THE BADGER 



Charles d'Hallewyn, were told by the garde 

 forestier that on his beat he knew of several 

 badgers near the place they call I'Ermitage. 



"The little dogs being put on the scent 

 soon found the earths, where they entered, 

 and advanced with so much courage that 

 they never stopped till they had reached the 

 bottom of the earth, where they cornered 

 the badgers, which held their ground in an 

 attitude of the most threatening defence. 



" The assailants, thus powerless, made 

 themselves heard by barking and baying 

 incessantly, and with heroic pluck, the little 

 fellows refused to retreat in spite of the 

 repeated calls of their masters. 



" Their perseverance being carried to this 

 length, our young gentlemen formed a resolu- 

 tion worthy of their taste for great under- 

 takings and adventures. Labourers were 

 called from the field and commissioned at 

 once to set to work to reach the badgers. 



" The attempt was more than bold. The 

 mouths of the set, three in number, were at 

 the foot of a hill, and embraced between them 

 a sort of triangular piece of land at the apex 



97 H 



