thoughts, and your life will show forth in evil, and your body in weakness and repulsiveness. Think thoughts of love, and you will love and will be loved. Think thoughts of hatred, and you will hate and will be hated. Each follows its kind.
It is by virtue of this law that each person creates his own "atmosphere"; and this atmosphere is determined by the character of the thoughts he habitually entertains. It is, in fact, simply his thought atmosphere—the atmosphere which other people detect and are influenced by.
In this way each person creates the atmosphere of his own room; a family, the atmosphere of the house in which they live, so that the moment you enter the door you feel influences kindred to the thoughts and hence to the lives of those who dwell there. You get a feeling of peace and harmony or a feeling of disquietude and inharmony. You get a welcome, want-to-stay feeling or a cold, want-to-get-away feeling, according to their thought attitude toward you, even though but few words be spoken. Its inhabitants so make, so determine the atmosphere of a particular village or city. The sympathetic thoughts sent out by a vast amphitheatre of people, as they cheer a contestant, carry him to goals he never could reach by his own efforts alone. The same is true in regard to an orator and his audience.
We are all much more influenced by the thought-forces and mental states of those around us and of the world at large than we have even the slightest conception of. If not self-hypnotized into certain beliefs and practices, we are, so to speak, semi-hypnotized through the influence of the thoughts of others, even though unconsciously both on their part and on ours. We are so influenced and enslaved in just the degree that we fail to recognize the power and omnipotence of our own forces, and so become slaves to custom, conventionality, the opinions of others, and so in like proportion lose our own individuality and powers. He who in his own mind takes the attitude of the slave, by the power of his own thoughts and the forces he thus attracts to him, becomes the slave. He who in his own mind takes the attitude of the master, by the same power of his own thoughts and the forces he thus attracts to him, becomes the master. Each is building his world from within, and, if outside forces play, it is because he allows them to play; and he has it in his own power to determine whether these shall be positive, uplifting, ennobling, strengthening, success-giving, or negative, degrading, weakening, failure-bringing.
Every act is preceded and given birth to by a thought, the act repeated forms the habit, the habit determines the character, and character determines the life, the destiny,—a most significant, a most tremendous truth: thought on the one hand, life, destiny, on the other. And how simplified, when we realize that it is merely the thought of the present hour, and the next when it comes, and the next, and the next! so life, destiny, on the one hand, the thoughts of the present hour, on the other. This is the secret of character-building. How wonderfully simple, though what vigilance it demands!
Unconsciously we are forming habits every moment of our lives. Some are habits of a desirable nature; some are those of a most undesirable nature. Some, though not so bad in themselves, are exceedingly bad in their cumulative effects, and cause us at times much loss, much pain and anguish, while their opposites would, on the contrary, bring us much peace and joy, as well as a continually increasing power.
There is nothing more true in connection with human life than that we grow into the likeness of those things we contemplate. Literally and scientifically and necessarily true is it that, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." The "is" part is his character. His character is the sum total of his habits. His habits have been formed by his conscious acts; but every conscious act is, as we have found, preceded by a thought. And so we have it—thought on the one hand, character, life, destiny on the other. And simple it becomes when we bear in mind that it is simply the thought of the present moment, and the next moment when it is upon us, and then the next, and so on through all time.
Each one is so apt to think that his own conditions, his own trials or troubles or sorrows, or his own struggles, as the case may be, are greater than those of the great mass of mankind, or possibly greater than those of anyone else in the world. He forgets that each one has his own peculiar trials or troubles or borrows to bear, or struggles in habits to overcome, and that his is but the common lot of all the human race. We are apt to make the mistake in this—in that we see and feel keenly our own trials, or adverse conditions, or characteristics to be overcome, while those of others we do not see so clearly, and hence we are apt to think that they are not at all equal to our own. Each has his own problems to work out. Each must work out his own problems. Each must grow the insight that will enable him to see what the causes are that have brought the unfavorable conditions into his life; each must grow the strength that will enable him to face these conditions, and to set into operation forces that will bring about a different set of conditions. We may be of aid to one another by way of suggestion, by way of bringing to one another a knowledge of certain higher laws and forces,—laws and forces that will make it easier to do that which we would do. The doing, however, must be done by each one for himself.
All life is from within out. This is something that cannot be reiterated too often. The springs of life are all from within. This being true, it would be well for us to give more time to the inner life than we are accustomed to give to it."
-Excerpts from "What All The World's A-Seeking" by Ralph Waldo Trine, New York,
Dodge Publishing Company, 220 East Twenty-Third Street
© 2003-2008 Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Twentieth Century Dog 1904
The Twentieth Century Dog ... By Herbert Compton
The Twentieth Century Dog ...
By Herbert Compton
Published by G. Richards, 1904
Item notes: v.2
THE RACE DOG
423
The whippet affords a remarkable illustration of the talent, not to say genius, of the dog-fancier, and his ability to manufacture new types of dogs. No one looking at the picture of Manorley May, which adorns this section, and bearing in mind her height, which is 17 inches, and her weight of 19 Ibs., could desire a more exquisitely proportioned four-footed creature, or one more instinct with the attributes of swiftness and virility made apparent. And yet this model of harmony and grace is, in its correlation of height and weight, outside the ordinary scheme of canine creation. To all intents and purposes it represents a new species of dog, as it represents a new feature of attractiveness in dog-fancying in one of the uses to which it is put.
Curiously enough, the whippet as a piece of canine art is the creation of the working-man. To the miners and mill-hands of the North,—heavy-limbed, huge-framed, grimy delvers in the bowels of the earth, or toilers in the busy factories,—we owe this dainty design in dog's flesh. The genesis of the breed may be traced to the love of sport and affection for dogs which are characteristics of the North, that has given us many contributions besides whippets to our canine classification—as, for instance, Airedale, Bedlington, Manchester, Yorkshire, and white English terriers, and also fostered in
It was an alliance of swiftness and grace with pluck and tenacity, and the blend " came away good." In time, by judicious breeding, there was evolved an animal with the grit and staying powers of the working terrier, and the symmetry and speed of the aristocratic dog. No doubt at a later period greyhound blood filtered in, for there is a variation in the weight of the whippet inconsistent with a cross confined to the first two breeds only. But the terrier grit was maintained whilst the physical outline was gradually refined into closer harmony with the greyhound, until a perfect miniature of that breed was arrived at, only gifted with an improved character and mental capacity.
