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respects no animal could be better adapted for the purposes of a companion, for he is sensible, a good follower out of doors, seldom fights or quarrels, moreover he is a perfect specimen of faithfulness. We have had our British mastiff guarding the body of an English gentleman on the field of Agincourt. During the Peninsular War, a French poodle accompanied an officer with his regiment. The battle of Castella was fought, the master fell fatally wounded, the dog remained by the body. The cross of the Legion of Honour glittering and sparkling on the breast of the fallen officer attracted the eyes of his enemies. As they stooped down to cut the treasure from its ribbons, the poodle flew at the thieves, and did not cease his attack until, pierced by cruel bayonets, he fell dead alongside his dead master. Anecdotes of the constancy of the poodle could be quoted to almost any extent, and those of my readers who would have some of them I must refer to works that deal more with " dog stories" than can be done in

these pages.

As already stated, it has for many years been the custom to shave and clip the coats of some poodles, but whether this was originally done to, in a degree, destroy the strong smell their curly coats, when neglected, possessed, or merely for

fancy purposes to make them resemble something Nature never made, we cannot tell. Some of the corded poodles are not subjected to this tonsorial process, or they would be shorn of a great portion of their excellence. The length of these cords is, perhaps, the chief object to be aimed at in the production of this variety, and the length such cords have been known to attain is, without exaggeration, phenomenal. The most extraordinary creature in this respect I ever saw was a comparatively small-sized poodle named Fairy Queen, shown by Mrs. Troughear, of Leeds, and for many years it stood almost alone in the variety classes. This was a white dog, and its cords were of such unusual length that they were many inches longer than the height of the animal. When lying at rest, a very close examination had to be made to discern which was the head and which the stern of the curious creature.

Another extraordinary corded poodle was the imported dog, Lyris, successfully shown for many years by Mr. C. Kemp, of Brook Green. This was a large dog, standing 21 inches high at the shoulder, his head was 9 inches in length, his ears measured 37 inches from tip to tip, including the cords on them, and on each side of his body the cords hung down to the length of 23 inches.

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kennel of all is that of MN V. O. Graves, who

has an unusual.

invincible, includ. g

, as a rule almost does so elmens both

black and white. His Achi's, Vtch Lyribel, The Druidess, and The Ghost, are parly good of their variety. Mr. H. Sanguinetti, Mr C Komp Mr. J. Brewer, Mr. J. T. Beaumont M.

and Mr. A. Dagois, have had, and ... v, .. specimens of the breed, and are under od 1. be

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