142 A MONTH IN THE FORESTS OF FRANCE. 



his gun and tlie hunted animal. I have already seen 

 this and suffered from it ; but as yet I can no more 

 inculcate this knowledge into my woodland friends in 

 France than I could teach it to a babe unborn. 

 Would that, like Asmodeus, I could lift the trees of 

 the forest as that devilish inspector or infernal chaperon 

 did the roofs of houses ; but, please Heaven, I would 

 pray the power to be bestowed on only us two, " Le 

 Diable boiteux " and myself. I should then have the 

 means of showing to my friends the truth of all I 

 urge as to the deceitful worthlessness of their French 

 hounds ; and they themselves would see the facts as 

 they are known to me. A man cannot be up to the 

 faults of hounds unless he has studied them in the 

 open ; the woods have blinded my younger friends' 

 eyes ; they are used to look on a noisy falsehood as 

 a proclaimed truth, and on the front position of a 

 lame and impotent, or even a legless cripple, slily 

 and for a moment assumed, as a post gained by speed, 

 power, industry, and determination. 



On reaching the chateau, alas I with the deepest 

 possible regret, I found news there that cast a gloom 

 over the whole place, and in the morning ascertained 

 that my friend had hastily quitted for Paris. 



Left to my own resources, the next day (Monday) 

 I availed myself of the yellow setter's sagacity, and 