With its racing lines, with its racing speed, and with its tractability, a new vista opened out for this new breed of dog. I have no doubt the terrier intelligence it retained suggested the possibility of the purpose to which it was put. The whippet was a dog that could be trained to race without fur leading it— no easy task when you come to try it, but amazingly fascinating when accomplished. Horse - racing is a sport which appeals irresistibly to the natives of these islands, whilst only a few can personally enjoy it . But racing with dogs, and such dogs, was a form of com-
Whippet-racing is now a big business — quite a world of its own ; its rules and regulations are not germane to these pages ; but those who are interested in them may find all the information they need in a publication that deals with the subject at full length. Sufficient to say that the sport has been reduced to very exact lines, and the rigour with which it is legislated for and conducted is second to that of no other sporting code in the country. To the well-trained whippet the race alone is the thing. That it excites them almost as much as their masters is a fact capable of ocular proof at any meeting ; and the wholly innocent cause of that excitement contrasts pleasantly with other similar dog-diversions where praise for the prowess of the dog is qualified by pity for its victim. From a humanitarian point of view, the whippet, as a race-dog pure and simple, and one that can be excited to the greatest exertion without scent of blood or sight of fur, deserves popularity.
I have been so fortunate as to obtain the following contribution from Mr. J. R. Fothergill, the President of the Whippet Club, on the subject of whippet-racing, and although its inclusion extends this section beyond its allotted limits, I am sure all my readers interested in the breed will be glad to have a description of the sport from one so qualified to give it:—
Although whippet-racing finds its patrons amongst some of the narrowest intellects in England, there is no doubt that the simple miners and mill-hands of the North have a genius for the breeding, running, and educating of their dogs. I have visited Lancashire more than once, especially to investigate whippet-racing there, and have come away full of admiration for their scientific methods, their keenness and honesty.
The best racing-whippets are bred like race-horses, through a long line of winners. To be of any use the dog must begin its education very young. As soon as it has been weaned it is kept aloof from his fellow-puppies and other dogs. From this day forward it lives the life of a hermit, having no friends and no enemies. The reason for this is that the dog will have to do his racing unjockeyed, so to speak, over a 200 yards' course, and from the moment he leaves the " slipper's " hands he must never take his eyes off the " rag" which another man (the walker-up) has carried before him up to the end of the course. If, then, he has been in the habit of chiveying playmates, or fighting with strange dogs, there are ten chances to one he will prefer to indulge in these games up the course instead of honestly " running to the rag." If, on the contrary, he has never known the society of other dogs, it will rarely occur to a whippet to molest them. Those who turn out " slappers," as they are called, are useless for racing, as they will never run in front. At the first Lancashire whippet-race I attended a friend told me he was bringing out a whelp for the first time. It was twelve months old and had never run in company. I suggested it was a toss-up whether it would " run honest" or not, and he was quite surprised at my doubts. But the whelp turned neither to right nor to left, and in the company of five screaming dogs, and between some thousand onlookers, ran as straight as a line from start to rag.
During the first six months or year a puppy requires much attention and patience; he is generally, therefore, handed over to an experienced " walker," who, for two or three shillings a week, will keep and educate him. The puppy at once takes up his quarters in the man's kitchen and bedroom, where he plays and sleeps till his master has left work for the day, when he is taken
THE WHIPPET 429
for a walk. It is comical to see a little puppy walking on a lead, muzzled and coated. They always muzzle whippets to prevent them picking up bad food when in training ; many of them even sleep in their muzzles.
The puppy is now encouraged to tear and worry rag and paper, even though he destroy, at times, some of his master's belongings. The taste for the rag once developed, he is held by one man in the proper slipping fashion, whilst another worries him with-a rag. He is let loose at it, and then, by increasing the distance from a yard to thirty yards or so, the puppy will dash at the rag with all the speed he can muster. Great care is taken not to give the puppy too much exertion, as this would damp his fire. He is taken to whippet-races, where he hears the people shout, accustoms himself to the starter's pistol and the noise of the dogs yelping. No dog shows more nerve than the racer; he is indifferent to everything save his rag, and afraid of nothing. The experiment was once tried, for a wager, of lighting a line of straw across the track ; the dogs ran through it quite blindly. I have been asked whether a dog was brought to such a pitch of keenness by starving him ; and again whether he was taught by the whip ! The reader will have already understood there is no need for such curious means to prick the courage ; nay rather, the dog, whatever be his offence, is never chastised. The fearlessness of the race-dog is due entirely to the fact that he has never known suppression or defeat from man or beast. He lives by rule, is daily given his runs and walks, and his only diversion is to witness a dog-race, or to visit the public-house of an evening in his master's arms or on the lead. Here he will attract a circle of whippeters, who will handle him and maul him about on the table, much to the satisfaction of the walker.
When the whelp is about ten months old he bids good-bye to his first keeper, and starts life with a trainer. Of course the greater number of dogs are brought up by their owners and trained by them, but most of these will spend six weeks, at some time, with a trainer. But the successful dogs, as a rule, are those that are under professional care, which is by no means expensive.
The dog is now walked regularly from 5 to 15 miles a day, according to his size, and does a 200-yards' course twice a-week, or even shorter distances. When he is quite hard, and his feet in condition to stand the cinder track, he runs his first race. It is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules for training, as trainers differ so much in method, and dogs in constitution ; but the chief points observed are these. The dog must have
430 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
enough slow work for hardening him to give him stamina, say, for three races in an afternoon, and enough running to develop his speed ; by observation and timing the trainer is able to see how much exercise, fast and slow, he needs. It is important, moreover, that the dog, when walking, should go on a lead at his trainer's pace, and that, when he runs, the distance shall never exceed 200 yards. As for feeding, the bantam's eggs, the first slice off a shoulder of lamb, old sherry, and other delicacies that one hears is the race-dog's bill of fare, these are vain imaginations! The dog usually gets a basin of broken bread, gravy, and pudding; very often tea and ale, and, in fact, has just what the family has. Meat he is not given until the last few days before a race. Of course if he has to run for a .£50 match he is somewhat more expensively fed for a week or so.
