UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

y.z.

Uarlington JVl.einorial i-/iorary

WORKS ON SPORTING,

PUBLISHED BY MR. COLBURN,
13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET,

To be had, by order, of all Booksellers.

HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF,

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT DAY.
BY JAMES CHRISTIE WHYTE, ESQ.

In two Large Volumes, 8vo, with Illustrations. Price 28s. bound.

COMPRISING —

1 . Memoirs and Anecdotes of remark-

able Sporting Characters

2. The Performances and Pedigrees of

celebrated Racehorses

3. Descriptions of the Racecourses in

Great Britain

4 . The Plates and Stakes annually run
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7. Description of the principal Races and Matches.
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" This work must become a standard authority on the subject of horses and horse-
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studded . ' ' — Argus.

II.

THE SPORTSMAN IN IRELAND,

AND THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND.

BY R. ALLEN, ESQ., A.M., F.S.A., &c.
In 2 vols, post 8vo, with numerous Illustrations, price I8s. bound.
" The details the author gives of his various ' experiences' in the beautiful lands
which he passed over, cannot faU to send hosts of sportsmen thither who never
before contemplated such a visit, and many more who would scarcely have ven-
tured such an undertaking without the guide here placed at their disposal. The
work is embellished with very many spirited and mteresting sketches of remark-
able locahties, and is altogether one of the most readable and amusing books of its
kind that we have had for many a day."— iVew Monthly.

III.

SCENES & SPORTS IN FOREIGN LANDS.

BY MAJOR E. NAPIER, 46th Regt.
2 vols, small 8vo, with Nineteen Illustrations, 21s. bound,
" The wide ' preserves' of the far East are here thrown open for the reader, and
he is shewn the various methods pursued to bring down the game, while enter-
tained with the amusing adventures of the daring hunter." — Age.

IV.

SPORTING EXCURSIONS IN THE ROCKY
MOUNTAINS.

BY J. K. TOWNSHEND, ESQ.

2 vols, post 8vo, with Illustrations, 18s. bound.
•' There is much variety and information of a practical kind in this book, and it
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LETTERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF

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Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by G. P. R. JAMES, Esq.

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3 vols. 8vo, with Portraits, bound.

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BY SIR THOMAS DICK LAUDER, BART.

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BY HIS BROTHER, HORACE SMITH, ESQ.

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POPULAR TRADITIONS OF ENGLAND.

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THE

SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE :

COMPRISING

A SPOETING RAMBLE

THROUGH PICARDY AND NORMANDY,

AND

BOAR SHOOTING

IN

LOWER BRITTANY.

BY FREDERIC TOLFREY, ESQ.

matt} Ciuelbe ElujEltrations;.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. 11.

LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,

GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1841,

CONTENTS

THE SECOND VOLUME.

CHAPTER I.

Preparations for a grande chasse — Breakfast at the chateau —
Excellent sport — Melancholy accident to one of the at-
tendants— Two dogs killed — Dinner at the chateau —
Dejeuner a lafourchette en ville — Mr. Boulter's pupil —
Potluck, and /a /or^Mwe c?Mj:>o^ p. 1 — 44

CHAPTER n.

A chasse en plaine d, la mode Anglaise — Preliminary ar-
'rangements — Selection of horses — Trial of the riders —
Drilling the hunters — Our host of the chateau is left in
a ditch — Grand meet — Disastrous consequences to some
of the emulative horsemen — Safe return to the chateau —
Dinner by subscription — Ball at Rennes . p. 45 — 80

CHAPTER III.

Departure of Captain P and Mr. W for Guim-

gamp — Bird-shooting in the neighbourhood of Rennes —

iv CONTENTS.

— A visit to Quimper, I'Orient and Brest — Cheapness of
living — The Bagnes — How to give a garde champetrea
breathing p. 81 — 101

CHAPTER IV.

Arrival of Captain P and Mr. W at Quimper —

Their friendly reception by the inhabitants — Our Setters
admired — Some observations on founding the breed —
The history of" Mouche," and how the author became
possessed of her — Retrievers — French and English guns
—Proving a Birmingham barrel . . . . p. 102 — 130

CHAPTER V.

Trials of English and French guns — London versus Paris —
A dejeuner de gargon in the French capital — Trip to
M^ry — The Champagne country — Some remarks on the
wine — How to cure a ropy batch — A remarkable in-
stance given — Return to Picardy — Plints about dogs.

p. 131—164

CHAPTER VI.

Setters again — Anecdote of " Right," a celebrated dog — A
few remarks upon simple shooting — Guns and gun-
makers — Ball-shooting with a John Manton — Westley
Richards and the Bishop of Bond Street — Back-action
lock — Rifles to be preferred for boar-shooting — Rifle-
shooting in America p. 165 — 195

CHAPTER VH.

Rifle-shooting, by an American gentleman . . p. 196 — 221

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Good regulation in France, in restricting the shooting — The
opening day regulated by the harvest — Game-laws —
Our Game-laws, and a few observations on the game-
bill — No grouse in France — Remarks on grouse-shuoting
— How to pack birds intended for presents — Sporting on
the moors — Training recommended — A dog made a
companion — Patent safety-guard — Accident mentioned.

p. 222 -243
CHAPTER IX.

Abbeville — Duck-shooting — St. Valery-sur-Somme — H uts
in the marshes — English gunpowder — Curtis and Har-
vey's— Pigou and Co.'s — Miles Peter Andrews — Quim-
per — Gfirde champctre — Caen — Rencontre with a garde
de chasse — Curing his dog — How to plaster the eyes and
mouth — Whisperers, and a Brittany Sorcier.

p. 244—267
CHAPTER X.

Salmon-fishing in Canada — Major Browne — Rods, lines,
and flies — Visit to Jacques Cartier — Catching fish —
Dancing at the toll-house— The Major's skill as a mu-
sician—Spearing salmon by torch-light . p. 268 — 291

CHAPTER XL

Trout-fishing at Quimper — Remarks upon tackle, flies, and
rods — Bowness, Chevalier, and Ulstonson — Flies de-
scribed— A list given — Recall of the author to England
—Remarks on the hospitality and kindness of French
country gentlemen — Hints to English sportsmen on the
Continent— Conclusion p. 292— 312

ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. II.

PAGE

Chasse en Plaine, a la mode Anglaise . frontispiece
The English bull-dog tackling a wild boar . 19
Giving the Garde Champetre a breather to

the gates of the town at Quimper . . 101
The Author and his Friend warned off by

the savage Garde de Chasse .... 255
Dancing to the Major's fiddle in the kitchen

of the toll house 286

Spearing salmon by torch-light on the

Jacques Cartier River 290

THE

SPORTvSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER I.

Preparations for a grande chasse — Breakfast at the
Chateau — Excellent sport — Melancholy acci-
dent to one of the attendants — Two dogs
killed — Dinner at the Chateau — Dejeuner a la
fourchette en ville — Mr. Boulter's pupil — Pot-
luck, and la fortune du pot.

We were now, one and all, French and
English, looking forward with no little
anxiety to the day when we should attack
the boars in right earnest ; and as soon as
Belcher recovered from the effects of his
recent onslaught, we began to make our
preparations.

VOL. II. B

2 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

Such excitement in the good, quiet,
dull town of Rennes had not been wit-
nessed for years — certainly not since the
Chouans, who, in the plenitude of their
Bourbonism and loyalty, had pinned with
their pitchforks a few of the unoffending
inhabitants against their tenements, be-
sides indulging in a little wholesale phle-
botomy, by severing a few jugulars with
their sickles.

Nothing had been talked of for some
days previously but our crusade against the
boars, and " Guerre aux Sangliersr'wSiS the
cry far and near. The meet was appointed
to take place at the Chateau in the vicinity
of the Forest, where we had been so hos-
pitably entertained on the former occa-
sion, when we had given our disjointed
pack a prehminary run.

Numberless were the snoring couples
disturbed on this eventful morning. By
dawn of day, the hired beaters were at

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 3

the gateway of our hotel, as well as the
piqueurs, the gardes de chasse, and attend-
ants. Some volunteers, too, were parti-
cularly active in proclaiming our inten-
tions, for there was scarcely a street in
the town which did not re-echo the in-
harmonious blasts from the cors de chasse,
with which these emulous gentlemen had
provided themselves. Whether it was the
discord, or the unusual interruption at so
early an hour, or the association of ideas
as connected with the horns, I will not
pretend to say, but certain it is that more
than one somniferous husband wished us
quietly immured within the dungeons of
Mont St. Michel This malediction was
subsequently communicated to us in pri-
vate, by their better halves. — But, to
resume : —

By six o'clock the whole party of chas-
seurs had assembled in front of our hotel,
and I started our huntsman, Collins, with
B 2

4 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the dogs. Our landlord made his appear-
ance en bonnet de nuit, with a magnum of
superlative Cognac under his arm, that we
might drink success to the expedition :
some diminutive glasses were handed
round to the assembled party, but prior
to the contents being swallowed, three
cheers were given, which were followed
by a concert of horn music that had well
nigh shattered my tympanum.

These deafening sounds having been
cut short at my earnest entreaty, the goutte
was quaffed with appropriate honours,
and some of the more resolute of the
followers took a double dose, to fortify
themselves for the approaching encounter.

A Frenchman never commences his
day's work without his goutte, or morning
drop. We Englishmen call it an " anti-
fogmatic." The Yankee designates it as a
' ' phlegm-cutter. " I have not time now to
discuss the relative merits or appropriate-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 5

ness of the terms, nor will I quarrel with
them — suffice it to say, that I gulped down
my quantum as well as the rest, and
having marshalled all ranks in due order,
we set forth in right good humour for
Le bout de Lande.

The French gentlemen of the original
club amounted to twelve in number ;

these, with Captain G (the founder),

and our three noble selves, made sixteen
guns — rather more than I either desired
or approved of. I had made it a sine qud
non, that they should put themselves under
my orders ; — it was agreed to unani-
mously, and I am bound to say they were
implicitly obeyed. I was most ably and
wiUingly assisted by our guide, who had
been a garde de chasse, and who tho-
roughly entered into my views — he un-
derstood his duty, and performed it well ;
added to which, his knowledge of every

6 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

nook and corner of the forest gave him
a decided superiority over his compeers.

The members of this ci-devant An-
glo GalHcan hunt were very tolerably
mounted, and, owing to the kindness of our
new acquaintances, so were we likewise.
It had been arranged that we were to leave
our horses at our friend's chateau, and
proceed to the forest on foot ; and as we
cavaliers deemed it expedient to lay a good
foundation, in the shape of a substantial
breakfast, prior to commencing opera-
tions, we made the best of our way to
the mansion, with the laudable intention
of making play at the edibles, while the
pedestrians were pulling foot to join us.

The ride had not tended to diminish
our appetites, and we attacked, with be-
coming zeal, the different pates and cold
game provided for us. It was nearly ten
o'clock before the whole party were in

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 7

readiness, and even then some further time
elapsed in making each aspirant clearly
understand the instructions by which he
was to abide. The guide had so clearly
described the several intersections of the
grande allee, and the numerous paths bi-
secting the wood, that no mistake oc-
curred.

I had pre-determined that my fellow-
countrymen should occupy the stations
on my right and left, as I calculated there
would be less chance of my receiving a
bullet by mistake, than if any of the
eager, rash, and excitable Frenchmen
were in my immediate neighbourhood.
Your mercurial Gaul has not the slight-
est command over himself for the moment,
and he can no more help firing at a bird,
hare, or rabbit, even if his bosom friend
be in a direct line with it, than he can
help dancing when he hears a fiddle.
Frenchmen are delightful companions

8 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

in a ball-room ; but in the field they are
infinitely more agreeable — out of shot.
I speak feelingly^ having at this moment
some dozen or two of No. 6 in my dexter
calf, having received the charge instead
of a hare at which a certain French baron
fired as the animal crossed between us.

On arriving at the wood's side, each
chasseur was directed to his station, with
Rpiqueur or a garde de chasse, to accompany
him : our host's keeper was allotted to
me, and a very efficient ally I found him.
Blucher, Boatswain, and Belcher, were

handed over to Captain P ,Mr.W ,

and myself ; — the latter was quitere-
covered, and he looked as if he meant
mischief, as he followed to the scene of
his late disaster.

Our huntsman, Collins, took Boxer to
himself, as before, and departed with our
pack and the guide, to the western boun-
dary of the forest, in order that the game

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 9

might be driven down to us. I had se-
lected for my own stand the same spot I
had before occupied ; it offered many ad-
vantages— amongst others, that of the
centre of the hne, if I may so express
myself, for my companions in arms were
pretty equally divided on my right and
left ; and, as I thought it possible some of
those to the right might miss a shot or
two, the chances were in my favour as
to a stray boar or chevreuil passing my
way from the westward, where the dogs
were to be laid on.

Nearly two hours elapsed before the
fun commenced ; but when it did begin,
we were no longer idle. Before the pack
had given us their welcome music, I had
reconnoitred my position, and visited my
countrymen, who were stationed about
three hundred yards from me each way.
I knew our rifles to be good, and was
also convinced that there were cool heads
b3

10 , THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

and stout hearts to back them ; so I felt
secure as to my neighbours.

Captain G , from Rennes, had also

a good rifle ; but he had followed the dogs,
being more anxious to see them work
than to wait for a chance shot. The
guide had sent an intelligent piqueur to
every stand to ascertain that each post
was guarded ; when assured of this, he
set to work in good earnest.

I shall not easily forget the sensation
I experienced when I heard our gallant
little pack in full cry — the pace, I was
told, was terrific ; and the result in some
degree bore out the assertion, for they
neared us very perceptibly indeed.

