130 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



hair on the pasterns. The origin and pur- 

 pose of the custom are not apparent, but 

 now that Poodles are almost always kept 

 as house dogs, this mode of ornamentation 

 at least commends itself by reducing the 



MRS. L. W. CROUCH'S PERFECTION 



BY CH. THE JOKER CORA. 



Photograph by T. Fall. 



labour of daily grooming if the coat is to be 

 maintained in good condition and the dog 

 to be a pleasant associate. 



As far back in history as the breed can be 

 definitely traced clipping seems to have been 

 customary. Poodles are so presented in 

 various illuminated manuscripts of the six- 

 teenth century, and notably in one illus- 

 trating an episode in the life of Margaret of 

 York, the third wife of Charles the Bold 

 of Burgundy. In another painting depict- 

 ing a family group of Maximilian of Austria 

 and his wife and child (" The Abridged 

 Chronicles of Burgundy ") there is the 

 portrait of a shaven dog which, allowing 

 for the artistic shortcomings of the period, 

 closely resembles the Poodle of to-day. 

 Again, in Martin de Vos's picture of "Tobit 

 and his Dog," which also dates from the 

 sixteenth century, the faithful animal is an 

 unmistakable Poodle; while in two of the 

 series of paintings of the story of Patient 

 Griselda, by Pinturicchio (1454-1513), in 

 the National Gallery, a small shaven Poodle 

 is conspicuous among the spectators of the 



hapless lady's misfortunes. The well-known 

 painting by J . Stein (1636-78) of " The Danc- 

 ing Dog " depicts a white Poodle on its hind 

 legs, clipped at the quarters, with tufts of 

 hair on the thighs and a ring about the 

 tail. 



Widely distributed throughout Europe, 

 the Poodle differs in form and colour in the 

 various countries. In Russia and Eastern 

 Germany he is usually black, and the Russian 

 variety is particularly lithe and agile. In 

 Central Germany, where there is also a 

 " sheep " Poodle, he is somewhat uncouth 

 and thick-set, with sturdy limbs and a short 

 muzzle. The dejected and overworked 

 Poodles one sees drawing milk-carts in the 

 streets of Brussels and Antwerp are com- 

 monly a dirty white or yellowish brown, 

 and exceedingly muscular ; very different 

 from the more slender kind so frequently 

 met with on the boulevards of Paris or 

 perched impertinently and grotesquely 

 trimmed in the carriages on the Champs 

 Elysees. The small French variety, known 

 as the Barbet, seldom weighs more than 

 twenty pounds, and a good example is seen 



MRS. GRAVES' THE RUNAWAY GIRL" 



BY CANNON HILL BEAUTY PRINCESS OLGA 



Photograph by Russell. 



in Miss Armitage's imported bitch, Chaseley 

 Jose. The toy Poodle was very popular in 

 France in the reign of Louis XVI., and is 

 often represented in fashion plates of the 

 period, always shaven and shorn. Mr. 



