Bell, 1837, writes: "The Springer is a small but elegant breed; it is generally red-and-white with black nose and palate. The smallness of the head and the length of ears are essential points in dogs of this race. The true Marlboro breed is sometimes called the Springer. It is, however, a shorter dog with a less taper muzzle. These Spaniels are sometimes sold for an enormous price."

Bell goes on to quote a dog which was valued at seventy-five guineas.

The Field of 1866 thus described the Marlborough Spaniel of 1841, from which it is plainly evident that it was not a Toy:

"About twenty-five years ago we proceeded to Woodstock . . and our enquiries led us to one of the Marlborough lodges occupied by a very crusty old woman " (This old woman appears to have made herself celebrated by her crustiness, as another writer refers to it). "She showed us fifteen or twenty of these Spaniels, they were on an average eighteen pounds in weight, leggy, small-eared, prick-nosed wretches, having but one of the properties of the breed, the 'spot' on the top of the head."

This reminds me of a visit paid by a friend of mine to Blenheim some years ago. In the lodges were dogs precisely of the type of Van Dyck's in his picture of the children of Charles I. The short ears mentioned in 1866 are.characteristic of the early Marlborough, but in this case they were due to mange, of which there seemed to be a fine tradition. The woman at one of the lodges was apparently suffering from the traditional crustiness, being very cross and reluctant to admit my friend. She told him she hated the dogs, they always smelt no nasty. The visitor saw a litter of eight or nine puppies, and almost all of these, in addition to nearly every dog in the place, had the spot. Though they were smaller than the average of eighteen pounds given for 1841, they were far from small, and any decrease in size is probably due to an infusion of Toy blood from the outside. I believe that all this is now altered, and that fewer dogs are kept at Blenheim.

Mr, J. W. Palmer, the present Duke of Marlborough's estate agent, is doing his best to improve the type by breeding from the best and smallest of our show dogs, and I have seen some pretty ones from the Duke's estate. It is by the Duke of Marlborough's kind permission that I have reproduced his pictures in this volume, and my best thanks are due to Mr. Palmer for his most courteous help in getting the photographs taken. Without his consent it would have been impossible for proper pictures to be secured.

John Scott wrote that in 1800 the Duke of Marlborough's red-and-white Spaniels were Cockers. He also speaks of "Carpet Spaniels" as a different breed, saying that these are very delicate and small dogs, have exquisite noses, and will hunt truly and pleasantly, but are neither fit for a long day nor a thorny covert."

Ackermann, in 1809, speaks of the Marlborough as "indefatigable," and says that it was used as a finder in greyhound coursing, and differs only from the Cocker in size, but also says they are all so crossed that very few of pure race are now to be found.

In Ackermann's "Repository of Arts" the description of the Cocker is nearly that of the Marlborough Spaniel:

"Delicately formed like the Springer, but with a shorter, more compact form, and rounded head, shorter nose, long ears, and the longer the more admired. Limbs short and strong, the coat more inclined to curl than the Springer, Colour, liver-and-white, red-and-white, black-and-white, all liver colour and not unfrequently black with tanned legs and muzzles.1 From the great similarity between some of these Cockers and the small water dog, both in figure and disposition, there is little doubt that they may have been originally produced by a cross between the Springing Spaniel and the latter. . . The smallest Spaniels passing under the denomination of Cockers is the peculiar breed in the possession of the Duke of Marlborough and his friends which are invariably red-and-white with very long ears, short nose and black eyes. They are indefatigable, and are held in high estimation.

"These two kinds differ in size and not much in qualifications except that the former is inferior to the latter in rapidity of action and does not seem to catch the scent so quickly. Spaniels of both descriptions are used as finders in coursing with greyhounds. They show pleasure and excitement by perpetual motion of the tail - termed feathering. . . . The tail is generally curved. Crosses of this race of dog are so varied that but very few of the pure and unmixed breed are now to be obtained."

1 Here we have the Pyrame classed as a Cocker.

A coloured print shows a red-and-white dog with long nose and curly coat, Youatt in 1805 says: "The Blenheim Spaniel, from its beauty and occasional gaiety, is oftener an inhabitant of the drawing-room than the field, but it occasionally breaks out and shows what nature designed it for. Some of these carpeted pets acquit themselves nobly in the covert."

Captain Brown, in 1829 ("Anecdotes of Dogs"), says that the small Cocker, which was of several colours but often black-and-tan and liver coloured, with rather curly hair, was extremely common in many parts of Sussex, and from its beauty and temper was more frequently a parlour pet than a sporting dog, and that the Duke of Marlborough kept a red-and-white variety of this Sussex Spaniel which had very long ears, short noses and black and sparkling eyes, He also says that General Maxwell of Edinburgh kept an extremely beautiful breed of Cockers, mostly black-and-tan, with ears nearly seven inches in length. They were small but very lively, handsome little creatures.

The same writer says the King Charles is similar in every respect to the Cocker but is smaller, that he is of all colours, with longer ears and a longer tail.

Meyrick, 1842, says the Cocker averages fifteen pounds in weight, the head is rounder, the nose more pointed than that of other breeds of Spaniels. The ear is light for a Spaniel, and the hair on it should be comparatively thin (this exactly coincides with the descripthat colour, for which the first owner of Blenheim was celebrated, and that the small race known by that name derived their origin from in and in breeding, in jealousy to preserve the breed." This is a characteristic modern account of the history of Toy Spaniels, but has no evidence behind it