292 CHAPTER XL. 



a sharp look-out when wolves are in the neighbour- 

 hood, for if a wolf sees you before you catch sight of 

 him, you will thenceforth lose your voice. In Virgil's 

 ninth Eclogue, Mceris, when pressed to sing, makes 

 this excuse : " Lupi Moerin videre priores," " The 

 wolves saw me before I set eyes on them." Young 

 ladies troubled with nervousness may find this hint 

 useful when the hostess insists upon a song. 



The Ibex, if not exterminated, is so rare that I 

 have never seen one. 



Chamois are brought every year in considerable 

 numbers to St. Martin Vesubia. From the windows 

 of the hotel at the Madonna di Fenestra, the chamois 

 may frequently be seen threading their way among 

 the precipitous rocks. This spot is a great resort for 

 men who take a savage delight in killing this beautiful 

 and harmless creature. The upper part of the 

 Fenestra valley, though geographically in France in 

 fact it is absolutely cut off from Italy during eight or 

 nine months of the year belongs politically to Italy. 

 I have been told that when hunters from the French 

 villages trespass in these regions in pursuit of chamois, 

 the Italian game-keepers, if they catch them, do not 

 always confine themselves to confiscating their guns. 

 A solitary poacher in those wilds might be roughly 

 dealt with. 



A hotel-keeper in the village of St. Martin 

 Vesubia had a young Chamois, which was so tame 

 that it would climb on to his shoulders. One day it 

 came into the church, through the open window, 

 during service. Sometimes when this animal was at 

 play it would lower its head so as to bring the curved 

 tips of the horns under an imaginary enemy, and then 



