kick, and the poor little animal, partly stunned, rolled into the

water.

Passionately fond of dogs, she was naturally enraged and grieved at seeing it treated so cruelly, and without hesitation rushed to the water's edge, endeavouring to reach it, but the eddies of the stream were taking it farther and farther from the side. She jumped into the water, which she was told afterwards was twelve feet deep. She was unable to swim, but having thrown herself towards the dog, she managed with her right hand to catch him by the back. They both went under water together, and spectators seeing her danger, a boat went off to the rescue. When doggie and his gallant preserver were picked up, the latter was quite insensible.

On consciousness being restored, she discovered that the bystanders, imagining the dog was hers, had brought him to the house whither she had been taken. When she was sufficiently recovered, and was preparing to take her departure, the poor little waif gave her a piteous look of misery, and seemed to say, 'Do take me with you,' so she picked it up in her arms, and took it home. Fido was her constant companion in many a journey by sea and land, and was always most affectionate.

Some years elapsed, and Fido and his mistress were in Lisbon. The hour was midnight, and after a long and tedious voyage, occupying nearly twenty-four hours, they were both sound asleep, Fido lying, as usual, by his mistress's bedside. She was suddenly roused by finding him on the bed, scratching the sheets, and crying piteously. She said, 'Be quiet, Fido-be quiet, sir'; but it was of no avail―he made more noise than before. Now thoroughly awakened, his mistress sat up in bed, and heard, to her horror, loud cries of 'Fire!' Her room was filling with smoke, and she sprang from her bed to open the door. At this instant her window was dashed in, and a man seized her by the waist, but she rushed backwards, snatched up Fido, and then both were safely conveyed to the ground by the fire-escape. She little imagined, when she rescued the dog from a watery grave, that he would be, in after-years, her preserver from that most fearful and devouring element, Fire."

The weight of the Italian Greyhound for show purposes should not exceed 10lb., although at the shows now they sometimes provide classes for those 12lb. and over, and for under 12lb.; but the best specimens I have ever seen have been well under 10lb., and those 2lb. or 3lb. less are preferred.

The greatest defects met with in this breed are button or prick ears, short neck without arch, Terrier front action (straight leg), straggling hind action, dirty, smutty colouring, apple-head, too short a muzzle, legs not straight in front, and weak pasterns or hocks.

Below will be found the points of the Italian Greyhound, as adopted by the Italian Greyhound Club::

Skull-Long, flat, and narrow.

Muzzle. Very fine; nose dark in colour.

Ears.-Rose-shaped, placed well back, soft and delicate, and should touch, or nearly so, behind the head.

Eyes. Rather large, bright, and full of expression.
Neck.-Long, and gracefully arched.

Shoulders.-Long and sloping.

Chest and Brisket.-Deep and narrow.

Back.-Curved, and drooping at the hindquarters.

Loin.-Well arched and cut up.

Fore Legs.-Straight, well set under the shoulder; fine pasterns, small delicate bones.

Hind Legs.-Hocks well let down; thighs muscular.

Feet. The long "hare's" foot with arch toes, well split up.
Tail.-Rather long, fine, with low carriage.

Coat.-Skin fine and supple; hair thin, and glossy like satin.

Colour.-Preferably self-coloured. The colour most prized is golden fawn, but all shades of fawn, red, mouse, blue, cream, and white are recognised, and blacks, brindles, and pied are considered less desirable.

'Action.-High stepping and free.

Weight. Two classes of 81b. and under, one over 8lb.

General Appearance.-A miniature English Greyhound, more slender in all proportions, and of ideal elegance and grace in shape, symmetry, and action.

CHAPTER LXI

THE TOY BULLDOG

To briefly describe the Toy Bulldog, it is—or should be-a dwarfed specimen of the British Bulldog, its weight not exceeding 20lb., and in type, character, and points an exact reproduction in miniature of its larger relative; but, unfortunately for both the writer and the Toy Bulldog fancy, there are, so far as Toy Bulldogs are concerned, two Richmonds in the field-the one the dog above described, the other a French importation which has little in common with the British Bulldog except its name, and this unauthorised by the ruling body of English Dogdom, the Kennel Club. But as there are many fanciers and breeders of the French Toy Bulldog in this country, the claims of the breed must be seriously considered.

