74 



CHAPTER VII. 



AETEK THE CHASE. THE SOLACHERS. 



To every one who has followed the chamois or the red- 

 deer in the Highlands of Bavaria, the name of Solacher 

 is a familiar word. And though he may not have car- 

 ried a rifle in those parts, yet if he be a lover of the 

 chase, that name will still have reached his ears, and be 

 known to him in connection with many a story of adven- 

 turous climbing, of desperate encounter with poachers, 

 and of trophies borne off from the shooting-matches at 

 Munich or the village festivals. If, when sitting round 

 the table of the little inn of an evening, you hear some 

 old fellow telling when the last bear was seen in the 

 mountains, and whence he came, and how great the ex- 

 citement when the news ran of his arrival, you may be 

 sure it was a Solacher who was first in the pursuit, and 

 that, whether they killed the monster or not, to one of 

 that name the honour of the day was due. 



Each and all of them have been " hunters of the hills," 

 shunning the plain, and any other occupation save that 

 hard one which they have always followed — father, son, 

 grandchildren, and uncles. The name of Solacher to the 

 hunter of the chamois in Bavaria is like that of Napier 

 with us in England, — it carries with it reputation : we at 

 once expect to hear of pre-eminence in him who bears 



