124 



A TEAM OF MRS. B F. MOORE'S CHOW CHOWS. 



1. HILDEWELL POOH-BAH. 2. CHIMMO. 3. MANDARIN. 

 4 HILDEWELL TAO MU. 5. HILDEWELL AD HOK. 



Pholograph by Ross, Wliitby. 



CHAPTER XL 

 THE CHOW CHOW. 



BY MRS. B. F. MOORE. 



I boast not of his kin, nor of my reed 



(Though of my reed and him I well may boast), 

 Yet if you will adventure that some meed 

 Shall be to him that is in action most. 

 As for a collar of shrill sounding bells, 

 My dog shall strive with yours, or ally's else." 



— Browne's Eclogues. 



THE Chow Chow is a dog of great 

 versatility. He is a born sportsman 

 and loves an open-air life — a war- 

 rior, always ready to accept battle, but 

 seldom provoking it. He lias a way of 

 his own with tramps, and seldom fails 

 to induce them to continue their travels. 

 Yet withal he is tender-hearted, a friend 

 of children, an ideal companion, and often 

 has a clever gift for parlour tricks. In 

 China, his fatherland, he is esteemed for 

 another quality — his excellence as a sub- 

 stitute for mast mutton. 



Though in his own country he is re- 

 garded as plebeian, just a common cur, he 



is by no means a mongrel. That he is of 

 ancient lineage is proved by the fact that 

 he always breeds true to type. He yields 

 to the Pekingese Spaniel the claim to be 

 the Royal dog of China, yet his blood 

 must be of the bluest. If you doubt it, 

 look at his tongue. 



My own special Chow is one of my besl 

 friends. In the household he has an estab- 

 lished position, which he maintains with 

 great dignity. He comes and goes when 

 he likes and where he likes ; he is respei ted 

 throughout the neighbourhood, and is known 

 as " Gentleman Chow." a title which he fully 

 deserves. During the eight years of our 



