THE OLD SOLITARY BOAR. 131 



of some sort, and all of them shooting on the Sunday — 

 which, in France, seems to be a day specially set 

 apart for that purpose — together may very readily 

 account for the scarcity of any game that haunts the 

 open lands. 



Intelligence having reached us from a neighbouring 

 louvetier, M. Lucas, that a very large boar was known 

 to be in the woods on his side of the forest, we gladly 

 accepted his invitation to join him the following 

 morning, not only to share in the expected attack on 

 an old solitaire, but also to give our sickly and jaded 

 hounds a longer rest. We were to start early ; so 

 previously to seeking my pillow, I set my gun, horn, 

 boots, belts, and spurs in proper order and ready to 

 my hand, and soon fell into that sleep which, strange 

 to say, the weary as well as temperate sportsman 

 cannot always command. 



K 2 