What was that ? — A shot ! — another,
and another ! A dark object was pre-
sently discernible coming down the grande
allee ; but he galloped not straight — he
reeled ; — in a few seconds he was within
a few paces of me ; a deep and purple

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 11

stream was gushing from his side, but
still he fled from his um^elenting pursuers
as fast as his remaining strength would
allow him. As he passed me, I sent so
sharp a messenger after him, that he was
fain compelled to obey the summons. A
death-like sound of agony escaped him —
he staggered, fell, and died on the spot.
He was a fine plump boar, about three
parts grown ; and certainly so fat a gentle-
man at large I never saw.

My garde de chasse, whose shoulders
were ornamented with a huge hunting-
horn, now sounded the death ; and before
his lungs had completed half the mourn-
ful dirge, the pack were with us, the
guide and Collins following soon after-
wards ; and we were presently joined by
three or four more of the party.

A French gentleman claimed the honour
of having first hit the boar ; to which dis-
tinction I believe he was justly entitled ;

12 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

but Captain P , on my right hand,

had perforated his hide also, for there
were two wounds besides the quietus
I had given him. Our friend Belcher
took a very satisfactory sniff at the fallen
swine, which was deposited at the foot of
a tree close to my garde de chasse.

"Try back!" was now the word. Collins
and the guide retraced their steps, while
the dogs were casting wistful glances
from under their ears at the dainty mor-
sels they were leaving behind ; but they
returned to their duty very obediently,
and were soon lost in the brushwood.

In somewhat less than an hour the
dogs gave us to understand that it was
time to be on the qui vive ; they had
found, but to my disappointment the
cheering sounds grew fainter and fainter,
a proof that the game was not making
for our immediate neighbourhood. A
shot was presently heard ; and imme-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 13

diately afterwards the death-note of our
guide's bugle announced that some havoc
had been committed.

The old garde de chasse and myself
remained where we were ; and we after-
wards learnt that Captain G had been

the successful tireur on the occasion : al-
though not planted on any particular beat,
he had obtained a fair shot at a boarling,
and sent him to his long home in a very
sportsmanlike manner.

The dogs were soon at work again and
making in our direction. On looking west-
ward to my right, up the grande allee, I
perceived something like a cloud of dust,
rather an unusual sight in the forest, but
which eventually proved to be sand, and
which was kicked and scattered about in
all directions by some seven or eiglit in-
fantine boars, who came frisking towards
me, apparently enjoying their gallop.

My friend Captain P , I knew,

14 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

would not allow so good an opportunity
to escape him, and the sharp and sting-
ing report of his rifle soon confirmed the
opinion. As a reward for his coolness
and skill, one of the young squadron re-
mained behind ; the rest, little heeding
their fallen comrade, came cantering down
to us at a tolerably smart pace ; and when
they were opposite to our stand, the garde
de chasse and myself let fly at them : the
result was, one killed and one wounded ;
tlie latter endeavoured to hobble after his
scared brethren, but was hors de combat.
I sent my friend Belcher to him, and a
famous tussle they had ; but it did not
last long, although the dog had all but
choked him, when the garde de chasse
finished the business by severing his
windpipe.

Thisprudentaid-de-campof minebegged
of me to load as soon as possible, and to
look out for the pere or la mere, as he

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 15

was convinced the ''sounder" could not
be far off. Dragging, therefore, our dimi-
nutive prize after us, we made all due
preparation for the reception of the old
hogs.

We were screwing our courage to
the sticking place, when a shot on our

right from Captain P caused our

pulses to beat in double quick time. We
were not long kept in suspense, for the
lady mother soon made her appearance,
and in no very gentle mood either. Cap-
tain P had hit her in that ignoble part

of her person, which, when she looked to-
wards the east, faced the west ; this argu-
ment a posteriori had not put her in the
best of humours, and her wrath had in all
probability been excited by the desertion
of her young fry.

I had not much time left me for philo-
sophizing, as the sow, having stolen a

16 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

glance at us, seemed disposed to wreak
her vengeance on our sweet persons.

As this was a consummation by no
means desirable, I deemed it prudent to
give her notice to quit, so I saluted her
with the contents of Mr. Moore's inimi-
table rifle. I hit her in the chest, of
which pleasing fact I was not so well
assured ; for as I fired she made a rush
at me, which impended mischief; but
just as I was preparing to cede the right
of way to her, she staggered, and fell a
few yards from me.

Mr. Belcher, as usual, was very anx-
ious to shew fight on the occasion, and
viewed with a suspicious eye the ad-
vances of the enraged animal, and just
before she fell he charged her and sprang
at her throat. I was apprehensive that
the gallant dog might sustain a second
injury, for the old lady's tusks were for-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 17

midable to look at, and, although unable
to run, she was good at close quarters
against any antagonist.

I ran to my tree for my reserve gun —
one of Westley Richards's — which I had
lent my friend the Marquis on a former
occasion, and flew to the rescue of the
pugnacious Belcher. He had placed him-
self rather awkwardly, at least for my
purpose, for, in the position he had taken
up, I was fearful of hitting him as well
as the old sow. After some little dodging,
I seized a favourable opportunity, and
shot her through the body.

My garde de chasse then attacked the
foe in the rear with a hatchet, and, after
several well-directed chops on the peri-
cranium, the savage beast was done for.
The garde de chasse then proceeded to
persuade Belcher, a la mode Anglaise, to
let go his hold — I assisted also, and was
squeezing his throat with as strong a

18 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

gripe as I could command, while the
Frenchman was munching his tail.

This interesting occupation so entirely
engrossed us, that we heard not the
approach of (I presume) the defunct lady-
boar's liege lord. The nether end of the
garde de chasse faced the advancing boar,
which rushed furiously between his legs,
but fortunately without doing him any
injury. Lucky was it for him also that he
had a capacious stride, and that he was
stooping at the moment, otherwise he
must have been seriously injured. By
this rude shock the garde and myself
were both upset, and Belcher released
from his hold. The unexpected visitor
seemed for the moment as disconcerted
as ourselves ; for there lay his lady-love,
dead, and covered with gore, and in the
company of strangers.

I had been told that a boar would run
at and gore a person, but would never

T^^^^.'^;

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 19

face about and attack any one after the
first rush. I can say that this one was
an exception to the rule, for he made a
desperate run at Belcher, who sprung at,
but missed him.

I had a bullet still left in one of my
barrels, but I must confess I was a little
off my guard : the suddenness of the
attack in the rear, so wholly unexpected,
and the jeopardy my poor dog was in,
unnerved me for the moment. I picked
up my gun, however, and as the brute
was preparing to give Belcher a taste of
his terrific tusks, I lodged a bullet under
his shoulder. He '' turned about," and
'* wheeled about/' and seemed rather
astonished, especially when the gallant
dog made a spring at his throat ; but at
the very same instant the boar ducked
his head, and Belcher found himself on
the animal's neck and shoulders.

I trembled for the dog, as I feared he

20 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

could not get any hold, and how he held
on I know not. The boar, by no means
satisfied with his reception, made down

the grande allee towards Mr. W , the

garde de chasse and myself following, as
we were both anxious as to the fate of
Belcher.

We were soon overtaken by the pack,
which were in full cry, and altogether
the scene was intensely interesting. I

was certain my friend W would give

the boar his quietus if he could obtain
a shot without risking the life of the dog ;
and to my infinite delight I heard imme-
diately afterwards the report of the rifle,
and the chorus of the dogs led me to
hope the shot had taken effect.

I do not remember having run, at any
period of my life, three hundred yards in
so short a space of time. The reader
may imagine my gratification on reaching
the spot, to find the boar at bay, with

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 21

Boatswain at Belcher's side, and the pack

surrounding the combatants. Mr. W •

had shot this troublesome customer in
the thigh, and smashed the bone.

The two bull dogs tackled the savage
swine with the most determined ferocity,
and our guide and the piqueur had now
an opportunity for the display of their
prowess, and, to their credit be it re-
corded, they acquitted themselves with
commendable courage. The guide was
the first to advance, spear in hand, and,
taking advantage of the boar's undivided
attention to his canine assailants, man-
fully drove his spear under the boar's
shoulder.

This application of cold steel was by
no means relished, for the already en-
raged animal became absolutely frantic,
and was evidently making himself up
for mischief. Gathering together, there-
fore, all that remained of his strength,

22 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

he made a desperate rush on his three
available legs at two or three of the
piqueurs, who were anxiously looking
on at the fun. These functionaries nim-
bly stepped aside to avoid the collision,
but in doing so they jeopardized the limbs
of their companions in the rear. Mr.

W had a very narrow escape, for the

boar brushed past him in no very gentle
mood, and would have injured him se-
verely, had not his activity saved him
from a fearful laceration.

A corpulent rustic was less fortunate ;
— the exasperated brute, having missed

giving Mr. W the benefit of his

tusks, caught Jean Marie Grosjean just
above his dexter calf, and gored him in
a most determined manner, and had it not
been for the presence of mind, and
promptness of action, on the part of our
guide, the misadventure might have
turned out of a more serious nature. In

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 23

an instant his spear was buried between
the boar's shoulders.

My aide-de-camp, who had remained
by my side, as quickly lent his assistance,
and with his couteau de chasse put an end
to the contest, by severing the brute's
jugular with surgical skill. Our dogs
had behaved nobly, never leaving their
hold for a moment ; and it will be re-
membered that Belcher had ridden on the
neck of his adversary for upwards of two
hundred yards. Our pack of hounds
now began to manifest considerable im-
patience for their share of the spoil.

As soon, therefore, as the '' Dogues An-
glais'' (as Belcher and his brother bulls
were called) could be shaken off — (no
easy matter by the way) — the guide ex-
pertly disembowelled the animal, and the
much-coveted entrails were distributed to
the hounds.

This said boar, which had afforded us

24 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

SO much sport, and defended himself so
nobly, was of gigantic stature, and the
largest we had ever killed. Our atten-
tion was now bestowed upon Jean Marie
Grosjean, whose leg had been so fright-
fully gored. We sacrificed a few pocket-
handkerchiefs, which, being torn into
strips, served admirably for bandages.
While I was binding lip the wound, one
of the idlers was despatched to the cha-
teau for a pony, to convey the sufferer
up to the house, and from thence to
Rennes in a cabriolet.

The poor fellow bore the pain with
great fortitude, and made more light of the
accident than I expected. Tt was, in truth,
an ugly gash, and I was anxious that he
should have the benefit of surgical advice
with the least possible delay. I deter-
mined upon remaining by his side until
the pony should arrive to carry him out of
the wood ; but as no danger was to be

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 25

apprehended, I saw no objection to a
renewal of our sport.

The guide, piqueurs, and Collins, there-
fore, departed with the pack in quest of
another boar, and the chasseurs repaired
to their several stands.

In somewhat less than an hour the
hounds had found again, and Mr. W. and
myself were gladdened by hearing two or
three shots in succession on our extreme
right ; and presently a mournful ditty on
an old cracked horn gave us to under-
stand that one or more of the party had
done some execution. I was anxious for
the arrival of the pony, not only for the
sake of the disabled rustic, but also that
I might return to my own stand, and take
my share in the fray.

The lad at length made his appearance,
and I saw Jean Marie Grosjean carefully
deposited on the palfrey's back, and for-
warded to the residence of our host, who

VOL. II. c

26 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

had given orders that a carriage was to
convey him to Dr. Godefroi at Rennes
the moment the wounded man reached
the chateau. As soon as the poor fellow
was fairly offi returned with my garde
de chasse and another attendant to my
allotted post, in the hope of having an-
other shot or two before the day closed in.

A long and tedious interval elapsed ere
we were saluted with any notes from the
horns of the piqueurs, to announce that
they were about to recommence opera-
tions. The extraordinary delay which
took place will be accounted for here-
after.

Once more the cheering sounds of the
tuneful pack in full cry reached us, and a
good look-out did we keep — at least, such
was my intention ; but I unfortunately
happened to turn round to answer a
question put to me by my extra atten-
dant, and missed the opportunity of firing

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 27

at a chevreuil which bounded past me at
the moment. T was a httle ruffled at this,
as may be imagined, and consoled myself

by d g the inquisitive fellow, and

blaming him of course for causing the
mishap.

My rage was not of long duration, for
before half my ire had found vent, another
splendid chevreuil bolted out of the thicket
about fifty yards above my stand, and
landed in the middle of the grande allee.
He seemed undetermined at first which
way to turn ; but to my immeasurable
satisfaction, he decided upon facing to
the right. The utmost caution was now
necessary, for the slightest movement
on my part, or that of my companions,
would have marred everything — a whis-
per even, and our chevreuil was lost for
ever.

I hardly ventured to breathe, it was a
moment of such intense anxiety. The
c 2

28 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

beautiful animal stopped once before he
reached the narrow path, (at the head of
which I was 'posted,) listening to the fast
approaching pack. The littel deer, as my
French friend at Rennes would have said,
was not long inactive — one bound and
he was abreast of me, and making down
the riding towards Mr. W. I was lucky
enough to get a good aim, and having
had plenty of time to shake off any symp-
tom bordering on the nervous, it proved
to be unerring. I sent a bullet just be-
hind the shoulder, which stopped his ca-
reer— he gave one spring upwards, and
fell dead on the instant — I had shot him
through the heart.

