POODLES, FEENCH AND EUSSIAK 257 



but the French and Dutch fowlers have the strange habit of clipping him also over 

 the face in such a manner as to leave him very distinctly a moustache and an 

 imperiale, which " ornaments " give the dogs a very comical and cunning appearance. 

 I do not remember ever having seen a poodle that was not thus " adorned." 



In winter time, however, when severe frosts have set in, and long nights are to 

 be spent at the hut or in a bachot (i.e., a flat-bottomed wildfowling punt), it would 

 not do to have the dogs' bodies partly bare ; and, accordingly, from the end of the 

 summer all the sporting poodles in the fens are allowed to recover their winter coats, 

 so that by the time that their endurance is to be severely tested they are ready for 

 all the inclemencies of the season. 



In his winter coat a sporting poodle is perfectly impervious to frost or wet, and 

 will face the greatest hardships without so much as a shiver. This coat resembles 

 to some extent sheeps' wool in its texture, and in the smaller variety of the poodle 

 that used as lapdogs when the little dogs' coats are clean and bright, they look 

 not unlike lambs ; hence the French ladies call them chiens moutons. The large 

 poodle's coat, however, is coarser in texture, and, if the dog is required as a com- 

 panion, a great deal of grooming is necessary in order to keep him in presentable 

 order. Revoil does not speak favourably of the poodle's appearance. " He is a 

 short and stumpy dog," he declares, " coarse and ugly; his legs are disproportioned ; 

 he is apple headed, and withal carries his head badly ; his ears are too long and too 

 large," &c. But he has evidently only seen curs, for this description does not apply 

 to the poodle proper. The French author, however, grows enthusiastic when he 

 speaks of the poodle's qualities : " He has an excellent nose ; he is as faithful as a 

 poodle; he is intelligent enough to play cards or dominoes and win! He is 

 extremely active, and water seems to be his element." All this is correct enough; 

 but when Eevoil states, further on, that the poodle is probably descended from the 

 land or the water spaniel, the question arises whether the compliment could not be 

 reversed; and there we lose ourselves in fruitless speculation. Then our author 

 relates that, in the sixteenth century, poodles were used for duck shooting; but 

 now, he says, they are simply transformed into chiens savants. Now, French writers 

 are noted for their unconquerable wish to appear witty, and their love of brilliancy 

 is so great that they will even sacrifice truth if it has to give way to a pun. How- 

 ever, in the present case Eevoil evidently does not practically know what he writes 

 about. There are certainly less poodles employed now for sporting purposes than 

 there used to be, but there are still many so employed ; and the difference between 

 the number to be seen now and in past years arises simply from the fact that the 

 majority of marshy lands are being reclaimed and cultivated, and, like Othello's, the 

 poodle's occupation will soon be entirely gone, as well as that of our own breeds of 

 water spaniels, if all marshy lands are to be drained. As regards poodles when 

 considered as chiens savants, everybody knows that this breed is almost invariably 

 chosen by tumblers or circus performers whenever they wish to train dogs for any 

 peculiar tricks, and there are but few people who have not witnessed their 

 extraordinary talents in that line. Eevoil states that, in his youth, a certain poodle 

 named Munito performed wonderful feats. He also says that in 1829 there were 



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