Spangle

“ Another consideration leading me to the same conclusion, is the fact, that beauty in animals is placed on prominent parts, or on parts which by erection or expansion are easily, and at the pairing season, frequently rendered prominent, such as a crest or tail. A spangle of ruby or emerald does not exist, for instance, on the side under the wing, which is seldom raised, of our domestic poultry. Such jewels are hung where man himself wears his, on the face and forehead, or court attention, like our own crowns, trains, shoulder-knots, breast-knots, painted cheeks, or jewelled ears. ”

“ Forc'd from their station by her heaving heart,
From the strain'd girdle thrice three spangles start:
Thro' her disorder'd dress a pass they've found,
And fallen, see, they glitter on the ground!—
O blessed chance! with life-recalling light
The glittering monitors attract her sight!
Like stars emerging from the darken'd pole,
They sparkle safety to her harass'd soul. ”

“ A frill ending in spangles of the emerald is no better in the battle of life than a frill ending in spangles of the ruby. A tail is not affected for the purposes of flight, whether its marginal or its central feathers are decorated with white ”

“ Here, Diggeldy Dan, take your place at the head of my White-White Horse, while I explain just how spangles are made.
“You see,” she went on, as Dan skipped to obey, “spangles are really nothing more than dewdrops squeezed out very flat. As for a supply—there’s no end; but to catch them’s a trick requiring no little knack. Now it has been my happy task to gather spangles for the clouds, and for all the glittering hosts of our 76own Spangleland for ever and ever and ever so long. ”

“ On a high platform the jugglers, inexpensively gorgeous in spangles and skullcaps, in the red, yellow, or blue nudity of tights, automatically running great risks and making patterns in the air, and seeming to find the loud applause inadequate. ”

“ Death will come down on her some day, and rub the bistre off her eyelids, and the rouge off her cheeks, and with two rough, bony hands, scatter spangles and glass beads and rings and ribbons and lace and brooches and buckles and sashes and frisettes and golden clasps. ”

“ If this were not enough to stamp them with certainty of having one origin, we mark the fact that spangled chickens are frequently penciled in their first feathers; while, as they mature, the black spangles or moons are often surmounted by a light tip beyond them, thus again approaching the penciled character, while conversely it will be found that if penciled birds be bred too dark the last bar has a strong tendency to become too wide, thus approaching a spangled character. ”

“ In breeding this variety there should be two pens—one to breed males, and one females. In breeding for cockerels, select a large, well-marked cock, whose ground color is a deep, rich golden-bay throughout, free from smutty or cloudy markings, with fine, glossy plumage, the spangles of which possess in a high degree the beautiful metallic, greenish luster. With him mate pullets of medium color (care being taken not to have them too light or dark in the ground color) , whose spangles are large and distinct, without running into each other and giving them an undesirable spotted appearance. ”

“ We have often seen it appear upon old birds whose plumage was previously entirely innocent of such markings, and it is rare, indeed, to find a pair of old exhibition birds entirely without it, to say nothing of breeding fowls. It makes its appearance chiefly upon the breast and body, but is also frequently seen in the hackle. We hope to see the time when this defect shall be wholly eradicated. The white tips are the most objectionable, but are nearly as common as the bay edgings to the spangles. The entire plumage should be close and glossy, and very rich and uniform in color and markings. ”

“ Those who were to perform were in a small room awaiting their turn. They were laughing and chatting while they waited, and all, save a little girl, who kept apart from the others, seemed bright and happy. Her eyes were dull, and her red lips pouting. It was Floretta Paxton, and she was watching Nancy Ferris, noticing every detail of her costume, and looking as unpleasant as possible.
Nancy wore a frock of white gauze, thickly strewn with tiny gold spangles. Her girdle was white satin, her slippers were white, and she wore a cluster of pink rosebuds in her hair. ”

“ The air-drawn visions that hover on the verge of existence have a bodily presence given them on the canvas: the form of beauty is changed into a substance: the dream and the glory of the universe is made ‘palpable to feeling as to sight.’—And see! a rainbow starts from the canvas, with all its humid train of glory, as if it were drawn from its cloudy arch in heaven. The spangled landscape glitters with drops of dew after the shower. The ‘fleecy fools’ show their coats in the gleams of the setting sun. ”

