The Express.
London, England, 1864-09-05 00:00:00

SUNDAY DOG SHOWS.

Readers of Bell's Life mast have remarked that
under the heading " Canine Fancy " a series of
announcements are regularly given, not entirely
intelligible to the world at large. The " renowned
old house at home will on the following Sunday
show a stud of matchless beautifies the arrange-
ments being in the hands of old fanciers ' • dog
Pincher and his master have returned home, and by
way of a treat (!) the former will destroy 100 rats
,under five-and-a-half minutes," as a sort of preli-
minary to the more important duty of two days
later, when he is pledged to a "200 rat match"—"a
respected veteran " gives a housewarming, and in-
vites thereto all the bull-dogs of his acquaintance,
when " the great number of those majestic
animals (!) will surpass anything of the kind ever
witnessed," and when " several of the upper ten'
will be preeent"—shares in the "Limited Toy-dog
Company "may be secured by paying a modest
call of 2s. 6d. per share—tavern bars at
which the printed pedigree of the champion bull
Crib and the ratting rules may be bad at any
time—" rat matches " between two gentlemen for
51. a side "—and Sunday evening shows, whereat the
chairman "will show his prize dog Jerry against all
comers, faced by a gentleman who will produce his
stud of. little pets," and where the same high
functionary will graciously exhibit his stud of black
and tan spaniels, vice some one who will show his
stud of toy dogs." Such are the mystic bits of
information to which the great sporting organ
devotes each week more than half a column of its
precious space. Occupying the centre part of
a page, having yachting intelligence and
chess problems as its out-guards, it is
to be presumed that these paragraphs
are intensely interesting to thoee to whom they are
addressed. Here, then, is • field for philosophic
inquiry. Given statements which are so much
gibberish to nineteen educated readers out of
twenty ; given a class to whom they are all im-
portant ; how shall we best ascertain the conditions
governing the members of that class the links
binding them together, sod the exceptional circum-
stances of their lives ? The solution is not difficult.
If the inquirer will select between "matchless
beauties " and " old fanciers," " majestic animals,"
and "toy-dogs," and then give up an hour some
Sunday evening, be may ascertain all particulars for
himself. First to the back parlour of a tavern in
Long-acre, when, just as the adjaaent 'burgh, St.
Covent-garden,Paul's, is discharging its congrega-
tion, and when a fair proportion of the pedes-
trians you meet have prayer-books in their bands,
the so-called " show is going on. There is neither
let nor hindrance to your admission. You are
asked to walk in by a gentleman at the bar, and
you soon find yourself one of a mixed company of a
dozen or so. Five of these are meu, the rest dogs.
' The rattling of chains proceeds from the dogs, the
oaths and strong language from the men. The
former are chained to iron rings fixed in the wall,
or to the legs of the tables at which the latter sit ;
or else share the table with tumblers of gin-and-
water, pewter tankards of beer, and clay pipes and
tobacco. The "show "is very like a tap-room, and
the guests are a rough and ready, plain spoken set.
They call spades spades very frequently during
your stay, tell you of the bobbies having stopped
• fight " which woe to ave come off near
the Welsh Arp this wery Sunday morning."
Reminiscences of other fights, not stopped, whereat
speakers looked on ; anticipations of a great rat-
ting match to come, speculations as to the victor,
and hopes for the guvnor'ssuocess, follow this ; and
then you bear, under the moist seal of tavern con-
fidence, of a coming dog fight, " which you'll keep
it dark, for some folks makes themselves so
naughty-word nasty perticler." White bull-dog in
corner whines in approval, and rushing to end of
chain places his chin against your knee, and looks
"long live our national sports," with all the
authority conferred by a heavy growl, watery.eyes,
bow legs, and brawny chest Thirsty customers
produce dogs from most unexpected parts of their
body, like the conjurors' vase of gold fish,
and whisper inquiries as to fight and
" guvnor's chances ;" little black and tan
spaniel in right-band corner being of a
vain exacting spirit and nut receiving the attention
his self-estimated merits demand, proceeds to
leisurely choke himself with his chain by twisting
it round leg of table, thus evincing a sui-
cidal tendency, almost human in its governing
cause. His master—a hard-mouthed prosaic man
in white linen jacket and brown oords—adminis-
tem consolation in pats on the bead and jerks at
the collar, proving himself • complete Aldermau
Cute in his determination to put suicide down.
The convereatiosa is only momentarily interrupted
by this incident, and continues to revolve round
dog-fight, match, and " Welsh Arp," up to the
time you leave.
Now wending your steps across Leicester-square,
and turning up the street facing the end Of
the Haymarket, you proceed to the " old
house at home," to enjoy the society of "old
fanciers," and "matchless beauties," and to
still farther test the conversation of the dog-dealing,
dog-worshipping classes. At the end of a flagged
court, where every window of every house is open,
and shows people panting for air as they lean out,
with children popping round and about your
path, and a strong smell of old boots and strong
tobacco combining to assail your nose,—you read in'
staring characters "GAL? RATTING MATCH," and
pushing at a swing door, some yards further on,
are in a bar, with gay cotton pocket-handkerchiefs
banging on a clothesline—apparently to dry, but
really to show off the colours of some champion—
above, some rather disreputable-looking men
around, and a highly ornate young lady behind it.
There is no need of asking the whereabouts of show.
The chinking of chains, the pattering of small soft
feet on the wooden floor of the room to the right,
the matchless beauty on the squinting gentleman's
knee, and the playful bark of the small Skye oppo-
site, all paint out this to your inexperienced mind,
even if the ready " Walk in, gentlemen, please,"
of the bright-eyed, dark-complexioned, sharp-faced
louth, who is said to be the landlord, but who
ooks strangely young for that high position, did
not promptly greet every new oozier. A low-roofed
room, with portraits of pugdista, game-cooks, and
dogs, bills of the ratting match, and • large picture
of a prize-fight upon its walls; sawdust, wooden
benches, chairs, tables, dogs, and spittoons on its
floor, and forty to fifty " fanciers " of different
wm„ smoking, drinking, and talking round its centre.
The history and pursuits of your companions
are written on their faces, even if they did not

