"The King Charles Spaniel belongs to the Cockers; the ears are deeply fringed, sweeping the ground; the rounded form of the forehead, the larger and moister eye, the longer and silkier coat, and the clearness of the tan, and white-and-black colour sufficiently distinguish this variety. His beauty and diminutive size have consigned him to the drawing-room or parlour.

"Charles I had a breed of Spaniels; very small with the hair black and curly, the Spaniel of the second Charles was of the black-and-tan breed." 1

I cannot trace that either of these Kings had the dogs, but it is quite likely Charles II had the former kind.

Youatt says that from France 2 a black-and-tan variety was produced from the Sussex Springer (which was the best variety) and a Terrier, which was cultivated by the late Duke of Norfolk: "The Black-and-tan Spaniel, the cross of Terrier being nearly or quite got rid of, is often a beautiful animal and is much valued, although it is frequently considered a somewhat stupid animal." I think he is here mistaking the cross, and that the Sussex Springer was already black-and-tan, crossed with King Charles.

Bewick, in 1824, gives a pretty cut of the "Springer or Cocker," and he says:

"Of the same kind is that beautiful little dog which in this country is well known under the appellation of King Charles dog, the favourite and constant companion of that monarch ... it is still preserved as an idle but innocent companion. Its long ears, curled hair, and web feet evidently point out its alliance with the more useful and active kind last mentioned. Similar to this, but smaller, is the Pyrame dog, it is generally black with reddish legs, and above each eye is a spot of the same colour."

1 Youatt, "The Dog," 1845.

2 It is difficult to understand how France could produce the cross from a Sussex dog.

The King Charles Black-and-tan was of an entirely different breed from the Blenheim, and in my opinion the crossing of them was impermissible except to produce new varieties - i.e., the Ruby and Tricolour in the second generation.

The appearance of parti-coloured puppies in King Charles litters would merely be evidence of the recent crossing of these varieties, but the white would breed out all except the natural white breast if self colour were repeatedly bred to self colour. As to getting a Black-and-tan puppy from two Blenheims, I have never heard of such an occurrence and do not believe it possible even where there has been a quite recent cross of Black-and-tan, The Red-and-white is the dominant breed, but the black-and-tan colour does not appear to remain even dormant. Mr. Milnes tells me of a case where two Black-and-tans (both of which were Blenheim bred) produced a Blenheim, but this is very rare. In fact, I never heard of another case.

The appearance of white on Rubies is because the Ruby originates in a cross of Red-and-white with Black-and-tan.

I entirely protest against these breeds being considered one and the same in origin. They have only been crossed within, the last eighty or ninety years, and the produce are only allowable as the foundation of the new Tricolour and Ruby breeds. The distorted and coarse type now commonly seen seems evidence of a further Bulldog (?) cross, which is not allowable at all. The cross of the King Charles with "Blenheim" has been resorted to in order to produce the other colours and to determine abnormally smashed faces which possibly originated in the black King Charles, already crossed with Pyrame about 1800, being recrossed with Bulldog about 1840. The explanation of the parti-coloured puppies which were said to appear in strains that were black as far as the owner could remember being in a previous cross or perhaps the Pyrame cross. The Pyrame, though generally black-and-tan, was sometimes whole red and sometimes black-and-white, and this peculiarity is referred to by Richardson in connection with the "Sussex" Spaniel. The production of these particoloured puppies is however only an assertion on hear-say evidence and I strongly doubt its correctness.

Dalziel speaks of the Tricolour as an unavoidable but undesirable freak of colour in the King Charles, but this was subsequent to the crossing of the breeds, and the original true Tricolour was doubtless the cross between the Italian and French Spaniel.

"In King Charles a rich black-and-tan is demanded without white, the black-and-tan-and-white variety being disregarded, though in the best-bred litters occasionally a puppy of this colour appears." This is a quotation from the 1867 edition of Stonehenge.

He also says that the Blenheim must on no account be whole coloured. The Ruby was, therefore, apparently considered to be a miscoloured Blenheim, but the very pronounced mismarking is got by a definite cross.

It is quite absurd to insist on the elimination of the white breast in Rubies and Black-and-tans, as these white breasts are natural and right, especially in the Ruby.