I have now considered the education and training of a race- dog. Before I come to the handicapping a word or two must be said of the "slipper" and " walker-up." For the race the dog is put into the hands of the slipper, who stands behind the starting mark, and the walker-up, who is generally the owner or trainer, or some one whom the dog knows, takes the rag, waves it in the face of the dog, and then, with frantic shouts or whistles, passes up the course with the other walkers-up, and does not stop till the "trig mark" is reached—that is, 15 yards behind the winning mark. The judge signals to the starter at the other end, who tells the slippers to " get ready." These take up their position, holding the dogs by a good handful of skin by the neck, and the tail firmly at the root. The starter, standing behind the dogs, fires the pistol, and with a lurch forward the dogs are all thrown into their stride, and before thirteen seconds they will have caught, every dog, his own rag, with all the grip of his jaws, be lifted into the air by his own momentum, and swing around his particular man like a fish on a line '
The first over the winning mark wins ; the walkers-up are careful to hold the rag at arm's length to the side, otherwise, when the dog comes at full speed to catch the rag, he would break his neck against the man's legs. A whippet, when at full speed, is going at the rate of somewhere between 36 and 40 miles an hour ! There are seldom more than three or four crack slippers in Oldham, for their business requires great skill. These men take from .£3 to £$ for slipping the winner of a handicap. So precisely can they tell how dogs are slipped that a slipper is commonly heard to say that he got his dog offthree or four inches better than another, or vice versa ! And seeing that in the finals
THE WHIPPET 431
of a good handicap the six dogs can be " covered with a towel" when running over the winning mark, it is important to procure every possible inch by securing a good slipper. It is only by slipping some thirty dogs every Saturday afternoon that these men become such skilled performers.
The dogs are handicapped on a very elaborate and exact system. It is only just that a little dog should get a start from a big one, as the bigger has the more weight and muscle and a longer stride, and so a scale of weights and starts is made to establish a basis upon which to handicap any dog whose performances are not known. By closely observing the running of hundreds of dogs for forty years, and by striking the averages after every handicap, the folk in Lancashire have elaborated a scale which allows the best dog to win, and not the biggest. Ignorant people will make up a handicap, giving the dogs two yards to the pound, but this is rough and unscientific. It stands to reason that a pound to a dog weighing 9 Ibs. is more advantageous to him over a dog weighing 8 Ibs. than the pound would be to a 28-Ib. dog over one weighing 27 Ibs. With the little dogs a pound is worth more in proportion to their whole weight than with big dogs. This will be illustrated in the appended scale:—
SCALE OF HANDICAP STARTS IN WHIPPET-RACING
Bitches, being three yards faster than dogs, have three yards less start and so if one has to make up the starts of a number of dogs one would employ this scale, and the dogs at the finish would be very close, unless they differed much in quality. It would then be a " classic race," in which the fastest dog would win. In the next handicap one would put the winner back two yards behind the last mark, and the second one a yard. If any dog ran particularly badly in its heat, he would be given a lift of a yard or so. It does not do to be too generous with the lifting. Good dogs are not encouraged, and bad ones are kept low until the owner complains to the handicapper, when he is told to "get a better dog !" I cannot but think with regret how many bad dogs are exterminated every year, but as the whippeter is a poor man he cannot afford to keep bad stock.
On the other hand, there are feelings almost romantic between the owner and a successful dog ; it is always the centre of love and affection in the family, and deserves to be when, perhaps, it has supported them from time to time by its winnings. And when it gets too old it lives for the rest of its life by the fire, and the family get another winner to run for them.
Of course betting is with the whippeters the sole aim of dog- racing. At the winning end of the course there is a stand erected for "dockers." These stand with watch in hand and time the winners of the first heats before they and their friends put down their money on the ultimate winner. The dog-timing watch is expensive, costing about £9 or £10 ; the hand travels round the dial once in two seconds. Thus a dog can be timed easily to a sixteenth of a second, which represents a yard. . , Twice a month all through the year there is a handicap of £25 or £40 at £are entered. After the first round one can generally get 6 to I or better on the field. Sums of £300 or £400 are frequently won at these handicaps, and I once saw a dog backed by its owner to win £3000, but he lost by a nose! Needless to say the owner was a well-to-do innkeeper.
THE WHIPPET 433
betting on the others' dogs. This of course reduces the sport to robbery and absurdity. But if the stewards insist on fair starting, there are left fewer ingenious tricks in whippet-racing for cheating the betting public than there are in horse-racing ; for it is possible to see if a man has held his dog, however momentary the delay may have been, whilst it is never quite obvious that a jockey is pulling.
Personally the few whippet-races I have seen have always reminded me of a sight I was once witness to in an Indian jungle, where I was shooting, with a large body of beaters driving the game towards me. My station was in front of a small glade, the grass on which was cropped as short as the turf on the Downs by browsing deer. Suddenly across this little open space darted seven mouse-deer at full speed, frightened by the cries of the approaching beaters. They were tiny, grey, dotted things, with pipe-stem legs, just about the size of smallish whippets, and not at all unlike them in shape and form. Running extended, and low to earth, they cleared the glade and shot into the opposite jungle before you could say " Jack," much less " Robinson ! " I think it was the fleetest entrance and exit I ever saw in my life. And when I was present at my first whippet-race, the memory of that scene occurred to me, and the conviction to my mind that a mouse-deer was the proper quarry for a whippet.
The speed of a whippet is almost incredible. The record time, made by a 21^-lb. dog, named White Eye, was twelve seconds for 200 yards, which works out at a pace of a mile in 1- minutes. A 12-lb. dog has been known to cover the same distance (expressing it in the technical phraseology of the whippet-race course) in " 7 J yards inside 13 seconds." The racing pace of a whippet is reckoned at 16 yards per second— figures that will account for the acute excitement when these little creatures are competing with one another
434 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
with (what you might call) the speed of a telegraph message! In such " touch and go" affairs as these handicaps necessarily are, the rules controlling them have to be extra stringent, and the slipping of a dog before the report of the pistol is followed with disqualification for the whole meeting. Bank holidays and Saturday afternoons are devoted to whippet-racing by thousands of people in the North, and, needless to say, there is a great deal of gambling and wagering on the results of the races.
