The Merry Past 



velvet breeches, a white waistcoat, with the uniform 

 coat of " La Louveterie " (Wolf Hunt), of which 

 she was the only female member. This coat was a 

 green jacket with facing of white, gilt buttons, 

 and gold lace ; the skirts were tastefully turned 

 up and fastened with two gilt hunting horns. Such 

 was the invariable costume of the Baroness, whilst 

 her hat was bound with gold lace, like that of 

 a coachman. Under the ancien regime^ " La Louve- 

 terie Club " had its ramifications through France. 

 It was instituted for the extermination of wolves, 

 and its members were of the high noblesse. There 

 were many different grades and ranks, the funds 

 were ample, and they possessed many packs of wolf- 

 hounds. 



From an early age the Baroness, whose voice and 

 manner were masculine, had been addicted to field 

 sports, her education having suffered in consequence. 

 She came of a noble family, and had a good fortune 

 for a Frenchwoman of that day. She had been 

 married to the Baron de Draacke, a famous wolf- 

 hunter, who died before the Revolution, in the 

 course of which the Baroness was imprisoned, de- 

 prived of the privileges attaching to her rank, and 

 her estates confiscated. Of undaunted spirit, she 

 petitioned the ephemeral Government of the day 

 for the restoration of her liberty. She pleaded 

 that she was a woman, that she never meddled with 

 politics, and that she had performed important 

 services to her country, as she had freed her own 

 district from wolves. Strange to say, the Revolu- 



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