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StoriesThe CalfBy Monseigneur de la Roche _Of a Dutchman, who at all hour... Half-booted By Monseigneur De Fiennes. _Of a Count who would ravish by... The Devil's Horn By Monseigneur. _Of a noble knight of Germany, a great tra... The Gluttonous Monk By Monseigneur De Vaurin. _Of a Carmelite monk who came to... Our Scientific Observations On A Ghost "Then nothing would convince you of the existence of ghosts... Scorn For Scorn By Monseigneur. _Of two comrades who wished to make their ... The Three Cordeliers By Monsigneur De Beauvoir _Of three merchants of Savoy who... Both Well Served By Monseigneur De Saint Pol. _Of a knight who, whilst he w... The Exchange By Monseigneur De Villiers. _Of a knight whose mistress ma... Bids And Biddings By Monseigneur De Launoy. _Of a number of boon companions ... The Women Who Paid Tithe By Monseigneur De Villiers. _Of the Cordeliers of Osteller... The Woman, The Priest, The Servant, And The WOLF. By Monseigneur De Villiers. _Of a gentleman who cau... Three Very Minor Brothers By Poncelet. _Of three women of Malines, who were acquaint... Women's Quarrels By The Editor. _Of a married woman who was in love with a ... The Lawyer And The Bolting-mill By Monseigneur Le Duc. _Of a President of Parliament, who ... The Man Above And The Man Below By Monsigneur De La Roche. _Of a married woman who gave re... The Child With Two Fathers By Caron. _Of a gentleman who seduced a young girl, and th... Caught In The Act By Philippe De Laon. _Of the chaplain to a knight of Burgu... The Lost Ass Found By Michault De Changy. _Of a good man of Bourbonnais who w... Dr Greatrex's Engagement Everybody knows by name at least the celebrated Dr. Greatre... |
A Good Dog_Of a foolish and rich village cure who buried his dog in the church-yard; for which cause he was summoned before his Bishop, and how he gave 60 gold crowns to the Bishop, and what the Bishop said to him--which you will find related here._ Listen if you please to what happened the other day to a simple village cure. This good cure had a dog which he had brought up, and which surpassed every other dog in the country in fetching a stick out of the water, or bringing a hat that his master had forgotten, and many other tricks. In short, this wise and good dog excelled in everything, and his master so loved him that he never tired of singing his praises. At last, I know not how, whether he ate something that disagreed with him, or whether he was too hot or too cold, the poor dog became very ill, and died, and went straightway to wherever all good dogs do go. What did the honest cure do? You must know that his vicarage adjoined the church-yard, and when he saw his poor dog quit this world, he thought so wise a beast ought not to be without a grave, so he dug a hole near the door of his house, and in the church-yard, and there buried his dog. I do not know if he gave the dog a monument and an epitaph, I only know that the news of the good dog's death spread over the village, and at last reached the ears of the Bishop, together with the report that his master had given him holy burial. The cure was summoned to appear before the Bishop, who sent a sergeant to fetch him. "Alas!" said the cure, "what have I done, and why have I to appear before the Bishop? I am much surprised at receiving this summons." "As for me," said the sergeant, "I do not know what it is for, unless it is because you buried your dog in the holy ground which is reserved for the bodies of Christians." "Ah," thought the cure to himself, "that must be it," and it occurred to him that he had done wrong, but he knew that he could easily escape being put into prison, by paying a fine, for the Lord Bishop--God be praised--was the most avaricious prelate in the Kingdom, and only kept those about him who knew how to bring grist to the mill. "At any rate I shall have to pay, and it may as well be soon as late." On the appointed day, he appeared before the Bishop, who immediately delivered a long sermon about the sin of burying a dog in consecrated ground, and enlarged on the offence so wonderfully that he made it appear that the cure had done something worse than deny God; and at the end he ordered the cure to be put in prison. When the cure found that he was to be shut up in the stone box, he demanded permission to be heard, and the Bishop gave him leave to speak. You must know that there were a number of notable persons at this convocation--the judge, the prosecutor, the secretaries, and notaries, advocates, and procureurs, who were all much amused at this unusual case of the poor cure who had buried his dog in consecrated ground. The cure spoke briefly in his defence, to this effect. "Truly, my Lord Bishop, if you had known my poor dog as well as I did, you would not be surprised that I gave him Christian burial, for his like was never seen;" and then he began to recount his doings. "And as he was so good and wise when he was living, he was still more so at his death; for he made a beautiful will, and, as he knew your poverty and need, he left you fifty golden crowns, which I now bring you." So saying, he drew the money from his bosom and gave it to the Bishop, who willingly received it, and greatly praised the good dog, and approved of his will, and was glad to know that he had received honourable sepulture. ***** Next: Bids And Biddings Previous: The Sore Finger Cured
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