French Leave
A French poodle won the heart of a fastidious English officer by covering him in mud.
1815
King George III 1760-1820
A French poodle won the heart of a fastidious English officer by covering him in mud.
1815
King George III 1760-1820
The cat, wrote Nora Alleyne, has been the heroine of many extraordinary tales of homing instinct, yet other animals deserve a mention, such as the flock of sheep that repatriated themselves from Yorkshire to their breeding-ground north of the Cheviots. There are numerous stories of dogs, too, finding a way home in the face of overwhelming obstacles.
ONE of the most curious [tales] is told by an English officer who was in Paris in the year 1815. One day, as the officer was walking hastily over the bridge,* he was annoyed by a muddy poodle dog rubbing up against him, and dirtying his beautifully polished boots. Now dirty boots were his abhorrence, so he hastily looked round for a shoe-black, and seeing one at a little distance off, at once went up to him to have his boots re-blacked.
A few days later the officer was again crossing the bridge, when a second time the poodle brushed against him and spoilt his boots. Without thinking he made for the nearest shoe-black, just as he had done before, and went on his way; but when the same thing happened a third time, his suspicions were aroused, and he resolved to watch. In a few minutes he saw the dog run down to the riverside and roll himself in the mud, and then come back to the bridge and keep a sharp look-out for the first well-dressed man who would be likely to repay his trouble.
* The Pont Royal or Pont Henri Quatre, as we learn shortly.