“ The large water spaniel is about the size of an ordinary setter, but much stronger in the bone and shorter in the legs. His head is long, his muzzle moderately acute, and his face is quite smooth, as well as the front of all his legs; his ears are long, which, together with his whole body, is covered with deep hair, consisting of firm, small, and distinctly crisped curls, not unlike those of a wig, his tail is rather short, and clothed with curled hair. ”

“ Spaniels will get right into such a ‘bury,’ till nothing but the tail can be seen, and, if permitted, stay there and dig and scratch frantically. They would sometimes, perhaps, succeed in reaching the prey were it not for the roots of thorn bushes or trees which cross the holes here and there like bars; these they cannot scratch through, but will bite and tear with their teeth—coming out now and then to breathe and shake the sand from their muzzles, then back again with a whine of eager excitement, till presently, in sheer exhaustion, they lie down at the mouth of the cave and pant. ”

“ My black Spaniel, Negro, though a big winner, was about as stupid a sportsman's dog or companion as ever saw daylight. The author's opinion is that [84] a Field Spaniel should have a fair length of leg, be of good size, have short, thick ears, and not much feather on them, or yet on the legs. Should be stoutly built, have a good tight jacket, be big-boned, have nice full eyes, well-rounded ribs, and, above all, quick hearing and a sound constitution. Colour unimportant, but black and white, black, or black, white and tan, or liver and white, for preference. Weight 40 to 50 lbs. ”

“ This dog is not very intelligent and shows no peculiar attachment to its master, but will fawn upon anybody. Its scent is imperfect, though its eyesight is excellent, and that is what guides it in the chase, while other dogs are guided by the scent.
“The spaniel owes the name it bears to its Spanish origin. This beautiful dog is characterized by its slender, moderately long head; by its long, wavy hair, which is particularly abundant on the ears, which are drooping and silky, and on the tail, which forms a tuft or plume. No dog has a more amiable and gentle aspect. ”

“ Skin, bone, and feathers. Ugh! you would only trouble me in my empty stomach, and there study out at leisure the various odds and ends of my organisation. No, no! get up; give my mouth a wide berth; sit on my tail, if you like the fur.”
Concealing my dread of his hungry fangs, I perched lightly on the tail, where I was not unfrequently disturbed by the tremor of his emotions.
Fellow Sparrows, the tail of a beast of prey is the safest perch, and it affords a true index of the play of passion in the brute. ”

“ Spaniel must look proportionate all over, be active, have a tight curly coat and a good top-knot, carry the head well up, be keen in facial expression, have a cat-like tail, and look as though he would be ready to dive at the word of command—in fact a workman from top-knot to tail. ”

“ Look for the savanna sparrow in salt marshes, marshy or upland pastures, never far inland, and if you see a sparrowy bird, unusually white and heavily streaked beneath, and with pale yellow markings about the eye and on the bend of the wing, you may still make several guesses at its identity before the weak, little insect-like trill finally establishes it. Whoever can correctly name every sparrow and warbler on sight is a person to be envied, if, indeed, he exists at all. ”

“ Well, the instant the lost sparrow opens his little beak and gives a cry of distress, three or four mother sparrows come flying toward him with their beaks full of food. They don’t wait to see whose baby he is, as some human mothers would wait. ”

“ Like as a huntsman after weary chase,
Seeing the game from him escaped away,
sits down to rest him in some shady place,
with panting hounds, beguiled of their prey:
So, after long pursuit and vain assay,
when I all weary had the chase forsook,
the gentle deer returned the self-same way,
thinking to quench her thirst at the next brooke. ”

“ No one would ever imagine in looking at the small, short-legged King Charles spaniel that he would be the dog to prevent murder. His long silky ears, which are generally either black, or red and white, hang down on each side of a round, soft little face, very pretty in a lady's drawing-room, but not giving the idea of much intelligence. ”

