316 ROYAL SKILLS. 



his commands to organize," says Schonberg, " was towards 

 the end of July, 1720, near to Buskara, in the parish of 

 Nora, and province of Westmanland. Each wing was three 

 thousand one hundred and fifty paces in length ; breadth at 

 the commencement, two thousand one hundred paces. 



" His Majesty, accompanied by his Serene Highness 

 Prince William of Hesse, was then on his way to Gefle, to 

 inspect the Finnish army which was assembled there ; and 

 as the Prince was desirous of hastening back to Germany, 

 I was graciously ordered, against their return, to look for 

 a suitable locality for a small Skall that would be concluded 

 in a single day ; and this even should there be only a single 

 bear within it, so that the Prince, who had never seen that 

 beast in a hunt, might have the opportunity of shooting one. 



" As I knew, that during the whole of the past spring a 

 capital bear had had his haunts thereabouts, I immediately 

 caused the needful preparations to be made for the Skall. 

 But that the beast might not be disturbed, I directed that, 

 instead of cutting Skall-gator (paths or rides, as we would 

 say) through the forest, to direct the movements of the 

 people, the trees should be simply scored with the axe ; and 

 even this operation was not performed until all the men and 

 the Jagt-tyg * were in their proper places. 



* Nets, and so called Lappar. The latter consist of pieces of coarse 

 canvas of about three feet in length, and of breadth proportionate, on which 

 Saracens' heads and other ugly devices are painted in very vivid colours. 

 These Lappar are suspended, at short intervals, to a line of great length, 

 which is supported by upright forked stakes at a few feet from the ground ; 

 and when fluttering in the wind, are not only enough to turn back wild beasts, 

 but to scare the fiend himself. At times the Jagt-tyg is of great length : in 

 one instance in the present chapter, we read of its circumventing a wood six 

 thousand two hundred and seventy-four paces in circumference. 



