256 EEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



At last the day was settled, and came off. 

 We started, in a contrary direction to the 

 day before, to another forest, some of the 

 scenery of which was very beautiful. The 

 ground was wild and undulating, with some 

 very pretty streams running through it. It 

 was a lovely day, and as we were now well into 

 September, the excessive heat of a French 

 August of those days had passed. Carabine 

 still patronized me, and kept me to himself. 

 He placed me by a pollard oak, on a bank that 

 overhung a pretty, wild, rocky stream, where 

 the trout were rising very fast. On the other 

 side of the valley, partly wooded, partly open, 

 through which the stream ran, was hilly ground, 

 covered with brushwood, rock fern, and broom, 

 very fair to look at. I could enjoy the land- 

 scape thoroughly, though my thoughts ran 

 much on the boar, which Carabine assured me 

 would be found ; that if it was the celebrated, 

 well-known one, he would be sure to run the 

 hill and take the stream ; that I must be sure 

 not to miss him, or, at any rate, not to wound 

 him, as if I did I might as well consider myself 

 dead, as this very animal had killed a piqueur 

 last year, and upset himself, fortunately with- 

 out any injury. I inquired why I, an unfledged 

 greenhorn, was selected, of all people, to face 



