Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-25

| mint, piece OF antlqulty
! S~S that is rarely seen now
| sdsys, but the lady attached to one end
| OF chain and q fashionable canine at the
| other end is . spectacle only too familiar
| to our eyes. One of these professions came
sailing down K street the other day. The
manager was modestly tailor made and would
not have attracted unusual attention. but the
principal parsonage was a pug dog Of
Piethoric habit, with q pedigree doubtless as
long az Chinese mandarin's, and such an out
and-out dude that it was o pleasure to look Mt
him. He had on a new white ruff ABOUND his
neck, perfectly clean and beautifully starched,
he was harnessed in polished leather with sill
| yer bells and he led his alleged mistress by a
slender nickel chain. His tail must have been
done up in curl papers the night before, for it
twisted around like a fat little porker's. There
was look OF self-satistaction, not to say inso-
lence in his pop eyes that aroused the ire Of
the more shabby dogs that he met and caused
considerable alteration between him and them.
The lady child him gently when he quarreled
and called him her dear, naughty little Muf-
fms"
THE LEAST CLEVER OF ALL
Now, this species Of dog has been one Of the
most fashionable for some years, yet il must be
confessed that one Of the least attractive Of all
fashionable dogs is the pug He has little to
recommend him except the popularity of his
appearance and bis good nature. All dogs are
more or less clever, but the pug, next to his
cousin, the bulldog, is the least clever of all.
There are numerous bright pugs, but they are
the exceptions that prove the rule. we'll
| bred pug should be of the same color as a
mastiff, q tawny yellow like the hue of
Jersey bull, with black muzzle. A turned
up, lmpudent-looklng nose, tight, round little
body, tail curled like o pretzel, and short,
muscular little legs complete the picture. 1t
cannot be denied that he is an amusing little
creature, but he has not much human SYM
pathy, and does not fulfill the ends for which a
dog should be kept
THE DOG TEA
II this particular pug had been seen on 9Th
| avenue in New York it would have been reason
| able to suppose that he was on his way to an
afternoon tea, but as the custom Of dog teas
has not yet penetrated to Washington it Is pre-
sumable that he was merely taking an airing.
The dog tea was actually introduced several
years ago in New York. One dog would send
out his cards, through his mistress, saying he
| would be lat home" on a certain afternoon.
and IN the corner of his invitation would be
written "bopes at fye." All the friends Of his
set would come, stand around and chat, be
furnished with refreshments and 60 home to
dinner before dark. The fashion has become
less popular recently because of the rude be-
havlor OF several wealthy spitz dogs who had
crowded their way into good society and made
themselves disagreeable by Worrying and max
culiar manner in which they wore their hair.
COL. JACK wHARToN's sPIrz.
The spitz has himself been crowded out to a
large extent and We now see few of them.
The late Jack Col Wharton Of New Orleans, who
was in his day one Of the best-known men in
America, had a fine one called ''Sero"-the
creole word for sirup-that the colonel said could
| read. 1t was during the crusade of the New
York Herald against SPITE dogs that Sero was OBJ
b. L.. 4. 4
in the seclusion of his kennel greater portion
OF each day. This condition continued until
his master happened to look into his kennel
one day and found him gazing at a copy of the
Herald and whining to himself because of the
calumnies that were being heaped upon his
| breed. The sheet taken from him and a
copy OF another paper which contained a de-
Tense OF spitz dogs put in its place, and soon
| as he had time to Iead it he came forth
and mingled with dogs and men ever after
ward. This Is the story that Col Jack Whar-
| ton used to tell and it must be true.
A dog is generally like his master, or as the
French writer says, The conforms to the nature
| OF those who command him, and imbibes the
characteristics Of the household he lives with. ="
| II he is q fashionable city dog he looks down
upon the rustics, dog and human, that come in
from the country.
BULLS AND MAsTIFFs.
While the pug is simply bulldog with less
exaggeration Of countenance and without the
| latters sullen and ferocious temper the bull
dog is. in his turn, variety Of the mastiff with
| all the mastiff's good qualities perverted The
mastif is now most fashionable dog. While
he is large for the house he is. nevertheless. of
| a.caim, benignant nature, and is an ornament
| to any hearth rug. He is, moreover, of a slug
gsh nature and requires little exercise, and
his temper IS so serene that he will rarely
modest children or little dogs that tease him
He is noble patrician. one of the Oldest
breeds OF dogs. in fact. and all his characteris-
| tics are genteel. Physiognomists of dogs say
| that his heavy countenpnce is reflective of a
dull mind, but 1t is equally true that his clear
amber eyes are the signs of an honest, straight
| forward nature.
THE SCOTTISH COLLIE,
| which is another of the dogs high in favor at
the present day, is not always so straight
forward. He is brighter, quicker, more DEM
| onstrative in his affections than the mastiff
but it cannot be denied that he is sometimes
| irritable. He is a refined variety of the old
| sheep dog, which is supposed to be the Euro
pean bred nearest allied to the wild wolf but
| his feroclous nature has long since disappeared
| and he is now one of the most companionable
and gentle Of dogs. just he is one of the
most sagacious. Dogs, like horses, are the
! innocent cause Of much prevarication on the
| part of their owners, aud the most truthful of
| men will sometimes draw long bow in telling
| anecdotes of his dog. gentleman tells this
| story of his collie, and in the ordinary af-
fairs of life he is perfectly truthful
| man: He bought a collie IN Yorkshire, Eng
| land, and took him with him to Boston. The
| dog accommodated himself to his surroundings
| apparently, but used to be absent from the
| premises for an hour or SO every morning
| Eeing followed one day it was found that he
| went regularly to the wharf where the ocean
| steamers land. stayed there awhile and then
| returned to his home. About six weeks after
his arrival he disappeared altogether, nor
| could any trace of him be discovered until
| some weeks later a letter arrived from his
| original owner in Yorkshire saying he had APP
| peared one morning at his old quarters. An
| Investigation showed that the dog had actually
boarded the ship in which he had been brought
| over from England, secreted himself there and
| found his way back to his old master!
FASHIONABLE Settlers
| Settlers still hold their own as fashionable
| dogs Their appearance 10 30 beautiful, their
nature 10 so human, their hair is so pleasant to
the touch, that they have enjoyed popularity
| probably greater than that Of any other breed
| Of dogs. The objection to them as city dogs is
| that they require q great deal Of exercise.
Like the spaniel, from which they originally
| sprang. they are excessively excitatle and mer-
| curial in disposition, but they understand hui
man beings perfectly, and their sagacity and
| devotion are wonderful The red Irish, the
| Laverack, the blue Bolton, the Gordon, the
liver and white-there is small choice among
| them, but the red Irish setter has been the
| fashion the longest. If he has any fault it il
that he is sometimes hea3strong, but this il a
trait for which his master is largely respon-