Aubri de Mondidier, a gentleman of family and fortune, travelling alone
through the Forest of Bondi, was murdered, and buried under a tree.
His dog, an English blood-hound, would not quit his master’s grave for
several days; till, at length, compelled by hunger, he proceeded to the
house of an intimate friend of the unfortunate Aubri’s, at Paris, and
by his melancholy howling, seemed desirous of expressing the loss they
had both sustained. He repeated his cries, ran to the door, looked back
to see if any one followed him, returned to his master’s friend, pulled
him by the sleeve, and with dumb eloquence entreated him to go with him.
The singularity of all these actions of the dog, added to the
circumstance of his coming there without his master, whose faithful
companion he had always been, prompted the company to follow the
animal, who conducted them to a tree, where he renewed his howl,
scratching the earth with his feet, and significantly entreating them
to search that particular spot. Accordingly, on digging, the body of
the unfortunate Aubri was found.
Some time after, the dog accidentally met the assassin, who is styled,
by the historians, Chevalier Macaire; when, instantly seizing him by
the throat, he was with great difficulty compelled to quit his prey.
In short, whenever the dog saw the Chevalier, he continued to pursue
and attack him with equal fury. Such obstinate virulence in the animal,
confined only to Macaire, appeared very extraordinary; especially to
those who at once recollected the dog’s remarkable attachment to his
master, and several instances in which Macaire’s envy and hatred to
Aubri de Mondidier had been conspicuous.
Additional circumstances created suspicion; and at length the affair
reached the royal ear. The king, Louis VIII., accordingly sent for the
dog, who appeared extremely gentle, till he perceived Macaire in the
midst of several noblemen, when he ran fiercely towards him, growling,
and attacking him as usual.
The king, struck with these circumstantial evidences against Macaire,
determined to refer the decision to the chance of battle; in other
words, he gave orders for a combat between the Chevalier and the dog.
The lists were appointed in the Isle of Notre Dame, then an unenclosed,
uninhabited place, and Macaire was allowed for his weapon a great
cudgel.
An empty cask was given to the dog as a place of retreat, to enable him
to recover breath. Everything being prepared, the dog no sooner found
himself at liberty, than he ran round his adversary, avoiding his
blows, and menacing him on every side, till his strength was exhausted;
then, springing forward, he griped him by the throat, threw him on the
ground, and obliged him to confess his guilt, in the presence of the
king and the whole court. In consequence of this, the Chevalier, after
a few days, was convicted upon his own acknowledgment, and beheaded on
a scaffold in the Isle of Notre Dame.
Natural Lamps.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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