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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
41
In
connection
with
the
origin
of
the
St.
Bernard,
M.
Schumacher
wrote
in
a
letter
to
Mr.
J.
C.
Macdona,
who
was
the
first
to
introduce
the
breed
into
Great
Britain
in
any
numbers:
"According
to
the
tradition
of
the
Holy
Fathers
of
the
Great
Saint
Bernard,
their
race
descends
from
the
crossing
of
a
bitch
(a
Bulldog
species)
of
Denmark
and
a
Mastiff
(Shepherd's
Dog)
of
the
Pyrenees.
The
descendants
of
the
crossing,
who
have
inherited
from
the
Danish
dog
its
extraordinary
size
and
bodily
strength,
and
from
the
Pyrenean
Mastiff
the
intelligence,
the
exquisite
sense
of
smell,
and,
at
the
same
time,
the
faithfulness
and
sagacity
which
characterise
them,
have
acquired
in
the
space
of
five
centuries
so
glorious
a
notoriety
throughout
Europe
that
they
well
merit
the
name
of
a
distinct
race
for
themselves."
From
the
same
authority
we
learn
that
it
is
something
like
six
hundred
years
since
the
St.
Bernard
came
into
existence.
It
was
not,
however,
till
competitive
exhibitions
for
dogs
had
been
for
some
years
established
that
the
St.
Bernard
gained
a
footing
in
Great
Britain.
A
few
specimens
had
been
imported
from
the
Hospice
before
Mr.
Cumming
Macdona
(then
the
Rev.
Cumming
Macdona)
introduced
us
to
the
celebrated
Tell,
who,
with
others
of
the
breed
brought
from
Switzerland,
formed
the
foundation
of
his
magnificent
kennel
at
West
Kirby,
in
Cheshire.
Albert
Smith,
whom
some
few
that
are
now
alive
will
remember
as
an
amusing
lecturer,
brought
a
pair
from
the
Hospice
when
returning
from
a
visit
to
the
Continent
and
made
them
take
a
part
in
his
attractive
entertainment;
but
the
associations
of
the
St.
Bernard
with
the
noble
deeds
recorded
in
history
were
not
then
so
widely
known,
and
these
two
dogs
passed
away
without
having
created
any
particular
enthusiasm.
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