154 



CHAPTEE XII. 



THE BISS. 



ON arriving at Kreuth we heard that the King had 

 announced his intention of going out shooting there 

 in a few days. It was therefore useless to remain 

 any longer ; for, until the royal hunt had taken place, 

 all the assistant-foresters would be busy in making 

 preparations, and there would be none to accom- 

 pany me to the mountains. It may be asked, how 

 can such an event occupy so many persons for days 

 beforehand? In order to ensure a good day's sport, 

 the outlying game is collected as much as possible, 

 and made to move forwards into the neighbourhood 

 where the royal party are to hunt. For this purpose 

 the young gamekeepers pass along the places where 

 the chamois have their haunts, and, by occasionally roll- 

 ing a stone down the crags into the graben* below, 



* Graben. Literally translated, " a ditch, or trench," but in the 

 highlands it means the rifts in the rocks on the sides of a mountain, 

 and is used indiscriminately whether speaking of one that is five or 

 five hundred feet deep. Sometimes the deep ones are also called 

 " Clam," as " Schwazbach Clani," etc. 



