66 EEMINISCENCES OF A SPOETSMAN. 



immediately recognised him, leaped upon his neck, licked 

 his face, and in a few minutes fell dead at his feet." 



The following old but interesting anecdote is taken 

 from Daniel's " Eural Sports." " A few days before the 

 overthrow of Robespierre, a revolutionary tribunal had 

 condemned M. R., an upright magistrate and most esti- 

 mable man, on a pretence of finding him guilty of con- 

 spiracy ! His faithful dog, a spaniel, was with him when 

 seized, but was not suffered to enter the prison ; he took 

 refuge with a neighbour of his master's, and every day 

 at the same hour returned to the prison, but was still 

 refused admittance ; he, however, had uniformly passed 

 some time there, and his unremitting fidelity won upon 

 the porter, and the dog was allowed to enter. The 

 meeting may be better imagined than described : the 

 jailer, however, fearful for himself, carried the dog out of 

 the prison, but he returned next morning, and was regu- 

 larly admitted on each day after this. When the day of 

 sentence arrived, the dog, notwithstanding the guards, 

 penetrated into the hall, where he lay crouched between 

 the legs of his master. Again, at the hour of execution the 

 faithful dog was there, and when the knife of the guillotine 

 fell he would not leave the lifeless and headless hodj. The 

 first night, the next day, and the second night his absence 

 alarmed his new patron, who, guessing whither he had 

 gone, sought him and found him stretched upon his 

 master's grave : from this time for three months every 

 morning the mourner returned to his protectors merely to 

 receive his food, and then again retreated to the grave. At 

 last he refused food ; his patience seemed exhausted, and 

 with his temporary strength supplied by his long-tried 

 and unexhausted affection, for twenty hours he was ob- 

 served to employ his weakened limbs in digging up 



