The Dog,
Suspending For A While His Moans, Assumed The Arms Of Revenge;
Rushed Upon The Man, And Seized Him, Howling At The Same Time In So
Dolorous A Manner, That All Present Shed Tears.
It was considered
as a proof against the murderer, that the dog seized him from
amongst so many, and would not let him go; and especially, as
neither the crime of hatred, envy, or injury, could possibly, in
this case, be urged against the dog.
On account, therefore, of such
a strong suspicion of murder (which the soldier constantly denied),
it was determined that the truth of the matter should be tried by
combat. The parties being assembled in a field, with a crowd of
people around, the dog on one side, and the soldier, armed with a
stick of a cubit's length, on the other, the murderer was at length
overcome by the victorious dog, and suffered an ignominious death on
the common gallows.
Pliny and Solinus relate that a certain king, who was very fond of
dogs, and addicted to hunting, was taken and imprisoned by his
enemies, and in a most wonderful manner liberated, without any
assistance from his friends, by a pack of dogs, who had
spontaneously sequestered themselves in the mountainous and woody
regions, and from thence committed many atrocious acts of
depredation on the neighbouring herds and flocks. I shall take this
opportunity of mentioning what from experience and ocular testimony
I have observed respecting the nature of dogs.
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