THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 29 



down the chevreuil, — it would appear 

 that they were on the track of another 

 boar, for before I could warn my aide de 

 camp of his danger, two boars were within 

 a few feet of him. I was taken as much 

 by surprise as himself; for in watching 

 his movements I had neither seen nor 

 heard the swine coming down the allee. 

 It was too late when I did discover them, 

 for I could not fire from the position in 

 which I stood without the probability of 

 hitting him. I halloo'd at the top of my 

 voice, but my breath was wasted, and 

 my feelings were anything but enviable. 



I had scarcely recovered from the eifects 

 the first accident had produced, and here 

 was almost a certainty of a second hap- 

 pening. The reader may therefore form 

 some faint idea of the pleasure I expe- 

 rienced when Francois, my garde de chasse, 

 had escaped the impending peril. 



True to their savage custom, the boars 