Rabbit-coursing is also conducted on the handicap principle. The rabbit is allowed an average start of 50 yards,—it may be more or less,—and the dogs are slipped from their handicap stations. There are no points allowed to count for the skill displayed in the course, as in greyhound-coursing, and each couple of competitors are matched for the most kills of from eleven to twenty-five rabbits.
It is an inexplicable thing why whippet-racing has never " caught on " in the South, notwithstanding that exhibitions have been given at some of the leading shows. Mr. Fothergill arranged two whippet handicaps, £20 and £2 5 stakes, at Lewes in 1901, under the management of a club formed by him ; but, though the racing was very good, over 100 dogs being entered in the second race, the venture proved a great loss. The breed, however, has decidedly increased in popularity. In 1899 a Whippet Club was formed, and through its exertions the breed received formal recognition and was accorded a place in the Registers three years later. It is, by its very nature, not a show-bench dog, but classes are fairly well filled, and at the Kennel Club shows in 1901-03 the entries averaged forty-five, though they sank below forty in the latter year. Of course this cannot be considered very satisfactory in a small breed of dogs, and
The Twentieth Century Dog ...
By Herbert Compton
Published by G. Richards, 1904
Item notes: v.2
THE RACE DOG
423
WHIPPET OR RACEDOG
Norman Mayall & Co. photo
Norman Mayall & Co. photo
THE WHIPPET
The whippet affords a remarkable illustration of the talent, not to say genius, of the dog-fancier, and his ability to manufacture new types of dogs. No one looking at the picture of Manorley May, which adorns this section, and bearing in mind her height, which is 17 inches, and her weight of 19 Ibs., could desire a more exquisitely proportioned four-footed creature, or one more instinct with the attributes of swiftness and virility made apparent. And yet this model of harmony and grace is, in its correlation of height and weight, outside the ordinary scheme of canine creation. To all intents and purposes it represents a new species of dog, as it represents a new feature of attractiveness in dog-fancying in one of the uses to which it is put.
Curiously enough, the whippet as a piece of canine art is the creation of the working-man. To the miners and mill-hands of the North,—heavy-limbed, huge-framed, grimy delvers in the bowels of the earth, or toilers in the busy factories,—we owe this dainty design in dog's flesh. The genesis of the breed may be traced to the love of sport and affection for dogs which are characteristics of the North, that has given us many contributions besides whippets to our canine classification—as, for instance, Airedale, Bedlington, Manchester, Yorkshire, and white English terriers, and also fostered in
426 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
their purity other older breeds which were, otherwhere, lapsing into a state bordering on mongrelism. The dog- world owes much to the triangle between the Mersey, the Humber, and the Tyne. Therein dwell a hardy, homely race of sportsmen, whose humble sphere of sport was confined chiefly to rabbiting; and it was to increase the speed of the terrier or " snap-dog," formerly used in this pursuit, that, some time in the 'Sixties, it is said, an out-cross with the Italian greyhound was resorted to ; others ascribe the creation to a cross between a greyhound and a Manchester terrier.
It was an alliance of swiftness and grace with pluck and tenacity, and the blend " came away good." In time, by judicious breeding, there was evolved an animal with the grit and staying powers of the working terrier, and the symmetry and speed of the aristocratic dog. No doubt at a later period greyhound blood filtered in, for there is a variation in the weight of the whippet inconsistent with a cross confined to the first two breeds only. But the terrier grit was maintained whilst the physical outline was gradually refined into closer harmony with the greyhound, until a perfect miniature of that breed was arrived at, only gifted with an improved character and mental capacity.
With its racing lines, with its racing speed, and with its tractability, a new vista opened out for this new breed of dog. I have no doubt the terrier intelligence it retained suggested the possibility of the purpose to which it was put. The whippet was a dog that could be trained to race without fur leading it— no easy task when you come to try it, but amazingly fascinating when accomplished. Horse - racing is a sport which appeals irresistibly to the natives of these islands, whilst only a few can personally enjoy it . But racing with dogs, and such dogs, was a form of com-
THE WHIPPET 427
petition that came within the means of the poorest. The north countryman took to the idea with avidity ; the dog was bred more and more for speed ; there came " professional trainers" to educate it and fit it for its duties ; and in the course of a decade the " snap-dog " blossomed into a race-dog, and whippet-racing one of the most popular amusements of the miners and other sons of toil in Northumberland, Yorkshire, and the adjoining counties.
Whippet-racing is now a big business — quite a world of its own ; its rules and regulations are not germane to these pages ; but those who are interested in them may find all the information they need in a publication that deals with the subject at full length. Sufficient to say that the sport has been reduced to very exact lines, and the rigour with which it is legislated for and conducted is second to that of no other sporting code in the country. To the well-trained whippet the race alone is the thing. That it excites them almost as much as their masters is a fact capable of ocular proof at any meeting ; and the wholly innocent cause of that excitement contrasts pleasantly with other similar dog-diversions where praise for the prowess of the dog is qualified by pity for its victim. From a humanitarian point of view, the whippet, as a race-dog pure and simple, and one that can be excited to the greatest exertion without scent of blood or sight of fur, deserves popularity.
I have been so fortunate as to obtain the following contribution from Mr. J. R. Fothergill, the President of the Whippet Club, on the subject of whippet-racing, and although its inclusion extends this section beyond its allotted limits, I am sure all my readers interested in the breed will be glad to have a description of the sport from one so qualified to give it:—
Whippet-racing.—The whippet has often been called "the poor man's race-horse," but nevertheless it can also be the rich man's race-dog. It is true that, with a few exceptions, only working-men in England have ever attended to whippet-racing, but I shall endeavour to show that, although it is the cheapest form of sport, it is far from being the meanest.
Although whippet-racing finds its patrons amongst some of the narrowest intellects in England, there is no doubt that the simple miners and mill-hands of the North have a genius for the breeding, running, and educating of their dogs. I have visited Lancashire more than once, especially to investigate whippet-racing there, and have come away full of admiration for their scientific methods, their keenness and honesty.
