THE CULT OF THE ANIMAL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12648, 7 January 1904, Page 4

THE CULT OF THE ANIMAL.

This is one of the crazes of the day, and the desire of every smart dame is to possess a pet that is either unique a perfect specimen of its kind. The American beauty, Miss Gladys Deacon, has become recently the happy owner of the celebrated toy Japanese spaniel Mikado, which she saw the other day at a show, and which was subsequently presented to her by a friend, its market price being 150 guineas. Mikado is considered the best of its breed in England, and has won 13 first prizes. Mr Alfred Rothschild, pretty Mrs Samuelson, and Lady Brougham are wellknown people who make a specialty of the Japanese spaniel, and each possesses celebrated and precious specimens of this popular breed. ' Another dog much admired by the society woman is the quaint toy griffonPrincess Henry of Ploss, Lady Cairns, and Lady Sybil Tollemacho have these pretty dogs, which are quite the latest fashion in canine favourites. Madame Vagliano—who, by the way, is the wife of a Greek and a noted society hostess often visited by royalty—is seldom seen .withouSt a (much-prized poodle; and rich Miss Vane Wart is equally devoted to the one she possesses. Picturesque Mrs Hall Walker has pretty sheep dogs, Mrs Ronald Greville pins her faith to white collies, and the Duchess of Newcastle’s Borzois are world renowned.

The twentieth-century woman dares even to admire the cat, having outlived the age when such an appendage labelled her irrettievably passe. Lady Decies, at Beresford Lodge, Birchington, has a perfect menagerie of felin pets, who are housed and cared for as if they were delicate children. She also cultivates bullfinches almost as enthusiastically. Lovers of birds are Lady Warwick, whose white peacocks add to the picturesqueness of Warwick Castle; Lady Ilohester, whose fancy is (Sor woodpigeons, tame creatures who eat from her hands in the grounds of Holland House; and Miss Baden-Powell, the General’s sister, who allows pigeons to roam about her house without let or hindrance.

Several society dames are too enthusiastic animal lovers to content themselves with the acquisition of one special kind. The Duchess of Bedford spends some of her happiest moments with Her dumb friends at Woburn, where the horses and various birds, swans, storks, pelicans, and even pheasants are her favourites. The Duchess of Bedford has a magnetic power over animals, and has tamed many a fiery steed in the ducal stables simply by kindness and firmness. The Duchess of Sutherland and Beaufort, Beltine Lady Wilton, and Lady Augusta Fane also practise the cult of the horse in this kindly way, and they have favourite steeds obedient to the slightest touch or sofest word of command. Lady Linlithgow and her sisters-in-law, the Ladies Hope, are fond of Shetland ponies, and seldom drive any others when staying in Scotland or at the farm owned by the Ladies Hope in Kent.

The Duchess of Fife’s daughter is very proud of the white mule which was given her by Lord Kitchener, who also bestowed one on little Lady Rosemary Leveson-Gower, the Duchess of Sutherland’s only daughter. A recent fiancee, Lady Constance M’Kenzic, showed for some time a peculiar affection for a boa constrictor; and Mrs Arthur Gadegau struck out a similar line by cherishing a tame python. Another curious pet was the live beetle attached to the bracelet of a noted American in London.