The garde de chasse ran to the spot
with the laudable intention of dragging
the noble roebuck to our stand ; but he
little dreamt of the interruption which
w^as awaiting him. I have said that the
pack was nearing us before I brought

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 29

down the chevreuil, — it would appear
that they were on the track of another
boar, for before I could warn my aide de
camp of his danger, two boars were within
a few feet of him. I was taken as much
by surprise as himself; for in watching
his movements I had neither seen nor
heard the swine coming down the allee.
It was too late when I did discover them,
for I could not fire from the position in
which I stood without the probability of
hitting him. I halloo'd at the top of my
voice, but my breath was wasted, and
my feelings were anything but enviable.

I had scarcely recovered from the eifects
the first accident had produced, and here
was almost a certainty of a second hap-
pening. The reader may therefore form
some faint idea of the pleasure I expe-
rienced when Francois, my garde de chasse,
had escaped the impending peril.

True to their savage custom, the boars

30 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

had made a desperate rush from the rear
at Francois' spindle-shanks ; and he may-
thank his leanness for having got off with
only a scratch. He was thrown off his
equilibrium, and fell, but in a trice was
on his legs again, and scampered back to
his old quarters at my side — the fallen
chevreuil, however, had his ribs and chest
perforated and torn, but this was all :
the brutes had vented their spleen upon
the carcass, and were making off at the
top of their speed.

I had barely time to give them a part-
ing salute, and hit the hindermost in the
buttock, — this was subsequently ascer-
tained, for Mr. W killed him as he

was skulking out of the wood. I sent
Belcher after them, but he arrived too
late, and was sent back to me by Mr.

W 's attendant, who informed me

that " Monsieur T Anglais" had done the
needful.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 31

The hounds by this time had reached
my stand, and were running breast high ;
checking them was out of the question,
so I desired ColHns to run on with them

at his best pace as far as Mr. W 's

post, where he would find the object of his
pursuit, as dead as he could possibly wish
him, at the edge of the covert. Captain

G , with two of our French allies, now

came up, and from them I learnt that on
the occasion of the extraordinary delay I
have before alluded to, two of the hounds
had been ripped up by a boar wounded
by Captain G .

He had turned the animal over, and
the hounds, heedless of the consequences,
had advanced within reach of his formi-
dable tusks, and two had paid the penalty
of their rashness ; one was already dead,
and the other past all hope of recovery.
Unfortunately, Collins, with Boxer at his

32 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

side, was not with them, or the calamity
never would have happened.

This was a serious loss, for our pack
was not a very extensive one. Upon
hearing this melancholy intelligence, I
resolved upon putting an end to the day's
chase ; indeed, it was quite time for re-
turning homewards, for we had not above
an hour's fair day-light before us. One
of the piqueurs who had accompanied

Captain G was desired to sound, not

exactly a retreat, but some intelligible
discord, which would bring our friends
around us.

This was accordingly executed. I knew
that Collins, the guide, and the pack must
wend their way towards us, so we had
not much difficulty in collecting the chas-
seurs. A lad was sent off to a farm-
house not very far from the entrance to
the forest for a cart to convey home the
game.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 33

The fine chevreuil I had killed was
admired by every one, and appeared to
be much coveted by all the French gentle-
men. On the arrival of Collins with the

hounds, the guide. Captain P , Mr.

W , and the other chasseurs com-
prising our party, we set off on our
return to the chateau, the hospitable
owner of which, although requested not
to do so, had provided a sumptuous
repast for us.

I had directed a piqueur, and another
attendant upon whom I could place the
strictest reliance, to remain in the grande
allee opposite my own stand to await
the arrival of the cart in which the boars,
the chevreuil, and the dead and wounded
dogs were to be conveyed. The latter I
ordered to be destroyed as soon as it
reached the chateau, as it was past all
cure, and it would have been a cruelty to
have prolonged its suffering.
c 3

34 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

On the whole, I was out of spirits at
the conclusion of this first grande chasse,
although I had no reason to complain of
lack of sport; but one poor fellow had
been seriously injured, and two good
hounds killed. I had been very much
excited altogether, and was but ill dis-
posed to join the boisterous party who
were preparing, in high glee, to do ho-
mage to the savoury fare which I caught
a glimpse of on its way from the kitchen
to the salle a manger.

As it was growing late, I obtained per-
mission from our host for our pack and
the master of the hounds to remain on
his premises for the night. This plan
appeared to be very palatable to CoHins,
who was profuse in the expression of his
gratitude for my attention to his own
comfort, as well as that of the dogs.
They were accordingly well bedded down
in a capacious out-building, and well fed.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 35

Messrs. Belcher, Boxer, Blucher, and
Boatswain occupied an adjoining tene-
ment.

Having superintended the arrange-
ments for the quadrupeds, I repaired to
the dining-room ; and, previously to at-
tacking a potage au vermicelle, I imbibed
a glass of old cognac, which worked a
miracle. The labours and desagremens of
the day were forgotten, and by the time
I had discussed some two or three cotelettes,
and was contemplating an attack upon a
roasted capon, I was as merry as the
jolly companions around me.

As good or ill luck would hav-e it, the
rain descended in torrents, and it was
agreed, nem, con., that we should pass the
night with our host, who seconded the
proposition with hearty good will, and
prepared us beds, sofas, lits de sangle, and
shake-downs. As may be anticipated, we
made a roaring night of it, and committed

36 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

no little havoc with the cellar. I never
saw so many empty bottles after a
drinking bout in my life ; — but I must
not tell tales. Thanks to a strong head, I
found my way to my own bed, and awoke
betimes without any unpleasant symp-
toms.

Before any of the guests were stirring,
I sent a boy off on a pony to mine host
of the Grande Maison at Rennes with a
note, desiring him to prepare a recherche
dejeuner a la fourchette for twenty-five,
which he was to have ready by one
o'clock.

The visitors made their appearance by
ones, twos, and threes, and by nine
o'clock all were assembled. The invi-
tation to breakfast en ville was proffered
by Captain P , Mr. W , and my-
self, and accepted with the same frank-
ness and cordiahty as it was given.

Like prudent gastronomes, therefore, we

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 37

partook only of some potent cafe noir,
and eschewed the sohds until we should
arrive at the renowned hotel, where we
knew nothing would be wanting to gra-
tify the most fastidious palate.

The chef of La Grande Maison in the
good town of Rennes is an artiste of
infinite merit — a Vatel in his way. His
genius is inventive, and his knowledge
profound. His whole soul is wrapt up
in his vocation ; and his only source of
regret is, that his talent should be em-
ployed in Brittany, where the major part
of the community are not blessed with
sufficient discriminatory power to distin-
guish between a salmi and a civet.

I had the privilege — the distinguished
honour, I ought to say — of being ad-
mitted to more than one private audience
with this talented individual. To me did
he communicate his secret sorrows, and
to me also did he impart some of his

38 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

culinary lore. Thanks to his friendly
confidence, I am in possession of a few
secrets touching the compounding of
some matchless dainties which, perad-
venture, I may hereafter make known to
the world ; but this I must say, that
Pierre Mailhot is unquestionably the best
hotel cook (for I include not private artistes)
I ever met in France.

Collins and the dogs had started soon
after daylight for Rennes, and under his
care I had also placed the fruits of our
chasse, with the exception of one boar,
which, by unanimous consent, was left
at the chateau, and at the disposal of our
hospitable host. The chevreuil I had
pre-determined on sending to Monsieur
le Prefet — a compliment due to his public
character and official rank, as well as to
his private worth.

By ten o'clock we were in our saddles,
and starting for Rennes, all in high

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 39

spirits, and on the most sociable and
friendly terms ; and in somewhat less than
two hours we had reached our several
domiciles, with an hour to spare for
bathing and dressing prior to the de-
jeuner de gar^on. Five minutes were
devoted to my friend the chef, exhorting
him to call forth his talent distingue in
serving this repast, and to spare neither
trouble nor expense in rendering it worthy
of the occasion.

Most energetically did he promise to
faire son possible : and that was no trifle.
Most faithfully and religiously did he
keep his word ! I still entertain a tender
reminiscence of this unsurpassable, I
had almost said unapproachable, dejeuner.
The endless variety and matchless ex-
cellence of his croquets, salmis, civets,
macedoines, marengos, and bechamels, are
to this day fresh in my memory. I hold

40 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

in grateful remembrance his talented
efforts to please our friends — he succeed-
ed beyond my hopes. The donors of the
feast and the guests were equally de-
lighted at the proofs of his skill ; and to
his zealous endeavours was I indebted
for one of the pleasantest parties I ever
presided at.

I should have mentioned, that on my
way to the hotel, in riding up the town,
I met Mr. Samuel Boulter's pupil, the
portly French gentleman, who so eagerly
displayed his smattering of English. I
asked him to join our party at breakfast,
prefacing the invitation by an apology for
its brevity, and accounting for it, as was
really the case, by stating that it had
only been thought of that morning. He
came, and did all in his power to con-
tribute his quota of amusement.

I cannot resist recording another in-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 41

stance of his imperfect knowledge of our
language. It happened that Captain

G 's English housekeeper, one Mrs.

Hopkins, had an incomparable recipe for
corning beef, given to her master, I
believe, by the late Admiral Pocock.

As a treat to us Englishmen, some few
days after the said breakfast, an enormous
brisket, most happily cured, was sent to
our hotel by Captain G .

It was boiled under our own superin-
tendence ; and just as we were about to
sit down to this truly John Bull fare,
who should make his appearance but our
littel Deer himself. A hearty salutation

from Captain P was the result,

and as he knew but little French, said, in
most intelligible EngUsh, '' Sit down, old
fellow, you are just in time to take pot-
luck with us." He did so ; and I never
saw any man of any nation enjoy a dish

42 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

more than did the Enghsh-learning
Frenchman our salted brisket ; — he went
away deHghted.

On a future occasion he was asked
to dinner, a regular diner de ceremonie,
which we gave the Prefet, and several
of the authorities, in return for their
hospitality and kindness to us. A day
or two before the dinner took place, on
meeting my friend, he said to me, " Ah,
my good gentelman, I ask one favour
from you." "What is it?" I rephed.
''You will give me some pot-luck to-
morrow, eh ?" I said I hoped to give
him something better than pot-luck.
" No, no, my friend," he rejoined, '' give
me pot-luck, it is so vary good. Mon
Dieu ! c'est delicieux ce pot-luck. How
you do to make so nice your pot-luck,
eh? It is fine dish."

I must confess I was for some time

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 43

at a loss to understand the worthy man,
but discovered at length that he had been
labouring under a very pardonable error.
He thought the corned beef was a dish
named pot-luck ! and not a phrase to
convey the meaning of homely fare. This
was subsequently confirmed by several
families, who told us that the old gentle-
man had been loud in his praises of a
•plat de boeuf saU, that we called pot-
luck !

This is only one of several ludicrous
mistakes he made. Speaking of pot-
luck reminds me of a curious, and
certainly an equivocal invitation I once
received from a French nobleman, during
a visit I paid to the French capital some
years ago.

My family had the pleasure of being
acquainted with the Vicomte de Cham-
bre, during his residence in this country,
and whenever I visited Paris, his house

44 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

was open to me. One morning I re-
ceived the following note from him. —

'' Jeudi, ce 17 Avril, 18 — .
"Mon digne Ami,
Passez chez moi a cinq heures ; vous
trouverez la fortune du pot

(And he signed himself)

**De Chambre."

Now this it will be admitted was rather
startling. I went, however, at all hazards,
and found the contents of his " pot" de-
cidedly more tempting than might have
been anticipated, by a cursory glance at
his note.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 45

CHAPTER 11.

A Chasse en plaine a la mode Aiiglaise — Preli-
minary arrangements — Selection of horses —
Trial of the riders — Drilling the hunters — Our
host of the chateau is left in a ditch — Grand
meet — Disastrous consequences to some of the
emulative horsemen — Safe return to the cha-
teau— Dinner by subscription — Ball at Rennes.

Vive la chasse was the prevailing toast
in the good town of Rennes at all convivial
meetings — even the apple-munching
urchins, as we sauntered about the town,
greeted us with Vive la chasse whenever
they saw us.

For some days we had contemplated
giving the inhabitants a boar hunt over
the plains, in humble imitation of an

46 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

English fox-chase. The only difficulty
in the way was, the proverbial obstinacy
of the prey we sought ; for if the boars
should be disinclined to take a scamper,
we knew full well that our powers of per-
suasion, and those of the pack to boot,
were unequal to the task of making
them go the way we might wish ; but as
our right-hand man Collins was anxious
for the experiment a la mode de Tours, and
having sapiently remarked, '' there's no-
thing like trying," Capt. P— — , Mr.

W , and myself sallied forth one fine

morning on three borrowed steeds, to
pay a visit to our friend at his chateau
near Le Bout de Lande, the scene of our
former exploits ; and having enlisted our
host as a guide, we purposed reconnoi-
tring the further extremities of the wood,
and to skirt it round in order that our to-
pographical knowledge might be turned
to good account when occasion required.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 47

We had heard of a plain on the east-
ern side of the wood, and to this spot we
first directed our steps. We found the
plain certainly, but it was not of suffici-
ent extent to answer our purpose; indeed,
it was hardly a mile in extent, and, more-
over, an extensive forest lay at the further
end of it, towards La Guerche, for which,
as a matter of course, the boar would
make.

A youthful volunteer who had accom-
panied the cavalcade informed us that
on the south side, towards the Roudun
road, the country was quite open and
interspersed with communes and pasture
land. Our host having confirmed the
assertion, we took a circuitous canter of
six miles at least, and at last reached the
spot, and a better line of country for a
steeple-chase or our projected amuse-
ment I never wish to look upon.

