THE KING AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 143 



from where he has been found ; there, I agree, you excel ; 

 you are famous riders, but it is not that which constitutes 

 the art of venerie." 



" Perhaps the patriotism of your majesty suggests this 

 theory as a set-off to the want of speed in French horses." 



"More probably, Monsieur le Due, your national pre- 

 judices refuse to recognise in this, as in many other instances, 

 any foreign superiority ; but be assured that the true science 

 of hunting does not consist alone in killing or taking the 

 stag. It would be easy to do that with a pack of harriers, 

 but the art of real venerie consists in after having driven 

 a stag into a forest full of other deer, never to change the 

 original beast you have been hunting ; to take up checks 

 and other details, which are learnt as much by theory as by 

 practice." The king, observing a smile of incredulity upon 

 the lips of the duke, between a hesitation and an objection, 

 continued " I am sorry for you, Monsieur le Due, but you 

 have no real chasseurs in England/' and without waiting for 

 an answer, put spurs to his horse in a manner to put art end 

 to the conversation. 



The stag has crossed the Versailles road, and has taken to 

 the plain of Yillacoupray, and the king, who gallops upon 

 his traces, appears delighted with the sport that every one is 

 enjoying, and replies by frequent bows to the numerous 

 acclamations that greet him from all sides. The animal has 

 been seen distinctly on the Versailles road, and experienced 

 hunters report that his feet are turned inwards, a sure sign 

 that he is getting fatigued. A vast number of carriages and 

 spectators are stationed on the pave. We soon arrive at the 

 wood of Meudon, at the Carrefour de Z' Ursine. 



The stag springs over everything that opposes his flight, 

 but his perpetual efforts exhaust his strength; his bounds 

 are less active and elastic. The king has not lost the traces 

 of the hunt for a moment, and has followed it through all its 

 windings and sinuosities. 



