No doubt some of the villagers who did business with the monks were dog lovers, and would now and then beg or purchase a puppy, and from youngsters so obtained, and trained to draw light handy carts, quite as much as from those brought up in the Hospice, our present race must have sprung. But old Barry was not nearly so big a dog as our best modern specimens, possibly he might be more active than some of them; nor was his colour so bright, nor were his markings so exact and regular as are looked for to-day. Barry was a dullish brindle and white, or white and brindle in hue, a pleasant-looking, smooth-coated dog, with nice character, I have been told, but a pigmy in comparison with the giants of our times. Some modern champions, with their thick, shaggy coats, twisted hind legs and huge heads, would, I am afraid, make but sorry headway through the snow, even though they might possess "double dew claws," with which nature was said to have provided them in order that they should not sink in the snowdrifts. Happily the latter fallacy has been exploded, and neither the absence of or presence of such abnormal excrescences has the slightest weight with a judge of St. Bernards at the present day. As a fact, the Swiss monks prefer the smooth or short-coated dogs, for reasons which are sufficiently obvious.

About thirty years it is since this dog began to obtain popularity in this country. A year or two before that time, specimens had occasionally appeared at our earlier dog shows, in the "variety" classes mostly, but in 1863 there was a canine exhibition at Cremorne Gardens, and here a section was specially provided for the novel variety, and it had an entry of fifteen. Lord Garvagh was the judge, and he gave the first prize to the Rev. N. Bates's Monk - an imported dog, said at the time, as all imported dogs then were, to be descended from the celebrated Barry. The Field report of the show said that both this dog and the second prize winner were of the Newfoundland type, but being assured by the judge that they were such as the monks had, he said no more on the matter. The writer of the report evidently did not consider them the genuine article. However, this was the first class ever provided for St. Bernards at a dog show in the British Isles, and it was not until 1866 that the Birmingham Council followed the good example. Prior to this date, the exhibitors at the National show had to put their St. Bernards in the variety class, where the above-named Monk won in 1862, and Mr. Macdona's celebrated dog Tell, of great fame at that time and later, in 1865.

The first special class at Birmingham had an entry of thirteen; here again Tell won, a kennel companion named Bernard, second; and by this time Mr. Macdona had come quite to the front as the re-introducer and actual populariser of this noble variety. In 1868 the variety had progressed to such an extent that the management at Curzon Hall provided two classes for them, viz., rough and smooth, and the latter had an entry of eighteen, the former one of eight only, both first prizes being won by Mr. Macdona. Then in 1869, at the Islington show, held at Laycock's Dairy-yard, the first big thing of the kind the present writer ever attended, two classes were again provided, and once more did the Hilbre House kennels furnish the leading winners, the smooth dog Monarque making his debut on this occasion, taking an easy first, with his kennel companions Victor and Jungfrau second and third. Tell won in the other class, with Sir C. Islam's Leo second, and Mr. Macdona's Hedwig third. It will be seen, such advances had the variety made, that in all six prizes were given. So came about the popularisation of the St. Bernard, and, as the saying goes, he has never looked behind him since - gone on prospering rather, for where at that time one good enough to win at a big show would be worth fifty or one hundred pounds, to-day one with similar ability would, perhaps, command three or four times that sum. For as well as being the biggest and handsomest of the canine race, he is the most valuable.

Much has of late been written as to the deterioration of the mastiff, owing to its so-called admirers breeding them for certain points to an exaggeration, but such cannot with fairness be said with regard to the St. Bernard. Whether the latter is easier to breed true to type than other large varieties of the canine race it is difficult to say, but there is no doubt that there are more good St. Bernards to be found now in 1893 than there are of any other big dog.

Monarque, Tell, and one or two others stood well ahead in their day. Then came Mr. Murchison's Thor, Mr. F. Gresham's Hector, The Shah, and Abbess, Miss Aglionby's Jura, one of the very best short-coated bitches I ever saw, followed by Mr. Macdona's Bayard; all of which in reality stood head and shoulders above other competitors. Menthon - a big black and tan ugly dog. quite wrong according to prevailing ideas, maybe right according to the style and character of a hundred years ago, resembling a half-bred bloodhound or Thibetan mastiff - did a considerable amount of winning at the earlier shows, but happily, if he was used at stud at all, he has not passed down his defects to the present generation.

Mr. F. Gresham, at Shefford, in Bedfordshire, and the late Mr. J. H. Murchison, following Mr. Macdona, gave greatest attention to breeding and importing choice specimens. At one period, about 1874, the former with such animals as Monk, Abbess, Hector, The Shah, Dagmar and Othman, possessed a kennel of St. Bernards which up to that time had not been equalled. At one of the Alexandra Palace shows, the Shefford strain made a record by winning first and second prizes in open rough dogs, the same in bitches and in smooth dogs, first honours in smooth bitches, all three prizes in puppies, as well as both cups that were offered.

Not long after this time, about 1882, Mr. R. Thornton introduced a beautiful smooth bitch, a brindle with white markings, called Leila, and for a year or so she was the best of her race appearing in public. Then longing eyes were cast at her from the other side of the Atlantic, and she with Mr. S. W. Smith's Duke of Leeds and two others of less note were sold for 800, this being about the first occasion upon which our American cousins opened their pockets to take from us some of our best show dogs.