UNIVERSITY or PITTSBURGH

I8S3

Darlington ,M.emorial J_/ibrary

':/i^'t/^^-i^'l^

BEITANM' AT^D THE CHASE;

HINTS ON FRENCH AFFAIRS.

BY I. HOPE.

LONDON:

■LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.
1853.

LoNnoN :

Spottiswoodes and SiiAvr,

'New-street- Square.

PREFACE,

The contents of the following pages were chiefly extracted
from a Journal of events kept by the author during a
residence in Britanny.

On his return to England this Journal was perused by a
few friends, and at their desire he was induced to present
parts of it for publication.

There is nothing of surpassing interest in the facts given,
nor anything of novelty in the sentiments expressed ;
nevertheless, the Author felt pleasure in them at the tim^,
and hopes his readers may feel the same now.

a2

BlIITAMY AND THE CHASE.

From what race do Englishmen derive their love of
sporting ? Is it of Celtic, Danish, or Saxon origin ?
Surely of Danish. Tlie famous sea-kings were but sports-
men on a large scale, who beat land and sea for game,
hated boundaries and game laws, and after their sport
feasted jovially like hearty fellows. Commend me there-
fore to the worthy Danes, for they have given us a not
ignoble quality. Show me a good sportsman, and I will
show you a good specimen of the genus Homo. To con-
quer the king of beasts, to select at will and capture the
choicest of the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and the
beast of the field, proves the superiority of intellect and
moral courage over brute force, while it does but carry
out the will of the Creato'r, which bestowed on man the
dominion over them all. For hunting was one of the ear-
liest pursuits of which we have mention, as it was the onl y
means of acquiring animal food ; and as to all necessary
acts a kind Providence has superadded pleasure, so in this
lias He stimulated us to supply our needs by the keen relish
implanted in all healthy minds for the sports of the field.
We know that Nimrod was a mighty hunter, and it is
probable that Adam and his sons were the same. The
opinion of the vegetarians that no animal food was eaten

A 3

6 BEITANNY A^D THE CHASE.

before the Deluge^ seems to me absurd. What did Abel do
with the sheep he kept, or Nimrod with the game he
hunted ? What is the meaning of the " dominion " given
by God to Adam over the animal creation ? Do not his
'^ incisor " teeth prove him to be carnivorous ? And last,
but not least, is it possible for man in all climes to live
solely on vegetables ? There is the story of the man who
thought he had discovered how to keep his horse upon
nothing, and had got down to a straw a day, loJien the
animal died; and such would be the end of the vegetable
doctrine. But one thing is certain, that these green vege-
tarians are naturally averse from sporting from want of
disposition or time, or deficiency in strength or spirit, and
so they " compound for what they are inclined to, by
damning what they have no mind to." But to return, —
where is the sporting blood like the English ? Show it,
and I will honor it. Place the Englishman where you
will, and he speedily becomes the conqueror of the brnte
creation around him. Lloyd in Norway and Gumming in
Gaffreland, Williamson in Bengal and Murray in Ganada,
Anglo-Saxons in America, English settlers in India and
Australia, sealers at the North Pole and whalers at the
South, — all speak to one fact, the innate love of sporting
in the Englishman. Young Cantabs go to shoot in Hun-
gary and Transylvania ; Lord Grosvenor (well-named
" Gros-venour ") and friends accept a friendly invitation to
hunt in Nepaul ; amateurs of tiger hunting go express to
Lidia, and imitators of Water ton to the Nile. Who do
these things but the English, and where is the sporting
spirit like theirs ? And no mean spirit is it which prompts

ENGLISH LOVE OF FIELD-SPORTS. T

them tlms to brave liardsliip and risk life ; — it is but a
minor development of that spirit of conquest ^vhich has
made England mistress of a quarter of tlie world.

If any one doubts whether the love of sporting is pecu-
liar to certain races, let him look at the diflerence between
the Frencli and the English in this respect, separated as
they are by some twenty miles only. Nature has not
been bountiful to our vivacious neighbours in sporting
genius. With us the word " sporting'' well represents the
thing meant : it is a diversion, a play, as it were an oft'-shoot
of our nature. In France the Avord is chasser, to drive
away, — not a term of love, but making out game to be an in-
truder. But in fact the Frenchman's inferiority is great : —
no resolute following of the object with quiet and skill, and
a firm determination to get at it, enjoying meanwhile the
free air of the hill side, the open scenery, the charms of
dell or glade ; but all noise and bluster, talking of what he
has done or wiU do, now singing some hoarse refrain, now
bawling to the dogs, or diverging to rest, or light the
eternal pipe. But to say no more than a sportsman icith
his eternal pipe I can the two exist together ? Their shouting
to the dogs is a continued annoyance, enough to rouse the
game even out of the game-bag. Of course birds and
beasts have eyes and ears, and just take the hint and make
themselves scarce, and the draw or hesitating point ends
only in show^ing that they are gone. When I discovered
this and avoided shouting with them, I soon found the
advantages in my own more contented state of mind, the
improved working of my dogs, and the better condition of
•my game-bag. Your true Frenchman has slight relish for

A 4

8 BKITANNT AND THE CHASE.

scenery or the country. He is a town animal, gregarious
and garrulous. Sir Francis Head notes that hence they
make bad emigrants. In Canada and America, instead of
shouldering the axe and boldly exploring the wilderness,
the lonely pioneers of civilisation, they stuck together in
bodies, consuming instead of producing, and rapidly ex-
haustino; their stock.

I used to shoot occasionally with a neighbour wdio was
called " un tres-fort chasseur." The previous day he would
meet me to fix all about it, as a solemn affair. From his
manner, you would think he w^as going to sign the death-
warrant of all the gibier in the country. Plans were
discussed, rejected, and adopted; guns handled, dogs loudly
exhorted, men engaged to beat and carry game, meat and
drink provided, the various localities compared, and one
finally selected where the game was en masse. And
here let me explain this word. An English mind at once
thinks of the thickly-peopled preserve, with a spring cart
and pony to carry the spoil. But he would be quite at
fault here. Rendered in plain words, heaucoup means
'' one," a masse '^ two," and the superlative, wie confusion^
" three." I have found this by experience. I once went to
a mountain where was " iine confusion parfaite de lievres,"
as I was told. I imagined, from the term used, that they
would be literally running over and knocking against each
other, leaping into one's bag as a place of refuge ; but I
found th7'ee only! So are most French phrases, — cJiar^
onant meaning " pretty tolerable ; " superhe '* middling ; "
ravissant " rather ffood ; " and so on. Five belnfj the
hour fixed for starting, I got up at four, and was at the ren-

MY FIRST START IN BRITANNY. 9

dezvous to a minute ; but no one was there. " Oh ! " tliought
I, " he will come presently; it is well to be first." Piiced
up and down for five minutes — twenty minutes — liult'-an-
hour. Dogs grow cold, I too : half-an-hour more passes,
and I grow warm. In exactly an hour and twenty minutes
arrives the Frenchman in fine order. " Ah ! Bon jour,
Mons. John ; c'est bien, vous etes la tout pret." '^ Yes,''
said I, ''and have been for more than an hour; you said five
o'clock." " Oui, ma foi, mais nous sommes tres-bien encore ;
allons : " — and I learnt in future to give them an hour's
law, and make them wait for me. But this is a nuisance ;
I like being punctual or nowhere.

We had some three miles to walk before reaching the
spot, and I commenced at a moderate pad of three miles
and a half an hour. " Ah ! mon brave, mais marchez
vite." "All in good time," said I; *Sve have plenty be-
fore us." At length we turned out, and in the first
stubble the dogs drew and pointed. My friend was in
ecstasies. " Toho ! voila ! " I walked up to the nearest dog,
who seemed close to his game ; but where was Monsieur ?
He was beckoning to me, and edging away sideways in a
mysterious manner. What the deuce is he at — is he ill,
or going to conjure, or what ? But on he goes laterally,
like a crab, with his gun cocked and' pointed to an ima-
ginary centre, round which he was slowly revolving. I
pushed on to my dog. Whirr ! whirr ! and up rose a fine
covey under my nose, and with a double shot I dropped
one; but such a yell arose : " Sacr-r-r-r- nom de diable —
nom de cochon," &c. &c. ; and up came my friend, boiling
again. " Bon ! " said I. " Bon ! — mais non ! c'est fort

flO , BKITANNY AND THE CHASE.

mauvais — sacr-r-r- nom de," &c. I then discovered that
it is the custom when the dog points, instead of going
straight to liim, to circle round him, gradually drawing to
.the centre, until you reach the game or nothing. Hence
the eccentric motions of my choleric companion. I think
the plan bad, as it unsettles the game, disturbs the dog,
loses time, and runs the risk of putting up other game, and
so losing that pointed at. I loaded, pitched up my bird,
and prepared to follow the direction the covey had taken ;
but " Restez, mon ami ; il faut dejeuner d'abord ; the
jbirds will scatter while we are eating." "True; but why
eat at all now ? " " Because I am hungry, and want my
breakfast." And I learnt that it is usual still further to
lose time by breakfasting on the field : and so half the day
is lost in everlasting snacks, smoking, and resting. Further
on in the day, when we were eating again, all of a sud-
den a hare jumped out of the hedge, not twenty yards from
the place where we were sitting. Oh, what a row ! Sacr-
r-r-ing like a rusty wheel. My friend fled up, seized his
gun, and slapped both barrels at a pull. Puss shook her
scut, and bounced back again into the hedge ; and head«
long after her dashed dogs beating, and the chasseur. The
hedge was enormously thick, and full of the most prickly
briars that ever grew. My friend, full of ardour, launched
himself from the bank right into the middle of all, and there
he stuck like a flie in a glue-pot, but withal most grie-
vously tormented, and not able to stir an inch. " All sit-
ting on a thorn," like Philomel, he sung for help ; but, had
my life depended on it, I could not have helped him, and
laughed till I was obliged to sit down. At last he , came

NO LACK OF SrORT. 'l 1

out piecemeal, execrating puss, me, the briars ; but swear-
ing to his comfort that he had killed the hare, which, how-
ever was fields away, and none the worse. The end of all
was, that, the game being thin, he took to shooting black-
birds, and we parted ; and in the evening joined and re-
turned home : I with two brace of birds and a hare ; and
he with a bird, three blackbirds, and a thrush, but full of
ardour, and exclaiming about the honne citasse we had
had. The single bird would grow into a hare on the mor-
row", and two brace the next day, and so go on, like New-
ton's law, increasing with the square of distance.

Britanny is naturally w^ell fitted for sporting. Plenty of
arable land, broom, and furze for partridge and hares ; fine
woods, with tracks of meadow, sprinkled with marsh and
low bottoms, for woodcocks and snipes ; hill and heath for
rabbits, redlegs, and quail ; a few wild fowl, and a scatter-
ing of wolves and wild boars : these make up a pretty
bouquet of attractions for the sporting man. Neither
pheasants nor grouse exist in it, which is a pity, as the
many beech and oak w^oods would shelter the one, and the
heath-covered moors nourish the other. As in all par-
tially cultivated countries, the game is hard to find, and a
heavy bag is not to be had ; but to the true sportsman that
is not the great charm. The healthy excitement — the
enjoyment of nature — the roaming unrestrainetl — the in-
terest in your dogs — snatches of reflection — the memories
of the past, and the hopes of the future — these are the real
pleasures of the sportsman : the other is the pot and cup-
board feeling of the poulterer.

The almost unlimited liberty of traversing the country is a

12 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

great point. You have not in the mornmg to consider whether
Mr. A. is out on this side, or Mr. B. on that ; to be continu-
ally baulked by seeing your game make for the tabooed pro-
perty of your preserving neighbour ; nor to be disappointed
in attacking the imaginary feathered multitudes with which
your fancy has clothed the opposite coppice, merely be-
cause you cannot go there. All these desagremens are want-
ing in Britanny ; no animated piece of fustian telling you
with insolence to " Get oiF there ; " nor equally insolent,
though more polished broadcloth, with his disagreeable
" Are you aware that this is preserved ? " All ^^ou have
to consult is your own wish, and the direction of the wind,
and you can then wander where you please. It is true
that the legal right to game exists in the occupier, as in
England ; but tenancies being small, and game scarce, it is
not worth his while to preserve, and be ordered off by all Ids
neighbours ; and as there are few who like to be so un-
popular, in practice the country is open to all. During
some four years that I have shot, I have only been " warned
off" once, and that by the keeper of a large proprietor
much attached to sporting, but who, on my mentioning the
matter politely, offered to accompany me whenever I wished
for a day's shooting on his estate. I believe, however, that
there are parts not so liberal as hereabouts. Occasionally
farmers will look a little rusty ; but a bit of tobacco, a
pinch of snuff, and a civil w^ord work wonders ; and the
end generally is an offer to show you a covey, and a hope
that you will come again. Of course the result of all this
is a smaller quantity of game ; but so be it. Give me a mo-
derate bag and liberty, against preserving and a cartload.

THE " PERMIS DE CHASSE." 13

Some Englishmen, ignorant of the Breton language, have
mistaken a vivacious and noisy manner for hostility, and
hence has arisen a quarrel; but it has been their own
fault in not having learnt a few common phrases before
entering on the sport.

A permis de chasse is necessary in France, but is
generally obtainable without much difficulty. If you are
non-resident_, or rather if you pay no taxes as a house-
holder, the maire may refuse your application, or may
oblige you to take out a patente, that is, a licence to exer-
cise the trade therein named, and which is considered
equivalent .to residence. The price of this varies with
the nature of the calling, from 5 francs to 400 francs.
I know one Englishman who styled himself vendor of
lucifer matches, and anotlier spectacle seller, and they paid
only some 7 francs on account of the baseness of the trade.
The permis costs 25 francs, and is good for a year from the
date. It should be always carried on the person, as the
gendarmes, gardes de chasse, and gardes champctres, &c.
are entitled to demand it, and for want of it you may be
arrested and put to trouble. Nothing has ever struck me
as more ridiculous than making the gendarmes the public
gamekeepers. You want to dog and catch the non-licensed
people and the poachers — men of light heels and activity,
and therefore you send after them a gendarme in heavy
knee-boots, like those of our lifeguards, an enormous
cocked hat, and a heavy sword and carbine, who has about
the same chance as a snail with a grasshopper. Their
great hat is quite an invitation for a charge of duck-shot
— a moving target. They are in general well-behaved

i4 BRITANKt AND THE CHASE.

men, picked from the line for good conduct, and do their
general business well ; but get into awful difficulties with
the poachers. For instance, the other day an old poacher,
who knew the country well, was chased by one of them.
He pretended to be lame, and hobbled away, having the
other all along under his hand, as they say, and at last
drew him on to a morass. Arrived there, he slackened his
jDace more and more, and got the gendarme to leave his
carbine on the edge, and venture after him from tuft to
tuft, by paths best known to himself, until they reached
the middle, and then the poacher gaily sprang away to the
other side, and left him. The gendarme followed — soon
lost the track — got into the bog — floundered from one
depth to another, until finally he was well planted up to
his shoulders, and there his tormentor, after some pleasant
raillery, left him ; and had not some chance passer-by
noticed the cocked hat, the gendarme would have been
starved to death. Sometimes, in dodging about, they meet
with a surprise. A gentleman I know was lately followed
by one, who seemed to take him for a poacher, and was
trying to conceal himself, in order to fall suddenly upon
him. But a gendarme can hide himself almost as easily
as an ostrich. Accordingly, some game shortly rising, my
friend fired, whether at it or not may be judged from the
fact that down from a bush came tumbhng the gendarme
grievously peppered. The gentleman was summoned before
the judge ; and said he fired at the game — how could he
fancy that gendarmes were in every bush ? " But," said
the judge, "the game was not in a line with the officer."
" Perhaps not precisely in a line," said the other coolly ;

REGULATIONS OF THE CHASE. 15

" mais Yous voyez, Monsieur Le Jugc, que je ne suis pas
bon tireur." And so he got off with a reprimand, and an
exhortation to fire better the next time; for which he thanked
the judge, but said he feared he was too old to improve
much. Gendarmes have one great security, however, in
the fear with which the people regard them: the yellow
and blue stripes make them quake with terror ; and most
of them would, I verily believe, as soon oppose an angel
from heaven.

The cJiasse in France is not opened and closed at one
uniform period, as in England. The prefet of each depart-
ment regulates all relating to it ; and opens and closes it
with regard to the state of the harvest, &c. This is a good
plan, for, as we know in England, the corn is sometimes
uncut in September, with consequent annoyance to farmer
and sportsman. Generally speaking, the cJiasse opens
about the loth of September and closes about the lOtli
of February ; but it varies even in adjacent departments.

The breed of sporting dogs is tolerably good — good for
the country ; but we look in vain for the high-bred English
animal. The pointer is a coarse-haired, cross-bred creature;
but is staunch and hard, which is a great point. One of
the peculiar features of the country is the quantity of thick
farze, often in tracts of twenty acres, and four or five feet
high. Game naturally seeks its shelter there ; and to dis-
lodge it is no easy matter. A dog should be clad in mail
to face it well ; and one of our fine-skinned English pointers
would not look at it. But to see a bold country dog dash
into it, you might think he was fond of it, and that the
prickles only tickled him. Truly such furze was never

16 BEITANNY AND THE CHASE.

seen before ; but as it is the real game preserver of Britanny,
we must speak well of it. One wet day, when I had been
toilincr for nothino;, and was restin.c^ under a bank, I saw a
covey quietly drop into a furze field opposite to me. " Bon!
I will take your census, and account for you, gentlemen."
I marked them down well, tied up my young dog, and
with the bitch got into the furze, which was generally
above my head. With much struggling, and many ex-
clamations, I reached the place. Presently a flutter at my
feet, and a partridge rose, almost touching my face ; as it
bustled up though the gorse I fired, and it fell ; and, while
loading, another rose in like manner, which I also killed.
It was time to collect the dead ; and in pushing after them,
head down, through the furze, up got two more, both of
which I also dropped. By this time my bitch had brought
me one of the first lot, and I sent her for the others ; but
neither she nor I could find the dead or put up the living ;
they were snugly housed in the thick cover, and nothing-
less than a pack of fox-hounds would have roused them.
I hunted for half an hour in vain ; and came out at last
well carbonadoed, with a single bird, leaving behind me
some three killed or wounded, and eight or ten remaining
birds.

The setter is a better dog for Britanny, being thicker
in the coat, and more ready for wood or water ; and also
retrieving better. There are many decent breeds of set-
ters in the country, and one, a clouded brown and white
or strawberry, is equal in quality to anything. They
set and beat well, like the water, retrieve beautifully, and
?ire very intelligent. I have a little bitch of this breed.

A CUK OF " HIGH " DEGREE. 17

winch for beauty and general usefulness I would Lack
against anything. She is remarkably gentle and orderly,
but tlie toughest worker I ever saw. I have run her for
three successive days of twelve hours at least, without
reacning the end of her: and she is tolerably fast also,
which is rare, as in general slowness is the rule. In woods
she is excellent, beating close, and not following cocks
when flushed ; and in the open country she changes her
plan, and ranges free and wide. I have timed her at her
point for fifteen minutes ; and she would have stood till she
dropped. Pity made me relieve her hy starting the game,
for every muscle was quivering with excitement, and she
was ready to drop. But hares are her forte, and there she
is superb, and shows an almost human intelligence. One day
she pointed in a carrot field, and on nearing her a few birds
rose, one of which I killed. But she remained steady like
marble. " What can it be ? " thought I ; " perhaps a dead
bird, for the carrots are small, and it is not likely a hare
will wait for me after firing and beating about." However,
I went up and walked round her, looking here and there,
and at last, under her nose, I spied puss couched close in
her form. Toho ! The bitch looked in my face, as if to
say " I told you so," but did not move. I then put up the
hare w4th my foot, and shot her ; Belle never moving save
at my order to pick up the hare, and bring her to me. In
hedges, too, she was admirable. About October hares lie
much in hedges, and are difficult to manage; the banks
being so high that you cannot see over, and the wood so
thick that you cannot get on the bank to command each
side. Hence if, as is probable, the hare bolts on the off-

B

18 BEITANNY AND THE CHASE.

side, you are done. But here my bitch shows her mind.
She enters a field, turns round as if to ask leave, and takes
a gallop round the ditch. Suddenly she halts ; snuiFs about
with her nose in the air : advances slowly a step or two,
and points steadily ; looking back an invitation to me to be
quick. I walk up ; but w^hat to do ? There is the hare in
a thick hedge, with two sides ; and not being like the Irish
Serjeant, who could occupy two posts at once, I cannot
secure her. I say to Belle, " Stand steady there, and I
will go round by the bottom into the other field ; and when
ready I will tell you." I then go round ; and when within
twenty yards of the place, " Hey in. Belle, put her out : "
and in dashes Belle, drives out the hare on ray side, and I
shoot her, much to Belle's delight and my own. This is
her frequent practice : and if this be not a proof of reason,
I do not know what is. On another occasion I hit a hare
hard, but she went away bravely. But Belle was more
knowing than I, and followed her against my will ; and I
lost hare and dog. I shouted, whistled, and looked every-
where, but in vain, and got angry; muttering something
about " sound thrashing," and " better manners next time,"
and so forth. Presently I heard a short distant bark, Avhich
I recognised, and, following the sound, arrived at the place.
There in a corner lay the hare, nearly dead, and Belle
sitting opposite to her. She had evidently been carrying
her, but being a very small dog could do so no further ;
and had therefore called to me to let me know her where-
abouts and her difficulty. Was not this reason ? It would be
well if many men had as much. To call it instinct is a play
upon words. Instinct is defined by Paley to be " prior to ex-

FRENCn DOGS AND GUNS. 19

perience, and independent of instruction." Good. Tlientliose
beings capable of benefit hy instruction, and drawing lessons
from expeiience, have something more than instinct ; and is
not this the case with every well-broken dog ? Instruction
and e.v perience are the very means used to improve him. Either
the definition is wTong, or dogs have reason. As Butler,
in his " Analogy," well remarks on the general subject,
'^ How do we hiow that the Divine economy does not in-
clude creatures of this kind?" No one doubts that they
have moral affections — as, for instance, that they are
governed oj iLewards and punishments, and evince grateful
attachments ; and why should we deny them reason ?
From prejudice, we put ignorance in the place of know-
ledge, and boldly deny them that of which we know little
or nothing.