Thus far matters looked well ; and as

48 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the side of the wood fronting this flat
country was the spot from which the
boars had been driven down to us in a
contrary direction, I was induced to hope
that we might persuade the swine to go
southward instead of eastward at our
next visit.

Having satisfied ourselves as to the
locale, we returned with our hospitable
friend to his comfortable mansion, and
per force he made us remain and attack
the contents of his larder. We had la
fortune dupot, which was excellent — soup,
bouilli, coteletteSj stewed eels, and a splen-
did roasted capon, to which were super-
added a delicious salad and some savoury
cheese ; the wines, too, were superlatively
good, — in short, we were so comfortable,
that with very little pressing on the part
of our host, we consented to take up our
quarters for the night under his roof; and
a very pleasant evening we passed.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 49

We returned to Rennes on the follow-
ing morning, and communicated to our
friends en ville the result of our eques-
trian tour, and they were not a little
pleased at the prospect w^e held out to
them of complying with their wishes by
getting up a chasse en plains a la mode
Anglaise.

To say the truth, I had some mis-
givings on the subject, for I had no great
faith in our steeds, and I felt assured that
if we came to timber-jumping we should
lose both boars and dogs, for none of the
horses we had as yet seen were equal to
the task. I had heard of some that were
spoken of very highly, and their owners,
who were amongst the most wealthy of
the inhabitants, had, unknown to us,
pre-determined to mount us. They an-
nounced their kind intentions themselves,
by waiting on us, and placing their stables
at our disposal.

VOL. II. n

50 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

One entire day was devoted to the in-
spection of the cavalry in and about
Rennes, and I was most agreeably sur-
prised at the result, for I must confess
we found some ten or a dozen cocktails
of a very superior stamp, and, as far as a
cursory view of them would enable us to
judge, very well calculated to go across
country.

These chosen few possessed all the out-
ward and visible signs of good goers,
Avith a tolerable dash of blood and of un-
exceptionable shape and action. They
were all from Paris, and had evidently
been selected by an experienced judge of
horse-llesh.

As I always act up to the adage '* Look
before you leap," I suggested the expe-
diency of trying the nags at a fence or
two before the "coming day," and ac-
cordingly Capt. P — , Mr. W , and

myself pitched upon three of the most

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 51

likely-looking ones, and appointed the
following morning for teaching the Gallic
steeds how to make use of their legs.

We were up betimes, and cantered over
to our friend's chateau, as we had inform-
ed him M^e should, and arrived in time to
do ample justice to his well-appointed
breakfast-table. By noon we were once
more in our saddles, and accompanied by
our host, who was anxious for a lesson
in the art and mystery of clearing " brake
and briar."

In somewhat less than an hour we
reached the open country, and turned
into a large meadow skirting the com-
mune, at the foot of which was a very
tolerable ditch, which I charged, and with
a little persuasion, and a gentle applica-
tion of cold steel, my Bucephalus accom-

pUshed. Mr. W got over also, but

with some difficulty ; Captain P was

not so fortunate — a difference of opinion
d2

53 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

between his quadruped and himself caused
him to tarry on the other side in com-
pany with our host, w^ho was evidently
ashing himself a few questions before he ven-
tured to put his horse at the yawning
dyke.

In less time than I have taken to record

the fact, Captain P waxed exceed--"

ingly wroth, in evidence of which he was
belabouring withunaffected zeal the flanks
of his refractory animal with one of
Swain e's supple hunting-whips. The
double-thonging was administered with
such energy, that there was little doubt
of the affair coming to a speedy con-
clusion.

After a bountiful thrashing, the horse
was wheeled round, and galloped some
two hundred yards from the ditch, then
faced about and rammed at it, with the
rowels vigorously applied to his flanks ;
and, I presume, finding the old dragooner

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 53

rather too resolute a customer to thwart,
cleared it in capital form, and never after-
wards refused a leap of any kind.

But where was our host on his stout
Norman beast ? — still on the wrong side
of the ditch ; but, screwing his courage to
the sticking-place, he trotted his nag some
twenty or thirty yards from the/os5^, and
with both eyes shut, the reins in the right
hand, and the flowing mane in the left, he
courageously dug his heels into his horse's
sides, and trusted to chance for a safe
landing on the opposite bank.

But lo ! what mishaps will sometimes
befall adventurous horsemen ! The gallant
grey, of Norman extraction, rushed to the
ditch, but instead of clearing it, turned
sharp round, after the fashion of a Pad-
dington omnibus at the Bank of England,
an act of circumambulation that pitched
the bewildered Frenchman plump into the
middle of the stagnant water, with which

54 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE,

the aforesaid ditch was more than half
filled.

Our emulative friend was more fright-
ened than hurt, for, barring the ducking
and the unpleasant consequences, no mis-
chief was done. Having given Mr. W

my horse to hold, I ran to my friend's
assistance ; but he, with sound discretion
and judgment, preferred scrambling out
of his filthy bath on the side nearest
his own home, not wishing to encounter
the risk of a second ablution by joining
us. He told us, at the top of his voice,
he should catch his horse and gallop home
as fast as he could, and get rid of his wet
and soiled garments, but begged of us to
ride on and explore the country, and dine
with him on our return.

This we did ; and, following his advice,
tried our nags at timber and fences, and
before the day was over they performed
their work cleverly enough, were very fair

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 55

timber-jumpers, and proved themselves
surprisingly game for half-bred Parisians,
We explored about eight or ten miles of
open country, and were not a little pleased
at the prospect of a good run, in the event
of our ejecting a boar from this side of
the cover.

We reached the chateau about six in
the evening, where we found the owner
in perfect good humour, and laughing at
his misadventure. He had indulged him-
self with a hot bath, and some soup, to-
gether with a gentle taste of old Cognac
to keep the cold out, and was just in pro-
per feather to join us at dinner. As our
horses had had a very tolerable breathing
on this our first trial, we determined upon
avaiUng ourselves of our host's hospitable
offer of remaining for the night. I knew
the nags would be taken every care of,
and that the stables were good; and I
thought they would be better off than if

56 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

we had ridden them back to Rennes, a
further distance of twelve miles.

On our return to town the following
morning we found that the owners had
manifested some uneasiness at our ab-
sence ; but on our reporting favourably
of the performances of their chargers,
they appeared to be highly gratified, to
which satisfaction the safe arrival of the
horses, I suspect, contributed in some
degree.

A meeting was convened at our hotel
for the purpose of ascertaining the num-
ber of followers we were likely to be
honoured with, as well as to name the
day, the place of appointment, and other
matters connected with our projected
sport.

This convocation was attended by all
the most influential inhabitants of the
town and environs, and a list was drawn
up of the volunteers for this (to them)

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 57

new method of hunting. The numbers
amounted to nearly forty, thirty-five of
whom I strongly suspected would not be
in at the death ; but as the gentle immer-
sion our host of the chateau had under-
gone was kept a profound secret, these
boar-chasing aspirants little knew what
they had to encounter.

The horse I had selected for myself was
the property of an ex-officer in the garde-
du-corps of Charles the Tenth ; and as he
had two or three more in his stables of
the right sort, the animal was entirely at

my disposal. Captain P and Mr.

W were equally fortunate, the gentle-
men who had kindly offered the use of
their steeds having one or more in their
stud for themselves.

I had contemplated getting up a "drag,"

by way of giving them a taste of what

they would have to do on the grand day ;

but being apprehensive that, in case of a

D 3

58 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

fall or two, their ardour might abate, I
abandoned the intention, in order that
our field might not be diminished, or our
amusement curtailed.

After a good deal of discussion, and a
multiplicity of suggestions, it was finally-
settled that a certain Monday should be
the day, the meeting in question having
been held on the previous Thursday. As
nothing can be done either in England or
France with any degree of satisfaction
without eating or drinking, I ventured to
hint to the assembled Nimrods in embryo

that, if Monsieur B— would allow it,

we might dine at his chateau after the
day's work was over ; but that the ex-
pense of the dinner should be defrayed by
the chasseurs, for it could not be per-
mitted that our hospitable friend should
be saddled with the outlay of feeding
some forty hungry fellows — to say no-
thing of the drinking.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 5D

Having extracted a rather unwilling
acquiescence in my proposal from the
kind owner of the chateau, I laid an em-
bargo on his larder and cellar, and told
him I should give instructions to the
maitre d' hotel and the chef to do the need-
ful for the whole party.

I made the bargain with mine host of
La Grande Maison that he was to dine us
at four francs a head, including a bottle
of good vin ordinaire, coffee, &c. ; that the
chef was to be sent to the chateau, and
the expense of transporting the edibles,
extra plate, &c., was to be defrayed by
himself ; the champagne and vins de dessert
to be paid for separately, an account of
which was to be kept.

This plan was approved of and carried,
I cannot say '' nem. con.," for the liberal
proprietor of the chateau did not like the
idea of a dinner being paid for under his
roof ; but he was fain obliged to pocket
the affront, and hold his peace.

60 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

The ancien garde du corps, who had
so obligingly lent me his best horse, in-
vited us to the manege^ where a leap-
ing-bar was erected, and over which he
advised his countrymen to practise them-
selves and their nags, previously to the
Monday.

We had some very good fun here ; but
it is not for me to set down the number
of spills the gentlemen contrived to give
themselves, but will proceed at once to
relate the adventures of the much looked
for Monday.

By day-break on the eventful morn,
all was bustle, animation, and excitement
in the streets ; the cavaliers had for
their rendezvous the front of our hotel ;
and the muster, altogether, was a very
respectable one. I had started Collins in
the morning, an hour before day-light,
with the pack and the bull-dogs ; he was
accompanied by the guides and gardes
de chasse, who had before attended us,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 61

and who were armed with spears and
couteaux de chasse enough to have exter-
minated all the boars in Lower Brittany ;
added to which, others of their calling
had been stationed at a wood, some five
miles from the forest, out of which we
hoped to drive the boar in the direction
we expected he would take.

Two of our mounted friends had
strapped on their holsters, and were
armed with huge brass pistols, an in-
cumbrance by no means desirable ; at
my earnest request, these were left at the
chateau where we broke our fast.

Some of the party were for prolonging
their stay there, but it was my object to
reach the field of action with the least
possible delay We salHed forth in very
good order, and, upon the whole, the
turn out was an excellent one ; some of
the French cavaliers were well mounted,
and, altogether, the exhibition was very
superior to what I had anticipated.

62 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

As soon as we were clear of the
outer walls of Rennes, we pushed on at a
good round gallop, as I was desirous of
drawing the wood before the boars were
on the move. On arriving at our friend's
chateau, I hinted at the propriety of
despatching the morning meal with all
expedition, just allowing breathing time
for the nags ; my proposal was seconded
and carried, although some two or three
of the chosen band would have preferred
a regular set-to at the cold viands.

In about half an hour, with some diffi-
culty, I mustered the recruits, and in-
spected their stirrup leathers, which, with
only two exceptions, were about a foot
too long for going across country. I
had no easy task in persuading these
novices to follow my advice ; I had to
contend against long habit and deep-
rooted prejudice. The holsters even
were reluctantly relinquished ; and it was
only when convinced of the dangerous

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 63

consequences that might result from
retaining them that these bigots con-
sented to their removal.

Behold us, then, once more en route
for the forest ; but on this occasion we
kept to the right, making for the ex-
tremity of the wood facing the pasture
land, where w^e had tried the mettle of our
steeds some few days before. On arriving
at this point, we found Colhns, the
gallant little pack, the bull dogs, the
piqueurs, and the guides, all assembled.

The word of command was given to
turn the hounds in ; and right merrily did
they set to work. The old guide, who
was an " artful dodger" in his way, con-
veyed Collins down a bye-path, some
half a mile from the edge of the copse,
which, to use our huntsman's compre-
hensive phrase, " circum?/;ented the boars
entirely."

The old fellow was right, for we had

64 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE,

not waited in the road adjoining the
meadow (wherein lay the dyke which had
furnished so unsavoury a bath to our
hospitable friend the week before) more
than half an hour before some exciting
music from the throats of our pack raised
our hopes to an agonizing pitch. We
were not long kept in suspense, for it was
evident they were making for the desired
point, and in less time than T can record
the fact, a fine young boar, more than
three-parts grown, rushed from the covert,
crossed the road, and took to the open
country.

The uproarious Frenchmen set up such
a simultaneous yell, that I much wonder
the hog did not wheel about and take to
his old quarters ; he was too hard pressed
by the dogs, however, to have made this
a prudent resolve, so he wisely, and to my
infinite satisfaction, pursued his course,
edging to the left as he spied the ditch,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 65

which I knew he would not face if he
could help it The great difficulty I had
now to contend with was, to restrain the
ardour of the uninitiated foreigners, who,

if Captain P , Mr. W and myself

had not interfered, would have ridden over
our dogs.

The boar was now taking to some
rising ground, and when I conceived that
the pack had plenty of field-room, I gave
the word en avant, and helter-skelter we
went across the memorable meadow. It
had been my original intention to ride
up with the pack, and keep them well
together. Before quitting my companions
therefore, I begged of my fellow-country-
men to keep an eye upon our French
allies, and to check their vivacity. With
this parting caution I gave the garde du
corps quadruped a touch of the cold steel,
and rammed him at the ditch, which he
cleared gallantly.

66 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

I hereby disclaim any mischievous in-
tention in having so done ; whether

Captain P and Mr. W were

equally innocent, it is not for me to say ;
nevertheless, they followed my example,
and got well over, and so did the owner
of the horse I was on, and one more

gentleman, Mons. de St.H . But how

shall I describe the fate of some of the
more adventurous, who, in emulation of
ourselves, charged the yawning dyke?
Such a submersion of quadrupeds and
bipeds never before was seen.

As good fortune would have it, no
serious consequences ensued, although
one unfortunate wight was nearly
drowned, by reason of his foot catching
in the stirrup ; he was dragged out by
his less venturesome comrades, and made
the best of his way back to the chateau
in a most crest-fallen condition.

Captain P , Mr. W , and our

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 67

two successful ditch -jumpers, pushed on
after me, while those who had not been so
fortunate as to cross the intervening bar-
rier made a circuit in the hope of joining
us. In the meanwhile, the boar kept
going at a racing pace, under the slope of
some rising ground, in view the whole
time, and the scene was highly animat-
ing ; the dogs were running breast high,
and in full chorus. We met with some
rails and hurdles, and a few dry ditches,
which were by no means formidable, and
the horses took them well-

The animal I was on made one mistake
at a gate, and rolled over with me, but
I was lucky enough to escape with only
a slight bruise, and having been so for-
tunate as not to lose my reins, re-
mounted, and got well through the day
without any further accident.

Our field was a small one ; it consisted
for some time of only Captain P ,

68 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

Mr. W , the garde du corps, Monsieur

de St. H , and myself. Just as the

boar was beginning to exhibit unequi-
vocal symptoms of shortness of wind,
two of the straggling horsemen joined
us out of the ruck that had been left
behind.

Our pack were now running into the
boar fast ; and I was certain he would
never reach the wood, which was still two
miles before him. The sanglier seemed
to be of the same opinion, for as he had
been running against the collar nearly
the whole of the way, he began to ease
himself by swerving to the right, and
making for the low ground and some
marshes.

This manoeuvre was of course equally
beneficial to the dogs : they became aware
of the advantage, and kept on at rail-
road speed. I was anxious for the arri-
val of some of the gardes de chasse^ or

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 69

Collins with the bull-dogs, as we could
ill afford to have even one of our re-
duced pack disabled, which was to be
apprehended should the boar face his
pursuers.

Monsieur Le Fevre, the garde du corps,
had a short spear with him, and Mon-
sieur de St. H had a couteau de chasse,

but I was not certain whether their cool-
ness would be sufficiently under com-
mand when called into action at the
critical moment. As good luck would
have it, the four " B's," Blucher, Belcher,
Boxer, and Boatswain, our great and
powerful allies, were at the heels of the
pack, and as eager for the fray as any
of us.

^' He's going ! he's going!" cried my
friend Captain P ; "by Jove ! he stag-
gers," he exclaimed. " Yoicks ! we shall
have him. Forward, my boys !" and away
we went. The pace had been too severe

70 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

for the boar, and he was giving in, fast ;
the dogs were close upon him. I pushed
on at the top of my horse's speed, and
I was up in time to whip off the hounds,
as the object of their pursuit reeled to
the earth. I called out to the garde du
corps to advance with his spear. He
obeyed the summons gallantly, and, riding
up, buried the pointed blade deep be-
tween the shoulders of the prostrate
hog. The bull-dogs were not far off,
but before they reached us Monsieur

de St. H had dismounted and made

a frightful gash in the animal's throat
with his couteau de chasse. He was nearly
paying dear for his temerity, for in an
expiring effort the boar made an attempt
to rush at his legs ; and had he not made
good use of them, he would have suf-
fered considerably.

It was now all up with the sanglier :
another plunge or two from the spear

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 71

of Monsieur Le Fevre did the business,
and his life ebbed away in gushing
streams from his numerous wounds. As
soon as he was hors de combat, three
cheers were given, as loud and as hearty
as any successful candidate at an election
need wish to hear. We remained by the
fallen prize until the pedestrians joined
us, when the pack were regaled with the
entrails, according to custom.

Having succeeded in kiUing our game
a la mode Anglaise, in compliance with the
wishes of the several gentlemen who had
joined us, and having shewn them what
could be done, I thought it but due to
them to return and inquire how they
got on ; and I resolved also not to try
for a second boar, as I was certain the
pseudo chasseurs had seen and enjoyed
quite enough for one day at least.

Leaving instructions therefore with Col-
lins and the guide to sling the slaugh-

72 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

tered boar after the most approved fa-
shion, and bring him to the chateau on
the shoulders of the followers, we, who
were in at the death, cantered home-
wards, and in our way met with a dozen
or two of the stragglers who had got up
a very tolerable imitation of making
their way to the scene of action.

We learnt from these gentlemen that
some had returned to the chateau, (espe-
cially those who had been soused in the
ditch,) and that others were endeavour-
ing to catch the dogs.

Upon the whole, therefore, I should say
that the glorious anticipations of these
would-be sportsmen had not been re-
alized, and that to them the hunt was a de-
cided failure. I could have predicted the
same result, — to the majority at least, —
but I make it a rule to let people take
their fling to the top of their bent.

As far as we were concerned,—-! mean

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 73

my countrymen and the two French gen-
tlemen who accompanied us — the sport
was excellent, far better than I could
have imagined it would be ; but the truth
is, the chasse en plaine a la mode Anglaise
is not suited to a Frenchman ; they have
never seen it in their youth, have had no
example set them, and consequently they
know nothing about it. It is not a na-
tional amusement or business, as it is
with us. The French farmers, too, have
no idea of having their land ridden over,
and a landed proprietor would as soon
ham- string your horse as look at you, if
you took a fancy to gallop over his
acres.

We got bcick to the chateau about
three o'clock, where we found the gen-
tlemen who had received such a ducking
— some between blankets, and some in
borrowed clothes — and all around a huge
log-fire in the hall : their appearance gave

VOL. II. E

74 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

rise to a great deal of mirth at their ex-
pense.

As the dinner hour approached, and
the garments dried, good humour found
vent ; and as soon as we were seated at
the festive board, the sufferers permitted
themselves to laugh at their own misfor-
tunes ; and by the time a few glasses of
champagne had done their duty, all was
jollity, mirth, and frolic.

If the day began disastrously, it ended
joyously, for a merrier set of fellows I
never pledged in a bumper. Such
speeches, such drinking of healths, and
such singing I never heard. Like a pru-
dent general, I slept under our host's roof
that night, as did my fellow-countrymen,
and a chosen few of his particular friends.
How the rest of our party reached their
homes, I am not prepared to say ; they
did manage it somehow or other ; but I
much fear, from the black looks I subse-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 75

quently encountered from their spouses,
that they sadly misbehaved themselves
on returning to their marital duties.

The leave of absence Captain P

and Mr. W had permitted themselves

from their estabhshment at Guimgamp,
was drawing to a close ; and as they had
undertaken to give up possession at
Christmas, they were anxious to return
to their old quarters. During our stay
at Rennes, we had heard that Quimper,
in the Departement of Finisterre, offered
many attractions and advantages to the
sportsman and economist ; — that the
neighbourhood abounded in game of all
kinds, and that the trout and sea fishing
were superlatively good.

The truth must be told: my friend Cap-
tain P was a most restless animal,

for ever changing his plans, and seeking

after novelty — nothing but Quimper

would suit him, and to Quimper he must

E 2

76 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

go ; in short, he was Quimper mad. It
was agreed that during the absence of

Captain P and Mr. W at Guim-

gamp, for the purpose of breaking up
their menage, and removing to the western
extremity of Brittany, I should play the
part of avant courier, and reconnoitre the
territory prior to their arrival.

I believe to this day that the boar-hunt
a cheval drove my friend P — — out of
Kennes sooner, by three weeks, than he

originally intended. I knew that W

and himself intended returning to Guim-
gamp, to deliver up the shooting-box
to the banker ; but their going off so
suddenly startled me not a little. I
knew we should have no peace until
P— — had his way, so I bowed acqui-
escence to all his plans.

Great was the lamentation on the an-
nouncement of our departure, and many
vere the entreaties that we would remain

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 77

and pass the winter at Rennes ; but Cap-
tain P could not be induced to alter

his plan. The dogs were severally re-
turned to their respective owners, and
Collins, after being presented with a
liberal remuneration, and his travelling
expenses paid to Tours, left us to rejoin
his former employers, connected with the
excellent hunt of that town.

It was not without feelings of sincere
regret that I contemplated leaving my
friends at Rennes, for nowhere on the
Continent had I been received with more
cordiality, or experienced such unaffected
kindness. About a week before the in-
tended departure of my companions, I
proposed that we should give the ladies
a party, ere we took leave of them, ob-
serving, that, as we had on more than one
occasion regaled their husbands to reple-
tion, it would not be fair on our parts to
leave the town without displaying a little

78 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

gallantry to the fair sex, as well as the
sense we entertained of their amiability,
affability, et omne quod exit in-ility.

A divan was consequently held in my
private room, when it was decided that

Captain P , Mr. W , and myself,

should give the dear creatures a ball,
provided the theatre could be hired for a
moderate sum. I was deputed to wait
upon the mayor, who we were convinced
would kindly undertake to negociate the
affair, without letting the proprietor know
for whom the building was required.
This precaution was adopted at my sug-
gestion; for, in spite of the high favour in
which we stood with all the inhabitants,
I knew, from experience, that our conti-
nental neighbours will make us English-
men pay through the nose whenever they
can.

Our kind friend, Monsieur le Maire,
made the bargain as for himself, and the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 79

price agreed on was a hundred francs. —
The Salle du Spectacle being engaged,
our next object was to treat with our
maitre d'hotel, for the refreshments : this
was soon done, and we found him very
moderate in his charges.

Invitations were forthwith issued ; the
ball took place, and everything passed off
as we could have desired; indeed, our
wishes were gratified beyond our expec-
tations, and our guests were pohte enough
to express the greatest satisfaction, and
were profuse in their praises and thanks.
We did not give our friends a regular
supper, but sandwiches in abundance and
of every variety ; to these were added
mulled wine, negus, plenty of punch, of
which the French of both sexes are re-
markably fond, and a bountiful supply of
consomme and champagne to finish with.

The music was excellent ; in short, all
were pleased ; — and the whole expense,

80 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

including the hire of the theatre, the
musicians, attendants, and our landlord's
bill, did not exceed thirty-two pounds ;
and for this trifling sum we gave a very
splendid entertainment, which is talked
of to this day by the town's-people.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 81

CHAPTER III.

Departure of Captain P and Mr. W for

Guimgamp — Bird-shooting in the neighbour-
hood of Rennes — A visit to Quimper, L'Orient
and Brest — Cheapness of living — The Bagnes
— How to give a Garde Ch'ampetre a breathing.

My companions took leave of me on
the morning of the 19th of December,
and posted off for Guimgamp. They were
accompanied by a dozen of the chasseurs,
who rode by the side of their Berhne as
far as the first post-house^ where their
final adieus were exchanged.

Our hospitable friend of the chateau,
in the neighbourhood of the wood we
E 3

82 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

had hunted, was quite overcome by his
feelings at parting with my companions ;
he wept like a child. A more generous,
warm-hearted, good-natured fellow, I
never met with. He had taken a great
fancy to us all, and after he had shaken

P and W by the hand, made me

promise to return with him to his cam-
pagne, where he undertook to give me
some tolerable partridge- shooting, not-
withstanding the season was so far ad-
vanced.

I complied with his request, for I did
not intend to run down to Quimper until
the end of the month, as I was under an

engagement to dine with Captain G

and his family on Christmas-day. I accom-
panied my kind host to his chateau, where
we dined t^te-a-Ute ; and over our wine
he told me he had excellent sport in re-
serve for me : he talked of coveys by
dozens on his terrcy besides several others

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 83

on the lands of the farmers, who, one
and all, he said, had given their consent
for me to shoot partout.

This was all very pleasant, and far be
it from me to impeach the veracity of
any one of our continental neighbours ;
but, nevertheless, whenever a Frenchman
conveys any intelligence to me which he
himself is very much interested in, or
which, with a proverbial good feeling, he
knows will afford gratification, I always
(if it be numerically practicable,) divide by
three ; by which arithmetical process I
generally arrive at something like a true
result.

In this instance, my scepticism induced
me to resort to my accustomed rule ; and
I found, even with my own mental de-
duction, that I should have no reason to
regret having availed myself of Monsieur

B 's kindness. My setters were at

Guimgamp, so I was obliged to employ

84 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

my host's chiens d'arr^t, such as they
were. One of them was a very tolerable
dog, and performed his work passing
well ; at all events, the principal qualifi-
cation was not wanting, — his nose was
good : he found us plenty of birds, and
altogether the sport was above par, and
much better than I expected.

The red-legged partridge, so common
in Brittany, is a very inferior bird to the
grey, in point of flavour ; it is compara-
tively dry, stringy, and tasteless. The
plumage is very beautiful certainly, and
the trouble they give to get within shot
gives an additional zest 'to the sports-
man. They are fit for nothing, however,
but soup ; and I can assure the reader
that a puree de perdraux, as arranged by
the chef of the Grande Maison at Rennes,
is worth crossing the Channel to taste.

There are plenty of birds, both red and
grey, all around Rennes ; hares in abun-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 85

dance, and, in the season, a very satis-
factory sprinkling of woodcocks ; but all
kinds of game are more abundant lower
down in the province towards Brest,
Quimper, and L'Orient.

Lower Brittany differs as essentially
from every other province of France as
Wales does from our own counties. The
patois of the natives is perfectly unintel-
ligible, and is composed of as many con-
sonants, and with the same pleasing
admixture of barbarous intonation, as the
jargon sputtered by the descendants of
Cadwallader.

Some part of Lower Brittany may be
termed a wild and uncultivated district ;
but the whole of the province presents a
variety of attractions to the sportsman.
The country abounds in game of all de-
scriptions, and its rivers are plentifully
supplied with trout. I have shot all over
Brittany, and can take upon myself to

68 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

assure the sportsman that it is a country
which affords incalculable advantages to
all knights of the trigger. A sine qua non
with me is economy, and I know not any
spot in the habitable globe (and I have
visited every quarter of it) that can com-
pare with it. The pay sans are unquestion-
ably uncouth boors, but so are the lower
orders of Welsh. The inhabitants of both
countries resemble each other to a shade,
for both are obstinate as mules, and
stupid as owls.

1 would not recommend any of my
fellow-countrymen to pull a trigger on
Gallic ground without a porte d'armes, the
price of which is trifling — fifteen francs ;
and this sum will secure the shooter from
the risk of losing his gun, which is in-
variably confiscated when the offender is
discovered ; and if the unlucky wight be
not armed with the talismanic paper, he
stands a chance of being rather roughly

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 87

handled by the gens d'armes, who have
strict orders to demand this document
from every chasseur; but, more than all,
it protects the holder from the incivility
of these mounted ruffians — a legion of
functionaries I abhor most transcen-
dantly.

It was not until the 2nd of January
that my friends would allow me to take
my departure from Rennes, and only
then upon my promising to pay them an
early visit. After a cold, comfortless
journey, attended with a string of dis-
agreeable delays and stoppages, caused
by the execrable roads, I reached Quim-
per. In the worst possible humour, I
took up my quarters at the Hotel de
France, and it was a day or two before
I could bring myself to comply with the
instructions of my compatriotes, in ex-
ploring the town and its beautiful en-
virons. I soon shook off my fit of spleen.

88 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

and had every reason to be pleased with
the surrounding country, the town itself,
and the extraordinary cheapness of the
living.

I had written to Paris, apprising some
friends there of the change in our desti-
nation, and to request that some letters
of introduction might be forwarded to me
at Quimper, as the authorities of the town
would, in all probability, materially assist
us in procuring a house, and forming our
plans.

On the fourth day after my arrival I
was waited upon by the Procureur du Roi,
who did me the honour of introducing me
to the Prefet. I was invited to a ball to
be holden at the prefecture on the Sun-
day, and dined with the Procureur du
Roi on the day following his visit. His
honour the Maire also called upon me, as
did the sous-prefet — in fact, tons les auto-
rites, — and they one and all did every-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE, 89

thing in their power to promote the object
I had in view.

I heard of a chateau not quite a mile
distant from the town, and which was to
be let by private contract. The proprietor
happened to be a friend of the Procureur
du Roi, and the terms he asked were so
excessively moderate, and his disposition
to oblige so manifestly disinterested, that
I at once became his tenant on behalf of
my comrades.

I paid for this beautiful place, complete-
ly furnished, but six hundred francs a-year,
with large gardens and orchards, and a
paddock ; in addition to which, a droit de
chasse on the whole of the owner's exten-
sive property was given, and his influence
exerted to obtain us shooting all over the
country. The hospitality and attention
heaped upon me were particularly flatter-
ing, and for all of which I was indebted
to my kind friends in Paris, Monsieur de

90 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

R , his Majesty's aide-de-camp, and

the Comte de N .

I forwarded by post a long dispatch to
my fellow-countrymen at Guimgamp, in-
forming them of the good fortmie I had
met with, and the comfortable home I had
secured for them, and that they would
find Quimper le veritable pays de Cocagne,
as Captain P had been led to expect.

The favourable account he had received
was by no means exaggerated, and I
have no hesitation in saying that Quim-
per offers advantages to the sportsman
superior to those of any other town in
Brittany. Shooting of every description
is to be met with there — the fishing is
splendid — and the society delightful.

The Prefet is a most gentlemanly, well
informed man, kind, amiable, and hos-
pitable , and his confreres follow the bright
example set them — the little reunions in
the town are especially agreeable, — in

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 91

short, I was not a little pleased at my re-
ception. Quimper is decidedly the gayest
of the departmental towns in Brittany; at
least, I found it so, — it is the chef lieu of
the Departement of Finisterre, and con-
tains about ten thousand inhabitants.

TheProcureur du Roi was polite enough
to offer me a seat in his carriage as far as
Brest, where his professional services
were required, in consequence of one of
the felons, condemned for life, having at-
tempted to escape. I was not sorry at
the opportunity afforded me of visiting
the bagnes, and he was so obliging as to
procure me an order to inspect this depdt
of human depravity and misery.

It is a curious but melancholy sight —
a horrid one, I may say. The rules and
regulations by which this living hell is
governed are rigid and severe to a degree,
— the wretches under sentence at this sea-
port are huddled together, without dis-
tinction as to the several shades and cha-

92 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

racters of their crimes, or the duration of
their punishment. This is surely wrong ;
and the demorahzing effect of placing
in juxtaposition the youthful dehnquent
with the hardened criminal is too pal-
pahle to call for comment here. One
cruelly inhuman law is, the strict inter-
diction, or rather prohibition, of any com-
munication or intercourse with the other
sex. The wives of these degraded men
are never, upon any pretence whatsoever,
allowed to visit them. This is an un-
christianlike and barbarous regulation,
and a disgrace to a civilized nation. The
consequence is, that the most unnatural
and revolting: crimes are of common oc-
currence. They are committed with im-
punity, if not connived at. One shudders
at such atrocities, but they are melancholy
facts, and I turned my back upon this
modern Gomorrah with feelings of loath-
ing and disgust.

On my return to Quimper, I found that

F THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 93

Captain P and Mr. W would

not be with me for some days, and I de-
termined upon employing the interim in
running down to L'Orient, another large
seaport town of some importance, al-
though its docks and naval arsenals
are not upon so extensive a scale as
at Brest.

The distance from Quimper to L'Orient
is about thirty miles. This latter town is
delightfully and romantically situated in a
bight of the bay of Port Louis— it may be
called a basin, for it is hemmed in by the
land. An extensive trade is carried on in
grain and fish. Here you have the Sar-
dinia in perfection as well as at Quimper.

The Lion d' Or is an excellent hotel,
and inconceivably cheap — the table d'hote
an excellent one— the price for an habitue,
or regular customer, is thirty-five francs
per month for breakfast and dinner. The
casual visitor pays thirty sous for each

94 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

dinner separately, and half that sum for
breakfast. I lodged at this hotel, and
paid after this rate, as my stay was only
short.

An English gentleman has resided at
L'Orient for some years. He was kind
enough to call upon me, and I found that
he was intimately acquainted with some
members of my family, which circum-
stance soon brought us on very friendly
terms. I gathered some useful informa-
tion from him as to the prices of provi-
sions, house rent, &c., and this, added to
my own observations and inquiries, en-
ables me to convey some idea of the rate
of living in this part of France.

The necessaries of life were about the
same as at Quimper — a little, but very
Httle cheaper. To a person not a sports-
man, perhaps L'Orient might be the
pleasanter town of the two ; but the
shooting around Quimper is superior,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 95

and more easily obtained ; therefore I
give the preference to it.

L'Orient, however, possesses great at-
tractions, and were it not for the gun, I
should be very much inclined to pitch my
tent there. It is a remote corner, cer-
tainly, to settle down in ; but the market
has not yet been ruined by an influx of

our improvident countrymen, Mr. S ,

the gentleman I have alluded to, being
the only Englishman there.

He gave me to understand that the in-
habitants were proverbial for their kind-
ness and hospitality, and I had proof,
during my short stay, that he had not
over-rated their good qualities ; and I
can safely say I have seldom passed ten
days more pleasantly in my life than on

the occasion I am recording. Mr. S ■

is a naturalized subject, and the Orient-
alists look upon him as one of them-
selves. The only drawback for a family,

96 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

probably, would be the distance ; but once
there, take my word for it, they would
never leave L'Orient.

The route I would recommend would
be, by Southampton and Jersey, to St.
Malo ; from thence by sea also to Mor-
laix, and from Morlaix by land. The
distance to L'Orient is not more than
eighty miles, and the travelling and ac-
commodation are both excellent. Mr.

S informed me that a very excellent

family house can be obtained for about
twelve pounds a-year ; a small one for
half this sum. Furniture, bedding espe-
cially, is cheap — wuth the exception of
carpets, which are dear all over the Con-
tinent. Furnished lodgings for a bache-
lor, such as a sitting-room and bed-room,
can be had for about eighteen or twenty
francs a- month.

The markets are bountifully supplied,
and the provisions are excellent of their

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 97

kind. Beef of first-rate quality, five sous
per pound ; veal, six sous ; mutton, four
sous, sometimes five. Poultry remark-
ably cheap, and particularly fine : chickens,
twenty sous a couple ; full-grown fowls,
from thirty-five to forty sous a couple ;
capons, a trifle dearer; turkeys, three
francs each ; small ones, less.

The fish is superlatively good and re-
markably reasonable: — soles, from three
to four sous a pair ; mackerel, from two
to three sous each ; turbo ts, thirty sous
to three francs, according to the size ;
John Dory, a franc, and thirty sous ; red
mullet, two, three, and four sous each.
Servants' wages vary from three to four,
and five pounds a year, according to
their acquirements. A single man may
live like a prince upon sixty pounds a
year at L'Orient, and so he may at
Quimper ; but this is on a grand scale :
he could live respectably on forty ; and a

VOL. II. F

98 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

married couple could enjoy every luxury
with a rental of a hundred a-year.

The wines are brought direct from
Bordeaux, and landed on the quay from
the vessel, and you may lay in a stock
of wholesome beverage at about four-
pence-halpenny a bottle. I drank some
delicious claret at Mr. S.'s table, really
and truly a fine generous wine, that
warmed and comforted the inward man,
which he informed me did not stand him
in more than a franc per bottle. The
cheaper wine is a most grateful beverage
at dinner, and, although an Enghshman,
I prefer it to malt liquor.

I returned to Quimper well pleased
with my trip, and was anxiously looking
out for the arrival of my countrymen
from Guimgamp. I had made every pre-
paration for their reception, and, more-
over, had laid in a very good stock of
wine for them at a very moderate rate.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 99

For lack of better amusement, I was
induced to try some marshes between
Quimper and Concarnan, on the coast,
where I was informed I should find plenty
of snipe. I found the swamp in capital
order, and full of birds. Unfortunately I
had no dog with me, but I had very good
sport : although I lost many birds for
want of a retriever, I contrived to bring
home eleven couple, which, under the
circumstances, was a respectable morn-
ing's work.

The only instance of incivility and in-
terruption I ever met in this part of the
country occurred to me on this occasion,
and it happened as follows : —

I had just left the swamp and had
gained the high road, about nine miles
from Quimper, when a garde champ^tre, a
kind of rustic garde de chasse^ accosted me
in* a most rude and insolent manner, and
demanded my porte d'armeSj which he in-
F 2

100 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

sisted upon inspecting. I knew perfectly
well that he had no right to do so on the
high road, so I determined to punish
him, as his aim was evidently to extort
money.

I had the required document in my
pocket, hut I had made up my mind not
to shew it him. I pretended to he very
much alarmed, and told the gentleman
that I had left it at home. This he affected
not to heheve, and began to bully, adding
that he should accompany me to my
domicile.

This was exactly what I wished ; for
although not quite equal to a Barclay,
a Drinkwater, or a Mountjoy, I am
a tolerably fast walker for an amateur,
and am good for thirty miles in seven
hours any day in the week ; so I pulled
foot at my best pace, and gave the
Frenchman a regular breather. I walked
all the wind out of the old fellow's body,

-^^.L-t'

■■A

■^^^^

GIVING THE GARDE CHAMPETRE ABREA.THE,R
TO THE GA-TES OE THE TO^Jl^f AT ^UIMPER .

SdQlLs]ie.i WHejixy CaIWri\^ Grea.tJ'k-rlkoroti.^L St J 84-1 -

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 101

for by the time we had reached the gates
of the town he was thoroughly done up.

I halted at the barrier e, and, feehng in
my pocket, accidentally discovered my
porte d'armes, which I exhibited to the
winded gamekeeper.

No description of mine can convey any
idea of his wrath upon discovering the
trick I had played him : he gave vent to
more sacrSs in a given time than any
Englishman could have uttered for a
wager ; and, to fill up the measure of
his misfortune, he had the additional
mortification of being laughed at by the
douaniers at the gates. I ofi^ered to ac-
company him to the Procureur du Roi if
he felt himself aggrieved ; but the exas-
perated guardian of the fields did not
notice my friendly proposal ; he turned
upon his heel, and that was the last I
ever saw of the garde champ^tre.

102 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER IV.

Arrival of Captain P — '■ — and Mr. W at Quim-

per — Their friendly reception by the inha-
bitants— Our setters admired — Some observa-
tions on founding the breed — The liistory of
" Mouche," and how the author became pos-
sessed of her — Retrievers — French and English
guns — Proving a Birmingham barrel.

On the day following the adventure
which concludes the last chapter, I had

the pleasure of welcoming Captain P

and Mr. W to their new habitation.

They arrived en poste, with two of the
servants ; the dogs and heavy luggage
were to follow, under the charge of the
groona. As may be imagined, I was de-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 103

lighted at meeting them once more, and
having them comfortably domiciled under
the same roof with me. They found a
blazing fire in the salon, and the like
warm reception in their bed-rooms, which
I had taken care should be ready by their
arrival.

My old friends and companions ap-
peared much pleased with their new
dwelling, and the selection I had made ;
and their gratification was by no means
diminished when, as we were enjoying
our wine a VAnglaise after dinner, I en-
tered into particulars as to the advan-
tages within our reach.

