"The next that was heard of 'Twin' was that she had succumbed from the effects of swallowing a needle. 'I,' registered as 'I, Beauty's Daughter,' remained the whole of her lifetime at The Lodge, Penge, where, when paired with the pale blue 'Champion Bundle,' 'Southampton Duchess' was the result, the latter the mother of the 'Silver Lambkin's' most sensational son 'Champion Lord Southampton,' who was sold by Mrs. Greenwood for £60, when he became the property of Lady Decies, this being probably the highest price that has ever been given in England for a cat of any variety. 'Champion Lord Southampton,' who has been a very great winner, is remarkable for the lightness of colour and slight markings of his kittens, this being undoubtedly due to the strain of blue in his blood. Many beautiful cats own him as sire, notably Miss Leake's 'Seraph,' Mrs. Bluhm's 'Silver Sultan,' Mrs. Neild's 'Absent-minded Beggar,' Miss White Atkins' 'Tintagel,' Mrs. Tynvhitt Drake's 'Musa,' Mrs. Rickett's 'Empress Josephine,' Mrs. Earwaker's 'Buxton Cloud,' Mrs. Geo. Walker's 'Woodheys Fitzroy,' Mrs. Barnes' 'Nour-mahal,' winner of the Chinchilla Club challenge for the best kitten, 1899, and a daughter of 'ChampionFul-m e r Z a i d a, ' shown by Lady Decies at the Crystal Palace in 1901, also 'Green-eyed Monster. '

"Whilst speaking of 'Tintagel' it may be remembered that he sired a charming, litter exhibited by Mrs. Poole, which were first at the National Cat Club show at the Crystal Palace, and one of which won as a single kitten at the Botanic Gardens in 1902.

"Other famous progeny of'Silver Lambkin' are 'Silver Mist, ' 'Watership Caesar' (who won the gold medal at Boston, U. S. A., for the best cat in the show, 1902), 'Silver Tod Sloan' 'Silver Owl, 'Mrs. Bluhm's 'Silver Lily,' 'Silver Squire,' and 'Mowgli,' the last named bred by Mrs. Dunderdale, but later the property of Mrs. Smyth, of Forest Hill, one of the most enthusiastic admirers of chinchillas, who has in her possession the stuffed figure of 'Beauty.'

"A chinchilla that gained a considerable notoriety was 'Sweet Lavender,' the property of Mr. Hawkins. This was a beautiful specimen, very light in colour. The latter was also a distinctive feature of the Hon. Mrs. McLaren Morrison's 'Ameer,' a son of ' Lambkin Queen, ' who stands prominently forward as one of the most perfect of his kind. Mrs. Martin's ' St. Anthony,' whose name appears in the pedigrees of several winners, is a brother of ' Ameer.'

" As the sire of Lady Decies' ' Champion Fulmer Zaida,' the most lovely chinchilla female that has ever been seen, 'Silver Laddie,' who is now unfortunately gone to his happy hunting-grounds, can claim to have been one of the most noted of sires, more particularly as he was also the father of many others of great value, prominent amongst which were Miss Horsman's 'Aramis,' Miss Snell's 'Starlight,' 'Silver Cherub,' 'Lady of Quality' (one of the most perfect chinchillas ever bred),' Charterhouse Pixie ' (the dam of 'Tod Sloan'), and numberless others.

"Not only as a chinchilla, but when competing with all breeds of cats, both long and short haired, 'Champion Fulmer Zaida' has proved her excellence, and has on more than one occasion secured the cup at the Crystal Palace for the best cat in the whole show. She was bred by Mrs. Bluhm, one of the pioneers of chinchillas, and, it is stated, has now won 136 first and special prizes, and that Lord Decies has refused £90 for her.

"'Zaida' has also produced some first-class kittens, amongst which was Miss Stisted's 'Pearl,' the owner of the latter pretty queen being a most devoted admirer of the chinchilla and sparing no expense to further its interests.

"Mrs. Bluhm's strain of chinchillas are all very light in colour, and show great quality, which may also be said of those of Mrs. Wellbye, whose 'Silver Lotus' and 'Veronica,' daughters of 'Silver Squire' and 'Dossie,' did so much winning in their day.

Mrs. Wellbye's Silver "Dossie. " (Photo: E. Landor, Ealing. )

"Miss Meeson has also shown considerable enthusiasm in her endeavour to reach the ideal, her best efforts having resulted in 'Jupiter Duvals,' of wide fame.

"Two clubs have been formed in connection with the chinchilla cat - one, the Silver Society, embraced other coloured cats besides the chinchilla, this eventually becoming the Silver and Smoke Persian Cat Society. It was owing to this club encouraging shaded, or marked, silver cats and orange eyes that the Chinchilla Club was formed by Mrs. Balding. This Club has the honour of having as patron H. S. H. Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, who owns and exhibits some beautiful chinchillas, and Lord Decies as vice-president.

"The Chinchilla Club gives its support and specials, besides guaranteeing classes at any show whose management apply The conditions on which the specials are presented is that the cats to which they are awarded must be the property of members of the club, prize-winners in their respective classes, and registered cats.

"The club prizes usually consist of half a guinea in each class, and the more coveted Special of the club's badge for the best chinchilla of either sex. Badges were selected in place of the ubiquitous medal, because most of the dainty professional beauties very soon obtain a considerable number of the latter, and smart little badges were more appreciated.

"The club's present challenge trophy for chinchilla kittens is a solid silver model of 'Silver Lambkin,' offered by the hon. secretary for competition amongst its members; it is also open to members of the National Cat Club, in acknowledgment of the compliment paid by the latter to the original in choosing his statuette to surmount their challenge cup. The little history of the origin of this special has never appeared in print before, and as I was not present at the committee meeting referred to,' I tell the tale as 'twas told to me.'