The best racing-whippets are bred like race-horses, through a long line of winners. To be of any use the dog must begin its education very young. As soon as it has been weaned it is kept aloof from his fellow-puppies and other dogs. From this day forward it lives the life of a hermit, having no friends and no enemies. The reason for this is that the dog will have to do his racing unjockeyed, so to speak, over a 200 yards' course, and from the moment he leaves the " slipper's " hands he must never take his eyes off the " rag" which another man (the walker-up) has carried before him up to the end of the course. If, then, he has been in the habit of chiveying playmates, or fighting with strange dogs, there are ten chances to one he will prefer to indulge in these games up the course instead of honestly " running to the rag." If, on the contrary, he has never known the society of other dogs, it will rarely occur to a whippet to molest them. Those who turn out " slappers," as they are called, are useless for racing, as they will never run in front. At the first Lancashire whippet-race I attended a friend told me he was bringing out a whelp for the first time. It was twelve months old and had never run in company. I suggested it was a toss-up whether it would " run honest" or not, and he was quite surprised at my doubts. But the whelp turned neither to right nor to left, and in the company of five screaming dogs, and between some thousand onlookers, ran as straight as a line from start to rag.
During the first six months or year a puppy requires much attention and patience; he is generally, therefore, handed over to an experienced " walker," who, for two or three shillings a week, will keep and educate him. The puppy at once takes up his quarters in the man's kitchen and bedroom, where he plays and sleeps till his master has left work for the day, when he is taken
WHIPPET-RACING.
STARTING.
STARTING.
THE WHIPPET 429
for a walk. It is comical to see a little puppy walking on a lead, muzzled and coated. They always muzzle whippets to prevent them picking up bad food when in training ; many of them even sleep in their muzzles.
The puppy is now encouraged to tear and worry rag and paper, even though he destroy, at times, some of his master's belongings. The taste for the rag once developed, he is held by one man in the proper slipping fashion, whilst another worries him with-a rag. He is let loose at it, and then, by increasing the distance from a yard to thirty yards or so, the puppy will dash at the rag with all the speed he can muster. Great care is taken not to give the puppy too much exertion, as this would damp his fire. He is taken to whippet-races, where he hears the people shout, accustoms himself to the starter's pistol and the noise of the dogs yelping. No dog shows more nerve than the racer; he is indifferent to everything save his rag, and afraid of nothing. The experiment was once tried, for a wager, of lighting a line of straw across the track ; the dogs ran through it quite blindly. I have been asked whether a dog was brought to such a pitch of keenness by starving him ; and again whether he was taught by the whip ! The reader will have already understood there is no need for such curious means to prick the courage ; nay rather, the dog, whatever be his offence, is never chastised. The fearlessness of the race-dog is due entirely to the fact that he has never known suppression or defeat from man or beast. He lives by rule, is daily given his runs and walks, and his only diversion is to witness a dog-race, or to visit the public-house of an evening in his master's arms or on the lead. Here he will attract a circle of whippeters, who will handle him and maul him about on the table, much to the satisfaction of the walker.
When the whelp is about ten months old he bids good-bye to his first keeper, and starts life with a trainer. Of course the greater number of dogs are brought up by their owners and trained by them, but most of these will spend six weeks, at some time, with a trainer. But the successful dogs, as a rule, are those that are under professional care, which is by no means expensive.
The dog is now walked regularly from 5 to 15 miles a day, according to his size, and does a 200-yards' course twice a-week, or even shorter distances. When he is quite hard, and his feet in condition to stand the cinder track, he runs his first race. It is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules for training, as trainers differ so much in method, and dogs in constitution ; but the chief points observed are these. The dog must have
430 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
enough slow work for hardening him to give him stamina, say, for three races in an afternoon, and enough running to develop his speed ; by observation and timing the trainer is able to see how much exercise, fast and slow, he needs. It is important, moreover, that the dog, when walking, should go on a lead at his trainer's pace, and that, when he runs, the distance shall never exceed 200 yards. As for feeding, the bantam's eggs, the first slice off a shoulder of lamb, old sherry, and other delicacies that one hears is the race-dog's bill of fare, these are vain imaginations! The dog usually gets a basin of broken bread, gravy, and pudding; very often tea and ale, and, in fact, has just what the family has. Meat he is not given until the last few days before a race. Of course if he has to run for a .£50 match he is somewhat more expensively fed for a week or so.
I have now considered the education and training of a race- dog. Before I come to the handicapping a word or two must be said of the "slipper" and " walker-up." For the race the dog is put into the hands of the slipper, who stands behind the starting mark, and the walker-up, who is generally the owner or trainer, or some one whom the dog knows, takes the rag, waves it in the face of the dog, and then, with frantic shouts or whistles, passes up the course with the other walkers-up, and does not stop till the "trig mark" is reached—that is, 15 yards behind the winning mark. The judge signals to the starter at the other end, who tells the slippers to " get ready." These take up their position, holding the dogs by a good handful of skin by the neck, and the tail firmly at the root. The starter, standing behind the dogs, fires the pistol, and with a lurch forward the dogs are all thrown into their stride, and before thirteen seconds they will have caught, every dog, his own rag, with all the grip of his jaws, be lifted into the air by his own momentum, and swing around his particular man like a fish on a line '
The first over the winning mark wins ; the walkers-up are careful to hold the rag at arm's length to the side, otherwise, when the dog comes at full speed to catch the rag, he would break his neck against the man's legs. A whippet, when at full speed, is going at the rate of somewhere between 36 and 40 miles an hour ! There are seldom more than three or four crack slippers in Oldham, for their business requires great skill. These men take from .£3 to £$ for slipping the winner of a handicap. So precisely can they tell how dogs are slipped that a slipper is commonly heard to say that he got his dog offthree or four inches better than another, or vice versa ! And seeing that in the finals
THE WHIPPET 431
of a good handicap the six dogs can be " covered with a towel" when running over the winning mark, it is important to procure every possible inch by securing a good slipper. It is only by slipping some thirty dogs every Saturday afternoon that these men become such skilled performers.
