In France "La Bête" was taken very seriously. A proclamation was posted up all over Languedoc:—
"By the King and the Intendant of the Province of Languedoc. Notice is given to all persons that His Majesty being justly affected by the situation of his subjects, now exposed to the ravages of the wild beast which for four months past has infested Vivarais and Gévaudan, and being desirous to stop the progress of such a calamity, has determined to promise a reward of six thousand livres to any person or persons who shall kill this animal. Such as are willing to undertake the pursuit of him may previously apply to the Sieur de la Font, sub-deputy to the Intendant of Mende, who will give them the necessary instructions agreeably to what has been presented by the ministry on the part of His Majesty."
On Jan. 9, 1765, an entire troop of French light horse was dispatched under Capt. Duhamel in quest of the animal, and on this occasion the Bishop of Mende said a solemn mass, and the consecrated Host was elevated in the cathedral, which was thronged by the devout for the entire day.
The most absurdly exaggerated stories were related of the "beast." We are told that it
"tore the entire cheek off one boy, and gobbled it up before him. It rises on its hind legs and leaps upon its prey, which it seizes by the neck or throat, but is afraid of horned cattle, from which it runs away."
On another occasion it was said to have snapped a woman's head off at one bite.
The career of "La Bête" came to an end on Sept. 20, 1765. On that day M. Antoine de Beauterne, who had come from another part of France on purpose to slay the beast, shot him in the eye at about fifty paces distant. The animal was finished off by Reinhard, the Duke of Orleans's gamekeeper. Beauterne set out for Versailles with the body, in order to present it to the King. Walpole wrote to Lady Hervey from Paris on Oct. 3, 1765, saying:—
"Fortune bestowed on me a much more curious sight than a set of princes: the wild beast of Gévaudan, which is killed, and actually in the Queen's antechamber. It is a thought less than a leviathan and the Beast in the Revelations …… In short, Madam, now it is dead and come, a wolf it certainly was."
On the same day Walpole wrote to John Chute:—
"In the Queen's antechamber we foreigners and the foreign ministers were shown the famous beast of the Gévaudan just arrived, and covered with a cloth, which two chausseurs lifted up. It is an absolute wolf, but uncommonly large, and the expression of agony and fierceness remains strongly imprinted on its dead jaws."
The work which Mrs. Anderson refers to, called 'La Bête du Gévaudan,' was written by M. Élie Berthet and published in Paris first in 1858 (5 vols.), with a second edition in 1862. A poem on the subject, widely read at the time, was called 'Sur la Bête monstrueuse et cruelle du Gévaudan.' It was written by Baron de R———, a certain "gentilhomme de Picardie." It may be found in Le Journal Encyclopédique for Oct. 1, 1765. Two most admirable articles upon "La Bête" appeared in English magazines: the first in Household Words, Nov. 20, 1858, and the second in The Argosy, vol. iv. pp. 54-62. Larousse's 'Grand Dictionnaire' also has some very interesting details under the heading 'Bête du Gévaudan.'
It is interesting to know that in 1632 the same part of France was terrorized by a monster of a similar kind to "La Bête." Particulars of this will be found in
"Récit véritable du monstrueux et effroïable dragon occis en une montagne du Hault Auvergne, par J. de La Brière, natif de Cervières en Forest, jouxte la lettre escriptede Beaufort, par le seigneur dudit lieu, syndic de la noblesse d'Auverejne." 1632, in 8vo.
This is referred to in 'Bibliographie des Traditions et de la Litt. Populaire de l'Auvergne,' par H. Gaidoz et Paul Sébillot, Clermont-Ferrand, 1885.
187 Piccadilly, W.
The beast was a very large and terrible wolf, as tall as a young calf, which, after many thrilling episodes, was killed on Sept. 21, 1765. Many details about the reputed havoc and the chase are to be found in the Archives of the Puy de Dôme; they have been repeatedly used in provincial publications. See 'Congrès archéologique de France,' 1858, p. 21; Bulletin de la Société d'agriculture de la Lozère, 1872, xxii. p. 91; 1884, xxxv. p. 189. I have also seen a very rare book on the subject, printed by the author himself, a village priest, but I do not remember the exact title.
Saint Germain en Laye.
Chanelhouse: Ion: Ormondy: Twisaday (12 S. i. 207, 273).—The Patent Roll of 1411 records "Twysontheday,' showing that "Twisaday" is the proper spelling and meaning (11 S. x. 146). This surname is in the present 'P.O. London Directory' (Court Section).
