122 SPORTING IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. 



" The Prince of Saxe Coburg, then rather a costly pensioner 

 of Great Britain, is accompanied by Colonel Freemantle and 

 several other English gentlemen. 



" The Compte 1'Esperance de 1'Aigle, whose family crest is 

 an eagle regarding the sun. One of his ancestors being in 

 the presence of Louis XI V. ? gazed upon him with a keen and 

 steady glance, without at .all partaking the general feeling of 

 humility and deference that the person of the Grand Monarque 

 was accustomed to inspire. Louis XIV. was astonished, 

 and remarked, smiling, c Monsieur, you stare very hard at 

 me. What may your name bef ' Sire, I am called 1'Aigle. 

 Your majesty is aware that the eagle alone can look upon 

 the sun.' 



" This sally was the more fortunate as Louis XIV. had 

 adopted as an emblem a sun with this device, 'nee pluribus 

 impar.' ' You are a man of wit and courage,' observed the 

 king. f I ordain that the simile should become the subject 

 of your armorial bearings.' 



" M. le Due de Monchy, who is not less occupied with his 

 own toilet than with that of those around him. It is rare in 

 conversation that his scrutinizing eye does not appear to 

 admire or blame some portion of his companion's dress. He 

 is a living personification of the manners of the olden time, 

 joined to all the advantages of modern elegance. 



" M. Nuinance de Girardin, commandant of the royal shoot- 

 ing parties, owed the particular favour both of the king and 

 the dauphin to the interest of his uncle. He was one of the 

 few that always spoke his mind to his majesty. 



" No chasse ever took place without the presence of old 

 Madame de Miran. She always came to pay her court to the 

 king, and from time immemorial Madame de Miran was said 

 to ' aimer le gibier du roy." 



" Monsieur le Compte Hocquart, commandant of the old 

 gardes. He combined with all the attractions of a gentle- 