“ I said that Robbie took some hair from the otter's tail and applied to his finger. It was believed that the best antidote against the effects of the bite of a dog or otter was a hair from the animal's tail. Hence the saying:
“Tak a hair o' the tek (dog) that bett dee.”
“It's ill to follow a bröd (spoor) ipo' flecked ground”—
When the snow is in patches, as is the case during thaw, it is difficult to trace footprints.
“Ye're a' ae swine's spik (fat) ”—
You are all one family, akin to the Scottish expression, " Ye're a' ae 'oo." ”

“ The sponge is the lowest animal that is made of more than one cell. The sponge has a stomach on the inside and bones on the outside. By living, a great many of them, in one house or village, like those old cliff-dwellers, all the little sponges get along better. They live very close neighbors, all work for each other, buy their food of the same grocer, and pay for it in a lump. ”

“ Spaniels are divided into three varieties, namely, 1. Starters, or Pointers, from their use in starting game; 2. Setters, which are employed only for the net; and 3. Water-spaniels, which are of service in recovering lost game, or fetching it out of the water. These animals are of various sizes, and colours; but the black sorts are held in the greatest estimation, on account of their superior scent: next are the pied or spotted spaniels; and those, which are of a plain liver-colour, are reputed to be the best swimmers. ”

“ When shooting, the sportsman prefers spaniels, particularly certain “strains” of black and brown cockers—untiring little workers with a keen, true power of scent—which for many years have been common in the neighbourhood; and the farmer's sheep-dog is unfitted for any sport except rabbiting. Here and there, among the poaching fraternity, may be found a mongrel fondly imagined by its owner to be a terrier—a good rabbit “marker,” and wonderfully quick in killing rats, but no more suited than the sportman's spaniel for “lying up” with a badger. ”

“ The delicately-reared child reverts to primeval habits. In like manner, the silk-haired, parlor-nurtured spaniel springs from the caressing arms of its mistress, to revel in the filth of the roadside. It is the breaking out of inherited instinct. ”

“ Spaniels, or, we should see more good ones coming out! The points of the breed to be desired are large round skull, with well defined "stop," large, lustrous eyes, short, turned-up muzzle, long pendulous ears, well-feathered; fairly long neck, short and compact back, short straight fore-legs, feet large, soft, profuse coat, quite straight, without tendency to curl, colour glossy, unbroken black, and rich mahogany tan. Weight not to exceed twelve pounds, as much less as possible, with quality. ”

“ He has the head of a deer. He carries for a staff the neck of a long-billed, white bird, a heron. Before him stands a dish containing an eye and a feather ornament, reproducing in form and colour the warrior’s forked heron-feather adornment. Sheet 6: He is painted a yellow colour, thin and with wrinkled skin, his face looking out of the open throat of a bird, which has a feather crest curling up and a variegated rosette on its beak. In one hand he holds a bone dagger, in the other a staff tied round with a white-fringed cloth. As hieroglyph is shown beside him the day ce eecatl, “one wind.” ”

“ So is that soft, gentle, tame, and more noble creature a spaniel, and has all their tricks; can fawn, lie down, suffer beating, and fawn the more; barks at your friends when they come to see you, makes your bed hard, gives you fleas, and the mange sometimes. And all the difference is, the spaniel's the more faithful animal, and fawns but upon one master.
Sir Jasp. ”

“ There is no doubt that in course of time the Field Spaniel Trials will do much towards building up a proper type of field dog. A flat coat, of silky texture, and very glossy: long, heavily-feathered ears, short, strong, straight, cull-feathered fore-limbs, long body, and well-sprung ribs, long, graceful neck, and a long, moderately-wide head, with level carriage of the tail, are points of the Show Field Spaniel. ”

“ Youatt infers, from a comparison of an old picture of King Charles's spaniels with the living dog, that "the breed of the present day is materially altered for the worse:" the muzzle has become shorter, the forehead more prominent, and the eyes larger: the changes in this case have probably been due to simple selection. The setter, as this author remarks in another place, "is evidently the large spaniel improved to his present peculiar size and beauty, and taught another way of marking his game. ”