Well-broken dogs are rare in Britanny, but would not
be so very useful. For instance, chasing a hare in Eng-
land is a crime Icesce majestatis ; but here it is a useful
act. Give your dog time, and he will bring puss round
again to you, instead of certainly losing her. In a well-
stocked country, of course more harm would be done, by
disturbing other game, than good by the recovery of the
hare ; but Britanny is not in that happy case. If your dog
beats freely, finds his game well, and stands steadily to it
when found, do not fret yourself about peccadilloes, but be
content wdth him.

For practical uses, French guns are very inferior to
English. Outwardly they are much carved and orna-
mented, and have much frippery ; but they do not kill well,
neither hitting so hard nor so close as ours. Certainly

20 BEITANNY AND THE CHASE.

the people give them but little help, as their manner of
loading is bad. For instance, wadding is rarely used,
but, instead, great pieces of paper as large as your hand.
You may trace a sportsman by these relics; and news-
papers, being cheap and much read, are the usual mate-
rials. You may guess the character of your predecessor
by his wadding. If it be the " Constitutionnel " or the
" Siecle," you have a sporting bourgeois before you ; if
the " Presse " or the " Charivari," a philosophe or a sprig
of nobility ; if the " Republicain " or the " Proscrit," a
rouge Socialist, o{ ^Y\\om. prenez garde. When a Frenchman
kills at twenty-five yards, he thinks it a long shot. Once
I dropped a bird at a rather long distance; my friend
was in ecstasies : " Eighty yards," said he, " if it was an
inch ; never saw such a shot," &c. ; but on stepping it I
found it just forty-five yards. I afterwards heard him
telling another person, " Oh, sacrV, such a shot ! cent
metres et plus ! " In truth, you may wipe their eye, as it
is called, as often as you like.

A good English gun is much prized; but few will
give the price for it, as French guns seldom exceed 7Z.
or Si. This is just as well, as you look in vain for a
well-kept gun. Cleaning is very rarely performed, and
it is wonderful so ^qw burst. I once shot with a man
whose gun had a hole, a positive hole, in the barrel; it
was about as large as a pin's head, and a foot from the
muzzle. I took good care to give him a wide berth, but
he blazed away without a second thought about it. Another
time, in firing at a covey with a Frenchman, whiz went
something past my ear. " Hallo ! don't shoot meJ^

SPORTING FRENCHMEN. 21

" Diable!" said lie, "I have lost my marteau ;■'' and, sure
enough, the hammer of the gun had fled off behind, and in
my direction ; for be it known that I always get to the
rear of a Frenchman. After having narrowly escaped
being shot on several occasions, I came to the conclusion
that my life was more valuable to me than theirs, and
therefore dropped into the rear on their right side. It is
frequent to see the results of accidents, — blue marks in
the face, a missing finger, or such like; but how they
avoid worse I cannot conceive. The same special angel
which protects drunkards must keep an eye upon sporting
Frenchmen. Both barrels always at full cock, whether
climbing a hedo;e or threadino; a wood ; now and then the
trigger pulled wdth the gun at the hip, and occasionally
both triggers at once. Heaven only knows how they
escape. Then the cool complacency, the enviable aplomb
air, with which they claim the bird, though, Lord save
'em ! their shot were no nearer to it than themselves. No
Saxon can imitate it. Once while shooting with a young
man, a bird suddenly rose opposite to me and fled straight
away. Bang, bang! went my friend's two barrels over his
left side, as I distinctly saw, for his gun was across his body,
and he pulled the trigger in the hurry of bringing it round.
I then fired and killed. " Ah ! bon," said he ; and while I
was loading, he quietly w^alked forward and pocketed the
bird. "Tenez," cried I ; " c'est a moi." " Mais, non !" said
he, "je tirai, moi." " Yes, over that hedge," I said ; "for
your gun went off in your hand (as I plainly saw), and
the bird was in the air for some seconds afterwards." But
he was firm, and had possession. " Where is your wad-

B 3

22 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

ding ? " said I. " There," said our attendant, who saw it
all : and there was the wadding some ten yards over his
left shoulder, while some thirty yards over the right lay
the partridge. He was for once dumb^ and gave up the
bird.

French powder is coarse and dirty, but strong. I,
however, much prefer the English powder. The price of
the best French powder is about 6s. 6d, a pound, and
therefore English is smuggled a little, but at great risk.
A gentleman who came over, and brought some five or six
pounds for friends, was detected with the forbidden fruit
in his pockets, and was fined 500 francs, with a narrow
escape of prison besides. Until lately it was necessary to
have a written permit by the maire to buy even a pound
of native powder. This is done to prevent emeutes, for
which the governors of this land of liberty are continually
hunting. They therefore proscribe arms and keep down
powder ; but, in spite of all, many a snug Socialist holds
firm to his nonsense, and keeps his powder dry.

Britanny should be the paradise of sporting tailors, for
never was such a wear and tear of clothes. The thick
woods filled with brambles, which root at both ends, and
spread an impenetrable armour of chainwork over the
ground ; the strong furze and the mode of cutting it, which
leaves sharp spikes projecting like a chevaux de frise, play
the deuce with the strongest materials. Some use leather
trowsers and smocks, like the North Americans, which are
good but warm. A coat soon becomes a jacket by losing
the skirts , and if made of good barragon is the best I know
of, with other *' fittings " of leather. At any rate, the seat

FEENCII JEALOUSY OF THE ENGLISH. 23

of the trowsers should be leathered, on account of tlic hln;h
hedge banks. In some places these are from six to eight
feet high, and to jump down some scores of these in a day
adds to an already sufficient stock of fatigue. Therefore
the natives slide instead of jumping down, and, to avoid
being impaled by a chance stake, they make their trowsers
^07?i6--p/'oo/ with, leather. Here, the game-bag carries all
things ; no jacket, w^ith labyrinths of pockets making the
inmate a perfect man of buckram, but a neat and effective
bag or carnassier. It is carried high up on the back,
where it sits easily and keeps the shoulders warm ; or if
the wind be in front, it can be brought round to the breast.
The worst part of the native productions for the sportsman
is the boot. Whoever comes to shoot in Britanny should
provide himself wdth several pairs of the strongest English
boots, each of which will wear out three pairs made in the
country. The leather is soft, and gives way speedily before
heavy work.

There is a degree of jealousy of Englishmen in sporting
which is not difficult to explain. National feeling is doubt-
less one cause, and it is but natural to regard a strange
sportsman with dislike, when he is superior to ourselves,
and takes a full bag under our very noses where we can
only get a half one. But Englishmen have increased this
feeling by their conduct. Many o^ the residents are bad
specimens, who have left England for their country's good ;
and others are pugnacious, and push their nationality to
excess on purpose to beard the " Crapauds.'' One gentleman
near this place was the terror of the whole country. He
half killed a garde de chasse, was had up and fined, paid the

B 4

24 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

money in a round sum, and thrashed another to take out
the change; and once kept three gendarmes at bay for some
time. A nobleman near to him had procured some phea-
sants with much trouble and expense, and placed them in an
adjacent coppice. Our friend one day, hearing that he was
absent, went straight to the wood, and commenced blazing
away. A garde appeared, of whom he made short work,
speedily sending him back in a worse plight than he came ;
then another, who was served in the same way ; and mean-
while he shot nearly every bird in the cover. The marquis
was furious to learn all this on his return, and immedi-
ately informed the authorities, who sent a strong force to
capture him. The Englishman was in his house when they
came up : he sent his man to lock the front door, and then
locked himself in his own room. When they summoned
him he did not appear, but his servant assuring them that
he was within, they waited some time longer, and then
broke open the doors. But they found the bird flown.
He had profited by the delay to pack up his valuables in a
small compass, had dropped out of his window into the
garden, and making direct for a little port, where, luckily
for him, was a boat which he knew to be about sailing for
England, had got on board and away with him, nor has he
agam appeared on this side of the water. All this, though
plucky, is bad, and injures his countrymen in those parts.
I myself found a difficulty in getting my permis de chasse
shortly after, and, as I gathered from the conversation of
the officials, simply because I was English. It is certain
that, whatever Messrs. Cobden and Co. and the philanthro-
pists may say to the contrary, there is a strong sub-

NATIONAL PilEJUDICE. 25

stratum of dislike towards us. Politeness gives a smooth-
ness to his outside ; but let some of the rubs of life occur,
and the Frenchman turns out rough enough. This is tho
fruit of the constant wars and rivalry of the last 500 years.
Whole provinces held by the English ; scores of towns sacked
and pillaged ; Paris in our possession twice in our own time ;
and all this exaggerated by tradition : can we wonder if they
feel a little sore towards us ? At this moment there are thou-
sands of living Frenchmen who were our prisoners of war,
for, in truth, almost all their seamen were taken at one time
or other during the war, and these have well nursed their
wrath and kept it alive until the present time. Of course,
prisoners of war cannot be treated like guests, and hence
many a long score of offence. I heard of one man in a
neighbouring village, who, on his return from an English
prison, made a vow that he would kill the first Englishman
he met, and I dare say he performed it. Think too of the
prejudices excited against us ! Why, part of the stock-in-
trade of a government is to blacken its opponents; and
think of this in war ! For instance, the Englishman, when
he buttons on his great coat, thinks that the broad cloth
encloses the most honest and frank par excellence of God's
creatures. All right and straightforward, nothing sneaking
about him, thank Heaven ! But what says, or at any rate
thinks, the Frenchman on the subject? Why, that the
aforesaid John is a puffed up, vulgar fellow, full of obso-
lete prejudices, deriving his influence from his purse ; an
overgrown bully, overbearing in peace and cowardly in
war. The Frenchman conquers by fair fight, but snealdng
John uses the dagger and the poison. Gently, good John !

2G BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

do not flare up at this and begin to swear, but laugh rather,
as you can well afford to do at such nonsense ; merely re-
memberins!; for the future to be more moderate towards
your Gallic neighbours, who can no more help their na-
tional feelings than they can add a cubit to their stature.

For example, as to poison and assassination. Take up
any French history of the last war, and you will find
repeated fifty times the assumed fact that the English go-
vernment had constantly in its pay a band of men to poison
or murder Bonaparte. Every Frenchman devoutly believes
this. An epidemic wdnch prevailed in 1810 in Britanny
was ascribed by the- " Moniteur," the official newspaper, to
the people eating a lot of infected sheep which were stated
to have been landed by the British government on the coast,
for the express purpose of poisoning those whom they
could not otherwise subdue. Napoleon carefully fostered
all this credulity, as it materially assisted him, and the
people believed it more than the Bible. I have had re-
peated complaints of the treatment of French prisoners in
England, though from my own knowledge I can say, that
as such they were very well treated. It is, perhaps, useless
to retort, but I have never omitted telling them that one
of my uncles, an officer who was a prisoner of war at
Brest and L' Orient, was marched about the country with-
out shoes, and almost without clothes, and was fed chiefly
on black bread and water; and I remember him saying,
that in one prison the rats were so numerous as to oblige
one of their number to momit guard at night to save the
others from being devoured alive. But how strong is
national prejudice? Facts take their appearance from it as

FACTS AND FICTION, 27

objects from a coloured glass, and lose tlieir real value.
We have enough of it in England, and may thence judf^-e.
For instance, the Englishman leans back in his chair
with the most perfect confidence that English soldiers are
the best in the world, and at any rate that one Englishman
can beat two Frenchmen. But cross the Channel and the
picture is reversed, as the Frenchman thinks just the same
of liis soldiers. " But let facts speak," say you. *' Out
with them," says he, " and you will see how it is directly.
Bah ! to talk of the English army ; c^est hetise : you can
hardly say you have an army : 50,000 men . why it is but a
division of the grande armee of France. And then Wel-
lington, toujours Wellington — poh ! a decent general officer,
voila tout I " You refer to facts, i. e. French facts ; and what
do you find ? Why, that many battles which we claim,
they claim also; and that where the victory cannot be dis-
puted, they say we were five against one. On the column
of victory in Paris are inscribed the names of Salamanca,
Talavera, Toulouse, and others of our victories in Spain,
— so many indeed, that I only wonder some wag has not
added the name of Waterloo. In a history of the French
army now before me, we are described as being 80,000 to
35,000 at Salamanca ; three to one at Vittoria, and five to
one at the Nivelle. At Orthes we are said to have been
beaten ; Badajoz and St. Sebastian are passed over in
silence ; and Wellington is charged with expressly permitting
all kinds of " caimibalic" excesses in Spain, notwithstanding
the Gurwood dispatches. It is amusing to read the minute
details of battles with the Austrians, Prussians, and even
the poor Spaniai'ds who could not fight at all, and the little

28 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

that is said of battles with the English. Indeed, they now
and then praise the bravery of the former ; but as to the
latter, even when they are victorious they will oiot give
them the palm. It is evident where the shoe'pinches. As
to Waterloo, they cannnot deny the fact ; but what then, —
*' We were beaten, but not by the English ; it was the
Prussians that did it. Besides, were you not 160,000
against 60,000, and four nations against one — Prussians,
Germans, Belgians, and English ? who could stand against
that ? As for you English, all the world knows that you
were dead beaten by four o'clock in the day, and Wellington
preparing to retreat." But, as an old naval friend once
said, the only retreat he made was upon Paris. I have a
detailed and authorised account of the battle by Yalaubelle
(Paris, 1845), where these facts are enlarged upon and
others added for variety, as the preface states that the
truth had not been yet declared on the subject. It gives
the number of the French as 65,000 with a small artillery,
against 160,000 with a full park of guns, but complacently
states that Wellington had chosen such a had position as, in
some degree, to neutralise the diiference in force. Having
a wood in his rear is the chief part of this '^ faute liorrihle''^
of Wellington ; but it has always struck me as a great
excellence, as in case of a defeat it rendered pursuit by the
enemy's cavalry impossible, and w^ould give time to the
scattered troops to rally. Besides, a great wood is like a
fortress ^or defence. Hdugoumont is stated to have been
carried by assault at two o'clock, and the style is truly
Napoleon's. They come to him to report that the English
resist well. He says " Bon ! " and reflects a minute ;

A TEEXCII PICTURE OF AVATEKLOO. 29

then taking up a map, and pointing to a certain spot,
adds, " Qu'on y prenne du canon et huit obusicrs, et
que tout cela finisse ;" or (as if he were an enchanter),
" Place cannon and eiglit howitzers ilierCf and finish all
this ; " and, adds Valaubelle, " In half-an-hour after this our
infantry drove out the English, and were established in the
position." Every well-informed man knows that this is a
flat falsehood, as Hougoumont was never taken, but remained
in our possession to the end of the fight. But the book
goes on : '• At two o'clock, the first line of the Engllsli being
overthrown, and many regiments of infantry being in full
retreat on the Brussels road, Wellington saw the necessity
of doincp somethino; strona;, and ordered some dragoons to
charge the French infantry. A distribution of brandy was
made to these dragoons, and the curbs of the bridles taken
away. The dragoons rush on, and all necessarily gives
way to the furious shock of these horses, whose half-
drunken riders could no longer direct their course; but the
confusion in the French ranks was soon restored," &c. &c.
And this is the new version of the splendid charge of our
heavy brigade, which captured two standards and made
2000 men prisoners ! The idea of taking off the curbs-
and making the men drunk is quite French. But (as
pursues the book) the fight waxes warmer and we get
worse and ivorser; six standards taken from us (query, from
what regiments ?) are presented in due form to tlie Em-
peror, and all are impatient for the magic touch which is
to finish the work. The Duke's iron face begins to melt like
butter; he is '' visiblement alarme.^'' The English artillery-
men grow funky, and run for shelter into the squares ; the

30 BPvITANNY AND THE CHASE.

cavaliy (drunk and sober) are destroyed ; the infantry
broken and in disorder. The moment for the coup de grace
is come, and, on the signal of the Emperor, Ney advances
sword in hand at the head of his cohmm. It reaches the
foot of the hill under a shower of balls, and Ney, vexed by
the pepper, directs a regiment to carry the guns with the
bayonet : it is done ; the line of squares is broken and
three annihilated (query, which ?) ; the ground groans under
the dead and dying ; all is over with the English, - — when
Sacre I Diable ! down drop from the clouds the Prussians !
Never were uninvited guests at a select party so unwelcome.
So sudden is their appearance, that the French take them
for friends, and are about to " donner la main " to them,
when instead of civility they receive a volley. This
unkind reception is so entirely " impi^evu" that the French
think themselves betrayed, and retire in disorder. Ney's
column, not having quite enough to do at this moment,
begins to look about, hesitates, halts, and stares at the
Prussians. Other columns do the same, and old Blucher
becomes the very Medusa of the field. Then Wellington
makes an effort and plucks up again, by some conjuring at
once recovers his destroyed cavalry and his captured ar-
tillery, brings into line his runaway infantry, and moves
slowly down on the French, pushing them back ; not by
hard fighting or superior valour — nothing of the kind, but
simply because he happens to be coming dozoji hill, and so
(as the book says) " par le seal effet du poids " the French
are obliged to " move off," in good fellowship as it were,
the English being evidently afraid to stir up the French
tiger again ; and if he would go peaceably, so much the

WHAT DE JOINVILLE "WAS TO DO. 31

better. But again come in the vagabond Prussians (bad
manners to them !) and spoil all, and, without as much as
" by your leave or with your leave," let fly right and left
and throw all into a heap, pending the which the nicrht
falls, and the French disappear. Such was the end of this
" etrange hizarrerie,^'' as the book calls it. " The fault of
the Duke becomes his salvation," says Mons. Yalaubelle.
He had a forest in his rear, which made retreat impossible,
otherwise thrice during the day he would have retreated.
That which ought to have ruined him, ended by saving him.
This i^ not bad. The Duke was a fool, and the English
were cowards. The victory was a grand mistake, voila tout!
But the argument proves too much. If such was the low
state of the English, what was the state of those who allowed
themselves to be conquered by them? If Hougoumont and
La Haye Sainte were taken by two o'clock in the day, and
the British beaten at all points, how comes it that they
were not finished off totally ? Either Napoleon was a
clumsy bungler, or the Duke and his army were equal to
Leonidas and his Spartans. But this account is a type of
many; and, therefore, can we wonder that the French dis-
pute our pretensions to military glory ? I verily believe
that they regard us as existing on sufferance, and that if
at any time they chose to put their arm out we should
vanish into infinite space. An old soldier once gravely
informed me, that after the taking of Mogador by the Prince
de Joinville, it was arranged that he should return by Gi-
braltar, and after taking it, that he should capture England,
but that something made them change their plan. I said
it was unreasonable for the Government to cut out so

32 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

mucli work for one man ; but he replied, " Mais non."
Even as sailors they profess to be our equals. Last war
say they, was badly managed, full of what they call mis-
takes— French ships running into English harbours, and
so on ; but allons — let us try another, and nous verrons.
It is certain that the Erench fleet is now in fine order, and
superior to any they have ever had afloat, and the very
possession of such splendid vessels of itself inspires con-
fidence. Let us therefore beware, and keep our fleet well
up to the mark. A short time since I went over the
Eriedland, of 120 guns and 1200 men, as fine a ship as
ever swam; and in the same squadron there were three
others like her. Of course it is the crew who must do the
work, and on them will mainly depend the result ; but
there also a great improvement has been made. The Erench
merchant marine has greatly extended during the long
peace, and there is an extra number of boys on board all
the men-of-war, learning their business. A gun-brig of
fourteen guns, whose captain was an acquaintance, and
invited me to visit him on board, was half-manned by boys,
and he apologised for it to me ; for the signal being given
by the admiral to furl the sails, my friend was the last in
the fleet to accomplish it, being, in fact, short-handed in
able seamen. This brig, by-the-bye, had fourteen horizontal
howitzers instead of ordinary guns, and so could throw
shells point blank if required ; — a very dangerous variety.
But I am straying from my point, and must hark back
to the field. Wolves and wild boars yet exist in consider-
able numbers In Erance. In Britanny there are frequent
hunts, and the provincial papers often contain accounts of

\yOLVES AND WILD BOARS. 33

tlieir ravages. One killed a cow a few liundred yards
hence last year, and another came into my rrarden
on a nightly prowl. Within the last month, at Guing-
camp, a wolf entered the town, and actually wounded
sixty-two persons, and threw the place into as much
consternation as a horde of Cossacks would have done.
The people seemed paralysed with fear, and could do
nothing until he was gone. Sheep are very frequently
destroyed by them. In each district is a louvetier, who
has a certain allowance for keeping a pack of wolf-hounds,
with which he is expected to go wherever his presence is
wanted ; and a sum of twenty-five francs is paid for every
wolf's head produced at the mairie. In England they would
be speedily extirpated ; but here, from want of energy,
they linger on, damaging the farmer and alarming every
body. The wolf-hunt is an apt type of many a Frenchman,
" all sound and fury, signifying nothing." I was once
invited to one by the louvetier, and accompanied by a
friend I went. We got to the rendezvous at 8 a.m., and
found a motley host assembled. All arms were in re-
quisition, from the blunderbuss to the flail ; and when we
sallied out, in number exceeding a hundred, Falstaff would
have been ashamed of our company, and would have
flatly refused to march through Coventry with us. Before
starting we were regaled with the tantararara's of half-a-
dozen French hunting horns of the antique form, which,
with the shrieks of the crowd, made enough noise to scare
the dead ; then came the parting cup, and the word being
given, the mob was let loose against the enemy, who dwelt,
it was believed, in a forest about a mile ofi". Thither we