I introduced them in due form to the
authorities on the following day ; after
which indispensable ceremony the Pro-
cureur du Roi was kind enough to pre-
sent them himself to all the leading
families in the place. We were most
graciously received, and before the ex-
piration of the week our table was

104 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

covered with invitations to dinners, balls^
soirees, a^d suppers ; indeed, the famihes
seemed to vie with each other in catering
for our amusement. Our evenings during
the winter were passed most agreeably,
and when the weather permitted we
visited the marshes. Here we found
ample employment for our guns ; the
snipes in great abundance ; and when
we chose to vary our sport, we could
always command eight or ten couples of
cocks in some alders and brushwood which
skirt the higher ground towards Quim-
perle.

We occasionally fell in with a few
coveys of birds, but the season was draw-
ing fast to a close, and, moreover, having
been fired at and frightened by the native
chasseurs in the early part of the shoot-
ing months, the partridges had w^iseiy
betaken themselves to the woods for
shelter and security.

In the meadow lands, to the left of the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 105

swamp, we found hares in great numbers,
which we shot to present to our hospi-
table acquaintances in the town, by whom
they were much'coveted. There are several
soi disant sportsmen at Quimper, but out
of the number only two have the slight-
est pretension to this honourable title ;
they are very tolerable shots, but both
their dogs and themselves have much to
learn before they can hope to be on a
par with even a third-rate performer in
this country.

The high courage, good training, doci-
lity, and admirable qualities of our setters
astonished all the chasseurs in and about
the town, and several gentlemen were in
the habit of requesting permission to ac-
company us, for the purpose of seeing our
dogs work. They had never heard of dogs
backing or dropping to shot ; and their
surprise was great on beholding our well-
broke animals acquit themselves as all
F 3

106 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

propsrly educated dogs should do. ' ' Mais
regardez done commeils couchent.^' " C'est
inconcevable /" they would exclaim, when
our setters were in the field or swamp.

It was inquired of me, ** D'ouvient elle
cette race de chiens?'' ''England and
Ireland," was my reply ; but if I had
been asked how the breed was originally
produced, I think I should have been
puzzled to answer the question. It is
hard to say by what means the breed of
setters was first established, and I can-
not help suspecting that we are indebted
to chance and experiment for this beau-
tiful and useful animal.

As the setter is my favourite dog in
the field, and decidedly the most useful
for general shooting in France, I have
devoted much time and attention to the
subject, and have even founded a breed
of my own. I will here take leave to
offer a few observations as to the crosses,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 107

by means of which a superlatively good
breed of dogs will be obtained ; and should
any of my readers feel induced to try the
experiment, I will answer for their suc-
cess.

The preliminary step is to put a fine-
bred and unexceptionable pointer bitch to a
noted fox-hound ; you will then have laid
the foundation of three essential quali-
ties,— speed, nose, and courage. Docility
and sagacity are also requisites, and to
obtain these, cross the offspring with the
small and slender race of Newfoundland
dog. The produce will be as near per-
fection as possible : they will take to
water, retrieve, and for general shoot-
ing will be found the very best and most
useful animal the sportsman can desire.

Every qualification will be combined in
this cross, and their beauty will be such
as to entitle them to admission into their
master's drawing-room ; and be it under-

108 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

stood, the luxury of a hearth-rug and
a good fire, by no means tends to render
them effeminate, or less hardy in the
field.

I had a setter of the softer sex with me
in Brittany 5 which I constantly indulged
in this manner, and she was petted and
fondled by the whole of our establishment ;
yet a more perfect animal for every de-
scription of sporting never entered a field
or beat a swamp. For snipe and wild-
fowl-shooting she never was surpassed,
if equalled ; and, in the depth of winter,
when the water has been studded with
ice, she would take to it as kindly as in
the dog-days. I became possessed of her
when she was quite a puppy, and in the
following extraordinary manner : —

It came to pass, that, being at Abbe-
ville, in 1829, 1 was induced to shoot my
way to Amiens, via the marshes on the
banks of the Somme. On my return, and

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 109

when about half way from home, my
attention was attracted to a dog in the
swamp, which was beating and quarter-
ing his ground in a very superior manner :
the style of going, the pace, the action,
and that indescribable dashing and swing-
ing of the stern, which betrays high
breeding, were so unusual in that part of
the world, that I was induced to approach
the chasseur, whom, to my astonishment,
I found to be a Frenchman.

After the interchange of as many bows
as would suffice for an Englishman during
the term of his natural life, I ventured to
observe, " that he had a nice dog with
him." He answered me by stating that
it was a '' sacre chierme Anglaise,'' and of
the '' veritable race," but that she would
not remain close to him, and always beat
her ground at too great a distance to suit
him.

I then inquired where he picked up

110 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the dog. He told me candidly, that he be-
lieved the mother to have been stolen, as
she had strayed from the servant of an
English gentleman, on the road from
Boulogne ; that she was in pup at the
time ; and that the animal before me was
one of the litter.

We shot together for a short time,
during which I was so taken with the
young lady's performances, that I was
induced to ask if he would part with her.
He said he was not in want of money,
but that if I would give him the dog I
had with me, he would willingly exchange
animals. Now it so happened that the
chien de chasse by which I was accom-
panied was a wooden-legged, pottering
brute I had upon trial from my friend
Isidore Lefort, the dog-breaker at Abbe-
ville.

Far be it from me to pronounce upon
the " race" to which he belonged, but I

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. Ill

think I can take upon me to say that he
was a veritable chien Francais. He was
half a poodle, with a dash of the spaniel,
and perhaps a little blood of a pointer.
He was a good retriever, however, and
consequently useful in the marshes ; but
as for finding a bird, he had no more
nose than a greyhound. If I approved of
him, I was to have paid twenty-five
francs, w^hich sum I thought I could ven-
ture to lay out upon this promising pup.
I closed with the offer, and the bargain
was sealed by a dram from my pocket-
pistol.

This sacre chienne Anglaise my brother
sportsmen had christened " Mouche." I
had some difficulty in coaxing her away
from her master, but a sandwich and
kind usage caused her to transfer her
affections to me ; and by the time I had
killed a couple of snipe to her, we were
sworn friends.

112 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

She behaved transcendently well all the
rest of the afternoon, found her birds in
the most artistical style, and never made
a blunder. Her nose was superlatively
good, and she was as steady as any
reasonable man could desire. She was
barely six months old, and gave promise
of becoming a first-rate dog for snipe-
shooting.

I was so pleased with my bargain, that
I called upon Captain Rose, of the Navy,
the following day, who walked up to my
lodgings to look at this enfant trouve ;
when, to my surprise, the moment he
saw her he exclaimed, " By G — ! that's
my lost bitch!" The likeness to a fa-
vourite old setter, which he had lost near
Montreuil seven months before, was so
strong, that he could hardly believe it
was not poor old Belle, that he had
brought from England with him.

She was in pup at the time she had

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 113

strayed from his servant, and the sire was
a celebrated dog in the Duke of Welling-
ton's kennel at Strathfieldsaye. It turned
out, as he suspected, that this pup I had
so accidentally stumbled upon was one of
his old bitch's htter. He had repeatedly
refused sixty guineas for the mother ;
and notwithstanding our united exertions,
and offers of tempting rewards, she never
was recovered.

I thus fortunately became possessed of
one of the best-bred dogs England could
produce. This occurred in the month of
August ; and as an instance of the innate
excellence of this highly gifted animal,
on taking her out in the first week of
September, although not seven months
old, she found, backed, and stood as well
as if she had been trained to the work for
as many years.

On the first day I shot partridges to
her, as she was bringing me a dead bird,

114 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

she dropped suddenly, and nothing could
induce her to move from her point. I
walked up to her, and found a hare under
her nose, which I kicked up and shot, to
her no small gratification. This is the
only instance I can remember of a dog
standing one description of game, with
another in its mouth ; and when the age
of the animal is taken into consideration,
it must be deemed as most extraordinary.
In recording the precocious excellence
of my favourite "Mouche," I cannot resist
stating another proof of her remarkable
steadiness : — I had been shooting in the
swamp close to Abbeville, and had ex-
pended all my ammunition, in conse-
quence of finding an unusual number of
snipe. It being early in the day, and as
there were more birds in the marsh, I
determined upon sending a youthful fol-
lower (who had accompanied a French
gentleman and myself) as far as the Fau-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 115

bourg St. Giles, to Isidore Lefort's, the
dog-breaker, for some more powder and
shot.

The little garmin had scarcely crossed
the Somme before Mouche was on a
point, and I laid a trifling wager with
Monsieur Adolphe Lottin that she would
not break it until the messenger's return,
if the birds remained undisturbed. The
boy came back in about three quarters of
an hour, during which period my young
prodigy never moved. The gun was of
course instantly loaded, and a wisp of
snipe were found to have huddled together
in some long grass : a couple were killed,
and Monsieur Lottin had to pay five francs
for his want of faith ; but to this day is
loud in his praises and admiration of my
invaluable purchase.

In founding a breed, especial attention
should be paid to the property and power
of scent in both father and mother ; for

116 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

nose, after all, is the grand desideratum.
Symmetry and colour are secondary con-
siderations ; but, of course, where the
fancy can be indulged, so much the better.
A friend of mine has a dog, and an excel-
lent one too, the breed of which it would
be difficult to trace, and I suspect would
even puzzle that indefatigable philoso-
pher, Mr. Joseph Hume himself, to dis-
cover. I almost blush to write it, but
this said animal was begotten, j^ar hasard,
by a large wire-haired sheep-dog out of
a pointer bitch, which had incautiously
been taken into the field at an improper
period ; but a better dog than one of the
offspring of which I am speaking never
stood to covey. From whence he derived
his numerous good qualities must be left
for wiser heads than mine to determine.
He had most superexcellent gifts, —
courage, speed, steadiness, and an exqui-
site nose, and no day was too long for hira.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 117

I do not adduce this fact with the view
that any of my readers should make the
experiment ; but I quote it merely as a
remarkable instance of the effect of chance
producing an offspring endowed with
instinctive attributes for sporting pur-
poses.

It would scarcely be less difficult to
trace the origin of the retriever ; the re-
markable and useful qualities this breed
are endowed with are rarely to be met
with in any other of the canine race.
There is no fixed genealogical principle
recognised as to the breeding of retrievers.
I have known very good ones of all sorts
and sizes. I once tried an experiment
myself which answered passing well.

It occurred to me that sagacity was the
principal ingredient in the composition
of a retriever, and with this idea I crossed
a Sussex spaniel, renowned for its exqui-
site nose, with a large French poodle of

118 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE:

my own, of sagacious notoriety. He was
a nonpareil in his way, and could do
everything but read and write. The re-
sult happily crowned my wishes with
success ; for the pups, the joint issue of
poodle cum spaniel, all turned out parti-
cularly good retrievers ; one is at Quim-
per at this moment.

A good old setter that thoroughly un-
derstands his work will be found very
useful in cover for pheasant-shooting,
and in some instances is preferable to
the yelping tribe. In nine cases out of
ten, when a pheasant is wounded, he
runs, and continues to do so as long as
the babblers are in pursuit of him ; but
if the dog be mute, the bird will the
sooner stop, and is sure to be ultimately
found by an experienced setter, and
with infinitely less trouble to the sports-
man.

I am aware that keepers set their faces

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 119

against the use of setters for cover-shoot-
ing, as they adhere to the maxim that
their masters cannot have too many-
dogs ; but I can assure my readers that
too many dogs, as vi^ell as too many ser-
vants, are useless animals ; and that where
a sufficient number only are kept, whe-
ther of bipeds or quadrupeds, for the
work required, that work will be better
and more effectively done than where a
superfluity are supported, to make a show
and keep up appearances, to gratify the
vanity of the parvenu^ or the nouveau
riche.

A really good sportsman will never
require more than a brace of good setters,
and double that number of pointers. For
cock-shooting, of course, the spaniel is
indispensable.

Our continental neighbours are fully
aware of the superiority of English tho-
rough-bred dogs, and it is impossible to
offer a more acceptable gift to a French

120 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

country gentleman than a good setter or
pointer. During my stay at Quimper, I
distributed several puppies out of Mouche,

which were begotten by Mr. W 's

setter, Merlin. I had also a brace of
young ones, which were forwarded to me
from Abbeville. They were begotten by
a celebrated dog of Captain Rose's, by
name Jack, and he had been kind enough
to take charge of the young ones until
they were old enough to be serviceable in
the field.

I should say that by this time there
would be found as good a breed of set-
ters at Quimper, as any person need
desire to have ; at all events, I left behind
me some of the most promising dogs I
ever saw, and I am certain that Captain

P and Mr. W have done all in

their power to keep up the stock, and to
distribute them judiciously amongst their
brother chasseurs.

Before I proceed to describe our opera-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 121

tions in the spring, by the river's side
and in the marshes, I will take the liberty
of making a few observations on the im-
measurable difference between a French
and an English gun.

I can take upon myself to say, and I
am prepared to prove, that the French
armourers are a century behind us in the
manufacture of these weapons, as regards
material, finish, and workmanship. I
have taken some pains to discover the
cause, and have had several conversations
with Lepage, the best maker in Paris, on
the subject.

It is surprising, that for the last quar-
ter of a century, during which the French
workmen have had frequent opportuni-
ties of seeing Enghsh guns, they should
not have striven to rival us in this im-
portant branch of trade ; but, with the ex-
ception of a little extra polish externally
applied, their locks and barrels are as

VOL. II. G

122 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

defective, and as imperfectly got up as
in 1815.

