THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 101 



for by the time we had reached the gates 

 of the town he was thoroughly done up. 



I halted at the barrier e, and, feehng in 

 my pocket, accidentally discovered my 

 porte d'armes, which I exhibited to the 

 winded gamekeeper. 



No description of mine can convey any 

 idea of his wrath upon discovering the 

 trick I had played him : he gave vent to 

 more sacrSs in a given time than any 

 Englishman could have uttered for a 

 wager ; and, to fill up the measure of 

 his misfortune, he had the additional 

 mortification of being laughed at by the 

 douaniers at the gates. I ofi^ered to ac- 

 company him to the Procureur du Roi if 

 he felt himself aggrieved ; but the exas- 

 perated guardian of the fields did not 

 notice my friendly proposal ; he turned 

 upon his heel, and that was the last I 

 ever saw of the garde champ^tre. 