The dogs are handicapped on a very elaborate and exact system. It is only just that a little dog should get a start from a big one, as the bigger has the more weight and muscle and a longer stride, and so a scale of weights and starts is made to establish a basis upon which to handicap any dog whose performances are not known. By closely observing the running of hundreds of dogs for forty years, and by striking the averages after every handicap, the folk in Lancashire have elaborated a scale which allows the best dog to win, and not the biggest. Ignorant people will make up a handicap, giving the dogs two yards to the pound, but this is rough and unscientific. It stands to reason that a pound to a dog weighing 9 Ibs. is more advantageous to him over a dog weighing 8 Ibs. than the pound would be to a 28-Ib. dog over one weighing 27 Ibs. With the little dogs a pound is worth more in proportion to their whole weight than with big dogs. This will be illustrated in the appended scale:—
SCALE OF HANDICAP STARTS IN WHIPPET-RACING
432 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
Bitches, being three yards faster than dogs, have three yards less start and so if one has to make up the starts of a number of dogs one would employ this scale, and the dogs at the finish would be very close, unless they differed much in quality. It would then be a " classic race," in which the fastest dog would win. In the next handicap one would put the winner back two yards behind the last mark, and the second one a yard. If any dog ran particularly badly in its heat, he would be given a lift of a yard or so. It does not do to be too generous with the lifting. Good dogs are not encouraged, and bad ones are kept low until the owner complains to the handicapper, when he is told to "get a better dog !" I cannot but think with regret how many bad dogs are exterminated every year, but as the whippeter is a poor man he cannot afford to keep bad stock.
On the other hand, there are feelings almost romantic between the owner and a successful dog ; it is always the centre of love and affection in the family, and deserves to be when, perhaps, it has supported them from time to time by its winnings. And when it gets too old it lives for the rest of its life by the fire, and the family get another winner to run for them.
Of course betting is with the whippeters the sole aim of dog- racing. At the winning end of the course there is a stand erected for "dockers." These stand with watch in hand and time the winners of the first heats before they and their friends put down their money on the ultimate winner. The dog-timing watch is expensive, costing about £9 or £10 ; the hand travels round the dial once in two seconds. Thus a dog can be timed easily to a sixteenth of a second, which represents a yard. . , Twice a month all through the year there is a handicap of £25 or £40 at £are entered. After the first round one can generally get 6 to I or better on the field. Sums of £300 or £400 are frequently won at these handicaps, and I once saw a dog backed by its owner to win £3000, but he lost by a nose! Needless to say the owner was a well-to-do innkeeper.
THE WHIPPET 433
betting on the others' dogs. This of course reduces the sport to robbery and absurdity. But if the stewards insist on fair starting, there are left fewer ingenious tricks in whippet-racing for cheating the betting public than there are in horse-racing ; for it is possible to see if a man has held his dog, however momentary the delay may have been, whilst it is never quite obvious that a jockey is pulling.
Personally the few whippet-races I have seen have always reminded me of a sight I was once witness to in an Indian jungle, where I was shooting, with a large body of beaters driving the game towards me. My station was in front of a small glade, the grass on which was cropped as short as the turf on the Downs by browsing deer. Suddenly across this little open space darted seven mouse-deer at full speed, frightened by the cries of the approaching beaters. They were tiny, grey, dotted things, with pipe-stem legs, just about the size of smallish whippets, and not at all unlike them in shape and form. Running extended, and low to earth, they cleared the glade and shot into the opposite jungle before you could say " Jack," much less " Robinson ! " I think it was the fleetest entrance and exit I ever saw in my life. And when I was present at my first whippet-race, the memory of that scene occurred to me, and the conviction to my mind that a mouse-deer was the proper quarry for a whippet.
The speed of a whippet is almost incredible. The record time, made by a 21^-lb. dog, named White Eye, was twelve seconds for 200 yards, which works out at a pace of a mile in 1- minutes. A 12-lb. dog has been known to cover the same distance (expressing it in the technical phraseology of the whippet-race course) in " 7 J yards inside 13 seconds." The racing pace of a whippet is reckoned at 16 yards per second— figures that will account for the acute excitement when these little creatures are competing with one another
434 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
with (what you might call) the speed of a telegraph message! In such " touch and go" affairs as these handicaps necessarily are, the rules controlling them have to be extra stringent, and the slipping of a dog before the report of the pistol is followed with disqualification for the whole meeting. Bank holidays and Saturday afternoons are devoted to whippet-racing by thousands of people in the North, and, needless to say, there is a great deal of gambling and wagering on the results of the races.
Rabbit-coursing is also conducted on the handicap principle. The rabbit is allowed an average start of 50 yards,—it may be more or less,—and the dogs are slipped from their handicap stations. There are no points allowed to count for the skill displayed in the course, as in greyhound-coursing, and each couple of competitors are matched for the most kills of from eleven to twenty-five rabbits.
It is an inexplicable thing why whippet-racing has never " caught on " in the South, notwithstanding that exhibitions have been given at some of the leading shows. Mr. Fothergill arranged two whippet handicaps, £20 and £2 5 stakes, at Lewes in 1901, under the management of a club formed by him ; but, though the racing was very good, over 100 dogs being entered in the second race, the venture proved a great loss. The breed, however, has decidedly increased in popularity. In 1899 a Whippet Club was formed, and through its exertions the breed received formal recognition and was accorded a place in the Registers three years later. It is, by its very nature, not a show-bench dog, but classes are fairly well filled, and at the Kennel Club shows in 1901-03 the entries averaged forty-five, though they sank below forty in the latter year. Of course this cannot be considered very satisfactory in a small breed of dogs, and
THE WHIPPET 435
one which numbers its votaries by the thousands in the North. But it is pretty certain that the Whippet Club, -- which now has such names on its front page as Mr JR Fothergill, Lady Arthur Grosvenor, Mr Fred Bottomley, Mr Harding Cox, and Mr A Lamotte,-- will soon improve the status of the breed, and carry it into the position which the intrinsic merits and physical beauties of the little animal it has been founded to foster, right worthily deserve. The sport of whippet racing suitably conducted is one in which ladies might find a great delight; it offers the quintessence of excitement, crystallised into a few seconds; it is capable of being conducted within private enclosures and kept select, and it adds an attraction to dog-keeping which is not to be obtained in any other breed under the same innocent conditions. There is no blood shed, and there is lots of fun, and, I doubt not, as much joy in owning a winner as in the proprietorship of other “fleetest of their kind.” And for this reason alone the development of whippet-racing is a consummation which no one could object to.
The following are the notes I have received from my contributors in this section:--
MR JR FOTHERGILL (President of the Whippet Club)-- Nothing could be better as regards type, than many of the bitches now being shown, but the breed requires a few good dogs, a few good breeders, and a few good supporters The values of the points seem to me good, but in judging by points one can often go wide of the mark. More especially is this the case with whippets and greyhounds With these dogs individual points are of little importance, even if they have them all in equal perfection, without symmetry, balance and simplicity of construction. The whippet is intended for running only. Many a dog, with a row of bad points, is faster and handier than many a good-showing dog. The reason is that they have the above - mentioned qualities. Judge a whippet out of focus first and then adjust your sight for detail.