G

34 BRITAXNY AXD THE CHASE.

went. " No wolf to-day," said I to my friend, " unless he
be a greater fool than I take him for;" and so it proved.
At cross-roads a halt was made, and a comicil called to
examine the numerous relics of the coproliie order usually
deposited there. These were handled and smelt at, and
finally pronounced to be the visiting cards of Monsieur
Loup. There was, however, no doubt that he had been
there, as on the previous night he had killed eleven sheep
on a neighbouring farm, leaving the carcasses for the
farmer ; for the wolf is a dainty eater, and only picks a
bit here and there as suits his palate. As soon as we
arrived at the forest, we received the reports of the piqueurs
or keepers, and all was satisfactory ; the wolf, or rather
wolves, had been there, and had not been seen to go away.
The gentlemen v>dth guns were then posted at the discre-
tion of the louvetier, and the dogs were uncoupled and
turned in. The horns sounded, the dogs bayed, men
halloed, and all was excitement. In such a chase they
converse by means of the horn, having distinct points or
onots for each • phrase ; for instance, one blast announces a
wolf, another a fox, another a hare, and so on, even down
to the discovery of a coprolite ! With all this, and the
natural communicativeness of the nation, it may be ima-
gined that there is no lack of blasting among them. At
my particular request, I got posted alone in a quiet nook,
and had hopes that by keeping still I might have some
chance of seeing his majesty. The horns were sounding
furiously; "There must be something," and I anxiously
looked out. But an hour passed, the horns as lively as
ever, but no wolf; another hour, and still plenty of music,

A FEEXCn WOLF-IIUXT. 35

bat nothing else ; so I thought I would visit the adjacent
posts and inquire the news. There I found them as jolly
as bacchanals; the single sentinels had grown tired, and
had joined their neighbours, and the line was broken up
into small smoking and drinking parties, singing and
laughing merrily. The best hope was, that if the wolf was
a jolly fellow he might be attracted to make one ; but he
being somewhat of an exclusive, with a high estimate of
his own value, at least to himself, and being endowed by
nature with excellent eyes, ears, and nose, this hope was
not worth much. I therefore returned to my post. Pre-
sently a gun was fired close at hand, followed by shouts
and the baying of dogs. The master of the pack was
then standing with me, and we both ran up. We found
that a farmer had fired at the wolf; he had come dashmg
through the thicket, and he was certain he had hit him.
" Bring up the old dog," said the master ; and up came the
old dog and down went his nose, but he said nothing
The farmer persisted that it was the wolf; one said one
thing, and one another; at last the w^hole pack were
assembled, and they gave no sign, except that one had
recent marks of shot on his side ! Then began a pretty
row, the louvetier and the farmer mutually swearing as
Frenchmen only can sv/ear ; the dogs yelping, the piqueurs
looking foolish; and so ended the wolf-hunt. Then the
general chasse began, and how we escaped it is hard to say,
as every man fired at everything ; and after burning powder
enough to have blov/n up the forest, we returned with a
fox and a hare, w^hich latter had been cruelly murdered by
a peasant. The wolves were probably some twenty miles

c 2

36 BRIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

oif, having taken tlie many hints given to them ; and thus
it always is. To kill a wolf requires much skill and per-
fect stillness. A few good sportsmen at break of day can
do it, but with a daylight mob it is a farce. We then
adjourned to the village from which we had started,
making a triumphal entry, the horns in full work blowing
the " morts " of Reynard and poor puss, and women and
children looking admiringly on. Then came the feast, to
which each contributed his share, and loud was the vaunt-
ing and numerous the Munchausens uttered. Wolves
seemed to be thicker than sparrows, and boars too, and
each sportsman slew his imaginary thousands. Then fol-
lowed a shooting match, in which cliance and gravity stood
me in good stead. We fired at a mark on an oak tree.
The French went first, and fired wide. Then came my
friend with a large bore rifle, with which he sent a ball
close to the mark, throwing splinters far and near. Then
came my turn. The mark being nearly invisible, I elected
to aim at the hole my friend had made, and, as good luck
had it, I put my ball right into the hole. "Voila ces
Anglais comment ils tirent, — comme toujours." I said
nothing, but tossed my gun over my arm as if I could do
it ao-ain if I liked, and declined shootinir ao;ain until some
one had improved on my shot. The fact was, the shot was
a chance, and I thought it better not to hazard my repu-
tation by another.

Such is the wolf-hunt ; and, as a natural consequence,
wolves are on the increase in the country. With wolf-
hunts well managed they would soon be exterminated ;
but, as it is, it is the Epping hunt on foot, with Bretons

PEASANT-POACIIIXG. 37

instead of Cockneys. Although there is little preserving
in Britanny, the peasants poach. Game is valuable, and
the permis de cJiasse dear, and hence the poaching. The
authorities, too, are very lax in this particular, which is
curious, as Heaven knows they do not deserve to be
taxed with laxness genera^^', but the contrary ; for they
meddle and poke their noses into everything. The gen-
darmes pretend to be constantly after unlicensed sports-
men ; and yet the sale of game goes on without ques-
tion. I have seen in the market of a small town thirty
or forty brace of birds, fifty hares (few killed by shot
or dog), and twenty or thirty cocks, all offered for
sale by peasants, and no questions asked. I have often
wondered where it all comes from ; but the peasant is
awake, and has constant opportunities. He knows where
the hare runs, and nooses her ; snares the cocks ; and
nets or kills the partridges at roost. By these means
he destroys large quantities. In France a sportsman (so
called) will kill a whole covey on the ground, if he can ;
and thinks it anything but unsportsmanlike. On the con-
trary, to destroy a dozen at one sitting shot, is a grand
feat to the pot sportsman. A gentleman once told me that,
having marked down a covey at night, he w^ent early in
the morning to find them. Presently he saw the head of
one, and, on whistling, all lifted up to look about, when —
bang, bang ! and the whole covey was destroyed. " C'etait
un coup excellent," said he.

In one of my expeditions to a wild part of the country
I dropped on a singular old man, who lived by his rod
and gun. He had served with Napoleon, and had re-

c 3

38 BRITANXY AND THE CHASE.

tired to the somewhat congenial life of poaching. He
was a complete Robinson Crusoe. His hut was built by
himself^ and was filled with rods, guns, nets, and various
professional nicknacks ; and was tenanted by himself,
two or three wiry looking dogs, and a little niece wdio
cooked for him. At first he was rather surly with
me ; but, when he discovered that I was no " beak," he
becam.e civil and pleasant enough ; and frequently went
out with me to show me the country, every yard of which
he knew perfectly. He was shrewd and sensible ; but
had a strange ignorance about England. For instance, he
asked me whether England was part of France, and
whether it was in London ; and then, when I said no, he
asked what London w^as — a country, a town, or what ?
He could not imagine what an island was, by any means
whatever. But the ignorance about England, even in the
better classes, passes all belief, jet is easily explained. The
French travel little, and read less ; and knowledge is not
instinctive. A curious example of this was observed by a
friend, not a month ago, who himself told me the story. He
was discussing with a respectable merchant the question of
criminal punishments. The Frenchman praised the Englisli
system. " Here in France," said he, " we send them to the
dockyards, which is enormously expensive ; with the ad-
ditional evil of having, in the very heart of the country, a
band of men, the enemies of all property, who at any moment
may be turned loose upon us. We send a few to Algiers ;
but there they are equally expensive, and corrupt the rising-
colony also. No ! The English system is, after all, the
best." " But," said my friend, " the objections of expense

FliENCH NOTIONS OF ENGLISH CONVICTS. 39

and corruption equally apply to our system; Mitli a force
increasing with the greater distance and greater population
of our colonies compared with yours." " Yes/' said the other,
" but then how few convicts ever reach their destination ! "
" How so," said the other, " when we annually transport
some two thousand, and the passage is a good one." " My
dear Sir," replied the Frenchman, " pardon me, but you
are singularly ignorant of your own country. I thought
everybody knew what the English system is, and why it
is so cheap and effectual." " For heaven's sake," said my
friend, " tell me what you mean ; for the soul of me, I can-
not make it out." " Simply this, my dear Sir, that it is
well known that English criminals sentenced to transport-
ation for life are all droumed on the jxissage. They are put
on board with the others in the usual ^Yixy, but on reachinii;
deep water a trap-door is drawn in their apartment, and
they are let into the sea, and got rid of ; and a good plan it
is. Do you really mean to say that you never heard of
this before ? " " Never in my life," cried my friend, with
indignation and laughter mingled : *• it is almost too ab-
surd to contradict ; but I cannot help saying, it is an in-
famous calumny on England." The Frenchman shrugged
his shoulders, and departed : doubtless musing, as deeply
as the Gallic mind would admit, on the incredible igno-
rance of Englishmen, as to their own country. One
may hope that the Exhibition will have dispersed much of
this darkness. The worst of it is, that the generality of the
French travellers devote so little time to the work. One of
my friends, who went to London for the first time, set aside
two days and a half to see London a7id the Exliibitiou, and

c 4

40 BRITAIN NY AND THE CHASE.

thought it triste I Others gave six days for the Exhibition,
London, and the environs ; and on their return said, they
never saw the sun, and found no meat but beefsteaks.
Another, who during a whole week rode only in an omni-
bus, and by way of economy took no drink but vin ordi-
naire — in other words, claret, — returned, saying that there
was positively nothing to see in London ; and that, as to
hotel living, it was absolutely ruinous. One expressed his
astonishment to find the English " so well dressed." He
had probably imagined them breechless savages. Another,
who chiefly looked on the French department, said that
England had actually nothing in the Exhibition ; and so
on. In fact, all went full of prejudices, and had not
enousrh time to do more than shake a little of the dust from
them. Ignorant of the English language, and with little of
the genuine travelling instinct, they could do nothing more.
Britanny is excellent for losing the way in. The roads
are hollow and winding, and the country of a similar cha-
racter throughout. Furze-covered hills, separated by
wooded valleys, are the main features; and it requires
some time to know the peculiar marks which distinguish
one district from another. Often, in trying to find my way
to some place where I had previously found game, have I
been much puzzled ; and in following the insensible wind-
ings of a valley have debouched on a point far distant.
One day, in December, I started with a friend to beat some
good woodcock woods, which we had shot through in the
preceding year, and lying about five miles away. We shot
across the intervening country, seeing little game, and at
last arrived at the neighbourhood. " Ah ! " said I, " there

NATURE OF THE COUNTRY. 41

it is, I remember that hill ; " and on we pushed to a hill a
mile a-head, but no woodcock wood was there. Then my
friend took up the track, and said it was to the right, and
there we went ; but were still wrong. The country grew
wilder — neither house nor man to be seen — and no
game; so we retired to a hedge, and took some provand, and
afterwards went on merrily, as we felt certain the point was
before us. At length we reached a hill, from which a long
look convinced us that at least for five miles a-head there
was nothing likely, and that we were wholly out of our
bearings. " Bout ship " accordingly, and we began to re-
turn. Daylight grew fainter, and no one was visible to ask
the way. After an hour wx spied a peasant, who told us
we were a long way from home, but that in three miles we
should arrive at a good road, which would lead us home.
So w^e followed the track he pointed out, which, like all
bye-roads in winter, was ankle-deep in mud, though better
than the furze. When we reached the main road it was
dark ; and we found we had nine miles to walk. It snowed
incessantly, and we reached home about eight o'clock, well
tired, and as white as millers. A curious thing happened
that day. On my friend joining me he had a strange dog
with him. " What ! another dog ! " said I. " No ; " said
he, " he followed me from a baker's shop, where I stopped
for some bread ; and I am told he belongs to nobody.
However, he would follow^ me ; so let us try him." The dog
did tolerably well ; fed when we fed ; and left us when we
got in at night. I found out that he was an independent
dog, without incumbrance ; liked the chase and good
living ; and hung about the bakers' shops, knowing that

42 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

sportsmen often call there to fill their wallet, and then chose
his man according to his liking ; and so got sport and his
dinner. Not a bad economist, this four-footed Dugald
Dalgetty.

Another reason why it is difficult to find your way is
the constant cutting of wood and furze. One year you
find a splendid woodcock coppice, and fill your bag. You
duly note it down for the next year, and make a resolve
to go to it, when, you find the hill is as bare as your
hand, and not cover for a mouse. In another quarter
a coppice becomes a wood ; in another, a huge tract of
furze, which was desperately m the way, disappears totally ;
and in another, a favourite beat becomes impassable. All
these changes must be well noted and remembered; and
hence an accurate knowledge of the country is nowhere
more necessary than in Britamiy. Whatever you may do
in the way of shooting preparations, do not neglect a good
stock of prog. Do not be led away by dreams of a jolly
English farmer, with his foaming tankard, and hunch of
bread and cheese, and hearty welcome ; in Britanny you
will get Httle but black bread and water, and that you must
pay for. The people are poor and inhospitable, and have
miserable fare, even if they were otherwise ; therefore re-
member the worthy Dugald aforesaid, and after laying in
a good stock of provand in your skin, put the rest into your
bag. I once got planted in a furze field, and, but for the
timely help of my bag, I doubt if I should have ever got
out again. It was desirable to cross it, and I had, be-
fore entering it, taken the points, as I thought, pretty
well. At the edges it was not so thick, and I got

A CHANGE OF ASPECT. "43

on pretty well ; but, as I advanced, it got tliicker and
higher, gradually reaching above mj head. Still I
scrambled on, thinking I should speedily emerge on the
open country. My dogs followed, liking it as little as
myself. After many tumbles I sat down. " Bad work
this. Belle," said I ; and she looked an expressive " Bad
enough." The furze was far above my head, and yet
too weak to climb, and so thick as to be most difficult to
work through. After about a mile I was nearly done ; and
had I not had my bag, which aftbrded me a drop of brandy
and a bit of meat, I believe I must have passed the night
there, which would not have been to my mind, for the furze
was by no means so soft as feathers. But, after so splicing
the mainbrace, I took a fresh start, and at last reached
the outside, and was never better pleased with the green
fields. On surveying the place, I found the field was not
more than half a mile across, but I had been beating about
it in all ways, like the sailors after Ariel.

Knowledge of the country is also especially valuable with
respect to the game. In a well-gamed country you may find
game almost anywhere ; but in Britanny they are to be
found only in certain spots. Then appears the difference
between the good sportsman and the ordinary one. The one
finds his eight or ten coveys a day, refinding them again and
again, and getting plenty of sport ; the other gets a chance
shot at a covey or two, which goes he knows not where ; and
returns fagged, with a flabby bag, declaring that there is
nothing in the country but bogs and briars. Some expe-
rience, and acquaintance with the habits of game enables the
sportsman to discover with tolerable accuracy their where-

44 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

abouts. Partridges are thinly scattered over the country,
perhaps a covey to a square mile. In this square mile is
land of various kinds, and the birds change their place
often ; but a good sportsman will rarely miss finding them.
Sometimes the land is well disposed, and the finds easy.
Tor instance, in a furze heath of perhaps 500 acres are two
or three acre patches, which the industry of man has won
from the waste, and sown with corn. To know all these
patches well is a point gained ; but it is not so easy. No
help will be given by the natives, as each keeps the secret
well to himself; but there morning and evening the covey
will probably be found, and once found may be marked to
another patch, if you know its direction and the path to it.
Similar patches are to be found in the woods, with similar
results. Marking is most difficult, unless wuth this know-
ledge. The birds wheel round a clump of wood, or dive
into a hollow, and under such a cover skim quietly to their
favorite haunt, perhaps far distant ; for a flight of a mile is
not uncommon. The high hedges intercept the view in
the enclosed country ; and to these, and the impregnable
furze, is the preservation of game owing. But for these, it
would have long disappeared before the army of chasseurs
continually in pursuit of it. The number of sportsmen is
enormous, beyond all English ideas. For instance, in this
commune, containing about 20,000 inhabitants, are 400
licensed chasseurs ! Think of that. Englishmen need not
come here for shooting, that is certain.

The woodcock is an eccentric character — a bird sid
generis, changing his quarters without apparent cause;
but even he has his customs also, and his favorite re-

THE WOODCOCK. 45

treats. Everybody knows that he feeds far in the full
moon, and stays at home in the dark ; but everybody
does not know how he is affected by the wind. A
warm wind coaxes him far away ; when with a cold wind
he wraps himself up, and sits close, despite the moon
and her beams. The comitry here is finely disposed for
cock-shooting — miles of wood on a hill-side, a brook
at bottom ; damp marshy hollows, thick with birch and
alder, and strips of soft-green meadow for him to feed in
or flit over in his noiseless flight. There is 'something very
pleasant in cock-shooting. The bird is hard to find, and
not easy to kill, and a prize when obtained ; and the
scenery is varied and beautiful, for he loves the pic-
turesque. It is always exciting, as the bird may rise at
any moment ; and you must be well on the alert, as you
may only see him for a second, or even be obliged to fire
by the ear. I always used two setters, trained not to range
more than fifty yards, and each with a bell to his collar.
I found them as good as spaniels, and not so disturbing.
It is useless flushing birds out of shot, except for irritation ;
and a second, or at any rate a third, flush, sends the bird
out of all mark, as in such case he will sometimes fly a
mile. I remember flushing a cock for the third time, and
he was so enraged that he continued in the air for at least
a quarter of an hour, and finally went out of all vision.
Their flight is very singular, sometimes slow and heavy ;
sometimes devious, like an owl ; at others, more rapid than
the hawk or the swift, and with such unaccountable twists
and turns as set the best eyes at defiance. Once a wood-
cock rose before me with great rapidity. I kept my eye

46 BIIITANNY AND THE CEASE.

upon liim, but lost him round a tree ; and the moment after,
on looking back, I saw the bird going away behind me at a
hundred miles an hour ; and evidently he had turned sharp
round, and fled back close to me without my seeing him.
Som.etimes I have found them on the open field, lying close
and steady to the dog, like partridges ; this is a pleasant
variety, as they go away like " streaked lightning," and are
difficult to kill. I always used very small shot, No. 9., with
the second barrel of larger size for a thicket ; and the bird
being tender, and falling at a touch, may be fired at from
almost any distance. They are certainly very peculiar in
their tastes. I know one place where I invariably find a
cock ; it is a dry ditch, under some furze bushes, with
nothing particular about it that I can make out. A wooded
marshy ditch I can understand, but a dry ditch on a hill
is singular.

Occasionally they congregate, long after their arrival.
One morning I started early to shoot a large wood,
eight miles off; the wind was unusually high, and the
weather stormy. The place was of a good character,
but was hard to beat, except with a strong force, as the
trees were large and thick, and the wood upwards of 500
acres. We got in, and began to beat about ; but nothing
could we find, neither high nor low. At length we reached
the end, and came to a small coppice of half an acre.
" Perhaps they may be here," I thought, "but the growth is
too recent for much." In went the dogs, and up rose a flight of
cocks, like pheasants, at the end of a cover. I got six shots,
but was clumsy, and only bagged a couple ; but they had
evidently been holding a parliament there, driven probably

AN I^'GIDENT. 47

by the wind for shelter. I afterwards beat some six miles
of very likely ground, valley and coppice, without flusliincr
another bird. An event occurred that day which I shall
long remember. I called at a house for something, and
found it full of people talking and making a noise. I sat
down, and was suddenly startled by a peculiar sound be-
hind me. On turnmg round I beheld a woman in the act of
dying; and the sound which startled me was the death-rattle
in her throat. I was much shocked, and immediately rose.
The poor creature had been dreadfully bui'nt by falling on
the fire, and was dying ; and the fact being known, the
house was crowded with lookers-on. There was neither
sorrow nor sympathy that I could see, but haixl looks and
hard words ; and I was glad to leave the place. The wo-
man, I afterwards learnt, died almost immediately. To die
like a dog in a ditch was better than this.

The snipe abounds in Britanny, and gives a pleasing
variety to a day's sport. If nothing else turns up, you are
sure of Mr. Longbill, and nothing in a small way beats
good snipe-shooting with a steady dog. Ducks are not
very common. There are few lakes, and those few are
well beaten ; but in the winter, when they are driven to
the brooks, they give good sport. They are, however, too
near the sea to be always good. Quail are found occa-
sionally, and on the hills are plenty of red-legged partridges.
The red leg is a fine handsome bird, but not equal for
sport or table to the common partridge. They are hard to
put up, and will run for a mile, and tease young dogs very
much ; but w^hen up, they fly to Old Harry, and require
good eyes to mark them. Rabbits are plentiful, but are

48 BRITATs^NT AND THE CHASE.

difficult to start from the furze ; and hares are also plentiful,
but, from the furze and thick hedges, are hard to get at.
In fact, a varied bag may be made, if not a heavy one, and
I much prefer variety to weight. Let us take a sample of
a day's sport.

