THE BULL-DOG. 139

his master the loss of a valued animal and one hundred
dollars in the wager.” “The bull-dog is possessed of less
sagacity and less attachment than any of the hound tribe;
he is therefore less favoured, and more rarely bred with
care, excepting by professed amateurs of sports and feelings
little creditable to humanity. He is of moderate size, but
entirely moulded for strength and elasticity.” He never
leaves his hold, when once he has got it, while life lasts,
hence he has become the type of obstinate pertinacity; and
unflinching courage.

The Poodle The Poodle dog while possessing many natural

Dog. qualities which endear it to its owner, is capable
of great cultivation and is for this reason much affected by
those who train dogs for public performances. Of the clever
tricks the poodle has been trained to perform many stories
are told, among which the following from M., Blaze’s “ His-
tory of the Dog,” as quoted in Mr. Jesse’s “Anecdotes of
Dogs,” is one of the most amusing.

“A shoe-black on the Pont Neuf at Paris had a poodle
dog, whose sagacity brought no small profit to his master.
If the dog saw a person with well-polished boots go across
the bridge, he contrived to dirty them, by having first rolled
himself in the mud of the Seine. His master was then
employed to clean them. An English gentleman, who had
suffered more than once from the annoyance of having his
boots dirtied by a dog, was at last induced to watch his
proceedings, and thus detected the tricks he was playing for
his master’s benefit. He was so much pleased with the
animal’s sagacity, that he purchased him at a high price and
conveyed him to London. On arriving there, he was con-
fined to the house till he appeared perfectly satisfied with
his new master and his new situation. He at last, however,
contrived to escape, and made his way back to Paris, where
he rejoined his old master, and resumed his former occu-
pation.”