180 A MONTH IN THE FORESTS OF FRANCE. 



lead, which thej onl j wished to keep till the boar had 

 come over a ride in which they thought he might 

 be shot, or could keep till the honestly working 

 hounds had overtaken and run over them, when the 

 same dodging, shifting, and skirting would be acted 

 over again 



Often and often I got well ahead of what I knew 

 to be the working and leading English foxhounds, 

 making every allowance for the boar being, which 

 I knew him to be, immensely on in front, and heard 

 the boar coming to me, when as often I heard 

 " Wow, wow, wow " — some cunning old skirter, 

 who had been dodging my gun in the bushes, or 

 hanging for the ride, had headed him and put him 

 right away from me ; when, oh ! how I prayed for a 

 day of retributive justice with the kennel ropes ! At 

 last the rings in the cover taken by the old solitaire 

 became wider ; and from positions gained by me a long 

 way in advance, up to which the hounds rather coldly 

 hunted, I became painfully impressed with the fact 

 that le vieux sanglier, weiglit and all was distancing 

 us, and that, unless M. d'Anchald and myself made 

 immense exertions to encourage and keep the jaded 

 hounds together, Blossom's example would be fol- 

 lowed by others, and we should soon have to leave the 

 boar still master of his wilderness. Seeing this, I 



