A Craze Which is Centuries Old - The Toy Dogs of the Ancients - The Sacred Lion Dog of Chinathe "Spaniel Gentle, or Comforter " - Foreign and English Toy Dogs - Dogs to Match One's

Costume - Why Toys are Popular - The Painter and the Pet Dog - The Whims of Fashion

There is, as we all know, nothing new under the sun, and so the superior person who contemptuously sneers at the " modern " craze for diminutive dogs is centuries out in his reckoning.

Hundreds of years before the Christian era there were costly wee dogs of the lapdog persuasion, and their cult was not confined to fair ladies. Theophrastus wrote of the "vain man" that when his pet dog died, he "deposits the remains in a tomb, and erects a monument over the grave with the inscription ' Offspring of the stock of Malta'" - thus proving the great antiquity of that now seldom-seen Victorian pet, the silky little Maltese terrier.

Possibly, the unlucky dog of that cynical dandy, Alcibiades, which had to sutler trie amputation of its pretty tail in order to cause a sensation among the novelty-seeking Athenians, was of this breed, or, maybe, of that equally ancient one, the Toy Pomeranian, a picture of which is depicted on a Greek vase of B.c. 400, showing the dainty mite as he existed twenty-three centuries ago. To the credit of the fanciers of those days, it must be said that he is practically as good as his descendants on the show bench of to-day.

Miss E. Greens minature black-and-tan Toy Terrier, " Misbourne Love Bird." These delicate and dainty little dogs are intelligent and affectionate, and make ideal pets for ladies Photo, Sport and General

The most costly of present-day Toys, the Pekingese, is but the fabulously ancient Sacred Temple or Lion Dog of immemorial China, miniature specimens of which were bred specially to nestle in the wide silken sleeves of Royal and high-bred ladies, and which therefore still retain the name of Sleeve dogs. The wisest of Chinese Empresses, that wonderful woman of our own age, who, despite her sex, ruled an ancient empire as but few men could have done, thought it not beneath her to write a poetic and enthusiastic appreciation of these little Palace dogs, and to lay down strict rules as to the colouring of the robes which they should adorn. And the present Chinese Ambassador to the Court of St. James's has been pleased graciously to attend a show of the breed over here, and criticise his national dog with friendly candour and in true sportsmanlike fashion.

Princess Toussoun with her famous prize winning-team of Pekingese. These beautiful and costly little dogs, with their Oriental dignity and supercilious expression, are the canine darlings of the fashionable world. Their colours are varied and beautiful and their size small

Photo, Sport and General

The pretty varieties of English toy spaniels, too, boast a lineage both Royal and ancient. In the pictures of Vandyke, the little spaniel is immortalised with his owners, and the great painter has dealt lovingly with his silky beauties and intelligent, affectionate expression. He is "the spaniel gentle, or comforter," as Queen Elizabeth's physician, Dr. Caius, quaintly, yet aptly, calls him. To-day his origin is apparent in the names King Charles and Prince Charles spaniels.

The Blenheim, too, claims a long, hereditary association with the House of Marlborough, though he now is bred much smaller and no longer permitted to go a-hunting.

England prides herself, and with justice, upon her skill in dog-breeding, but it is due to other nations to acknowledge the debt she owes them, and in the region of Toys this debt is heavy. France gave us the fashionable boule-dogue francais, Belgium the quaint and monkey-like griffon bruxellois, Holland the schip-perke and pug, China the Pekingese, Japan the Chin or Japanese spaniel, Germany the original Pomeranian, Italy the ethereal toy greyhound, and Malta the fluffy Maltese. All these breeds are both costly and fashionable, except, perhaps, the schipperke, a hardy and more terrierlike dog.

Of native Toys, the little "Yorkie," miniature bulldog, miniature black-and-tan terrier, and miniature bull-terrier, are chief, but they are neither so popular nor so costly, as a rule, as their exotic brethren.

The reason is not hard to find. Most foreign Toys are hard to rear, therefore costly, and the rare will always command both devotees and a market.

Very often the delicate and varied colourings of these tiny dogs harmonises beautifully with the dress or the complexion of their mistresses. The canine press recently vouched for the fact that fashionable Viennese ladies were carrying toy dogs dyed in shades which matched exactly their costumes, or afforded the precise complement in colour. Pomeranians and Pekingese, but especially the former breed, can be had in exquisite colours - blue, orange, sable, white, black, chocolate, brown, chestnut, parti-colour, and beaver. The canine mites are dainty in their habits, of inappreciable weight, and usually of dispositions that lend themselves to cosseting.

They do not look grotesque decked out in finery, though lace-edged pocket-handkerchiefs tucked into coats with pockets, are apt to raise a derisive smile on the spectator's lips, and goggles and laced-up or rubber boots do not enhance their beauty. But a beautiful woman, attired in a Parisian or Viennese creation, holding a dainty little Pom, or supercilious Pekingese nestling in her "fourrures," has added the last note to her toilette.

There is a chicness of effect in the bright eyes and the silky or ruffled coat that harmonises so cunningly with the rest of the beautiful picture, which has been a secret known to beauties since Fashion's reign began. The painters of old knew this, and that, presumably, is why Carlo's picture - and he was doubtless a tiresome sitter - was included with that of his fair mistress.

All down the ages, therefore, the Toy dog has reigned supreme, alike with man and woman. Henri II. and his tiny " mignons " of toy spaniels ; Charles I., Charles II., Mary of Modena, the great Duke of Marlborough, and others of renown - poets, artists, painters, and fashionable dames - all have in their day, and their turn, fallen victims to this cult.

And, in conclusion, let those breeds whose doggish day seems over remember that Fashion's wheel, like that of Fortune, is ever rolling, and the day will surely return when the Toys that were the joy of the Early Victorian lady will supplant some of their foreign rivals, and we shall see the Italian greyhound, the pug, and the Maltese again lords of the boudoirs and, doubtless, occupants of the best seats in the aeroplanes of Park Lane.