circumstantial evidence against Macaire, the king determined to refer
the decision to the chance of battle; or, 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.
Macaire was allowed for his weapon a great cudgel, and an empty cask was
given to the dog as a place of retreat, to enable him to recover breath.

Every thing being prepared, the dog no sooner found himself at liberty,
than he made for his adversary, running round him and menacing him on
every side, avoiding his blows till his strength was exhausted; then
springing forward, he seized him by the throat, threw him on the ground,
and obliged him to confess his guilt in presence of the king and the
whole court. In consequence of this confession, the chevalier, after a
few days, was convicted upon his own acknowledgment, and beheaded on a
scaffold in the Isle of Notre Dame.

The editor of the Portland (Maine) Advertiser relates the following
anecdote: "A gentleman from the country recently drove up to a store in
this city, and jumping from his sleigh, left his dog in the care of the
vehicle. Presently an avalanche of snow slid from the top of the
building upon the sidewalk, which so frightened the horse that he
started off down the street at a furious run. At this critical juncture,
the dog sprang from the sleigh, and seizing the reins in his mouth, held
back with all his strength, and actually reined in the frightened animal
to a post at the side of the street, when apparently having satisfied
himself that no danger was to be apprehended, he again resumed his
station in the sleigh, as unconcerned as if he had only done an ordinary
act of duty."

A few years ago a little girl, residing in an inland village in
Connecticut--without the consent of her mother, be it remembered--went
alone to a pond near by, to play with her brother's little vessel, and
fell into the water. She came very near drowning; but a dog belonging to
the family, named Rollo, who was not far off, plunged in and drew her to
the shore. She was so exhausted, however, that she could not rise, and
the dog could not lift her entirely out of the water. But he raised her
head a little above the surface, and then ran after help. He found a
man, and made use of every expedient in his power to draw him to the
spot where he had left the child. At first the stranger paid very little
atten