KIDD'S OWN JOUENAL. 



41 



AUTO BIOGRAPHY OF A DOG,— No. XXI. 



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 



(Continued from Vol. IV., Page 362 .) 



Here I am again, my dear old friend, 



jolly as a " Sand-boy." In my last, if you re- 

 member, I described some of the persevering annoy- 

 ances to which my old master was subjected, to 

 gratify the revengeful feelings of the garde cham- 

 petre — whom, after all, he had only treated as 

 he deserved. Entre nous — if foreigners abroad 

 did not make themselves respected, — aye, and 

 feared too, — they would lead a pretty life ! I can 

 honestly speak from my own personal experience 

 in this country. If I had not pulled the ears of 

 some scores of insolent English puppies, I really 

 could not have maintained my proper dignity. 



The finale of these said proceedings was very 

 different from what my friend had anticipated; as 

 the result of the hearings before the Juge de Paix 

 will prove. The great day at length arrived ; 

 when Bombyx and his sons, accompanied by his 



servant Francois, Pere H , and la Catharina, 



appeared on one side. The garde champetre, the 



worthy host of the "Pinte," R , two brothers 



P d, two brothers V r, a certain R 1, 



two cousins B c, another B 1, one L s, 



one P n, one M 1, &c. &c. 



The Magistrate having taken his seat, with 

 some attendants on his right, and some officers on 

 his left, together with a queer little gentleman to 

 take down notes and evidence at a small table 

 beneath, — a little bell was rung, and business 

 commenced. First, an officer appeared, in the 

 ante-chamber, and summoned Bombyx and his 

 witnesses. They were then placed to the right of 

 the magistrate, being the accusing parties. The 

 same officer next summoned the garde champetre 

 and his party ; and they had their place on the 

 magistrate's left hand, exactly confronting 

 Bombyx. A space of some twenty feet squai*e 

 was between them, parted off from the court; 

 and in front of the magistrate was reserved plenty 

 of room for any one who might feel interested in 

 the proceedings. There was also, immediately 

 above, a gallery for the use of the public. 



Silence having been obtained, the clerk read 

 over the accusation ; and then handed it to the 

 worthy magistrate, who called upon Bombyx to 

 say whether or not he confirmed the charge. To 

 this, an answer was of course given in the affirma- 

 tive. The witnesses on both sides were then 

 ordered to withdraw to adjacent rooms, and Bom- 

 byx remained alone on his side, — the garde cham- 

 petre, mine host of the " Pinte," R , and the 



two brothers P d, being on the other. These 



four were accused as principals, the others with 

 aiding, abetting, &c. A chair was then placed in 

 the middle of the open space, precisely opposite 

 the magistrate, and Bombyx was requested to 

 occupy it. Bombyx, unaccustomed to foreign 

 ceremonies, approached the chair, and stood before 

 the magistrate; who, in a mild tone, requested him 

 to be seated, and then addressing him, asked if 

 he was at all related to any of the accused party. 

 "No, sir." m 



" Then," said he, " you can be sworn. Be so 

 good as to stand up, and raise the right hand." 

 The worthy judge continued — " Vousjurez de dire 

 la verite, — toute la verite, — et rien que la verite; 



comme vous esperez Ure sauve a votre dernier 

 moment. " 



" Je le jure" said Bombyx. 

 At this moment there was a solemn silence, 

 during which Bombyx, at the command of the 

 magistrate, resumed his seat. The latter then 

 said to my old master, — 



" Now Bombyx, be so kind as to relate to us, 

 as precisely as you can, the whole occurrence." 

 When Bombyx had finished, he handed to the 



magistrate the certificate of Dr. M , declaring 



in what state he found the servant; also another 

 from the veterinary surgeon, relative to myself, 

 and the wound I had received ; declaring it was 

 done with some double-edged sharp instrument. 

 These two documents were then read aloud by the 

 clerk ; and when the double-edged, sharp instru- 

 ment was mentioned, one of the brothers P d 



changed countenance so much, that everybody in 

 court remarked it — the worthy magistrate par- 

 ticularly. 



When Bombyx's examination was over, the 

 magistrate thus addressed the accused, — 



" Have you any question to ask Bombyx, or any 

 objection or observation co make ? " 

 All rise at once. 



" Cest un gros mensonge, depuis le commence- 

 ment jusqu 1 a la fin. 



"Be so kind," said the magistrate, " as to recol- 

 lect where you are. Such language as that 1 shall 

 not allow; and if it be repeated I shall instantly 

 punish you. And you may thank Bombyx for not 

 having complained ; had he done so, I should have 

 locked you all up for a few days. 



This momentarily produced a good effect. The 

 elder brother P d now addressed the magis- 

 trate. 



" Monsieur le Juge, je w' y etais pas. J' etais 

 a Morges." 



Magistrate. — " Qu'est ce que vous, faisiez a 

 Morges a, huite heures le soir ? " 



P d. — " Ce que jefaisais ? /' avais affaire 



la has. 1 ' 



Magistrate. — " Quelles af aires?" 



P d— " Faut il dire? " 



Magistrate. — " Certainement." 



P d (with a stupid grin). — "Well; I was 



returning home." 



R (turning to the elder P d). — " Grosse 



bete que tu es ! " 



Magistrate. — " Call Francois, Bombyx's ser- 

 vant." 



Francois was likewise sworn, and related the 

 whole occurrence, declaring that he recognised 



distinctly the two brothers P d ; moreover, 



that he called them by their names, and told them 

 that he knew them both. That they were the 

 two who seized him, and knocked him down, and 

 beat him, and kicked him in a most cruel way. 

 He said further, that he had no doubt that if his 

 master had not been well armed when he came 

 out, he would have been similarly ill-used. He 

 could not say which of them ill-treated the dog. 



Magistrate. — "Now you two brothers P d, 



you hear what Frangois has declared. What do 



you say to it ? P d aine, have you anything 



to say?" 



P d aine.— u Moil " 



R (to P d aine). — " Cest une cocho- 



nerie, — ne dites rien." 