6tli November. — Set out in good order, my man carry-
ing my bag. The morning was hazy, but fresh, and pro-
mised a fine day. My two dogs, Belle and Ponto, had
not been out for three days, and jumped merrily about
me, showing plainly that the pleasures of the chase are not
for man only. We walked a mile, and then diverged to
beat a small valley edged with wood, which generally held
a cock. We reached the coppice, and " Hey in. Belle ! '* and
Belle went in, while the dog took the hedge and ditch, and
my man went to a point in front to mark. The bell on
the bitch's collar tinkled cheerfully for some time, but
suddenly ceased, and presently " puffle, puffle " announced
the flushing of a woodcock. I did not see it, but a shout
from my man showed that it was marked down. I went
on, and looking up, saw a cock dashing down right upon
me. I hate a coming on shot, but I managed to bring him
down. A little further a rustle in the hedge made me
turn round, and stealing through the underwood behind
me I saw puss creeping quietly away. I could not resist
the shot but believe she went off untouched, at least she lost
no time in growing scarce. The marked cock we could not
make out at all; probably he had risen again immediately as
they often do, and had wheeled round the wood and settled
down behind me. Some open country followed, in which
a covey rose wild and flew far ahead. ^' All right for the

A day's sport. 49

remise those," and we followed them. We reached tlie
spot in a quarter of an hour, a little patch of stuhble sur-
rounded by high furze, a sporting oasis. Jean, my man,
w^as for going at them at once ; but " tenez, Jean, those birds
have alighted in the furze near the corn, and will soon be
upon it to feed, and then is our time." So I took out my
pipe and bided my time au Frangais. In another quarter
of an hour we moved again, and getting the wind, the dof^s;
quietly entered the stubble. In half a minute Belle-
snuffed, drew a moment, and stood steadily; Ponto also
catching the scent at another angle and pointing dead.
It was a picture for Landseer. I walked up between them'
and whirr, whirr, r r ! rose the covey in a hurry, for we-
were close upon them. I took the first bird and killed it,
but missed with my second barrel, and as the birds went
back to their first rise, I was obliged to leave them, hoping
to see them again in returning. The furze gave us nothing
but scratches and sacres from Jean, but on the other side
was a stubble of oats, a generally sure find. " Hey away
dogs ! " and I walked in. Nothing appeared, and I was
drawing towards the outside of it ; but where was Belle ?
We looked and whistled in vain. She was pointing some-
where without doubt, but where ? So I returned along the
ditch. On turning a corner, there she stood like a statue,
some fifty yards off in the ditch bottom, turning her head
round cautiously now and then, as much as to say, " Come
along, here they are." I reached her, and from the ditch
rose a nice covey of eight or ten which had been feeding,
and had probably retired there on seeing me enter the
field. Bang ! bang ! and one fell, another going off

D

50 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

heavily hit. Mark ! and thej skimmed away over a large
vs^ood opposite to us. Bad job that ! we shall never find
them in that wood. Suddenlij they disaiDpeared : ah! ah!
gentlemen, I have ye. We entered the wood, and in the
middle discovered a beautiful patch of fern and low bushes
of about an acre. Here are the birds, but we must beat
close. As I spoke one rose at the edge of the wood flying
badly as having been hit, and I brought him down ; but as
I fired the rest rose also, one after the other, in provoking
regularity, and all out of distance, nor could we afterwards
find them. The truth was we had given them too little
time to scatter among the fern. A Frenchman w^ould have
looked at his watch and sat dow^n for ten minutes ; and had
I done so I might have secured all. In traversing the
wood the dog sniffed about in a puzzled way. I thought
it was a snake and looked round, when a bris^ht eve lookincp
out of a tuft of grass steadily met mine. " Soho ! come
in, Ponto." It was difficult to deal with her in the thicket,
on the edge of which she lay, but there was a little glade
on the side, in which I should have a chance, if I could
make her take that way. I moved quietly on one side and
touched her with my foot, Ithuriel's spear was not more
effectual to rouse the apparently sleeping mass, and out she
bounced with a vengeance, and darted up the glade like
lightning. But faster sped the leaden hail, and in a se-
cond puss was stretched upon the grass.

A cock or two were flushed by the dogs, but out of sight ;
and on leaving the wood we came on to a wide valley,
wooded on each side, and with a stream and strip of meadow
in the middle. ^^ Woodcocks here if anywhere," and so it

THE WOODCOCK COPPICE WOOD. 51

proved, as we speedily flushed several, but the dogs ranging
wild, and the trees being close, I was unfortunate with them.
For my own part I alwaj-s prefer the field to the wood.
Tour shots are then generally clean ones though fewer*
and you can mark your birds better, and not leave a
wounded one to die in a hole, as is often the case.
Cocks, too, lie most frequently on the edge of a wood,
or within a very few yards of it, ready for a flight. I
then got out of the wood, leaving my man to beat ; and
certainly there were cocks enough, but an evil spirit pos-
sessed them, and they would not come near me. But the
wood was a picture for woodcock shooting. The coppice-
wood was large and unequal ,with here and there a forest tree.
Patches of alder and willow told of marsh and bog, and in
other parts, hollies and occasional spruce firs of small growth
afforded shelter or a promenade ; for your woodcock is a
dandy in his way, and likes his promenade. I have often
noticed the ground under such a bush quite white with
their chalking, and a friend told me that he had once
noticed a cock shuffling up and down there, pluming him-
self and strutting in evident delight. But I was as un-
lucky out of the wood as within it. There were lots of
birds but nothing suited ; the good shots were too far, the
nearer ones I missed, until I got vexed and commenced
blazing away at all rates with no better luck, and at last
grew sulky and retired from the place. Getting over the
hedge I trod upon a hare. Off" went both barrels, and
with no success as I thought. But my bitch thought
otherwise and dashed after the hare who disappeared,
leaving me to load and wait. Suddenly looking up I saw

D 2

52 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

puss coming straight upon me. She had probably been
hit, and the dogs running her close had thought her onlj
danger was in the rear, and had I stood still I believe she
would have come bolt against me, but I spared her the
trouble and gave her the coup de grace, when she rolled
over and over almost to my feet. My man began to think
he should be loaded ; and as it was feeding time and a
good place, we got out the tin case, the dogs rolling
about with great joy and gradually settling upon their
ends, with eyes fixed on me watching for their turn of the
entertainment, to which they always applied themselves
with much good breeding. Belle fed first in right of age
and sex, and Ponto never interfered until she was served,
waiting for his turn with great patience. After feeding we
started again and picked up a couple of snipe on our way
to a likely partridge ground, w^here, as it was drawing near
to their feeding time also, I expected to find them. In
crossing a turnip field a single bird rose under my feet,
which I killed, and the same moment arose a most horrible
yell in the next field, and a man appeared on the hedge-
bank screaming and making antics like one possessed with
a demon. " Go and see what is the matter," said I. My
man went, and great was the gesticulation, and long and
loud the talk. " He says you have shot him, monsieur,"
shouted Jean; and sure enough I had peppered him smartly.
I had never seen him, but the shot had touched him in de-
scending, and suggested the idea of making a franc or two
out of it. After this I found some more birds which I
missed, and evening coming on I made for the high road,
lighted my pipe, and began my march of some four miles

53

homewards. AYhen it was quite dusk I heard a loud rushinor
noise above my head, and a covey passed over, making for a
favourite roosting-place close at hand. I had never fired
in the dark before, but I followed them, poking carefully
among the furze, and presently they rose. I fired at the
sound and ran up in hopes to find something on the ground,
but nothing was there, ancPl returned to Jean lookino-
rather foolish. As we followed tlie road, Belle kept pro-
vokingly close to my heels, and knocking against me and
making me angry with her. On turning round for the
third or fourth time to send her off, I thought I saw some-
thing odd about her head, and found that she had a par-
tridge in her mouth. She had stayed behind and picked
it up, when I with mere human faculties had found nothing.
And so ended the day's sport, which is a good type of a
day's sport in Britanny. True there was not much game ;
namely, a brace of hares, three brace of birds, a couple
of cocks, and a couple of snipes ; but there was a pleasant
variety, got with some trouble (without which nothing is
valuable), in a pretty country, and with no hard-featured
individual in fustian crying out, " Yo munna come o' this
side, as measter presarves."

Very agreeable excursions may be made to country
places, where the game is less disturbed ; but it is necessary
to secure a good guide ; and, moreover, one who will faith-
fully tell the best haunts. Without this there will be much
work, and small sport. Of course the accommodation is
bad, but that is not much to the sportsman ; though I have
often wondered that the village auberges are as bad as
they are, the most miserable beer-shops in England being

D 3

54 BEITANNY AND THE CHASE.

superior to most of them. Bad eau-de-vie and black bread,
and most of all bad beds. For the sportsman can live hard
if he can only sleep well : but a man must have uncom-
mon sleeping powers who can sleep well in a Breton
auberge ; he must be a hybernating hedgehog, or the Fat
Boy in Pickwick. For even if by chance you have a de-
cent bedj the bugs and fleas afb in such legions as nothing
but the hide of an armadillo can resist. One night I never
shall forget. I went to bed at nine, tasting sleep before-
hand by a pleasing drowsiness, which was soon to be con-
verted into a perfect slumber. I was speedily in bed, mid
almost as speedily out again, so warm was the reception.
From every wrinkle in the coverlid, and every straw in
the mattress, poured a stream of animals famished and
bloodthirsty, to take possession of the land of promise.
In vain I slaughtered hosts, immediately they were replaced
by others of equal or greater appetite ; and I was devoured
by inches. For two hours, by Shrewsbury clock, did the
battle rage, and on its slackening I began to doze. But it
was only a device of the enemy, and again the attack was
renewed. From the ceiling they dropped upon me ; from
the floor they escaladed me ; and all I coul.d do was to fight
hard to the last, and wish for the day, which slowly broke;
and the face of the rising sun was not more rosy than my
own.

Ha^e hunting, or the chasse an courant, is a very slow
affair, quite different from the English mode. Greyhounds
are forbidden by law throughout all France ; and the dog
used is a sort of large beagle. These are taken to likely
spots, such as cross-roads, gateways, &c., and on taking

HARE HUNTING. 55

up a scent go away at a slow pace. The object of the doo-s
being not to catch the hare, but to drive her up to the sports-
man and his gun, the latter posts himself in some favour-
able place, lights his pipe, and waits patiently. And verily
he needs patience, for even Job would have lashed out, had
he waited for half a day at a cross-road, and the wind in
the east. The dogs may be miles off slowly pushing the
hare before them, but at last their baying comes near.
The sportsman looks alive, and shakes out his pipe, but the
, noise recedes ; again it approaches, again he looks about
him, and again is disappointed, and so on, sometimes, for a
whole day, for you must just wait for your dogs. They
are the real masters of the sport ; without them you can
do nothing ; and they come and go as they please. There
is no excitement, and little room for skill. If puss does
pass near you, she does so lumping and squatting, and gives
you next thing to a sitting shot. In truth, it is but puling
sj)ort. It may do well enough for an invalid in a sedan
chair, or an elderly female ; but as good sport may be had
with tame poultry in a farmyard, or rabbits in a hutch.

In the way of hunting or riding to hounds there is nothing
in Britanny. Riding is generally at a discount in France,
and in Britanny the women are the best riders. They ride
astride, and apparently wdth ease ; but I must say it always
went against the grain to see strings of women jogging
in from the country, all riding like men, and displaying
beauties which Heaven knows suffe^^ed dreadfully from
exposure. The Breton leg, male or female, is a defor-
mity. The men have no calf, while the women have two,
the lower one being about the ankle ; and this gives an

D 4

56 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

unpleasant uniformity to that part of the human figure.
There is a custom in Britanny equally repulsive, namely
spitting. All spit: men, women, and children, from
the cradle. The priest spits at the altar, the tradesman
spits at his counter, the gentleman spits in his drawing-
room. They seem to substitute spitting for perspira-
tion, and if a stray idea of Englishmen disliking it
comes into their heads, it only modifies it, for keep it in
they cannot. In that case gentlemen spit into the fire or
their handkerchiefs, and others into their hats. One day,
a neighbour called upon me : in the room was a carpet,
and this puzzled him sorely, for in Britanny a carpet is
quelque chose de bo7i, and he did not like to spit upon it ;
yet not to spit, — he would burst or blow up to a certainty.
But he was a man of resource, and soon struck out an
idea, for whipping off his hat he spat heartily into it, and in
a moment glued it firmly on his head again. No English-
man would have ever thought of this !

I wish I could speak well of Breton hospitality, but I
cannot. It is said that hospitality is strongest in the savage
state, and it is pleasant to read of the patriarchs sitting in
the doors of their tents, espying the stranger from afar,
and making ready the feast beforehand for him ; but how-
ever savage Britanny may be, she lacks the redeeming
virtue. Perhaps, however, the native virtue 7nay have
existed, and been corrupted by Ersnch habits, as many of
the causes which impair its exercise are of French origin.
Eor let the truth be spoken. With all their so called
politeness and warmth, the Erench are regular money
grubs, and in no country is the worship of the golden

BRETON HOSPITALITY. 57

image so assiduous and so general. To an Englishman
accustomed to the usual expenditure of the middle class,
the minute parsimony practised by all is despicable.
Doubtless there is less wealth in France than England,
for the many revolutions which have swept over the coun-
try have devoured its resources, and the constant division
of property at death prevents accumulation ; but when
parsimony is used on 364 days of the year, for the sake
of giving an over-grown ball, or other self-glorifying
and disproportionate exhibition on the 365th, it is evi-
dent that something else than prudence dictates it. The
people are poor in comparison with the English. In-
deed, how can it be otherwise? The means of getting
money can only exist in a limited degree, where agricul-
ture is backward and commerce trifling, and as to exports,
compared with the population, they are very small. I have
often amused myself in tracing the source of many of their
habits which differ from ours : and most are to be referred
to economy as the basis, and infringe sadly on hospitality.
For instance, the Frenchman seldom occupies a house ; he
lives under a roof it is true, but only occupies a story
or etage, or a part of one; one, two, or three rooms,
according to his family, and this whether rich or poor.
No spare room for a friend, for what would be the use of
paying so many francs a-year for a thing to be used only
now and then. Besides, are there not cafes and hotels?
This is the first check to the virtue. Then he seldom eats
a meal at home unless it be his breakfast. He dines at a
table d'hote, or e?i pension, and takes his coffee at a caf6,
and voila check the second; for, instead of receiving a

08 BRIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

friend warmly at home, and the dinner, &c. coming out
of the house purse, an invisible thing of legerdemain, whose
existence is never felt until it is finished — your dinner
costs you four or five hard francs, cash down " on the
nail," is more a feed than a feast, and being in a public
room with waiters and strangers about, lacks the friendly
warmth and comfort of a home dinner, and a fireside chat
over the wine afterwards.

A young friend of mine had a letter of introduction
to a merchant at Havre. He called and was received
with much kindness. " You w411 dine with me to-
day ? " "I shall be happy, " said the other, and at five
o'clock he repaired to his friend's house. The merchant
w^as glad to see him, and they talked a little, when
^'Allons" said the host and led the way — not to the
dining-room — but out of the house to a neighbouring res-
taurant, where dinner being ordered for two, they sat
down amid a crowd of people. The youth thought
it a very disagreeable exchange for the English custom.
Hence to see a friend at home interferes dreadfully with
domestic habits, for he can hardly come at the right time,
instead of with us at the wrong. In the morning, all is
dust and clearing up, Madame with hair eii papillottes, Mon-
sieur in deshabille assisting in the work. At midday,
Madame promenades in full figure to show herself, and
Monsieur goes to the papers or to billiards: afterwards,
Madame returns to undress, and Monsieur goes out to dine
at his cafe, and, 'twixt all, the friend falls to the ground.
Doubtless, living in etages has pecuniary advantages, but
it is decidedly opposed to hospitality, and lacks many of

LIVING IN ETAGES. 59

the agremens of life ; — no garden, no animals, no space for
children to play and get out of the way in. It is the very
essence of town life whore the street is the substitute for
the garden. But it is cheap. No need of a servant, for
you can have your femme de menage, who comes for an hour
in the morning and puts things to rights, and this for a trifle
compared with a servant in the house. Then if you wish to
go on a tour ; no expenses in your rear, servants eating holes
into everything, or heavily consuming you by board wages ;
none of these things ; you pack up your trunks as the Be-
douin strikes his tent ; get a man to carry them ; lock up
first your cupboards and then the outside door ; pocket the
key ; stick up a card with " not to return till the 10th," and
exit, with the independence of the snail with his all upon
his back. Convenient but selfish — the English life in
chambers without its ivarmth and jollity. When young
people marry they seldom set up a separate establish-
ment : they have a couple of cells contrived for them
in the paternal hive, where they learn domestic arts on
a small scale, and, having nothing to do at home, learn
to live and look for pleasure abroad. But the desire
for cheapness marks everything. Two meals a day
only ; no bonnets ; wooden shoes ; no refreshments to
chance friends ; miserably shabby subscriptions ; all are
questions of argent. It is true that in many points France
is a cheaper country than England, but not to the extent
commonly supposed ; and lOOl. in England will go nearly
as far as the same sum here. It is a great error to
imagine France a lightly taxed country. In reality the
taxation is quite as heavy as in England, and, considering

60 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

the much smaller ability to bear taxes, it is proportion ably
heavier. Besides their burdens are increasing, whilst
ours are diminishing. For the present year the total
revenue levied by taxation in France is upwards of sixty
millions sterling, and in addition there are the octroi duties
of some ten millions more, besides local taxes, and this is
divided among a population of some thirty-six millions.
This gives a greater amount per head than in Great Bri-
tain, besides which there are not those exemptions of the
lower classes which mark our system, so that taxation
presses enormously upon the mass of the people. Lord
Brougham and Mr. Porter have already given their sanc-
tion to this proposition, that France is at least as heavily
taxed as England ; and I believe it to be perfectly sound. ,
The system of trade in France is good and failures few.
Every year the books of each tradesman are inspected by
certain authorities, and if he is doing business at a loss he is
stopped. This inquisition beats our income-tax hollow ;
but is as quietly submitted to as every other act of
authority ; for the French have been ruled so long that
they cannot do without it. But there is no faith, no
speculation, which after all is the soul of commerce.
All must be certain ; every stage of the road must be
known before the merchant ventures his sous upon it, and
with all this peddling the market is seized by some more
enterprising person. An excellent instance recently oc-
curred not far off. The project had long been entertained
of establishing a steam communication betwixt Britanny
and England. It was laid before a French company, and
long were the debates upon it from time to time, without

WANT OF ENERGY. 61

any decision being arrived at. It would not pay; markets
would fall y expenses were constant, and would be heavy ;
these and similar views were put, and answered, and rc-put
and reanswered, and so the matter remained suspended.
Meanwhile, a proposal was made to an English company.
Within a week an answer was received ; in another week
appeared the steamboat herself, her own advertiser ; mer-
chandise flowed in from all quarters ; and the boat took full
cargoes each voyage ; and they are now going to place a
second boat on the station ! I once visited a mercantile
friend to inquire whether a ship he had freighted to England
with corn, had arrived. I found him grave, and said, " Well !
is your ship returned ? " " Yes, she is returned." " And
has made a good voyage ? " I replied. " A very bad one
indeed; she has made une perte enorme,^^ and he sighed
heavily. I regretted this much, but on inquiry found that
the '^ jperte enorme" consisted in having lost about eight
pounds by the voyage ! Dreadful affair, eight pounds to a
speculative man. What would Liverpool say to that ? But
there is no generosity among the French. They are called
brave, clever, and polite, but I never heard them called
large-minded or generous. In the five years which I have
spent in the country, we have given about five parties, for
each one we have been invited to. Still our friends profess
great friendship for us, always come when we ask them,
talk much of pleasures to come in the return visits we are
to pay, and as pleasures to come they remain. In Eng-
land, we should call this mean ; here, it is general. No
seeking out strangers to do the honours of the country to
them, no reciprocity even, but enjoying all cheaply and no

82 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

return. True it is that the custom of French society
requires the stranger to introduce himself to its notice, but
that is but a poor reply to the charge of inhospitality. It
only makes bad worse, and shows that what we object to
in an individual is the general practice, for what is custom
but the general practice of individuals ? This brings home
to the nation what before only applied to a member of it,
and justifies the appellation of inhospitable as applied to
France.

A friend called on me the other day to ask me to
accompany him into the mountains for some shooting,
where we were to stay with a tenant of his father's, and
be comfortably treated, " parfaitement loges.''^ We were to
have meat and drink without stint, excellent beds, — to
be as well oflp as at home ; and this for the evenings and
nights, coupled with a " masse " of game during the days,
made out a bill of fare not to be despised. In truth, the
country was full of " gibier " of all kinds, from the snipe to
the red-leg. I therefore accepted the invitation with plea-
sure, got ready a double provision of shot, powder, and caps,
all my cleaning and repairing tools, everything in fine
necessary for a long campaign. Two days before we were
to set out my friend called again to talk over matters, but
symptoms of thaio were perceptible; i. e. it was hinted
that perhaps our keep might not be first-rate, and therefore
it might be as well to take some little trifle of provision,
merely to complete the dinners, it is true, as the " pieces de
resistance " would, doubtless, be found at the farm, — but
just a little something; a bottle or two of good wine also
would not be amiss, — some brandy also ; in other words.

AN INVITATION. 0.5

it would be wise to provide ourselves loith meat and drink.
The beds, too, of which so much had been spoken as so
"tout ce qu*il faut," began to fade away in a strange
manner. My friend "intended to sleep in his clothes;
he always did so in the country; he preferred it. Per-
haps I would do the same ; it was much better ; no fear of
domestic animals." The nice white sheets, the soft feather
bed on which he had before dilated, were all mere dis-
solving views, of the F^^endi invention. But wliat mattered
it to a sportsman, as he gaily said, — it was a mere
lark; in fact, rather a pleasure, and enhanced the plea-
sui'es of home. In fact, it was evident that the first
account was aJl pure flourish, and he was now smoothing
off the road to avoid landing me too suddenly in the desert
below.

My friend brought his cabriolet to the door at the time
appointed; for, be it said by the way, that he was a
punctual man, and this for a Frenchman says much ; and
here let me say a word on French private carriages. In
Paris, I am aware, the carriages are elegant and superb,
and I am aware also that France stood high at the Great
Exhibition in carriage building, but not one do you see in
the rural part of France. No one can form an idea of the
wretched hen-roosts on \Aheels, unpainted, uncleaned,
creaking and jolting, which frequently meet the eye. An
English farmer of the olden time, who occasionally rolls
into his market town in his grandfather's so-called sociable,
or some such name, possesses a superior turn-out to many
a French nobleman. This is all the more remarkable, in-
asmuch as paint is so cheap, and the only explanation is to

64 BPtllANNY AND THE CHASE,

be found in that aversion to cleaning which is part of the
French character. However, my friend arrived at tlie
hour named, with the old cabriolet, and the old mare named,
I suppose ironically, " Frantic," by whose exertions, stimu-
lated by many cries and much whipping, we managed
nearly to equal the fast walk of an ordinary man. An
incident occurred on the road which amused us. My
black setter was trotting as usual by the side of the voiture,
and I had ceased looking at him for a moment, when he
suddenly appeared with a fine fowl in his mouth, joggmg
on as if nothing had happened. How, when, or where the
capture was performed we knew not; but there was the
fowl, and as he appeared anxious to be relieved of it, I got
out and took it from him, and a very excellent one it was
as we discovered some days after. In due time, i. e. about
five hours, we arrived at the farm ; by that time all had
subsided into sober realities, the beds had vanished totalis/,
good meat and drink had disappeared also; two things
were alone evident, first, that my friend had never been
there before, though he had previously talked most glibly
about it; and, secondly, that everything was as rude as
might be expected in a small mountain farm in Britanny.
And so it was. A miserable house or cottao;e in a low
hole, surrounded by manure, was the much vaunted farm.
One room formed the whole house, and in this room were
we and all in the house, amonriLing to twelve persons, to
work, eat, live, and sleep. But what matters it, so long
as you are happy ! We had reached the bottom, and it
was hard but sound ; better have a poor house than none ;
the good people were all willing to do their best for us, and

" MY KINGDOM FOR A rACK,"" QS

began to bustle about and run over each other with orcat

activity, and therefore what mattered it ? only that if my

friend had told the truth about it at once, I should not

have died by inches as I had done. The things put aside,

we turned out for a few hours shootinfv, but the frame was

a dream too. All day we ftigged up hill and down dale,

but save one poor hare that one of the dogs caught

in her form, nought had we in our bags, and had only

seen one covey of birds. My friend w^as furious, and I

sulky, and we returned in a bad mood, my temper not

sweetened by the prospect of an evening in a room full of

smoke, with people whose language (the Breton) I was

almost io;norant of. But all thino;s have an end save a

dumpling ; and having fed our dogs, changed our clothes,

fed well ourselves, and lighted our pipes, we began to

.expand until the chimney corner became too small for us.

By that time it was night, and the labourers and people

liad all entered, and stood and lay down staring at us, as

if we were opossums, when on a sudden a bright thought,

:and one truly French, entered into the fertile brain of

■my friend, — a game at cards ! " A pack ! a pack ! my

^kingdom for a pack ! " and there being none, a rustic youth

■was forthwith dispatched to the little village, about a mile

•oif, to purchase a pack, with strict injunctions to tany

not, as he valued his head and a {joutte of brandy on his

return. In a m.arvellously short time he reappeared, his

face in a blaze, as he had run all the way against a cold

wind, and what a shout w^elcomed him ! Out with the

table; light another rushlight; sweep off the crumbs and

liquids; let those sit upon seats who can get them, and

E

66 BRITANNT AND THE CHASE.

let those stand who cannot, hurrah for the game ! and
leave the Bretons alone for playing cards. Like all French-
men they can play from the cradle, and can finesse,
drop a card, look into another's hand, and dispute the
reckoning with any one. In due time I began to think
of going to bed, but where ? I was shown a cupboard
in the wall close to the fire, and there was a bed of chaff
nice enough, and a clean stuffed cushion of the same,
instead of a coverlid ; but neither sheets nor blankets had
yet arrived in that region. But I was sleepy and not par-
ticular. Still I did ivish to undress, but how or where?
To undress in this sleeping box was a physical impossi-
bility, and to do it among all the present company, I was
too modest for that. But do it I must. Oh ! I thought,
they will take the hint and turn away, and so I began.
Take the hint, they did undoubtedly, but it was to do the
same thing, and there opposite to me was the old lady of the
house talking to me all the while, and divesting herself
first of one thing and then of another, with interludes of
scratching and rubbing, all done with perfect ease and, if
you like, good breeding, but which was too much for me.
I stood my ground well until she had got down to her
chemise, and was beginning to move uneasily in that,
shaking herself loosely in it, and then 1 could bear it no
longer, but bolted into my box, knocking my head nearly
off against the lid of it, drew off the slight remnant of my
clothes more by my feet than my hands, balanced the
chaff cushion evenly upon my body, yawned heavily, heard
confused voices growing fainter and fainter, thought some
one spoke through the hole in the lid, fell asleep, and

THE FINALE. 67

never woke until morning. Then 1 grew more used to it,
dressing and talking familiarly the while, and got on
famously ; but still, both in a moral and comfortable point
of view, I cannot say the Breton bed is to my mind. The
second day we did better, finding a ftur quantity of
game, though it was very wild, and the third day re-
turned home, I more steeled than ever against a too con-
fiding credulity in French narrative. How would our
English farmers stare at their Breton brethren, who do
not live so w^ell as many labourers. The worthy people
wdiom we visited gave us all they had, and without
grudging; but, in truth, they had nothing to give, save
black bread, bacon, and very fiery alcohol, enough to
burn its way to the surface ; this, wdth cabbage leaf soup,
was grand doings for them. The young landlord that was
to be knew nothing of them or of the farm, never made
a remark about the cultivation of this field or the state of
the other, and did not know even the acreage of it. How
can we expect attention and good tenants, wdiere we have
such careless, inattentive landlords ? The farm itself was
good land, and, with a little outlay of capital, might have
been greatly improved ; as it was, surface water was
starving everything, neither removed by drainage, nor
conducted where it was wanted by irrigation.

The other day I had a lively discussion with a French-
man as to the chances of war between England and France.
He assumed the usual French tone, that the point would
be settled in a month, and England captured — as he said,
the Channel is " but a lono; brido;e." " Ah ! but," said I,

E 2

68 BlilTAXXY AND THE CHASE.

'• SO long that you, witli Buonaparte at your liead, could
never cross it." His reply was that modern warfare was
a different thing ; that steam had made matters more certain
and more capable of calculation ; and much more to the
same purport. This is in principle all true ; but my worthy
friend forgot the immense power of steam which England
possesses. In 1847, by a return made to government, it
appeared that there were 1700 steamers afloat, all able
to carry from two to ten and upwards of Iteavy guns,
and built under the Admiralty regulations ; and, since
1847, probably 400 to 500 have been added to the num-
ber. Think of that for a moment, there is consolation
in the thought ; one steam-ship per mile all round Eng-
land, and four to a mile for the parts of the Channel
between England and France ; a beautiful lively chain
of defence for Monsieur Crapaud to look at with the
smoke blown into his eyes by a westerly wind. Think of
the Oriental Company, the West India Company, and the
American Companies, with their splendid ships of from
2000 to 3000 tons burden, capable in a week to become
the most pov>^erful steam-ships in existence. These are
not counted among the steam navy of England, but
there they all are. There is the Himalaya, the great
iron monster belonging to the Oriental Company, 3500
tons burden. Why, as I heard a sea captain say, with
her steel cut-water made expressly for the job, he would
eno-aiie to run her stem on upon a first-rate man-of-
war, and to cut her down to the water's edge. No can-
nonading, no time lost in smoke, but, like the Roman
galleys of old, run her straight down upon her adversary

THE CHANCE OF WAR. 69

and dash her to pieces. And what ship now built could
resist that steel prow backed by the impetus of 3500 tons
moving at twenty miles an hour? Or what ship could
resist the huge guns which the great monster is to
be fitted to caiTy with their 160 pound balls? Ah! we
may well avoid another war if possible, for it will be one
in comparison of which all the slaughter of past times
will be as nothing. Instead of France boasting, she may
tremble. We should be able to blockade every French
port within three days from the declaration of war, and not
a ship would get out unless they could force the passage,
and when would that be done ? France has a fine fleet of
sailing vessels, but what would her fine three and four
deckers do against a steamer with heavy guns, choosing
her position and changing it at pleasure, and pitching into
her with her few large-mo utlied dogs and not receiving a
shot in return ? And as to French steamers, they are not
to be named in the same breath with English ones ; the
machines are Eno;lish, and the eno;ineers and stokers Enn-lish
also in many cases, for the French cannot manage ma-
chinery any more than they can navigation. We may be
sure that in a very short time after the declaration of war,
many a French ship of war would change owners, and add
to the fleet which, under British colours, rides proudly at
Spithead. No ! if there be place for boasting, it is for
England to boast ; but let there be none of it ; the thing
is too serious, and not to be settled by boasting. Instead of
boasting let us keep our eyes open. Dover is now an hour
and a half only from Boulogne. Portsmouth is but eiglit
hours from Cherbourg, as was shown somewhat unplca-

E 3

'70 BKITANNY AND THE CHASE.

santly by the fine French steam frigate the Gonier, one fine
morning astonishing the inhabitants of Portsmouth with her
salute, having only left Cherbourg the evening before. The
tendency of everytliing is to bridge over the Channel, and
if that bridge is made we are in danger. Every schoolboy
knows that one Englishman can thrash two Frenchmen ;
but if the French ever succeed in paying us a visit, every
Englishman must be prepared to thrash ^ive, and these are
long odds. The French army is immense and formidable, —
400,000 men ; a large family party for John Bull to re-
c*eive and " do for." What could we do with our 30,000
or 40,000 men, allowing each to be the bravest of the
brave ? Numbers will tell and must tell, and they would
tell a fearful tale against England. The only plan is to
decline the visit, — "•' much engaged with home affairs, can-
not see them to-day."

Who put Louis Napoleon in his seat, but the army ? and
think you that a Buonaparte and a splendid army will do
nothing but march up the hill and down again like the king
of France in the olden time ? Oh ! the abjectness of the
political men of France. Three weeks before Napoleon
made the coup d^etat five-sixths of the people were against
him, but now, because he has made it and succeeded, halt,
right about wheel, and seven millions and a half out of
ten millions vote in his favour. The journals hail him as
the state necessity, the heaven-sent man, — flatter him
by alluding constantly to his uncle, and suggesting his re-
semblance to him, invoke religion to sanctify his acts, and
all this because he has had the boldness to violate his
solemn oath and the laws of his country, and has succeeded.

A FIT OF ENTHUSIASM. 71

No treason, oh, no ! nothing of lie kind, nothing so viil(Tar;
it is " an immense act," " a glorious deed," " a fact to be
blazoned in history." The other day the " Patrie," a de-
voted slave to the government of the day ^Yhatever its
colour, and who would have written equally well against
Louis Napoleon had he been sentto Vincennes, said, "France
has spoken ; and its voice, which is also the voice of God,
has granted the supreme power to the nephew of the Em-
peror. The vote of the people in 1851 has retied the
chain of time broken in 1815 by the sword of the stranger.
People feel that it is a new era. Csesar sleeps gloriously
in the peace of the tomb under the dome of the Invalids,
and Augustus comes to take the reins of the French
government in his hand."

For myself I am no republican, but I am half ready to
give way to the melting mood when I think how the poor
republic has been abused. When she came into this
strange French world, how it did go into fits of entuzzy-
musy about her. Nothing so perfect was ever seen before ;
old men acted Simeon in the temple ; each royalist swore
he had been a hypocrite all his life till then, but that
thenceforth he should cast his skin and come out in his
real nature ; priests blessed trees of liberty till they were
hoarse ; and young men and maidens did nought but dance
and sing and kiss round them all the livelong day, " and
all went merry as a marriage bell," when, lo ! the curtain
falls, and in another minute, presto ! behold the poor re-
public prostrate, spit upon, and making a most inglorious
exit, leaving strong odours about its path. I have just read
. an article in the government paper on the constitution, which

E 4

72 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

sajs that " liberty of th% press and of examination is
totally opposed to the principle of authority, and therefore
inadmissible," and this is France. To be black or white we
can understand, but to be black and white together, now one
and now another, is like the optical illusion of the spin-
ning card, and confuses us. But, harking back from
politics and leaving the Frenchmen to settle this account
with posterity, and sincerely hoping that ere long Napoleoa
w^ill treat them according to their deserts and convince them
d priori and a posteriori, let me merely say that there he is,
firmly and well seated and supported by the finest army in
the world, and I for one am decidedly of opinion that,
sooner or later, that army will want to do something
more congenial than eating sugar plums and playing with
windmills. When that time arrives let John Bull shake
himself and open his eyes wide, or he will be suddenly
pounced upon in a disagreeable manner. If in the mean-
time John is wise, he will see that every thine: belonmns to
the fleet is made ship shape, and he will get his father's
Wunderbuss down, and, if it be past service, buy one of
Colt's revolvers ; he will also have the old mare trained to
stand fire, and habituate himself to being awoke in the
middle of the night, so as to avoid apoplexy. If our wooden
walls are in good order we may boldly defy them all, but
if otherwise, England's glory will be short-lived. In 1840
Thiers proposed to make a dash at Gibraltar and Malta ;
in 1848 Louis Napoleon talked of a great military under-
taking to bind Frenchmen together, which I believe was
against England ; and why all this smelling and snuffing
about if they do not like the morsel and covet and desin>

TASTES DIFFER. 73

it above all things ? I do not know if the excellent 'Mrs.
Ellis still continues her appeals to the women of England
under all possible guises and in all possible postures ; but
I do think that an appeal to the spinsters of England on
the consequences of a French invasion, with a living fron-
tispiece representing Miss Bi;.dget in the arms of an un-
shaven grenadier, with a perspective filled by warring
arms, naked legs, and hairy fiices, would bring the subject
home in a manner quite a-propos, and I hope she will ex-
cuse my hinting it to her.

There are two modes in this country of showing polite-
ness and attention which, were I to become a Gallic Me-
thusaleh, I could never be reconciled to; the first, is the
everlasting hat worship; the second, male kissing. Go
where you will, and whatever be the weather, whether it be
man, woman, or child that is accosted, off goes the hat, and
that not submissively, or with the Wellington touch, or
even a lift, but clean off down to the ground. This may be
all very well in moderation, but is a great bore in excess, and
I question whether it would not, on the whole, be better in
a sanitary, pecuniary, and comfortable point of view, to go
bareheaded. The present practice is constantly exposing
the head and wearing out the hat brim, to say nothing of
the constant attention required. In Germany I heard of
a machine which did the work without wearing out the
hat, and saved all trouble beyond pulling a string, and it
should be introduced in France. And, after all, it is all
external, and the man who would never pass a lady
Avithout hatting her most profoundly, would help himself
before her at dinner, push past her for a better place at

74 BEITAXNY AND THE CHASE.

table, and stare her impudently out of countenance, as I
have often seen.

As to male kissing, what can I say to make an English-
man understand it ? John comprehends the theory and
practice of kissing, and thinks himself perfect in it, but he
little dreams that beyond the circle in which he disports
himself, there is another, and that of kissing men. Instead
of soft cheeks and ruby lips, he must fancy a rough face
and a beard like a horse's tail, and let him try his hand
upon that for a change. Habit is strong, but beards are
stronger, and with John would carry the day. In the
streets you see two hirsute beings rush into each other's
arms, and kiss and hug like a husband and wife after a
month's absence: to look at them, you would call it a
meeting of blacking brushes. You go downstairs on your
birth-day, or on New Year's Day, or any other great
fete ; but keep a sharp look out, or you are ravished in a
moment by the cook or the groom. Only the other day,
my man rushed upon me like a tiger, and I had difficulty
in keeping him off : all he wanted was a kiss on my birth-
day, sweet creature ! My cook, an old woman of sixty-
five, waylaid me for a whole morning to the terror of my
life, and never gave up the design until told by my wife
that I was positively untouchable. Let Englishmen look
out therefore, for if the French invade us, they will also
be ravished to a certainty, " every man jack of them."
Curious, too, that while men embrace men they do not kiss
women, but merely put their heads over their shoulders,
first on one side and then on the other, like Punch and
Judy, or an embrace in the theatre. Sad want of taste

REVEXONS A NOS MOUTONS. 75

this I a bad exchange, as the man said, when he got a gilt
farthing instead of a sovereign. Once I was completely
caught. I had accompanied a French friend, an officer in
the navy, to the English steamer, in which he was embark-
ing, and in wishing him good bye, he quietly drew me
towards him, and, before I could even think, his head and
whiskers were along side of mine, and he hard at work.
I was attempting to disengage myself, and hoping that no
cue had seen the encounter, when, to my unspeakable an-
noyance, the captain of the steamer, a thorough tar, stood
before me with " halloo ! what the deuce are you at there ?"'
and roaring with laughter, and, I dare say, he tells the
story with glee to this day.

But to the chasse again. An unpleasant addition has
recently been made to the difficulties always attending the
grant of the permis de chasse in the necessity of a previous
" permis de sejour." The French government has long
been anxious to get the foreigners resident in France under
more direct control, and owing to the Hungarian refugees
at Paris having made a disturbance, they issued a decree,
declaring that from thenceforth all strangers should be pro-
vided with a permis de sejour, under pain of expulsion.
There is not much difficulty in obtaining this, but there is
much delay, and now therefore the applicant for a per'mis
de chasse must be armed with his permis de sejour, or he
will not be looked at. He must therefore count upon a
delay of at least three weeks, and this for those English-
men who only come for a month's shooting is a great bore.

But the idea of Englishmen coming for sport to Britanny
is absurd, as doubtless many have found out, when, after

76 BEITANNY AND THE CHASE.

toiling for a week, they have walked home with their
three or four brace of birds. Of course, to the residents,
the addition of sporting is a great boon ; even if it be
poor, it helps them to pass the time, and keeps up their
health ; but for a sportsman to go on purpose for the
sport, would be ridicuJous. It is amusing to watch the
progress from hope to disappointment, and from that to
abuse in the new comers. At first they survey the coun-
try, and, judging by English rules, they feel they are all
right. Tine tracts of wood, a fair amount of stubble,
patches of turnips, large fields of mixed gorse and fern,
marshes for snipes, coppices for cocks ; oh ! they have not
done amiss in coming to Britanny. Perhaps their thin-
skinned, high-bred pointers may not like the gorse at first,
but blood iDill tell, and they will soon get used to it. Per-
haps also their tackle and toggery may be rather light for
the country, but it is but getting other. So they turn out.
First to the stubbles, and a fine range of them too ; plenty
of birds in them, not a doubt of it. No. 1. a failure,
ditto No. 2., and so on with the rest ; very curious, some
one must have been over the ground before them, or the
birds must have been disturbed. But the guide mo-
tions with his hand, and they steal on ; what has he got ;
set a hare probably. They reach him, and he shows
them with great glee a feather! they cannot say there
is no game in the country. The stubbles yield nothing,
and they will try the gorse or landes ; very good ; rare
stuff in the middle of the day ; and away they go, to walk
into, as they imagine, a low cut English gorse. They
arrive at a dark mass of green as solid as a wall, and five

BONNE CHASSE, MONSIEUR?"

/ /

feet high, and not open at the bottom. '' That's tlic place,"
says the guide, " send the dogs in." But the dogs wont
go in. Ponto looks at it and declines the honour ; Albert
goes in and speedily comes out again ; the bitch gets caugl'it
halfway and cries piteously ; it is no go. " Then I'll go in
myself," says our plucky friend, and in he dashes ; but
pluck, though equal to Cribb^s, is of no use against pricks ;
he struggles, shoves, and tumbles on, swearing awfully,
until getting irretrievably mixed up with a compound of
briar, gorse, and thorn, tria jimcta in uno, he falls head-
long, having achieved some ten yards with a piece of
twenty acres stretching away before him. Evidently no
go for him too. Confound the country ; this gorse will
never do, will keep the game for everlasting, and nothing
but a pack of rhinoceroses can beat it ; let us try the
general country. So on he goes, nothing despairing ; beats
places which in England would fill his bag, without finding
a feather; makes prophecies without number, which all
turn out false ; gets abused by the peasants, whom he thinks
the most outlandish savages he has ever seen; is scan-
dalized by a farmhouse, w^here he goes, hoping for a glass
of ale freely given, but getting instead a glass of milk, and
returns to his inn with one partridge, his clothes well torn,
and in a very bad humour, not improved by his host say-
ing " bonne c/msse " when he exhibits his ^' perdrix,^^ diow'mg
plainly that it is rather a rarity.

I had often heard of a place called St. Sil, in the moun-
tains, as very famous for game, and had purposed going
there, but the distance (some thirty miles) prevented me.
Meeting, however, with a friend who had a carriage, and

78 BlUTAXNY AND THE CHASE.

who wished to go out with me, we agreed to join forces
and be off. My friend was in raptures at the name of
St. Sih The "bare imagination of the feast" w^e were to
have there, excited him to the utmost, and he seemed to
devour the days which intervened. This time there was
to be no mistake, for, in point of fact, the game literally
swarmed there ; an excellent inn too ; a first-rate man to
show the country ; all was propitious, and the only difficulty
was to distribute our game. I portioned off my friends
handsomely however, and thought to give the rest in
charity or something of the sort, and the offering made, I
felt easy at the idea of the certain slaughter we were to
inflict. Powder and shot were laid in in treble quantity ;
a spare gun taken ; a large train of dogs ; various empty
cases for the game, and thus prepared we started at three
o'clock in the dark of an October morning, hoping to have
a good day's shooting after our arrival. But I calculated
without estimating the powers of my friend's animal. The
pace of about three and a-half miles an hour, including
stoppages, made the carriage a burdensome house, most
hard to bear, and not until noon did we reach St. Sil,
the only incident on the road being a secret dash and cap-
ture of a fowl by one of ni}^ dogs, which I consigned to
ray bag with a feeling of shame as an accomplice after the
fact of the robbery. As matters turned out, this was after
all a fortunate occurrence, and proved once more the
necessity, in this miserable country, to take thankfully and
without scrutiny all that the gods provide, knowing not
what may follow after.

