261 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 



"Does Monsieur wish it?" demanded 

 the sorcier, for such he was. 



" Nom de Dieu .'" said the groom, " s'il 

 le veut.'^ 



As soon as he had pronounced these 

 words, the sorcier watched his opportu- 

 nity, and threw his arms round the horse's 

 neck, who, not accustomed to such em- 

 braces, reared more violently than before, 

 raising the little man off the ground with 

 him ; but he kept his hold, not at all 

 embarrassed, and contrived even in that 

 awkward situation, to fix his mouth on 

 the orifice of the animal's ear. 



What he did, or what he said, I know 

 not. It is impossible to imagine that the 

 mere breathing in the animal's ear could 

 have any effect, but his hands were occu- 

 pied in holding tightly round the neck 

 of the horse, and the only thing I could 

 observe, was the firm pressure of the 

 mouth on the ear. Be this as it may, 



