e white collar that
encircles the neck down to the front of the shoulders. The colour
round the eyes and on the ears should be of a darker shade in the
red; in the centre of the white line at the occiput there should be
a spot of colour. These markings are said to represent the stole,
chasuble and scapular which form part of the vestments worn by the
monks; but it is seldom that the markings are so clearly defined;
they are more often white, with brindle or orange patches on the body,
with evenly-marked heads.

In England St. Bernards are either distinctly rough in coat or smooth,
but the generality of the Hospice dogs are broken in coat, having
a texture between the two extremes. The properties, however, of the
rough and smooth are the same, so that the two varieties are often
bred together, and, as a rule, both textures of coat will be the
result of the alliance. The late M. Schumacher, a great authority
on the breed in Switzerland, averred that dogs with very rough coats
were found to be of no use for work on the Alps, as their thick
covering became so loaded with snow and their feet so clogged that
they succumbed under the weight and perished. On that account they
were discarded by the monks.

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 ot