Its origin, like that of the Bulldog itself, is yet to be satisfactorily accounted for, though a letter which recently appeared in Our Dogs may shed some light on the subject. The letter, which is worthy of the careful attention of those interested in the breed, was as follows:

FRENCH BULLDOGS

Sir, I see in the newspapers (especially Our Dogs) frequent allusions to the origin of the so-called French Bulldog. I think its origin can be easily traced, as some years ago I was in that fancy, with many others in this city (Nottingham), where scores of small Bulldogs were annually bred. They were fallow-pied, brindle-fawn, brindle-and-white, etc., mostly with semi-erect_ears, from 25lb. to 16lb. weight. The principal breeders were E. King, D. Milward, Baker Read, B. North, etc. The reason so many got to France was that there was a continual stream of people going from Nottingham to Calais and St. Quintin, lace-makers, Notts men, many of them taking a dog back with them. George, of London, came down periodically buying, also Fagy Joe, Hincks, and others. Public-house shows were very common. I have a collar now, won at one. On the introduction of Fox-terriers into prominent notice they seemed to quite die out, and the dear, good old souls who bred them as well. The very best small Bulldog we ever bred in Nottingham was bred by D. Milward, and purchased by E. King. It was bred from brother and sister. Every

good dog in the city was descended from it. I don't know if there is any one else living in Notts who has bred them; possibly there may be. Yours truly,

PARLIAMENT-STREET, NOTTINGHAM.

R. HILL.

Assuming the writer to be correct in his suppositions, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, it will be seen that the so-called French Bulldog is a mongrelised and dwarfed member of the Bulldog family, which, exported to France years ago from England, has lately been reintroduced into this country, after having been crossed with the Pug and probably other breeds of which no records have been kept, or at any rate revealed to English fanciers.

It must, however, be admitted that the bat or tulip ear, which is one of the characteristic points of this breed, is probably of English origin; for as Mr. Hill points out in his letter, those that were exported to France were mostly possessed of erect ears, a point which no doubt the French breeders strove to perpetuate and exaggerate, and which has resulted in the enormous upright ears of the modern French Bulldog.

In at least one other point the French Bulldog differs from the English-bred dog. While turn-up of under jaw is a point continually bred for and much desired by breeders of the British Bulldog, it is a point in which the French specimen is noticeably deficient, there being little or no projection of the under jaw; and in some cases the French dog is actually overshot. These two points alone --ears and under jaw—are sufficient to make a considerable difference in the appearance and type of the English and French-bred dogs, but there are many other points of dissimilarity, though less marked. The French dog rarely possesses the shoulders and front with the depth of brisket, nor the roach or wheel back and the low set-on of tail, all of which points are characteristic of the English breed. In short, the so-called French type of Toy Bulldog and the English type are entirely distinct, and the mating together of these two breeds for the purpose of producing small specimens is a course which the writer would strongly urge on breeders not to adopt.

Assuming, as we have the right to assume in view of statements made by many who are the champions of the French Bulldog cause, that crossing with other breeds has been resorted to by the French breeders, it follows that the mating of a small British Bulldog with a French Toy will result in producing small puppies, no doubt, but at the expense of their purity of blood.

A writer of considerable experience and of undoubted ability has recently recommended the crossing of the two breeds, the mating together of a dog of French parentage with a small bitch of the English strains, the object to be achieved, diminution in size of the offspring, contributed by the small French father, and improvement

in ears and under jaw, contributed by the English-bred mother. This argument is quite easy to follow, but the strong point that is to be urged against it is the introduction of the mongrelised blood of the French Bulldog and its effect upon the offspring of the union. The huge and unsightly ears of the French Bulldog and its lack of under jaw might, and no doubt could, by this crossing be improved upon in the course of several generations, and the small size of the French Bulldog would affect a more immediate decrease in size, and under-weight Toys would be more quickly produced than if they were bred for step by step, so to speak, the breeder being satisfied with a slight decrease of weight with each generation until at last the desired lightness was attained.

Although the Kennel Club has not at the time of the publication of this work acknowledged the existence of the French Toy Bulldog (Fig. 129), either by registering it as a separate breed or by permitting the official registration of its representative club, "The French Toy Bulldog Club of England," there are many fanciers and breeders of this dog in England. The dogs are companionable little animals and of an affectionate disposition, rather noisily inclined, and quite in their place as house pets and companions for ladies. They are practically certain to always command a fair share of popularity, and possibly in time the Kennel Club may decide to admit them into the ranks of registered breeds; but it is to be hoped that they will not gain their admittance as "Bulldogs," they having no more right to the title than has the Orpington hen to the name of the Dorking from which it was bred.