But if reared and trained with the same care and kindness expended on other breeds, "there is," as Dr. Caius says of it, "no dog that can serve the sundry uses of men so aptly or so conveniently as this sorte."

His temper, therefore, must be wel observed; Cbide him for his faults, and do it reverently, When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth. But, being moody, give him line and scope, Till that his passions, like a whale on ground, Confound themselves with working.

For his celebrated invincible courage the bulldog was at first selected as the only dog with sufficient endurance to serve the cruel purposes of depraved owners, and the utmost that can be proved against him is that he has been, and still is, in many instances, more ill-treated and worse trained than any other dog.

Most "fanciers" of bulldogs know more about other breeds than the authorities on other breeds know about bulldogs, and have adopted that breed only after a long experience of the others. The fairest way is to "speak of a man as you find him," and who can know more about a dog than its keeper? But it is avowedly those who do not and dare not keep bulldogs that take upon themselves to condemn the breed. Its chief virtues they misrepresent as unpardonable faults. The high courage and indifference to pain which enabled the bulldog to limp with dislocated shoulders or dismembered limbs (like Witherington in "Chevy Chase") to pin the bull at the command of his wealthy master, also enable the dog, now its former cruel occupation is abandoned, to suffer patiently trials which no other breed could so quietly endure, rendering him the staunchest and most reliable companion and the most capable of being taught -

Even as one would say - precisely; thus I would teach a dog.

"Manners makyth man," quoth William of Wykeham, and surely it may be said that the manners also make the dog; if a dog is capable of being trained to the perfection of canine intelligence and fidelity, he ought not to be undeservedly condemned. There are many people who can testify and prove that the bulldog can be so trained "precisely." Several owners of bulldogs have assured me that in their opinion it is the only kind of dog that can with perfect safety be trusted alone to the mercy of children, than which there can hardly be a greater trial of patience and good temper. Having from my earliest recollection been accustomed to dogs, and having possessed specimens of almost every breed of dog, I consider myself, from experience, competent to contradict the statements made to the disparagement of this breed, whose cause I now advocate. In proof I can show one which for nine years has been the constant companion and playfellow of my only child. It succeeded in my household a fine Mount St. Bernard, and has proved itself in every way fully, if not more than, equal to any of its predecessors in endurance, fidelity, and sagacity. When first brought home the dog was chained to a kennel in the garden, whence my little child, then not three years old, brought it indoors to play with.

It has since remained always loose in the house, and has, with others of the same breed, daily sustained trials which none but a bulldog could endure without "showing its teeth." Food or bones can be taken away from them without any exhibition of illtemper, whilst they are as good watch dogs as possible, and under the most complete control. I could adduce plenty of little anecdotes in proof of the bulldog's intelligence; but as every dog owner can do the same of his own dog, and not having space for such, I will only repeat that there are many people who can corroborate my assertion that the bulldog is inferior to no other dog, and that ferocity is not natural to this more than any other breed. If anyone has reared either a child or a dog which fails to meet his approval, he should criticise his own disposition and method of training to discover how the faults he condemns have been acquired. As the only plausible objection that has been advanced against the bulldog is its appearance, it is a matter of surprise that bulldog breeders have not the good taste to take the same pains to study the art of breeding for colour which they take to produce the broad mouth, short face, and other points by which the dog is judged.

By so doing they would remove the prejudice impressed on the admirers of other breeds by the pied specimens. The colour is the most conspicuous point to a casual observer, and when a bulldog is white and unevenly pied with brindled patches and a patch over one eye and ear, and appears red and raw round its eyes, and wherever its coat is thin, it is no wonder that fanciers of Pomeranians, Italian greyhounds, and other breeds so diametrically opposed, should decline to admit the bulldog's claim to beauty. But when of uniform colour - brindle, red, or fawn - the bulldog is in many respects more attractive than several other canine pets; for example, the modern King Charles spaniel, etc.; and if its colour be whole and a ' smut," like the pug whose Month was black as bulldog's at the stall, it is in every way to be preferred to that dog, being handsomer as well as more useful, faithful, and intelligent. White animals have not generally as strong constitutions as dark coloured ones, and are, therefore, much more liable to disease.

When bred together they frequently produce "ricketty" or deaf whelps.

"A Staffordshire Farmer," writing to a newspaper, said that he has found from long experience that two good bulldogs always loose in his yard do much more towards making his neighbours honest than all the parson's preaching. Many writers often testify to the good qualities of the bulldog in the "Field," "Bell's Life," etc. Meyrick speaks most highly of it in his book. "Idstone" says, "The bulldog is the source of courage and perseverance. . . invigorates the constitution and strengthens the nerves of certain breeds." "Stone-henge," the highest modern authority on such matters, says, "The bulldog is indisputably of British origin, and has never been permanently introduced into any other country. ... If the brain is weighed with the body of the dog, it will be found relatively above the average . . . the mental qualities of the bulldog may be highly cultivated, and in brute courage and unyielding tenacity of purpose he stands unrivalled amongst quadrupeds. . . . From confinement to their kennels they are often deficient in intelligence . . . but when differently treated the bulldog is a very different animal, the brutal nature which he often displays being mainly attributable to the savage human beings with whom he associates. . . . Yet I contend that this is not natural to him any more than stupidity or want of affection which may readily be proved to be the reverse of his character if anyone will take the trouble to treat him in a proper manner. . . . The bulldog has been described as stupidly ferocious, etc, but this is untrue, he being an excellent watch and as a guard unequalled . . . far from quarrelsome. ... If once the pure breed is allowed to drop, the best means of infusing fresh courage into degenerate breeds will be finally lost . . . for I believe that every kind of dog possessed of very high courage owes it to a cross with the bulldog. ... I am sure my brother sportsmen will see the bad taste of running down a dog which with all its faults is not only the most courageous dog, but the most courageous animal in the world." I think this alone is sufficient testimony in the bulldog's favour, and fully endorse the words of the poet Smart: