A FEEXCn WOLF-IIUXT. 35 



bat nothing else ; so I thought I would visit the adjacent 

 posts and inquire the news. There I found them as jolly 

 as bacchanals; the single sentinels had grown tired, and 

 had joined their neighbours, and the line was broken up 

 into small smoking and drinking parties, singing and 

 laughing merrily. The best hope was, that if the wolf was 

 a jolly fellow he might be attracted to make one ; but he 

 being somewhat of an exclusive, with a high estimate of 

 his own value, at least to himself, and being endowed by 

 nature with excellent eyes, ears, and nose, this hope was 

 not worth much. I therefore returned to my post. Pre- 

 sently a gun was fired close at hand, followed by shouts 

 and the baying of dogs. The master of the pack was 

 then standing with me, and we both ran up. We found 

 that a farmer had fired at the wolf; he had come dashmg 

 through the thicket, and he was certain he had hit him. 

 " Bring up the old dog," said the master ; and up came the 

 old dog and down went his nose, but he said nothing 

 The farmer persisted that it was the wolf; one said one 

 thing, and one another; at last the w^hole pack were 

 assembled, and they gave no sign, except that one had 

 recent marks of shot on his side ! Then began a pretty 

 row, the louvetier and the farmer mutually swearing as 

 Frenchmen only can sv/ear ; the dogs yelping, the piqueurs 

 looking foolish; and so ended the wolf-hunt. Then the 

 general chasse began, and how we escaped it is hard to say, 

 as every man fired at everything ; and after burning powder 

 enough to have blov/n up the forest, we returned with a 

 fox and a hare, w^hich latter had been cruelly murdered by 

 a peasant. The wolves were probably some twenty miles 



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