282 SPORTING IN BOTH HEMISPHERES. 



first sound that met their ears, at the first sight of our rolling 

 machine, they bounded away as if in fear, still, like true 

 daughters of Eve, they stopped short with coquettish 

 curiosity, and taking up the most graceful pose in the world, 

 gave the sportsman an opportunity to admire their attrac- 

 tions, often repeating the same manoeuvres, and similar to 

 Virgil's Galatea, who fled towards the reeds, but at the same 

 time wished to be admired, " Et se cupit ante videri" 



During this long drive we only met with two objects un- 

 connected with the sport we were pursuing. One was a vast 

 flock of sheep, which were cropping the young shoots of grass, 

 more plentiful at this time in the woods than in the plain. 

 The shepherd of the flock, wrapped in a woollen cloak with 

 about thirty capes, was occupied in knitting a pair of stock- 

 ings and smoking a long pipe. On one of his arms was 

 suspended an earthen pot, containing his daily repast, and 

 beneath the other he carried a large Bible food for body and 

 soul. The other rencontre was of a very different descrip- 

 tion, and by no means so flattering to the morals of the 

 country. With the eyes of a hawk the keepers discovered a 

 poor peasant who was loading a small wheelbarrow with dead 

 leaves and branches. In a moment he was surrounded, 

 seized, and his rake taken from him, to serve as a security 

 for the fine which the offence was sure to be visited with. 

 He could in 110 way have injured the proprietor, for he only 

 took away objects of no value, to make a bed for his cow, 

 and which in another country any one would have been per- 

 mitted to make use of. It was in vain we pleaded in his 

 favour. The forest laws in Prussia are inexorable. They 

 told us that in this case the fine would be doubled, because 

 the offence was committed on a Sunday. I could not help 

 reflecting on the extreme injustice of this proceeding, or 

 rather the two sides of the question. We, the rich and idle, 

 had the privilege of slaying at our ease the wild animals of 