436 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
I like a whippet first as a race dog, a more interesting study for the subject of animal psychology is hard to find, but there is no need to expatiate upon this somewhat abstract subject here. Like all dogs, their characters are like those of their masters, and they are as easily impressionable, and taught, as any other dog I have had to do with. A thorough bred whippet can be taught retrieving and ratting, whilst he is naturally a better hand at rabbits than a terrier or a greyhound. I have four thorough bred whippets that will hunt the scent of a rabbit or any other scent for any distance. Each takes its own line and they are remarkably clever at casting and travel at a great speed. I have known them to hunt a hare entirely by its scent over the Downs for about a mile and a half. A lady looks better with a whippet than with most other dogs, they are so ornamental. Though if for this purpose a foil is required, a bulldog certainly serves best.
MR HARDING Cox — There is not much fault to find with the type of the breed as it exists to day, but breeders must keep up sufficient bone, and must be careful about close, strong, well arched, and well split up feet. I have always judged whippets on greyhound lines making due allowance for difference of type in hindquarters. Beyond the sport afforded by whippets in sprinting matches and coursing rabbits, I fancy there is little to recommend them as companions though they are lively and amiable as a rule.
MRS CHARLES CHAPMAN – I think there is a danger in breeding whippets fit for the bench only and losing sight of the qualities necessary for racing. The whippet is gifted with extraordinary speed and for the limited distance it races exceeds that of the greyhound. My bitch Ch Rosette of Radnage accomplished the feat of winning a championship at the Kennel Club Show of 1900, and winning the handicap promoted by the Whippet Club at the same show. Whippet racing, properly conducted, is a most charming sport and essentially suitable for ladies to interest themselves in, and I feel very sorry that the efforts made to popularise it seem to have been without result. Whippets, or more properly speaking race dogs, are capital house companions but their principal interest lies in the sport they afford. And for my ideal whippet, I see him held in the leash by his handler eager for the start. He is straining every nerve quivering with excitement and fairly screaming in his anxiety to be after the white rag to reach which is to the uninitiated the inexplicable cause of this mysterious racing. My
THE WHIPPET 437
ideal is of brindle colour, about 15 or 16 Ibs in weight, so that he is well placed in the handicap. His head is long and lean, his mouth perfectly level, his ears small, and shoulders as sloping as possible. His body is well tucked up, with the brisket very deep, his back slightly arched, with a whip tail carried low but nicely curved. His hindquarters are very muscular, and his fore legs absolutely straight, with feet hard and close, and hind legs well turned with hocks bent under him, all the muscles induced by the thorough training he has undergone showing – he looks what he is – a perfect picture of a “race dog”
MR A LAMOTTE – The breed is making great strides in the right direction, viz a greyhound weighing about 20 Ibs. In the Standard of Points, great value should be laid on power in hindquarters and loin, good feet and legs, deep brisket with plenty of heart room. The whippet was made to race and gallop short distances at a great speed. To see these small pets fighting it out yard by yard on the track is wonderful. And how they love the sport. Unfortunate it is that it is not in better hands, but we must hope that this will improve in time. The whippet as a pet is a very charming animal and its affection for its owner is great. Watching them running about with their quick graceful movements is a joy to the eye
MR FRED BOTTOMLEY – The type of whippet to day is better than of late though there is still room for improvement in shoulders, weak pasterns, straight hocks, and size, which in my opinion should not exceed 20 Ibs. I am the oldest whippet exhibitor, and for the last ten years have made but few additions to my kennels, always showing my own strain which include Ch Manorley New Boy and Ch Manorley Model now withdrawn from the show bench. I have always found whippets the best of pals, very game dogs, and the fastest dog living for their size.
I take the following Standard of Points from the Whippet Club's publication. This institution has a strong committee. Mr Charles S Smith is the Honorary Secretary and the subscription is half a guinea annually. The club owns a challenge cup which is competed for every year at the Kennel Club Show.
438 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
STANDARD OF POINTS OF THE WHIPPET
HEAD Long and lean rather wide between the eyes and flat at the top. The jaw powerful yet clearly cut
TEETH Level and white
EYES Bright and fiery
EARS Small fine in texture and rose shaped
NECK Long and muscular elegantly arched and free from throatiness
SHOULDERS Oblique and muscular
CHEST Deep and capacious
BACK Broad and square rather long and slightly arched over the loin which should be strong and powerful
FORE LEGS Rather long well set under the dog possessing fair amount of bone
HINDQUARTERS Strong and broad across stifles well bent thighs broad and muscular hocks well let down
FEET Round well split up with strong soles
TAIL Tapering long and nicely carried COAT Fine and close
COLOUR Black red white brindle fawn blue and various mixtures of each
WEIGHT The ideal weight is 20 Ibs There are no points values published in this breed
The subject of my illustration is Mr Fred Bottomley's beautiful bitch Manorley May born in June 1899 by Fullerton ex Judy. She stands 17 inches at shoulder weighs 19 Ibs and is of a fawn colour. Mr Bottomley describes her as having a grand long lean head brown eyes semi erect ears small and fine in texture and beautiful neck and shoulders. Her body and legs are perfect and she is framed for speed and work. She possesses all the good points of a first class whippet and has proved herself a very fast bitch in handicap races as well as a great winner on the show bench. She won a championship at Brighton firsts every time shown and is the dam of winners.
one which numbers its votaries by the thousands in the North. But it is pretty certain that the Whippet Club, -- which now has such names on its front page as Mr JR Fothergill, Lady Arthur Grosvenor, Mr Fred Bottomley, Mr Harding Cox, and Mr A Lamotte,-- will soon improve the status of the breed, and carry it into the position which the intrinsic merits and physical beauties of the little animal it has been founded to foster, right worthily deserve. The sport of whippet racing suitably conducted is one in which ladies might find a great delight; it offers the quintessence of excitement, crystallised into a few seconds; it is capable of being conducted within private enclosures and kept select, and it adds an attraction to dog-keeping which is not to be obtained in any other breed under the same innocent conditions. There is no blood shed, and there is lots of fun, and, I doubt not, as much joy in owning a winner as in the proprietorship of other “fleetest of their kind.” And for this reason alone the development of whippet-racing is a consummation which no one could object to.
