.3 1 6 WOLF-HUNTING. 



ihandsome per-centage into the pocket of the wily trader. At 

 Lanvollon, near Port Rieux, an annual fair is held, to which the 

 peasant-maidens of C6tes-du-Nord and Finisterre resort in swarms; 

 .and there come too the Paris perruquiers, or their agents, to 

 bargain with them and carry away, for an old song, grand crops of 

 hair that have been growing, probably without much cultivation, 

 for many a previous year. With a sharp scissors and a practised 

 hand, three snips are sufficient to render the head a bare pole 

 in an instant. Expedition in the matter is important, as not 

 ^infrequently after a bargain has been made, the lasses are wont 

 to repent and altogether decline the proposed operation. 



But now to the ring. The Greek wrestlers went naked to 

 the fight, their bodies being well lubricated with oil, and sanded 

 afterwards to assist the grip of the hand ; but among the Bretons, 

 the combatants were at least decently attired, a close-fitting canvas 

 shirt enveloping the body, with the continuation of the bragon- 

 hose from the waist to the knee, and strong leggings thence to 

 the ankle. The head, however, presented a most grotesque 

 appearance : the long hair, having been carefully drawn back, 

 was plaited with coarse straw into a pig-tail, being less likely in 

 this form to become troublesome to its owner during the ups 

 and downs of the exciting struggle. This process, which is the 

 finishing touch to his toilet, a bystander performs for the com- 

 batant, who, on his knees, is receiving at the same time sage 

 counsel from a Nestor interested in his favour. He then springs 

 on his legs, and having selected the prize for which he is prepared 

 to contend, he stalks bare-footed round the ring, and with defiant 

 air challenges a rival to come forth and enter the lists against 

 him. Three times is he bound to repeat this ceremony; and if 

 at the last round no one is found valiant and strong enough to 

 oppose him, it is pronounced a " walk over," and he pockets the 

 prize. If, on the other hand, some daring competitor steps like 

 Ulysses into the arena, and touches the shoulder of this son of 