So in due time we reached St Sil. The good hotel

ALL RIGHT AT LAST. 79

dwindled into a wretched auberge, where one poor room,
for bed-room and dining-room for two, was all that could
be got, and where it was plain that dinner, &c. were
fabulous — mere dreams. But happily the mind soon falls
from its airy heights to the level of the actual, and there-
fore we set about trying to make the best arrangement
we could under the circumstances. In this your French-
men excels, to give the devil his due ; for he has a cat-like
propensity to find his feet from whatever place he be
thrown. So my friend, after sacreing heavily for a minute
or two to comfort himself, began to sing and whistle ;
whisking here, and chucking the landlady's daughter there,
saying " Monsieur" to a brat of a son, and " Madame,"
with reverence, to the old frump of a hostess, in a way
which really oiled the wheels and made me regard him
with something akin to envy and admiration. Under this
soothing and warming influence things began to mend ; and
the process, if it did no great good to the physique, benefited
the morale, and improved our own tempers at least.

We then asked for a guide who could show us the
country, and after much debate a man was recommended
by the people of the inn as the very one for us, and he
was accordingly sent for. When he arrived we asked him
if he knew the country well, and as he replied readily to
all questions and was an active looking fellow, we engaged
him at once, and in half an hour were a-field. And cer-
tainly it was as splendid a country for game to exist in as I
ever saw, and I felt for once we were all right. True that the
guide made me feel some misgivings when he recommended
us to beat stubbles, it beinir two o'clock and a hot sun, and

80 BRIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

when he cried "mark" to a pigeon! but the country made
me forget all, and we jogged on. For an hour all was hope ;
then we got warm, and after came surprise, and then dis-
appointment. Then it turned out that the celebrated guide
had never been across the country before, though he knew
it well in a sort, from being a hirer and driver of carriages,
but. Frenchman like, he had at once said he could do
everything, leaving his ignorance to be discovered after-
wards. He, in fact, scarce knew a partridge from a plover,
and was as much unacquainted with their habits as a tailor
could be of horsemanship. All this chimed badly with
bad luck. After three hours walking we found a covey
and killed a brace, and with this returned home to our inn
downcast and sullen, feeling certain that we were doomed
to do nothing. We got a decent sort of dinner and some
passable claret, and then told the hostess' son that the
guide was a complete muflP, and that we must have
another. He said he was sure the one we had had was
good for nothing (he had forgotten having recommended
us to take him), but could get us the very man for our
affaire — an old poacher; given to drink, but who, if kept
well in hand, could tell us the country perfectl3\ In a
short time he arrived and made his bow. " Can you show
us any game here?" I asked. "Plenty," said he. "But
luhat do you mean by plenty, how manj^ coveys of birds in
a day can you show us ? " With a perfect aplomb air he
answered, " Fifty with luck." "Well," said I, "show us
twenty, and I'll give you double fees," and with renewed
hopes we wislied him good night, and arranged for the

HOPES AND REALITIES. 81

The iiioriniig came grey and sharp, as is tlu^ wont of
October ; a touch of frost too, which left a heavy dew on the
grass ere it disappeared under the sunbeams, and by six
o'clock we were afoot as Ave had some distance to walk ere
beginning our work. The guide was an old sportsman,
that Avas certain ; and if he acted up to his words would
show us plenty of game. At last we reached the place we
were to turn out in, a large tract of fern and heath of from
fifty to one hundred acres, with a few patches of stubble
sprinkled here and there. " That's the spot," said the
guide ; " if you find no game there, I'll eat you and myself
too." Away -went the dogs, ranging wide and wild, but
soon a draw ; a point ; then a draw on, and point again.
Before we got within a hundred yards a covey rose, flying
high over the hill and disappeared beyond it. In five
minutes after I killed a hare, and then another covey rose
wild also. In fact, the deuce w^as in the birds. We found
plenty, but lie they Avould not, and they flew as only French
birds can fly. For it is not as in England, where 3-our
covey often drops in the same ten- acre piece, or over the
hedge. In France, the birds throw themselves into the air
like carrier-pigeons, and having taken their direction,
stick to it for a mile or tw^o. Our guide was true to his
promise, to show us plenty of game, but that was all ; and,
after as hard a day as I ever w^alked, we only bagged
between us three brace of birds and a brace of hares. So
ended the campaign, to which we had so long looked for-
ward. My friend was downright savage (he had shot
awfully ill) ; he had promised game all round his circle, had
worked for it like a negro, and to get only a paltry brace ;

F

82 BEIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

French politeness was no where that evening, and I left
him to stroll by myself with a cigar through the village.
There I met the guide, w^ho told me if I would come with
him in the morning he would show me a very good coun-
try for a few hours' work, to which I agreed, and returned
to my companion to tell him ; but, sacre ! no more of it !
— he had had enough of such a vile country — the guide
was a canaille, a polisson, and, in fact, nothing was to be
done with him beyond agreeing to postpone our return
until twelve o'clock next day. We then went to bed ; and as
we were in the same chamber, my friend had room to make
observations on my clothes, &c. ; and some of his remarks
were curious, as exhibiting the state of his own wardrobe.
One in particular struck me. He asked me what my
night-shirt was ; and on my telling him that it was to pass
the night in, replied naively, " Ah ! c'est tres commode
cela sans doute, mais je n'ai jamais porte une," which was
almost needless to say, as he turned in with all his rigging,
or nearly so, upon him. Curious fellows are Frenchmen ;
habits not English cut certainly. For instance, my friend
was almost annoyed at my refusing to breakfast in the
room we had slept in, a little hole of twelve feet square
filled with bedclothes, dust, and foul air and water. He
would have breakfasted on the washstand with a good ap-
petite, and used the towel for a serviette.

With the early morning I turned out, but not so my
ally, who obstinately refused to stir; not he — one bad
day was enough for him ; no more work for nothing, and
so on, and I therefore left him to it. Henri the guide
soon came in, and we started. In crossing a field I marked

A SILVER SHOT. 83

a covey on the wing, and saw them fall in a heap of gorse ;
on arriving at which the dogs stood, and, on nearing them,
the covey rose and gave me a double shot, when I dropped
two birds. Good omen ; this looked like business. " Mark,
Henri ! " and Henri did mark, and showed me where, in a
little belt of wood high up the hill. Thither we followed,
and on another double shot I ojot one more bird. After
this I went on with tolerable luck, bagging in four hours
five brace and three hares, and this with bad shooting, as
from some cause I shot very ill that morning. I remember
one curious incident. The dogs, three in number, all
stood on the outside of a strip of fern, their noses dead
into it, and on approaching, a hare started up and ran
down hill in the middle of them. I had taken my level,
and at the moment of pulling, a dog crossed the line of
sight, but I could not stop — my finger was on the trigger,
and bang! down rolled the hare, and the dog was un-
touched, though I can declare that the dog totally ob-
structed the view of the hare to me. Old Shot seemed as
much surprised as I was, and shook himself and trotted up
to me with a look that seemed to say, " rather too close
shaving that, master ; hold your hand a little next time."
With this bag I returned to the inn, and found my
friend, who was green with jealousy at seeing it ; for he
had, in his way, also been sporting, and had succeeded, too,
in bagging several brace of game, having brought them
down by silver shot instead of leaden ; and, as this w^as a
loss of cash as well as honour, his rage was great at finding
that, had he accompanied me, he might have saved it all.
But it was too late, and therefore, having paid the score,

E 2

84 BRITANNY AXD THE CHASE.

we jogged heavily home, and so, as my friend observed,
ended the chasse at ^* that accursed St. Sil, where, after
hoping to kill twenty brace of birds, he returned with five
brace, and those all purchased with hard cash, except two
birds — he, a chasseur, buying his game like an old
woman."

In thus buying his game, my friend was more generous
than many of his countrymen ; for, as a general rule, the
Prench are pot sportsmen, and they carry their maxims
of economy to the field with them. If they miss their aim,
it is not only the loss of their sporting character that they
deplore, but also the loss of the game in general, and of
iii'O sous, which they estimate as the price of the poicder and
shot wasted. In England we are not accustomed to regard
tlie subject from this point of view, and, probably, have
never calculated the combined expense of po^vder, shot,
cap, and A^adding; we are annoyed at the stain on our
escutcheon as a good shot, and that is all. A Frenchman
kills a hare — " Bon — well done I c'est un bon lievre — •
cela vaut bien 25 sous." A partridge falls — "Bon encore !
il vant 12 sous." But, if a woodcock, " Ah, c'est tres bon !
La becasse est tres cliere dans ce moment — elle vaudra
bien 30 sous au moins." The other day, in returning from
shooting, I met two young soldiers, and we walked and
talked together. I showed them two woodcocks I had
killed, and they turned them over and over, until at last
one said, " It must pay well to cliasser in this country,
I should think; those woodcocks, if at Paris, w^ould be
worth seven or eight francs."

But^ in fact, with many chasseurs, it is a regular trade.

KEEPING Ur THE BREED. S5

Many poor men take out a license for the sole object of
making money as they would by au}^ other trade ; and
from that has arisen the general habit of selling game,
which few French gentlemen arc above doing. I knew
one person who supplies a great game dealer at Paris, and
I was told that he receives from him as much as from
800 to 1000 francs per annum, which is a pretty income
for a French bachelor. A man in a good country may
easily kill 150 or 200 cocks in a season if he works hard ;
and, at three francs each, he has, say 600 francs ; and add
other game, and you may, without difficulty, make up
1000 francs a year.

But the consequence of this is a mean style of sporting.
No matter how they get the game, provided only that they
do get it. Partridges sitting — hares in traps and gins —
all methods which we should scout as poaching and unfair
are resorted to in France in the ordinary course of things.

Last year, a friend came to propose to me a new method
of attacking the partridges. He asked me to fix to accom-
pany him to some outlying property, as late on in February
as was possible. " I will promise you first-rate sport ;
the birds are in plenty there, and we will take only one
steady dog, and shall have bags full." " How so? " said I,
forgetting myself for the moment. " Oh !" he replied,
" you know the coupling begins in the middle of February
if the weather be open ; and I assure you the birds lie as
well, and give better sport than in September." What
barbarism was it not? and folly too; for how can par-
tridges be kept up if such modes be allowed ? For my part,
nothino* astonished me more than to see the quantity of

r 3

86 BRIT AN NY AND THE CHASE.

game brought in froiu the country every market-day.
From 50 to 100 hares, same quantity of partridges or
more, all displayed in open market, and perhaps double the
quantity sold in private ; it is wonderful how the game
is sustained. It is evident there must be a good stock ;
but it is the difficult nature of the country, the large woods
and impassable tracts of gorse which preserve it, and these
bid defiance to the slender means of the generality of
chasseurs.

There has been a great deal of activity of late as to
English powder. Whether it be really superior to the
French or not, it is much cheaper — only half the price;
and therefore it is much sought by the natives, to whom
the saving of a sou is an inducement to do anything. In
a quiet way a good deal has been brought over, in spite
of the law, which absolutely forbids it, and the authorities
have been poking about, trying to discover the importers.
But in fact they are " legion." French gentlemen return-
ing from the " Exhibition," English travellers and sailors,
all put a pound of powder in their pockets. Ladies too
engage in the trade, and think a successful landing of
powder an exploit of note. Not only gentlemen bring it
over, but they are the chief consumers, and this has greatly
puzzled the authorities, who, like "corbies," do not like to
"pick out each other's 'een." For instance the head of the
douane would have to attack the head of the " contribu-
tions indirectes," who in his turn would not fail to assess
him heavily the next time the period for so doing should
come round. If he pounced on the maire, adieu to his
dinners at the mairie, and ditto as to the sous-prefet ; so

A POWDER MAGAZINE. • 87

that the position was really embarrassing. But wliat to
do to stop the deluge of powder, especially at a time
when the general disarmament was taking place. The
government was seeking out arms and ammunition every-
where with the nose of a ferret, and this providing must
be put an end to. The next time the English steamer
arrived, all the authorities were mustered in imposing
array. Heads of departments, gendarmes in quantity,
douaniers, were all there, whispering and looking bin;.
Something was on the tapis, as I remarked to a friend :
distinguished refugees wishing again to warm themselves
at their natal hearth perhaps, and likely to have too much
of it, and be burnt. At length the boat arrived, and had
scarcely touched the quay when she was violently boarded
by the whole force. Jack turned his quid and looked mis-
chievous— glancing towards his captain, as much as to say,
" Give the word, Sir, and we'll soon have these ^Crappos'
overboard." But the captain was pohte and civil to the
strangers, and accompanied them below. There, as I
afterwards learnt, they searched everywhere, smelt sus-
picious holes, sounded the planks, overhauled beds over
and under, and found ''I know not what;" in fact did
all their duty and more, and did it all in vain. If
powder was there, it was hid as powder never -was
before, and therefore the search, commenced in civility
when success they thought was certain, ended in rudeness
as they found themselves beaten, and one by one they
came up the steps on deck, looking as savage as could be,
and ready apparently to quarrel with the many quiet smiles
which were about them, could they only find occasion.

F 4

88 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

But none was given. The captain's civilitj was redoubled :
"Anywhere else would they like to look — in the coal
cellar, the hold, the engine room^ — all was open to them,
if they would only say." " Confound the Englishman !" —
they were done then, — done, too, at their own weapons.
^' Bah ! un autre jour, monsieur. Bon jour." And they
came on shore again, looking quite different from the
swaggering heroes who had boarded with so much ardour
an hour before ; Jack, too, lounging over the side, and
leering most waggishly the while, as if saying, " Do tell
me."

But French bile v/as not to be stirred up for nothing ;
so the next time their own boat came in they pounced
upon her, rummaged as before, and with the result of finding
in the cabin of the chief engineer (an Englishman) about
a quarter of a pound of powder, as they said, hidden
there. But this he stoutly denied ; he said he had it for
his own use, and it was on his own shelf open to the eyes
of all ; and as to hiding, he scorned it. All this, well said
and stuck to with English perseverance before the court,
prevailed, and he was acquitted. Then they got hold of
another Englishman, who was said to have imported about
a hundred- weight of the forbidden fruit, but could prove
nothing except in a general way. In this instance I am
bound to say they had the " right pig by the ear " but
they could not hold him. Then he talked provokingly
about it; " he could tell a good deal if he liked — many a
gentleman had had English powder, lie dared say : people
said the maire was one, and Monsieur A. another," and so
on. They were done again, and the thing was finally

A SAFE EXPLOSION. 89

dropped. I was rather in a stew myself, as I had had four
pounds, and had got two pounds for a Freuch friend ; nor
was my alarm lessened by his telling me that a friend of
his, in the excise, had called on him the morning before,
who had not called for a long time, and asked to see his
little working room on some pretext. He showed him into
it, and over, conspicuous on a shelf, was seen a blue canis-
ter of " diamond powder," which I had got over for him
the week before. " Ilah ! hah ! my friend, and ycu have
got English powder, too ; where did you get it from ? "
But Frenchmen are supple, and not to be caught in a
corner. "I — English powder! my dear fellow, how can
you wrong me so as to f.mcy such a thing I — that box you
see there has been there for years, and I keep seeds in it.''
This was a stopper, and the matter could not be further
pushed without a quarrel ; so the subject dropped, and
the exciseman soon taking his leave, my friend immedi-
ately poured out the powder into a French canister, and
filled it with garden seeds, according to order. On his
telling me the matter I immediately did the same with my
own, and stowed the English boxes away in a safe place.

The season of 1851 was rather better than previous
years for woodcocks, but that species of bird had become
comparaticehj rare in Britanny. I'ormerly they were in
great numbers, and the sport must have been first-rate ;
for instance, I have heard upon good authority of eighty
being flushed in a da3\ Now, if you find ten or twelve, it
is very good, and you find generally less, which, though
more than in England, is not much for a good woodcock
country. Near Quimper, cocks sold for only Id, and 2d,

90 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

each, within the last five years. The cause of the decrease
is variously explained, but most Frenchmen believe it to
arise from the * destruction of the eggs in the breeding
countries; and they allege that of late years the peasants
in those countries have taken a fancy for the eggs, and
seek eagerly for them. If this be true, it solves the mys-
tery; and we can only regret the taste of the said pea-
santry, and wish it had been less exquisite and refined,
directed rather to bread and meat.

The other day in shooting I was getting through a thick
oak hedge, when two cocks rose together at my feet, flying
within a yard of my face, and going right and left. Being
encumbered with the branches, I could only watch them,
and thus lost a beautiful chance of killing cocks right and
left, which does not often happen. Delightful sport is
woodcock shooting — for me, the cream of shooting. The
picturesque country where Mr. Longbill is generally found
— the skill required to kill him — the value of him when
killed — his presence at any moment — the difiiculty of
finding him — the animation required — all give cock shoot-
ing a great charm. It is not generally known that they
run like partridges, but I had two proofs of this last week.
I had my dogs in a cover, and was walking in the mea-
dow, when I saw a cock skim quietly up and drop. Im-
mediately I called a dog and put him into the place ; he
took up the trail at a gallop, and ran the cock up a
hundred yards off; he must, therefore, have run clear away
at a great pace. The other instance was in returning home-
along the high road, where, on looking up, I saw a cock
coming straight upon me. When about eighty yards of!*, he

DUELLING IN FRANCE. 91

turned and alighted at a gate, and on my going up without
delay, expecting to find him there or thereabouts, he rose
at least one hundred and fifty yards off, having thus run
twice as last as my fast walk. I have a setter bitch, who
is excellent for cocks, and knows all their habits perfectly.
When arrived at the cover, she goes gently in, boats tlie
hedge and ditch first, then seeks any moist places or
thickets, to which the gentleman often retires to ruminate,
and then takes her general canter. If she crosses a scent,
she stops and interrogates it, and if it be a cock, she is
certain to find him. Arrived at her bird she points, but
will push, on being told, and when her prey is killed, she
seeks him, handles him gently, " as if she loved him," and
licks his glossy feathers. All this is the result of ex-
perience acting upon intelligence, and most certainly
proves the existence of mind in the animal in question.
She observes facts and adds them to her stock, and then
compares and draws conclusions from them, and right con-
clusions too. It would be well if men would do the same.
The men w^ho object to the lower animals possessing reason
are almost always those who are unacquainted with their
habits. Few men experienced in horses and dogs but can
give a thousand proofs of their reasoning powers.

Duelling yet prevails largely in France, and tlie result
of a quarrel about a petty matter is often the loss of a
valuable life. A short time ago a young man near this
was killed in a duel, and another had his leg so much
shattered as to require amputation, and he remains a
cripple for life. Well may duelling be called the game of
fools, but unfortunately, unless the world becomes wiser.

92 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

it is a game which wiae men are, or think themselves,
obliged sometimes to play at. A man insults you, gallants
your wife or seduces your daughter ; you complain and
he offers you — satisfaction ! in other words, says that he
is ready to give you a chance of being shot by him, {71
addition to the other injuries he has done you, whenever
you think proper. Precious satisfaction, forsooth ! to lose
your arm as well as your daughter, or to have your leg
walked off with to accompany your wife. Let the matter
be arranged on equal principles, if we are to have it ; let
the injured man have his shot first, and then let the two
fire together; this would be fair. You have stolen my
honour — well, then, give me a shot for nothing, and if 1
miss, then let the chances be equal ; but in commencing
with equal chances you are always one a-head of me in
the game. There are few French gentlemen v*dio are not
most expert with the sword, but with the pistol they are
much less formidable, though they generally possess three
or four pair and handle them with the gont of amateurs. I
have never seen a first-rate shot am.ong them ; for instance,
a man who could hit a sixpence at fifteen yards six times
running, as I have seen done in England.

Of boxing, the French are wholly ignorant, and it is
amusing when they are sparring, to see them hitting round
like a smith with his hammer, and to think how a well
meant straight hit would send them flying. But to see a
fight is disgusting, so savage and unfair is the manner, or
rather so complete is the absence of all rules of fair play.
The men kick, grapple, hit high and low, bite, pull hair,
in fact, endeavour by all possible means to spoil and

BOXING IX FRANCE. 93

disfia'ure each other, and too often succeed in doinc' so.
They must be kept at arm's length as will not be difficult,
having a strong dislike to lose their beauty or their claret;
but if they come to close quarters, John Bull would be
puzzled at finding himself tackled and attacked in regions
where he was never attacked before. It is a common
dodge to throw in a kick, wdiich, if you arc not prepared,
knocks your legs away, and in a momentary stagger your
opponent rushes upon you and begins kicldng, kneading,
scratching, "nnguibus et rostris,'^ so as to bother you
awfully. A short time ago two gentlemen at Havrc
were talking of the respective modes of combat, and
a match was made of a French pugilist against an
English one. On the day appointed a large burly French-
man appeared on the ground, while the English champion
was small and light, but, as it proved, well np to his
work. The fight began by the Frenchman trying to
rush in upon and grapple the other, who constantly
threw in a peppering facer to stop him, until the big
fellow grew almost bUnd, but more cautious. He then
tried the noted kick, sparring a little to cover it, but just
as his foot was raised, his nimble antagonist, wdio was
well on the look-out, jumped aside, and seizing the foot in
Ms hand' isiirly tw^isted Monsieur Crapaud ofi" his legs,
pitching him down so heavily on his head as immediately
to put him Jiors de combat.

