DEATH-FIGHT OF THE STAG. 
stopping till thirty-five leagues from ihe start : he was taken by the 
Prince of Conde, but only the Prince of Cond6 could have taken him, 
Alas ! all have not the energetic perseverance, the vigorous 
hamstring of the illustrious Stag of Ardennes. Blown, exhausted ; 
our beast in extremity, head low, back arched, tongue hanging out, 
slowly travels toward the nearest swamp, in the hope that a long 
bath will refresh his forces. Yain and frail hope ! Hardly has the 
inhospitable water wetted his body, when his limbs stiffen and 
cramp. He would gain the clear ground, but his stubborn ham- 
strings refuse their office ; and yet he must fly, for the first di- 
vision of the implacable, pack has taken the water after him, and 
swims in his trail. Listen to the bugles that sound the water- 
beat, then the view halloo on foot. Admire for a moment that 
large dark head with its historical antlers on the smooth water, 
and round it swarming, with infernal barkings, those hundred 
heads of dogs. The circle contracts ; all those isolated points ap- 
proach, blend ; all those thirsty mouths gain, and still gain. There 
is silence ; the hissing of nostrils succeeds to cries. His hour is 
come — he must perish. Man has so willed it, and the eyes of the 
noble animal fill with bitter tears. Then suddenly the lightning 
of vengeance illumines his thought. 'No more ignoble tears — war 
for war — and with a last effort he plants himself upon that tuft of 
grass, and with his feet and head charging, breaking, goring all that 
meet his blow's, he grows drunk on carnage in his turn, and falls 
upon a heap of his enemies’ corpses. The story of the laborers 
who bear on their banner the terrible device, Vivre en travaillant 
ou mourir en comhattant — We will live by our labor, or die fighting. 
BUCK. 
This is of less noble extraction, and less stature than the stag. 
The body is more compact, the venison juicier, and it is less swift. 
Of the three species of fallow deer, the buck was most difficult to 
save : only its memory remains on the list of the beasts of France. 
There are still a few in the forests of Compeigne and Rambouillet, 
and in some private parks. English dogs force them in an hour. 
Their chase is far from offering the same emotions and the same 