CrWOPENCE

I unconsciously paint them in their talk. The
resemblance between some of the bulldogs and
their owners is so remediable as to be strong testi-
mony in favour of the theory of natural selection.
Hanging jowls, protruding teeth from half-closed
mouths, and aggressively prominent ears, are in
many instances common to both ; though, as if to
defy generalisation and to scoff at rules, there are
men present who might, as far as externals go, be
easily made up for the pulpit, and whose thought-
ful, lofty countenances show something of the fire
of genius when the merits of "Arry's Novice," or
the virtues of a departed "as party a little
dawg as ever you see, with a palate as
black as hink—l giv' yer my ward," rouse
their latent eloquence, and inspire their souls. The
high-eheeked man in a Sootcb-bonnet, who has a
lovely little Skye terrier under each arm, and is
just about to produce another, as it seems, from his
watqb-pocket, is in interesting conversation with
theiharpieyed Jewish-looking man opposite, whoop
" brinjyer dawgs 'ere—that's the way ; and if yer
make a little money, why yer can spend it, and
(with much emphasis) if yer don't, yer can't, and
that's where it is," receives " that is right !" in ap-
pearing answer. This is said to be a toy-dog show,
and all present are toys, from the bright-eyed little
King Charles, with flop silk ears, to the fere-
mons-looking bulldog, which the equally ferocious-
looking man is nursing as if tt were a kitten.
" Like lambs, until they're roused, and then
they're devils that's their sort," explains this gentle-
man, who again strengthened the likesess between
his animal and himself by the contrast between the
fierceness of his appearance and the mellifluous
civility of his tones. A little playful badinage
between the Jewish gentleman and a new arrival,
who is sceptical as to the " certainty "of some
coming event—constant and stentorian shout' of
" Any orders, gentlemen, please," from a bustling
waiter, whose costume is that of a patron of the
ring who has donned the white apron in fun—sur-
prise at the great excitement about the dog fight
for five and-twenty a side, (" with it ain't ad so
mud] as if two men were Robe to mill for a
'underd, and yet it's thought ten times as much
of," from a broken-nosed gentleman, who is as
palpably disgusted with the degeneracy of the age
as was Belau. the Hangman when he beard poor
Burnaby loved his mother}—repetitions of the land-
lord's " Walk in, gentlemen," as mechanic-looking
men, with dogs under their arms, slouch to the
doorway—potations of " ad and arf," "cooper,"
and hot grog on every side--oonversation, com-
prisin aueodotes of departed dogs, pre-
s gent whereaboute of famous dogs, reoeat
addition of stuffed dogs to tavern parlour;
whispered information as toour lithe-figured, urbane
landlord having been "champion of the feather-
weights"—comments upon dogs present, and chro-
nological ana as to dogs absent, their prowess, their
capabilities, and their pluck—while away the time.
Perfect order is observed. All prompt appear
to regard dogs as the great business of life, and
though the exigencies of bread. winning may com-
pel some of us to keep small general shops, to deal
in coals and potatoes, or even to vend fruit, be
sure that—we reserve our best energies for the dear
animals who surround us now.

Here, then, is a phase of London existence as little
known to the general reader as the atomic theory to
an African savage. We have in our midst a race
of fetish-worshippers, to whom dogs are the salt of
the earth, who spend their leisure in cultivating
doggish society, and their evenings in ex-
hibiting and bragging of their canine treasures.
Taverns are opened for them, " respected
veteran" minister to their wants, news-
paper columns are devoted to the subjects
they affect, and other accessories are not wanting t
specially gratify their tastes. Thus, in the nine
teuth esatury of the Christian ora—in the days of
cheap education, wide-spreading refinement, and
boasted national progress--at that period of the week
when the chimes of calm church bells are still float-
ing on the air—within a stone's throw of our most
prosperous and fashionable thoroughfares—wem-
blages are held of men, clothed and in their right
mind, whose ride it is to concentrate their earnest
hopes and serious aspirations upon the dumb ani-
mal known as the friend of man, and to vaunt it as
the all-engrossing object of their affections, and the
chief muter of their time.