There is a good deal of innate ferocity in the Breton
character when roused, and murders are not unfrequent.
Once in going down to dirmcr I found a man in the
court-yard before the house romping with a girl, and

94 BFJTANNY AND THE CHASE.

ordered him off, but, the man being slow to move, I put
my hand on his shoulder to hasten him, when, to mj sur-
prise, he immediately made at me. He was very powerful •
and much above my match, but I managed to defend
myself until my man came up. He then threw himself
down, and as we proceeded to turn him out, resisted and
fought as I never saw any one fight before, for he was
like a porcupine, and wounded his foes on all sides.
However, though with great difficulty, we succeeded in
tackling him, and dragging him legs and arms to the gates,
which having opened, we threw him some three steps
down into the high road ; rough physic, I admit, but I
conceive quite necessary, as he would not go by fair
means. As soon as he regained his feet he rushed again
to the gate, and tried to break it down, but not succeeding
ran to another, where we again confronted him ; my man,
a Breton, behaving with great pluck, and being much
bruised and cut. I left him on guard and went to dinner,
and found, on going out to inquire, that my worthy
friend was still in the road, vowing he would kill the
Englishman whenever he could find him. He did not
however dare to enter again, and I went about other
matters until evening, when I took a walk on the road,
but he was then invisible. Just after my return, sitting
in my room, I heard a crash, and lo I my opponent had
smashed the gate with a kick, and was rushing up the
garden like a madman. There was only one thing to do,
and I unwillingly did it, namely, take a pistol from
my case, with the determination to shoot him dead if
he entered the room, as there was only myself and a

UMBRELLA VEJiSUS HAT. 95

girl in the house. Happily, however, tins girl, attracted
by the noise ran to the door, and bolted it, and before
anything serious could be done, a neighbour and his
man who had been on the watch for my safety, unknown
to me, ran up and secured him, literally foaming at the
mouth like a wild beast. He was taken away for the
night, and on the next day begged my pardon in such
abject terms, on the plea of being out of his mind at the
time with some brandy which he said he had drunk, that
for the sake of his family, I let him ofP with a severe re-
primand, and he shortly after left the country. I believe
that this ferocity is a Breton characteristic now as it was
in the time of Caesar.

It is a French saying that John Bull's picture is not
complete without his eternal umbrella ; to which I will
reply, that Monsieur Crapaud's picture is nothing without
his hat. He treats his hat as if it were a part of himself,
though with a curious caprice. For instance, in the street
it is always off, whereas in the house it is always on.
Even before ladies it is frequently kept on the head, and
in business the Frenchman never uncovers himself, but
requests us to cover too. We, however, think it well to
keep the head cool but the heart warm, and generally
have our hats off. A Frenchman goes to a dinner but
carries his hat into the drawing-room with him, or delivers
it to a servant at the door, and John Bull, with a blind
imitation, has copied the custom without the reason of it.
The Frenchman does it because in general there is no
hall in which to hang his hat on entering, as he lives in an
,^tage and the hall is common ; whereas wealthy John, with

96 BRIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

a hall as large as a warehouse, encumbers himself with his
hat, whether "opera" or "gibus," to his own annoyance,
and not by any means to his own improvement, the afore-
soid " tile " being a frightful appendage, and only fit for a
chimney- top.

Such is the principle of imitation, taking things as mon-
keys merely because they are strange to us. Look at the
Frenchman taking tea a Vanglaise, for instance. He takes
tea, not because he likes it, but because we take it, and
has never learnt how we take it ; therefore he places his
saucer on his plate ; whatever thing he takes with his tea,
be it sweet, savoury, solid or fluid, it is first passed through
a preparatory wash in the Congo. I one evening could not
help watching a Frenchman — a count, too, who had often
been in England — taking his tea ; and it was a droll process.
First he had marmalade on his toast, and both dipped into
the tea ; then a pate (we had been shooting) was equally
immersed and discussed; a mince-pie followed the same
road ; then toast, &c., and at last he poured out a glass of
claret, and put that in also. How much of the flavour of
the tea remained at last, it would be hard to say ; but I
should think not much. To another friend I took the
liberty to show the proper way, and he adopted it at once,
and said he had never tasted tea before, for in truth he
had up to that time drunk a decoction of tlie various things
on the table, and not tea.

A short time since I engaged to go on an expedition of
wild-fowl shooting with a party of French friends. The
place chosen was a large creek on the coast, where it was
said that the birds were in masses ; but having had some

A SHOOTING PARTY AT SEA. 97

experience of the strange manner in which "masses" of
game melt away under a little daylight, I did not cal-
culate on anything further than lots of fun in seeing my
friends manage the boat ; for, softly be it spoken, Frcncli-
men have no more idea of boating than sailors of riding.
It is not their nature to have sympathy with water under
any circumstances, as their skins in general show plainly
enough ; but of salt water especially they have an abhor-
rence, and never venture into or upon it if they can pos-
sibly avoid doing so. The regular French sailor is but
half a sailor, a cross-bred animal in comparison with the
real English sea-dog, casts up his accounts continually,
and has a horrible dread of the wind. It is well known
that previous to Trafalgar the sickness on board the French
fleet was awful — not heart sickness only, though there
w^as plenty of that — but real stomach sickness, turning a
man inside out like a glove. And this is nothing extra-
ordinary, when we remember that they were so seldom at
sea. It was the British fleet which kept the sea while
Mons. Crapaud kept in port, and as a natural consequence
he soon dwindled down into a mere landsman, and when
he turned out again was as squeamish as a young lady.
As usual, we had a rendezvous the previous day to settle
preliminaries and eat our hares before they were caught,
and then, oh! the joys of the sea! "The sea, the sea"
was the biarden of the song — the pleasures of a " wet sheet
and a flowing sail," and the other delights of a sailor's life.
One man said that for himself he would not give a fig for
anything less than a gale of wind ; it was only then that he
felt in his element; it was sublime, magnificent, superb,

G

98 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

naj "charmant," to comprise all in a word; he left to
others the poor pleasures of smooth water, and loved to be
rocked upon the wave like a child in its cradle. And so
in truth chorussed all, with all the more freedom inasmuch
as there was at the moment no wind and the sky was
without a cloud. I ventured to ask one if he had been
accustomed to sail much and could manage a boat. " Ah !
mon cher," said he, " soyez tranquille ; je connais un ba-
teau, et tout ce qu'il en faut, comme ma poche." This re-
assured me ; and so, after various toasts, sentiments, songs,
&c. &c., all was arranged, and we parted for the night in
great good humour. At the appointed time I was at the
place fixed, and the boat being ready we started. We
had to pull quietly down a small river for two or three
miles before reaching the sea, and to it they went like
workmen. True that the work was clumsily done to my
eyes ; but there was no shirking. Occasionally some one
■caught a crab, or missed his stroke, and no one thought
of feathering his oar ; but I fancied it might be an English
custom, and held my peace and the tiller ropes. " Ah !
ah! mon ami, qu'en dites-vous?" said one; and "Don't
we go along ! " said another ; " Can you beat this in Angle-
terre?" and so on, to which I replied, *^ Capital !" " First
rate ! " " Keep it up ! " "^ Go along ! " having however a
very strong idea that steam would fail very speedily.
Meanwhile I noticed a few awkward-looking grey clouds
mounting from the sea, preceded by scudding catspaws.
The wind rose and fell, but rose again, and got steady.
Thinks I to myself, " Pull away my hearties ; we shall
try your mettle before long ; " but they, with their backs

THE sea! the sea! 90

towards the quarter, saw and felt nothing. At last
the strokes got irregular and breath short; one com-
plained of being overpulled; another had a pain in his
side, and by universal consent it was agreed to rest a
moment and wet the weather eye ; and on this being done
they looked about them. " Ma foi ! mais il y a du vent."
'•' Oh ! mon ami, c'n'est rien." " Avez-vous peur ?" " ]Moi !
parexemple!" Such were the exclamations and phrases
which flew about with more or less of uneasiness and
twitching of the corners of the mouth. Some wished they
had brought a stouter coat, or a boat-cloak, or a gun case ;
for, with characteristic want of thought, these useful things
had all been left behind; but to the work they at last
settled again, though with much less talk and spirit than
before. Nor did each one fail now and then to turn round
his head to look at the sky, or to say to me as steersman,
"Ah! dites-moi, comment va-t-il?"

Wlien we got to the sea, things were not altogether
comme il faut The blue sky was all gone — not enough
left to make a garter of — the sea looked dark and short ;
the wind moaned and lulled unpleasantly, and there were
various indications of a dirty day. Our course lay
obliquely from the shore, keeping the wind on the bow ;
but this was very bad, though it could not be avoided.
We got up the mainsail and the jib, and for a time did
pretty well ; but as the distance from the shore increased,
we ^ot into rougher water and rougher weather, and I
found it was high time to look sliarp. But where were
my companions ? I looked at one, and he was very quiet
and pale ; evidently his stomach was becoming rebellious,

r. 2

100 ERITANNY AND THE CHASE.

though he was doing his best to keep it down ; and pas-
sive resistance being the easiest, he sat still and said no-
thing. Another was noisy and cross; his disorder was
taking a different direction, and he was exclaiming against
weather, wind, waves, and everything ; but it was evident
that he too would be quiet before long. The rest were
tolerable, but had given up singing. However 'the wind
increased, and the spray dashed so constantly over the
boat, the wind being on the bow, that we agreed to run for
a small island a point or so off, and accordingly did so ;
but inasmuch as this threw the wind on the beams, we got
into the trough of the sea, and rolled about rather un-
pleasantly, besides being occasionally gunwhale under, to
the great horror of our Gallic friends. I then look in the
mainsail and ran along under the jib only, which was
lietter, and made us go more easily ; but the mischief was
done. One after another all took to "catting" with ex-
traordinarv vio^our, even down to the hero of the evenino;
before, who did so love the sea. The poor fellow lay
liuddled in a heap under the bowsprit thwart, heedless of
<ill things and retching fearfully, sacring the while. It
was really very awkward to have all the crew sick, except
i)ne, in a stiff breeze, and a good-sized boat to manage;
but he was a capital fellow, I must say. I had only seen
him for the first time the day before, and had remarked
him as saying little ; but as the time for action arrived, it
■was evident he could " do " well. Fortunately for him, and
indeed for us all, he had a tough stomach, without which
all his pluck would have been useless ; as who can resist
sea-sickness ? As Byron snys, even love is then beaten ;

LOVE IX A "STEAMEPw." 101

and I remember seeing a good proof of the strength of it.
In crosshig the Irish Channel I had remarked a married
coupls come on board ; the husband a mild good-tempered
looking man, the wife a little pug-nosed gimlet-eyed shrew
— a very walking vinegar cruet, with whom everything
went sour. First the trunks were in the wrong place;
next she was on the wrong side of the vessel, and with all
her voluminous traps must be transplanted ; then she
wanted this, and next must have that, laying the blame
of all upon her helper, who bore it better tlian Job,
although, poor man ! he had nought to do with the matter.
I had been watching the scene with the tail of my eye,
hugging myself in my snug celibacy, and devoutly wishing
that something would arrive to stop madam's tongue, when
by degrees she grew quieter, and I repented; "Not so bad
as I thought," said I to myself; "put out perhaps for the
moment ; I beg her pardon." All of a sudden, " Oh ! my
dear ! you brute ! why don't you move directly ? " escaped
like a jet d^eau from her lips; and ere the good man
could help her to the side, a jet of something else followed
like a discharge from a fire-engine. Nothing but sea-
sickness could have tamed the shrew, and I really enjoyed
this unv/illing tribute to its power, and again blessed my
bachelorship. But to return, my silent friend turned out
a real trump card. I handled the rudder and he the jib, and
we rode the waves gallantly until we got under the lee of
the little islet, where we debarked our invalids and began
to look about us. But all sport was over. The wild fowl
were driven inland by the wind ; our fellow sportsmen were
all hors de combat ; and there was nothing for it but to get

G 3

102 BEIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

into a snug cove, light our cigars, open our havresacs, and
so defy all outward things, leaving the future to take
care of itself. We therefore got our companions on shore,
and reared up one here, and put another on his end there,
telHng all to keep up their tails and take a sip from the
Mack bottle; and then commenced a cosv chat which I
shall long remember. In truth, my quiet reserved ac-
quaintance, who \Yas content to act instead of talking, was
a somewhat remarkable man, who had well performed his
part in that very large theatre, the world, at a very
striking period in its history ; and having been neglected
and snubbed by the powers that be, had retired into him-
self and left them alone. He had been a revolutionist
enrage of the most exalted school, had supported his doc-
trines by his sword, had seen the fallacy of many of them,
and had subsided into a sensible moderate man ; his opi-
nions corrected by experience, and his theory considerably
altered, its crudities removed and its exuberance reduced,
but the whole settling down into a definite practical
shape.

He had assisted actively in the revolution of February,
1848, and was appointed to a captaincy in the Garde
Mobile. What a singular force was this Garde Mobile !
but what a clever idea it was that organised it ; and whe-
ther it arose with Lamartine or Laoprano;e is immaterial to
us. All men who know anything about Paris must know
that celebrated class of society called the gamin. The Paris
gamin answers to the London scamp, only that it is a juve-
nile— a sucking scamp. In numbers it is countless, re-
ceiving daily recruits from all sides — children abandoned

THE GARDE MOBILE. 103

by their parents, youthful, unfledged jail-birds — all thrown
upon their wits to find a living, and their wits therefore
speedily becoming of the sharpest. Full of spirit and
knavery, hungry and naked, they have always been the
foremost in civil commotions, worming themselves into holes
where an abl-ebodied man would stick fast — the very ferrets
of a revolution. It was really a bright thought which at
once converted them into the defenders of order ; let us
give its due to the author of it. So they were formed into a
Garde Mobile. Mobile enough, let us say ; and doubtless a
secret prayer arose from the wise projector of the scheme,
that they might be quickly moved off'mto a place not to be
named. Truly an exceptional force altogether, a veritable
normal force — outwardly not a force at all, but in reality
animated by the impetuous boiling ardor of La Jeune
France, and therefore doing miracles. Uniform they had
none ; many lacked shoes ; and few lacked rags and tatters.
Guiltless were they of discipline or manoeuvre. Of all
sizes were they, from four feet upwards, many of them
only knowing a gun by sight ; yet did they perform feats
on which men looked with astonishment. My friend said
that very few of them knew how to load their pieces, bat
some rammed the cartridge down without biting it, while
others bit it and pushed it down by the wrong end. In
his company he had them of fifteen and sixteen years old,
the youngest fledgeling being fourteen complete — a callow
warrior. But the three days of June arrived --those
bloody days which tried men's mettle — and then these
little breechless blackguards showed what they were made
of. " But," I observed to Monsieur Dornout, " surely these

G 4

104 BRIT AN NY AND THE CHASE.

lads could not fight with men : in a meUej physical force
must carry the day, whatever be the spirit in the small
carcase." He said this was to a degree true ; and therefore
they arranged them so as to have two little ones and then
a full-grown man, and so on down the line, so as to give
support to the weak ; but he added that all the pluck was in
the little ones. They regarded the whole affair as a lark,
as good fun ; and not the death of their comrades, the
streets burdened with corpses and streaming with blood,
could destroy this idea. For four or five days did they
bivouac in the open air, taking only the little nourishment
they could get ; but what were the odds to them, who had
done so all their miserable lives, always starving and with-
out a home ? Bad as it might seem to others, they had,
perhaps, never lived so well before; and doubtless the
notion of fighting /or the law — they, the pickpockets, the
rogues in grain — must have tickled and amused them
amazingly. But, he said, their spirit was admirable. They
were ordered to attack a barricade in the Faubourg St.
Antoine from which a battalion of the National Guard had
just been repulsed. " Allons, mes enfans — en avanti"
and up the street they ran, laughing and singing, in the
face of a rattling fire which killed numbers ; and when
arrived at the huge mass of stone, instead of attempting to
take it in flank or rear, he said they climbed and scrambled
up the fiice of it like so many rabbits. They seemed un-
able to see the danger of it ; and this was especially the
case with the youngest. At another time the}^ were wait-
ing the signal to attack, vfhen, on a sudden, two lads
started out of the ranks and made straight for the in-

THE BARRICADES. 105

surgent flag which floated on an opposing barricade. In
vain did the officers try to recall them, and in vain
did the defenders of the barricade fire upon them ; they
reached the flag, and quarreled for its possession, but were
unable to remove it. AVhile disputing, a shot broke the
flag-staff; on which one picked up the flag, wrapped it
round his shoulders, and, so enveloped, regained his com-
pany, his companion being left behind him dead. It
appeared that these youngsters had made a bet as to who
should get the flag, and thus had started for it without
orders. Man}- were too small to carry guns, and had
cavalry pistols ; and, he told me, they would steal close to
their object, and knock a man over with as much pleasure
as if he had been a blackbird, coming back laughing and
in great glee. As affairs grew settled, the government dis-
banded some, and sent others to Algiers ; and numbers
having been destroyed, the class gamin has been greatly
reduced. But they were gallant little chaps, and merited
better treatment than they received.

M. Dornout was a man of tried courage, as I afterwards
learnt, and a man of principle also. He had declined all
employment under Louis Napoleon, and had been looked
upon with suspicion in consequence. After the coup
d'etat of 2nd December, he w^as placed under strict sur-
veillance, and we may judge what this is by the follow-
ing anecdote. He had been informed that a person was
specially appointed to watch him and report his movements,
and returning home one evening to his rooms (where his
sister lived with him), he found a man listening at the
door. He immediately seized him by the neckcloth and

106 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

flung him down stairs into the street. The man then
declared himself an agent de police; but M. Dornout said
he would not believe him, for that no agent of the police
would be guilty of such an act. In half an hour he was
arrested, and taken before the Sous-prefet. Sous-prefet:
"You are charged with violentlj assaulting one of mv
agents ; is it true ? " Dornout : " I found a man with his
ear at the key-hole of ray door, and I threw him down
the stairs; but he could not have been an agent, for no
agent would have done such a dirty trick, and I am sure.
Monsieur Sous-prefet, you would not authorize any such
means." Sous-prefet to the agent : " How is this ? you said
nothing of this ; is this true ? " The agent could not deny
it, and therefore the Sous-prefet aflPected a great deal of
virtuous indignation, and dismissed the charge — doubtless
knowing all about it, and denouncing the agent for his
stupidity in allowing himself to be caught. Monsieur
Dornout said that after this he never found any one at his
door again, but that wherever he went he was dogged by
an agent to his great annoyance, without being able to get
redress. One fact which he told me I thought very
illustrative of the frail nature of the supports on which
the government rested at that time. The Garde Mobile
and the Garde Republicaine (which resembled the other in
composition) were always placed at the head of the column
of attack, and, as thei/ believed, because it was the place
of honour ; but not having eyes in their rear, they could
not see behind them. Had they done so, they would have
seen the following arrangement of the remainder of the
column. Immediately behind the Garde Mobile a regi-

A MANCEUVRE. 107

ment of cavalry of the line ; behind them two guns loaded
with grape ; and behind them the infantry of the line, and
so on. Had the Mobile shown signs of Avavering, the
cavalry would have opened right and left to demask the
guns, which would have poured in a volley of grape upon
the unhappy Mobile ; and then the cavalry, charging upon
them and finishing them, the infantry in the rear would
have dealt with the insurgents as if the Garde Mobile had
never existed. As M. Dornout observed, this was an
unpleasant degree of attention to their interests, which
would have considerably abated the ardour of tlie worthy
gamins, had they only known of it.

With this and similar talk we beguiled an hour or two,
until we bethought us that it was time to re-embark ; but
with one accord our companions refused. It was not
necessary, they said, to do so immediately: the wind
would abate, we had plenty of time, the wild fowl might
return. These and various other reasons were urged per-
tinaciously; nothing more was said of "the sea — the ever
free," &c. ; on the contrary, they greatly preferred the
barren rock on which we Avere, because it was at least
terra jirma ; and could they have stayed the night there,
they would have done so. But we represented the voyage
back as a mere nothing — all before the wind — quite a dif-
ferent thing to the morning one, and persuaded, and
pushed, and talked them into acquiescence after much
trouble. And the return was better, so much so that ere
we reached the river's mouth, signs of returning comfort
began to appear, and before getting home faint attempts
at repartee and song were heard. We agreed, however.

108 BKITANNY AND THE CHASE.

to wash down the salt water by a dinner and a glass of
wine, and in one hour all traces of distress were wholly
effaced. Commend me to a Frenchman for elasticity. No
matter what assails him — pain, defeat, affliction, loss of
everything ; let it only pass, and give him a bowl of soup
and a pipe, and all is not only forgotten, but rejoiced in.
Napier says that in the Peninsula they forgot a defeat by
the next day, and I can easily believe it.

I am sorry to remark two things in Britanny which will
considerably diminish its value as a sporting country ; and
those are, an increasing tendency to preserve game on the
part of proprietors, and an increasing jealousy of English-
men. The two are but cause and effect, the former spring-
ing from the latter ; and we have ourselves to blame for
what will curtail us of much of our pleasure. Previous to
the advent of our countrymen here of late years, a Breton
proprietor thought as little of preserving as he did of
Hebrew. Pie shot over everybody, and everybody shot
over him, and the balance was even at the year's end ; but
wdien John Bull came over, the matter was changed. John
is an awkward subject to deal with, and thinks everything
in foreign parts can be bought ; I believe even kicks have
their regular price with him ; and when he got into in-
evitable quarrels with sturdy Breton farmers, he generally
insulted them, often beat them, and always paid them
afterwards. In doing this he fell into at least two errors ;
and as all men dislike insults and cuffs, and like (Bretons
especially) money, the worthy natives put their heads
together and began to preserve. Then other Johns of the
"Milord" species came into the country right royally.

