WILD SPORT IN BRITTANY. 45 



not, would shoulder his " Faucheux " and show him the favourite 

 rocky ground of the red-leg, the best dingles for cock, and the 

 deep covers around, in which the fox, the wolf, or the boar would 

 always be a sure find. The very first day I shot in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Carhaix I won Marseillier's heart by disclaiming 

 any share in the honour of killing a hare, which had jumped 

 up between us in a field adjoining the town, and which we had 

 both fired at simultaneously. He was a very poor marksman, 

 and his delight on receiving my assurance that the hare fell 

 to his gun was unbounded ; away he went, promising to be 

 back in two minutes, straight for the hotel, where, as I afterwards 

 learned, he pleasantly described his superior skill, and instantly 

 set to work to prepare the hare for a ragout intended for our 

 dinner that very day ; so it was close upon two hours before he 

 joined me again. 



One word about his hare-ragout, in the concoction of which 

 few were his equals, and none surpassed him : it was somewhat 

 similar to our English jugged hare, but far superior in its delicate 

 flavour and rich gravy. However, he professed to have learned 

 the secret of making it from the chef on board H.M. the Queen 

 of England's yacht, when, as Queen of the Ocean, Her Majesty 

 paid that memorable visit to Louis-Philippe, and so delighted the 

 French monarch with her affability and queenly dignity. Old 

 Neptune, however, is a god who does not respect earthly powers, 

 be they never so exalted or never so puissant ; and it so happened 

 that, on that occasion, he rolled and heaved in a most inde- 

 pendent and restless fashion 'neath the keels of the royal yachts ; 

 and, as Marseillier always relates the story with great humour, it 

 was his especial duty to mix hot brandy-and-water for the Queen 

 of England, who, owning the power of the great god, was in 

 imminent danger of paying the same tribute to him as the weakest 

 of her subjects ; but, happily, was saved from doing so by a potent 

 mixture of French eau-de-vie and Marseillier's care. 