The following are the notes I have received from my contributors in this section:--
MR JR FOTHERGILL (President of the Whippet Club)-- Nothing could be better as regards type, than many of the bitches now being shown, but the breed requires a few good dogs, a few good breeders, and a few good supporters The values of the points seem to me good, but in judging by points one can often go wide of the mark. More especially is this the case with whippets and greyhounds With these dogs individual points are of little importance, even if they have them all in equal perfection, without symmetry, balance and simplicity of construction. The whippet is intended for running only. Many a dog, with a row of bad points, is faster and handier than many a good-showing dog. The reason is that they have the above - mentioned qualities. Judge a whippet out of focus first and then adjust your sight for detail.
436 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
I like a whippet first as a race dog, a more interesting study for the subject of animal psychology is hard to find, but there is no need to expatiate upon this somewhat abstract subject here. Like all dogs, their characters are like those of their masters, and they are as easily impressionable, and taught, as any other dog I have had to do with. A thorough bred whippet can be taught retrieving and ratting, whilst he is naturally a better hand at rabbits than a terrier or a greyhound. I have four thorough bred whippets that will hunt the scent of a rabbit or any other scent for any distance. Each takes its own line and they are remarkably clever at casting and travel at a great speed. I have known them to hunt a hare entirely by its scent over the Downs for about a mile and a half. A lady looks better with a whippet than with most other dogs, they are so ornamental. Though if for this purpose a foil is required, a bulldog certainly serves best.
MR HARDING Cox — There is not much fault to find with the type of the breed as it exists to day, but breeders must keep up sufficient bone, and must be careful about close, strong, well arched, and well split up feet. I have always judged whippets on greyhound lines making due allowance for difference of type in hindquarters. Beyond the sport afforded by whippets in sprinting matches and coursing rabbits, I fancy there is little to recommend them as companions though they are lively and amiable as a rule.
MRS CHARLES CHAPMAN – I think there is a danger in breeding whippets fit for the bench only and losing sight of the qualities necessary for racing. The whippet is gifted with extraordinary speed and for the limited distance it races exceeds that of the greyhound. My bitch Ch Rosette of Radnage accomplished the feat of winning a championship at the Kennel Club Show of 1900, and winning the handicap promoted by the Whippet Club at the same show. Whippet racing, properly conducted, is a most charming sport and essentially suitable for ladies to interest themselves in, and I feel very sorry that the efforts made to popularise it seem to have been without result. Whippets, or more properly speaking race dogs, are capital house companions but their principal interest lies in the sport they afford. And for my ideal whippet, I see him held in the leash by his handler eager for the start. He is straining every nerve quivering with excitement and fairly screaming in his anxiety to be after the white rag to reach which is to the uninitiated the inexplicable cause of this mysterious racing. My
THE WHIPPET 437
ideal is of brindle colour, about 15 or 16 Ibs in weight, so that he is well placed in the handicap. His head is long and lean, his mouth perfectly level, his ears small, and shoulders as sloping as possible. His body is well tucked up, with the brisket very deep, his back slightly arched, with a whip tail carried low but nicely curved. His hindquarters are very muscular, and his fore legs absolutely straight, with feet hard and close, and hind legs well turned with hocks bent under him, all the muscles induced by the thorough training he has undergone showing – he looks what he is – a perfect picture of a “race dog”
MR A LAMOTTE – The breed is making great strides in the right direction, viz a greyhound weighing about 20 Ibs. In the Standard of Points, great value should be laid on power in hindquarters and loin, good feet and legs, deep brisket with plenty of heart room. The whippet was made to race and gallop short distances at a great speed. To see these small pets fighting it out yard by yard on the track is wonderful. And how they love the sport. Unfortunate it is that it is not in better hands, but we must hope that this will improve in time. The whippet as a pet is a very charming animal and its affection for its owner is great. Watching them running about with their quick graceful movements is a joy to the eye
MR FRED BOTTOMLEY – The type of whippet to day is better than of late though there is still room for improvement in shoulders, weak pasterns, straight hocks, and size, which in my opinion should not exceed 20 Ibs. I am the oldest whippet exhibitor, and for the last ten years have made but few additions to my kennels, always showing my own strain which include Ch Manorley New Boy and Ch Manorley Model now withdrawn from the show bench. I have always found whippets the best of pals, very game dogs, and the fastest dog living for their size.
I take the following Standard of Points from the Whippet Club's publication. This institution has a strong committee. Mr Charles S Smith is the Honorary Secretary and the subscription is half a guinea annually. The club owns a challenge cup which is competed for every year at the Kennel Club Show.
438 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY DOG
STANDARD OF POINTS OF THE WHIPPET
HEAD Long and lean rather wide between the eyes and flat at the top. The jaw powerful yet clearly cut
TEETH Level and white
EYES Bright and fiery
EARS Small fine in texture and rose shaped
NECK Long and muscular elegantly arched and free from throatiness
SHOULDERS Oblique and muscular
CHEST Deep and capacious
BACK Broad and square rather long and slightly arched over the loin which should be strong and powerful
FORE LEGS Rather long well set under the dog possessing fair amount of bone
HINDQUARTERS Strong and broad across stifles well bent thighs broad and muscular hocks well let down
FEET Round well split up with strong soles
TAIL Tapering long and nicely carried COAT Fine and close
COLOUR Black red white brindle fawn blue and various mixtures of each
WEIGHT The ideal weight is 20 Ibs There are no points values published in this breed
The subject of my illustration is Mr Fred Bottomley's beautiful bitch Manorley May born in June 1899 by Fullerton ex Judy. She stands 17 inches at shoulder weighs 19 Ibs and is of a fawn colour. Mr Bottomley describes her as having a grand long lean head brown eyes semi erect ears small and fine in texture and beautiful neck and shoulders. Her body and legs are perfect and she is framed for speed and work. She possesses all the good points of a first class whippet and has proved herself a very fast bitch in handicap races as well as a great winner on the show bench. She won a championship at Brighton firsts every time shown and is the dam of winners.
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