JOHN BULL REASONING. 109

paid this farmer and subsidized that one, thouglit it dirt
cheap compared with England, and taught the proprietor
the value, not of his game only, but of the right to follow
it ; and therefore the proprietor either sells a licence to kill
game on his land at so much each person, or else grants it
in gross and poaches himself The various English birds
of passage also do their part in the work, and not the least
part. They come over as tourists, artists, horse-dealers,
corn-dealers, &c., but all with the idea that sporting is
free, and that they can be off when they like. No matter
that they are told that Mr. So-and-So preserves, that
the Marquis of B. is very particular; they argue thus:
"Every one I know can shoot here; the boat goes on
Eriday, and I will have my turn and be off' the day
after — catch me who can." And they have their day,
and their resident countrymen have the credit of it and
pay for it, as all " Anglais " are counted as one : and so
the process goes on. When I first came into the country,
many years since, everything was free and open, and, as
I am well known, I have even now little reason to com-
plain ; but the preserving of game is decidedly on the in-
crease, and I advise strangers to pay more respect to it, or
they will certainly fall into an awkward scrape. With
all this, however, it is against the feeling of the people,
and preservers are desperately unpopular ; for your Breton
is an inveterate poacher. " It's his delight, on a shiny
night," and a dark one also; and in spite of preserving
landlords and poking gendarmes, he contrives to have
game in the pot at most times, and if not there, in the
market basket. I question if the regular English poacher

]10 BRITA^NY AND THE CPIASE.

is more up to trap and trapping than the Breton peasant.
Guns, springes, wires of all shapes and sizes, traps iron and
wooden, nets, dogs and lanthorns, are all put into requi-
sition,— with what success let the market-day show^ when,
in a small country town, you may see a hundred hares
exposed for sale at one time. How Puss escapes, Diana
alone can tell ; and I know no stronger proof of the pro-
tective power of instinct than that she should not only
exist, but keep up a good head under such adverse circum-
stances. In mounting a hedge bank, it is highly desirable
to look sharp if you value your fingers and toes. Snap
crack ! and off goes a trap under your very nose. I have
frequently seen men and dogs cauglit in them, and a large
fox-trap with proper teeth is a monstrously unpleasant em-
brace to fall into. Some poachers, too, are uncommonly
audacious. Not long ago, an old gentleman, whom I know
very well, on hearing some fii'ing near his chateau, went
out and found two men shooting. He ordered them off:
sharp words passed, and the dispute grew very personal.
At last one whispered to the other, who pulled out a piece
of rope, and they pounced upon the worthy squire, pi-
nioned him, and proceeded deliberately to tie him to one
of his own fine beech-trees. In vain he struggled, sacred,
kicked, and shouted: two young men were long odds
against one old one ; and finally behold him, tightly slewed
up fore and aft, and only able to move his tongue. He
told me he fully expected they were going to shoot him :
but after jeering and mocking a little, advising him to be
more civil the next time, and by all means to eschew pre-
serving for the future, they made him a polite bow, and

AX UNPLEASANT POSITION. Ill

left liim hard and fast. There he remained several hours,
and began to look forward to a disagreeable night of it,
not being accustomed to sleep standing, and having un-
pleasant remembrances continually rising up of a child
recently left in such a state owing to forgetfulness, and
literally eaten by wolves piecemeal, when luckily u man,
going home after work, heard and rescued him. He told
me that, during his being so tied to the tree, he often
thought of the sad fate of his father, -who was an officer
in La Perouse's expedition round the world, and was
actually devoured by the savages in one of tlie South Sea
islands; and he was beginning to think what a strange
concatenation it would be for father and son to be both
eaten — one by men, and the other by wolves, when he
was released by some passers by. But it cured him of
preserving.

Another gentleman was very easy to please. He had a
fine pool full of fish, and was honoured with rather too much
company in consequence, especially at night. One day I
visited him. "And how go on the fish?" " All gone."
"Ah!" said I, " what! not all caught, surely?" " I'll tell
you what it is," said he. " I was bothered out of my life with
vagabonds at all hours, and of all sorts. If the fish were in
cold water, I was equally in hot. First it was, ^ Send for
the gendarmes ; ' then a case of assault before the juge de
paix ; then my servants slept all the day, alleging that they
were watching all night ; then I quarreled with some friends
because I would not give them leave to come, when I was
called miser, and with others who came and caught no-
thing, when I was called cheat; and after all the fish

112 BRITANNY A:ND THE CHASE.

always tasted of mud, and then my wife abused me : in
fine, the pond was the plague of my life, and I was often
on the eve of throwing myself into it, when a kind friend
suggested an easier method, and lo ! I drained it off, sold
all the fish, and now all is quiet inside and out, and I look
at it with pleasure."

Whatever may be the merits of the French men as
marksmen, it is certain that the French loomen shoot
better than English women : yes, verily, many a French-
woman will knock down her bird as cleverly as a pupil
of Colonel Hawker. The fashion, too, seems on the
increase. I know several young ladies who are practising
(shame be it spoken !) on the blackbird and the thrush with
light pieces made for the express purpose, and they think
it very fine ; but for the life of me I cannot like them for
it. Whatever art and Bloomerism may say and do to the
contrary, there is a difference between a woman and a
man, and not Venus herself would be looked at in leathers
and fustians. What should we say in England at seeing
Miss with her double barrel, leash of pointers, breeches
and gaiters, and Jane the maid with the game-bag?
Wouldn't that make a Norfolk papa open his eyes wide,
to meet them knee- deep in his turnips on a dewy day, or
blowing a cloud under a hedge at noon ? Courting would
be an insult to such a sporting character, and a proposal
might be reduced to " Toho," to save time. As to pistol-
shooting also, they are as expert as men. In most gun-
smiths' shops " Pistolets ]jour les Dames" are as regularly
exposed as other sorts ; and I know several ladies who are
prouder of their skill with *^ the tools," as Pat calls them,

"PISTOLETS rOUli LES DAMES." UIJ

than with, the piano. The other chij I called on a ladv
who complained of fatigue. AYliat was the matter? She had
only been practising all the morning "«?« hlanc''' with her
pistols. Cupid with his arrows^ in France, is transformed
into a lady with her pistol-case, and no wonder there is so
little love made. A squeeze of the hand may be construed
into a deadly insult ; and to be called out " sur le chainp,^^
and be drilled there and then by your fair inamorata, is
an unpleasant manner of getting the heart touched. When
Pio None, of celebrated memory, fled from Rome in 1848,
disguised as a footman, he was accompanied by the Countess
Rossi, the wife of a French nobleman there. She is de-
scribed as a " maitrcsse de iirp and carried a couple of
brace of pistols with her, to defend the holy driver in case
of need : but really had I been in his Iloliness's place, 1
should have been as much afraid of the dano-er behind me
as of anything else. If ladies take to pistols, they may
just as well put on the gloves also and practise the art of
self-defence. A well-delivered facer, or a clean cross-
buttock, or a touch of chancery, would surprise a gentle-
man who ventured to look twice at a verjj killing pair of eyes,
or by chance trod upon the wrong foot, What with these
and other signs of progress, it is certain that the ladies are
going a-head fast in France, and our sex have need to look
out. The " unprotected female " will soon be a fable, and
instead we shall have the " helpless man."

France is the only country in the world where much
attention is paid to hydrophobia. In England we grumble
and endure, and take no comprehensive means to di-
minish the horrible scourge, and this arises in one

114 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

respect from the antipathy John Bull has to government
meddling ; but in France it is strictly provided for, and
many of the regulations are certainly very good. One
thing is positive, and that is, that if some means were
not used for killing off the surplus members of the ca-
nine population, France would soon be depeopled. Here
every body keeps his own dog, and the town sustains
in addition a floating body ; or rather this predatory
floating balance lives upon the town, supporting a pre-
carious existence by continual roguery and perpetual
hostilities with all things. Every man's hand is against
them, but still they steal and fight and skulk about,
poaching for variety when town keep is low, and oc-
casionally enlisting with the passing sportsman, but never
decreasing in numbers despite all oppressive laws. It is
therefore well that they are annually killed down, or they
would be a dreadful nuisance, as bad as the dogs of Con-
stantinople, Vt'^hen the shooting season is over, usually in
March, the Prefet of each department publishes a decree
that tlience forth all dogs found in the streets without a
muzzle shall be destroyed. One may fancy the consternation
this produces among the dog race. Believing as I do that
doors can do evervthinp; but write and talk, I have no
doubt anxious councils are held and wise resolutions taken
by the canine gentlemen without owners : some, the dog
democrats, are for liberty entire, and down with the muzzle ;
others try to procure summer lodgings in the town by
playing the agreeable to some well-meaning neighbours ;
others are off" to coimtry quarters ; and a few^, old and
foolish, stay, and are killed; for the process is inevi-

A CANINE RAZZIA. 115

table — one after another all are knocked on the head.
Dog skins become a drug in a short time ; sportsmen
in want of gaiters look out and lay in stock; dogs with
proprietors hold np their heads and look proud ; and the
streets are again quiet. Then is the time of torture for
elderly ladies and their lap-dogs. Tlie chance, infinite-
simal though it be (considering that " Fanchon" is tied up
fast by a blue ribbon to the bed, and the roll called every
half-hour), that the dear little creature should get into the
street and be barbarously murdered, is enough to embitter
the spinster's days and disturb her nights imtil the edict
is recalled. Her momentary absence is enough to call out
the whole force of the household ; and when promenaded
in the sun, tied fast by her cord and collar, all benefit of
the walk is lost to her mistress, such is her excessive
anxiety and fear of all that approach her. Hydrophobia
is naturally frequent in France, from the number of loose
dogs such as I have mentioned, and it is therefore well to
take proper precautions. Sometimes, however, they carry
these to an undue degree, and prescribe a muzzle so ab-
surdly contrived as to be enough of itself to drive a dog
mad ; for the nature of the muzzle is always prescribed by
the decree. The other day, seeing a crowd about the
hotel-de-ville, I went up, and found an unhappy dog ex-
piating the crnne of having no master, and the accident of
having been called mad. He was no more mad than I
was, and really comported himself like a noble fellow. He
was tied by a •long rope to a pillar of the main entrance,
and two men with sticks were dodging about to get a safe
blow at him, as thev had been foolish enough to ffive him

116 BKITANXY AND THE CHASE.

a long rope, and were now too much afraid to go near
liim to shorten it. He was a fine dog of the shepherd
kind, and seemed quite aware of the gravity of his case.
In the intervals of attack he looked seriously and quietly
about him, as much as to say, What have 1 done to merit
all this cruelty ? And when the attack recommenced he
defended himself gallantly, making head against his two
opponents so effectually as to keep both at bay. His na-
tural efforts were, of course, taken as conclusive proofs of
madness by the excited people, who looked upon the thing
at last as a show, and became bloodthirsty. I was hor-
ribly disgusted with the aifair and the place of execution,
too — on the steps of the town-hall ! At last one of tho
crowd, seeing that nothing would be done with the sticks,
went and fetched a double-barrelled gun, and watching a
moment when the poor brute, having driven off" his
butchers, was enabled to repose, gave him both barrels in
the head, which covered the town-hall steps with blood, and
the scene terminated, to my exceeding relief. It was long
debated in the Assembly (when it existed) whether or not
to have a dog-tax ; but they were not able to carry it,
as it would be an extremely unpopular measure. It is
part of a Frenchman's birthright to keep a dog who is a
paragon, and to grumble at his neighbours for doing the
same, and they have been so long accustomed to this, that
they would not relinquish it ; but it would be an excellent
measure, and would abate a great nuisance at the same
time that it increased the stock of game in the country and
added to the revenue. Frenchmen, too, think a great deal
of " the soitj''^ and hate direct taxation, of which they have

LIVING IN BRITANNY. 117

already enough. Tliero is at the present moment talk of
the clog-tax for next year ; and now that the French have
got a dictator who does what lie chooses to do without
asking permission from any one, and wlio in the actual
financial state of the country wants money, there seems
some probability of the measure being put in force. It
would be a capital thing, and quite in the interest of the
sportsman, notwithstanding the tax on his kennel.

It is curious and refreshing to an En2;lishman to notice
the " rapprochemenV^ which is gradually taking place in
the price of living in England and in Britanny, which may
be called the cheapest part of France. England has been
reducini]: taxation for the last ten vears, and France has
been increasing it ; our commerce, unchecked by revolu-
tions, has nearly doubled itself, and theirs has remained
stationary, and in consequence the price of living on each
side of the channel is rapidly becoming equal. If the
duty on wines were placed on a more moderate footing,
there would be a complete equality. Why, in the name
of reason and good fellowship, do not English gentlemen
exert themselves on this subject? It is one wliich espe-
cially falls within the sportsman's province; for who is
there who does not relish a glass of good wine either in
the field or when he has his legs under the mahogany?
Instead of drinking cheap and bad claret, or else good
claret so dear as to be ruinous to moderate incomes, we
could, if the duty were reduced, have excellent wine at a
low price. Burgundy too, that wine of princes, would be
equally accessible, and we should not have to endure coun-
terfeits, or sigh for it in vain, as at present. Champagne

n 3

118 BKITANNY AND THE CHASE.

might be had for less than the domestic gooseberry,
famed of prudent housewives ; and in addition we should
become acquainted with various descriptions of wine of
which we now never hear anything. The wdnes of
Saumur, Grenache, Tavel, Chateauneuf, all of which would
suit English taste, inasmuch as they are sound and full
of flavour, would then be seen on our tables, and at a
price which would be comparatively trifling. The liigher
class of clarets — Laflitte, Latour, Chateau-Margaux, Cote-
Rotie, Cautenac, Pouillac ; the higher class of Burgundies
— Chambertin and Nuits, these would be had at the price
of port and sherry ; and without exhausting our purses we
should greatly extend our circle of vinous acquaintance. I
have no doubt that all these wines might be imported into
England pure and good at the average price of 30s. a dozen,
all charges included, save duty. A great portion of the claret
at present imported and sold in London is nothing but the
vin ordinaire, the common red wine which at Bordeaux
is sold for 4 sous the bottle, prepared and cooked in
England to suit John's palate ; and therefore the majority
of the consumers declare in their hearts that it is miserable
stuff, even if they should not say it with their lips ; drink
as little of it as fashion or politeness will allow them, and
the claret jug in some sort goes a-begging. But let the
wines I have named be generally introduced, and I will
engage that there shall be no mendicancy by the jug, but
rather by the drinker ; nor will he need any persuasion to
finish the bottle. It is altogether another thing ; there is
as much difference as between water from the spring and
from the ditch. Of course 1 have no wish to banish

rOr.T AND CLARET. 119

port — Heaven forgive tlie thought! — I am too good a
patriot for that, knowing as I do that to port we owe our
glorious constitution, our liberties as Britons, and everv-
tliing else ; bnt I say that port and claret are by nature
wedded together, one setting off and displaying the virtues
of the other. What introduces cool and fragrant claret
like old port ? and what exhibits the generosity and force
of the latter so well as the delicate sensibility of the
former? What nature, therefore, hath joined together, let
not man put asunder. As to the revenue, it would be
with wine as with all other articles of ordinary consump-
tion: a reduction of price naturally would increase the
demand, and, as in coffee, sugar, and all the rest, the
revenue and the consumer would rejoice together. Talking
of port reminds me of French port, i. e. port in France.
It is a fact that a Frenchman has no relish for nor at-
traction towards port. He does not understand it, has no
sympathy with it. He drinks it, and calls it " bicn bon;"
but so he would, from politeness, call a glass of Warren's
blacking. See him handle the bottle, too ; no feeling for
its infirmities, with a recollection of its having grown old
and crusty, and that it should therefore not be needlessly
agitated; no treating it tenderly "as though you loved it:"
but seizing it cruelly, shaking it rudely, and replacing it
with a shock enough to make the worthy creature fly in
your face. You would think they take it under the pre-
scription " when taken to be well shaken." In fact they
drink it, and that is all ; it descends the gullet, dies, and
makes no sign. Taste is superfluous ; they know nothing of
it but the name, and consequently they are grievously im-

H 4

120 BRITANNY AND THE CHASE.

posed upon. Ask for a bottle of port in a French hotel. A
hottle of a mixture duly labelled " Porto " is set before you,
of a syrupy^ sickly, unctuous flavour, which disturbs your
stomach and fills you with remorseful regrets for the many
bottles of black jack which you have consimied heed-
lessly without appreciation. Port it is called; but it is
not, the spirit is gone. " You sigh, for soul is wanting
there." You fly into a passion, and call in the landlord :
" That port ! take it away, it is not fit to drink." And the
landlord shrugs, says that " On dit que c'est bien bon,"
and retires, sacring in his heart at " ces betes d' Anglais."
The fact is, that port is extensively manufactured in France,
and especially in Britanny, where from old English con-
nexion I suppose the ghost still lingers ; and at Saint-
Brieux it is fabricated by thousands of bottles annually.
With this ignorance of port is coupled an equal one of
sherry. They have no notion of it, though they drink it
occasionally. But there is one reason of this in the fact,
that by the rules of the customs sherry is classed as a
liqueur, and therefore is subject to a higher duty, and so
the people lose one of the finest wines in the world. For,
as I once heard an old English friend say, " How the deuce
can you expect the French to get on well ? they neither
drink port nor sherry ; they shoot foxes, and drive on the
wrong side of the road."

Britanny is a very tolerable country for a gentleman to
live in, in many respects, i. e. that for a moderate income
he can live well. In many points, with 250?. a 3'ear a man
may have luxuries, and by degrees he Avill become so far
habituated to the style of the country as to cease disturbing

PEOS AND CONS OF BRITANNY. 121

himself for the want of certain English comforts. House-
rent is moderate, except in towns, as the French in general
do not like country-houses. A good house in the country
is to be had at from 12/. to 251. per annum, and generally
with land and a garden ; but often money must be laid out
to make it a comfortable residence. Wages are low, from
3Z. to dI. for women, and about the same, or a little more,
for men. Meat is cheap; beef and mutton 3d a lb., and veal
2d. Bread too is cheap, and all poultry, game, fish, and
vegetables extremely cheap also ; fowls Is. a couple, birds
the same ; hares \s. each, and so on. But groceries arc
dearer than in England, as also good clothes. Brandy is
cheap, l5. a quart, but bad. Beer cheap and tolerable, though
not like English beer. Wines are cheap and good, i. e. to
Englishmen who can exist without port or sherry, as the
wine of those descriptions is poor. But there you have
splendid Burgundy at 35. ; the finest clarets, Chateau-Lafitte,
Chateau-Margaux, Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, wines which in
England, when obtainable, cost \0s. and 125. a bottle, —
you have all these fine wines for from 35. to 45. Then witli
Champagne for 25. 6cZ., and less if you like, with the lighter
clarets. Saint- Emilion, Medoc, and the stronger " vins du
Midi" of Saint-George and Roussillon at \s. to I5. Q^d.y a
man must be fastidious not to be pleased with his cellar here.
Where is a finer wine than Lafitte, with its splendid co-
lour, deep crimson purple, its fine bouquet, but finer
flavour, — than Clos Vougeot, the Burgundy of princes?
These wines are as superior to others of their class as is
the original sherry of Carbonell, or the real Amontillado,
to the sherry of an inn. Wliere all these luxuries, with

122 BRIT ANN Y AND THE CHASE.

fitting accompaniments, are brouglit to the level of 250Z.
per annum, the country may be pronounced not bad for a
gentleman to live in. Horses are not bad, and very cheap.
From 51. to \0l. you have a first-rate cob of 14 hands ;
and then no horse-tax, carriage-tax, dog-tax, servant-tax,
&c. &c., none of that long list of taxes which in England
press so heavily on a certain style of living. Schooling
is somewhat difficult ; but perhaps the want will bring a
remedy, and in many parts there are Protestant places
of worship. True that they are generally filled by English
Dissenting ministers ; but dissent abroad is quite different
from dissent at home — -all obtrusive points gone; and an
English gentleman may, on the broad basis of Protes-
tantism, attend such services without in any way com-
promising his position as a member of the Church of Eng-
land. In fact, I always felt a warming of the heart
in entering such a chapel, and have observed almost all
Englishmen who had any feelings on the subject distin-
guished by their attention and regularity. They have
seemed to feel that as Englishmen they were regarded
with care, and their movements watched, and on that ac-
count that an extra degree of attention was due from them.
Abroad, as at home, society has its divisions and its cliques,
and they are all much alike ; but a man of good temper
and good sense can steer his course so as to avoid diffi-
culties, and in case of need live them down.

Such was the aspect of Britanny when I left it in
1851, and I do not imagine that material changes have
since occurred. Since I arrived in England I have often
wished myself there again, and perhaps shall ere long

CONCLUSION. 123

prove my attachment to my own ^iews, and give my tes-
timony to their sincerity at least by again setting up my
tabernacle among the Bretons. The easy open English
hospitality I received there is warm upon my memory;
my old friendships seem to increase with separation ; my
fingers itch for the good cock- shooting; my lips seem to
miss their accustomed claret ; all these are sympathetic of
change, and perhaps it may be only for a time that I
here lay down my pen and bring to an end my uncon-
nected notes on the Chase in Britannv.

THE END,

London :
Spottiswoodes and Shaw,

New-street-Sqnare.

//3'

tf

THE

TRAYELLEE'S LIBRARY,

IN COURSE OF PUBLICATION

In Parts at One Shilling and

In Volumes price Half-a-Crown each.

Comprising books of valuable information and acknowledged
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_ XIX.

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THE NATURAL HISTORY of CREATION. By T. Lindley Kemp,
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SIR ROGER DE COVERLEY. From the Spectator. With Notes
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London: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS.

=:ll

i=''i

i iiii