It is certainly matter of marvel that
more accidents do not occur, or, rather,
that we do not hear of more mishaps. That
they do happen occasionally, I have rea-
son to know ; for in the villages bordering
on the swamp at Abbeville, and the Bay
of St. Valery, I have seen some miserable
estr^pies, who had been maimed by the
bursting of their fowling-pieces.

T am speaking of the French gun-
makers generally. Mr. Lepage is, as I
have stated, the workman of highest
repute in Paris, and I am bound to say,
that he is almost exempt from the sweep-
ing censure ; that is to say, he can, if he
chooses, turn out a very presentable piece
of workmanship. These instances are
rare. In fact, I never saw bat three guns
that would bear comparison with any
second°rate English doubles, and these

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE- 123

were for noblemen, from whom instruc-
tions had been received to spare neither
time, trouble, nor expense, in producing
the very best guns that could be made —
in Paris.

The pains lavished on them had been
intended more for show than use, after
all ; for, on examining the locks, they did
not exhibit that exquisite finish, or betray
that smoothness of action, that distin-
guish the performances of our Mantons,
Moores, Purdeys and Westley Rich-
ards. The French Government would
do well to send some of their armouriers
over to Birmingham, to receive some
finishing lessons in the craft of gun-
making, for they would then learn .^ the
principles upon which our barrels are
twisted and bored. At present, they are
grossly ignorant of the rudiments of the
art, and so will they remain, so long as
their foolish jealousy, pride, self-suffi-
g2

124 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

ciehcy, and ignorance, blind them to their
own interest.

I am persuaded that if a first-rate
Enghsh workman were to set up in
Paris he would make a fortune. He
would, in all probability, — indeed, to a
certainty — meet with a strong opposition ;
but a respectful appeal to the Throne
would not only meet with attention, but
encouragement ; for his Majesty, Louis
Philippe, would lend his countenance and
support to any English artisan of merit,
whose talent would be beneficially exer-
cised in his dominions.

His Majesty employs English engineers
on his own estates, and is, moreover, ex-
cessively partial to our enterprising coun-
trymen. With such patronage and sup-
port, success could not be doubted, if any
foreman from one of our celebrated firms
were to embark his capital in such a spe-
culation.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 125

I would advise his taking a good sup-
ply of tools, and every utensil appertain-
ing to his trade ; for he will not find a
file, saw, or chisel fit to use on the other
side of the water ; and, notwithstanding
the heavy duty, I would also recommend
him to import, from this country, his iron,
barrel-stubbing, and steel, for the mate-
rials he will meet with in France are of a
quality very inferior to that he will have
been accustomed to here.

There is a peculiar malleability about
our English iron that is not to be met
with in any other quarter of the globe ;
and consequently the perfection to which
our gun-makers have arrived is unattain-
able by the foreign manufacturers.

A curious, and not an uninteresting,
exemplification of this came under my
own observation about ten years ago.

A gentleman, connected with a highly
respectable firm in the gun trade, at Bir-

126 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

mingham, was summoned to attend a
board, or, more properly speaking, a com-
mittee, composed of some of the direc-
tors, in Leadenhall Street, respecting a
contract for guns, to be shipped to their
possessions in the East. The president

of this committee was Captain M ,

who officiated also as spokesman to the
conclave, and, after some preliminary hig-
gling, as to price, &c., the contract was
agreed upon. As is customary on simi-
lar occasions, several patterns of guns and
fowling-pieces were produced before the
board, and, from amongst divers samples
handed to the contractor, one single-
barrelled gun, of foreign manufacture,
was selected as the ne plus ultra of per-
fection.

Mr. W. D , the individual in ques-
tion, was, rather tauntingly, asked by

Captain M , if he could make such a

barrel as the one produced. A modest.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 127

yet firm, affirmation was the reply. Now
it so happened that this was a noted little
gun, the barrel of which was of Damascus
make. A bonus of twenty-five pounds
was promised to Mr. D , the con-
tractor, if he could produce a barrel of
English manufacture, and of the same
weight and calibre, which would stand
the test of proof against it on trial.

The offer was boldly and eagerly ac-
cepted by the contracting party, and a
day appointed for the experiment, in the
East India Company's ground. At the

hour named, Mr. W. D was there,

with a gun turned out by his employers,
at Birmingham, corresponding, to a frac-
tion, in weight and calibre, with the
" master-piece."

The usual proof-charge of powder was
apportioned to each of the guns, under
the superintendence of an umpire. They
were severally tried with one, two, three.

128 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

four, five, six, seven, and eight bullets ;
but on being charged and discharged
with nine bullets, the Damascus barrel
flew into a thousand pieces, and was shi-
vered to atoms ; but ten and eleven
bullets were fired from the Birmingham
gun, without producing any extraordi-
nary efi'ect. However, on the twelve
bullets being fired from it, about three
inches of the muzzle of the barrel were
blown off, and that without materially
disfiguring the giin, for the piece was
severed as neatly as if it had been filed
oflT; and it was the opinion'of those pre-
sent that the " Brummagem " would
have stood one, or even two more bullets,
had the last charge (the twelve) been
properly rammed down. Nevertheless,
the superiority of the British manufac-
ture was sufficiently manifest, and, even
without adducing this authenticated fact
in support of my argument, I should be

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 129

borne out in asserting that our iron is in-
finitely better than any other.

The best material used for gun-barrels
is stub-iron, or old horse-shoe nails :
these form the best twist, are tougher,
and more yielding withal. We have some
j ustly-celebrated barrel-makers in London.
Mr. Fullard stands deservedly high, and
so does Squires, of Whitechapel.

I once had a little cover gun, made by
the latter, which was a perfect prodigy
in its way ; it shot (to use an emphatic
Yankeeism) as sharp as " a flash o' light-
ning." The barrels were of wire-twist ;
and a better little gun I never put to my
shoulder. It is now in the possession of
a young friend of mine, who wheedled
me out of it, and is, I have no doubt,
dealing death and destruction amongst
the North American snipe and wood-
cocks, the present owner having crossed
g3

130 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the Atlantic to rusticate in the back
settlements of Upper Canada.

As I am on the subject of guns, I may
be permitted to record the result of a trial
which took place in Paris as to the rela-
tive merits of the French and Enghsh
makers, which will form the subject of
the next chapter.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 131

CHAPTER V.

Trial of English and French guns — London versus
Paris — A dejeuner de gargon in the French
capital — Trip to Mery — The Champagne coun-
try— Some remarks on the wine — How to cure
a ropey batch — A remarkable instance given —
Return to Picardy — Hints about dogs.

In the month of August of the year

1828, Captain P , Mr. W , and

myself, received an invitation from Mr.
Hubert, the proprietor of some extensive
vineyards in Champagne, to take up our
quarters at Mery, and shoot quail,^ which
abound in that part of France.

132 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

We met by appointment in the Hotel
des Etrangers, in the Kue Vivienne
(which, par parenthese, is one of the most
comfortable houses in Paris), where we
found the grower of vines himself, '' on
hospitable thoughts intent," beating up
for recruits to join his party for the 1st of
September in Champagne ; and in Paris
as well as London, friends are not wanting
under such circumstances.

A very pretty sprinkling of amateurs
soon flocked to our hotel, some two or
three of whom joined us at the table
d'hdte. After the bottle had circulated
rather freely a VAnglaise, and the politics
of the day were discussed, the favourite
topic (shooting) was brought on the tapis.

Marvellous were the tales told by the
several narrators, and great were the feats
that each had performed. At length the
merits of the owners' guns were dis-
cussed, each person leaning with an un-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 133

disguised partiality to his own system of
sporting, and to his favourite maker.

To our astonishment, Monsieur Hubert
asserted that Monsieur T. G , a Mon-
sieur de N , and himself, would pro-
duce three guns, made inParis,that should
prove equal, if not superior, to our London
particulars ; and he taxed us, moreover,
with indulging in an illiberal prejudice
by maintaining our opinions regarding
the superiority of the English manufac-
ture.

To bring the matter to issue, a wager
of three hundred francs was proposed, and
which was to be decided on the following
morning. Monsieur Hubert, Monsieur

G , and Monsieur de N , were to

meet Captain P , Mr. W , and

myself, in the Bois de Boulogne at ten
o'clock, for the purpose of deciding upon
the merits of the several guns. I must
confess I was nervously anxious as to the

134 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

result of the trial, having heard wonders
of Lepage's make.

Had a duel been about to take place,
more interest could not have been exhi-
bited than on the evening prior to the
appointed rendezvous. The locks of our
guns were carefully examined, and every
necessary precaution taken to ensure the
victory we anticipated.

It will be admitted, no doubt, that we
had some grounds for being sanguine
when I state that the three guns we were
to bring into the field were from the hands
of Mr. Joseph Manton, Mr. Purdey, and
Mr. Wm. Moore, of the Edgware Road ;
which latter, by the way, was lent me
by my friend Mr. B , at Dieppe.

Before setting out for Paris, I had
been in hopes of receiving my own gun
from Mr. John Manton, to whom I had
sent it to make a trifling alteration ; but
it did not arrive in time — much to my

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 135

disappointment— for I had made a match
to shoot with my favourite double from
Dover-street, against a celebrated Purdey
in the possession of Mr. Martin Hawke.
Of course the match did not comeoff;
and the failure cost me a dinner at the
Hotel Royal at Dieppe.

It was subsequently forwarded to me
in Paris, and was the gun I used during
our first crusade against the boars in the
neighbourhood of Guimgamp. But to
return to our match.

At the stated hour we were on the
ground with our gun-cases in the Bois de
Boulogne, and had not waited long be-
fore our antagonists made their appear-
ance, accompanied by Monsieur Lepage,
the renowned maker of crack guns in the
French metropolis.

As soon as our opponents had extri-
cated themselves from the crazy fiacre
which had brought them to the scene of

136 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

action, and after a friendly and cordial
greeting on both sides, the guns were
paraded in due form. Monsieur Lepage
had accompanied the backers of his guns,
and had brought a ream of coarse whited-
brown paper for us to fire at.

It was stipulated that we were all to
use the same powder and the same sized
shot, but that each party were to load as
they pleased.

Monsieur Lepage now stepped forward,
and requested to know the number of
yards at which we had agreed upon as
the distance. I named fifty. " Mon
Dieu V exclaimed the finisher of French
fusils; *' c'est trop loin.'' He modestly
asked me to try twenty-five or thirty, as
a fair test. I replied by inquiring, as
gravely as I could, whether ten would
not answer his purpose better.

At length, after a great deal of good-
natured, playful altercation between our

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 137

friends and ourselves, forty-five yards
were agreed upon. The ground was duly
measured from a certain tree, against
which was nailed a quire of the before-
mentioned whited-brown paper.

Monsieur Hubert commenced opera-
tions, and lodged twenty-nine shot in the
paper, but not half of the quire was per-
forated. Another quire was nailed up,

when Monsieur G- took his shot ;

twenty-three grains struck the sheet, but
did not penetrate through more than
eight or nine sheets of the paper. Mon-
sieur de N then took his ground as

soon as Monsieur Lepage had placed a
fresh quire before him. He fired, and
lodged thirty-two shots in the target, but
still many sheets of the quire were un-
touched. I was now confident that they
had no chance against us. We fired in
the following order, changing the quire
at every shot.

138 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

No. of

grains of shot.

Captain P . Joe Manton . 54

Mr.W . . Purdey ... 63

Myself . . . . W. Moore . . 69

Every sheet (and there were twenty)
was perforated, and the bark of the tree
itself considerably indented.

The Frenchmen seemed thunder-struck,
and Monsieur Lepage was terribly crest-
fallen. The shooting of our guns was
incalculably superior. All three of Mon-
sieur Lepage's guns scattered exces-
sively, particularly the one used by
Monsieur Hubert. In contradistinction,
the one I had, and which was made by
Mr. Moore, shot very closely, and was
certainly as good a gun as I ever met
with ; I used it during our little excur-
sion to Mery, and committed great havoc
amongst the quail and partridges.

After several energetic sacre nom de
Dieus, we were requested to shorten the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 139

distance to thirty-five yards, but with
no better success on the part of the
Parisians, and at last they were obhged to
acknowledge themselves as fairly beaten.
Before leaving- the Bois de Boulogne, T
fired at four sheets of thick cartridge-
paper at the distance of seventy yards
with Mr. Moore's gun, and lodged forty-
eight shot, which went clean through
every sheet, and penetrated the bark of
the tree. Monsieur Lepage offered me
a thousand francs for the gun, which,
not being mine, of course T could not
part with ; but if it had, I should not
have sold it for double the sum.

We returned to Paris to breakfast ;
and a French dejeuner a la fourchette is a
matter of no little importance. We all
adjourned, with the exception of Mon-
sieur Lepage, to the Eocher de Cancale,
the house par excellence for a true Pari-
sian breakfast.

140 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

First comes the succulent huitre cVOs-
tende, a dozen or two of which it is
orthodox to swallow prior to the discus-
sion of the dainties which await you in
this temple of Epicurism.

These delicate little avant couriers are
washed down with a glass or more of
iced chably, by which time, it is presumed,
the appetite is whetted to the proper pitch
for attacking the more substantial fare.
The oysters are succeeded by the appe-
tizing cotelettes a la tartare, kidneys stewed
in champagne, pouletsa la Marengo, Sipdte
defoie gras, and the meretricious dinde aux
truffes. These are the condiments that
constitute a dejeuner de garpon in Paris ;
and of all this fascinating food did we
partake after our popping-match. Every
sort of wine in the host's cave was tasted,
from humble port to imperial Tokay.

To an Englishman these vinous break-
fasts are oppressive in the extreme, and

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 141

the apprehension of being consarned in
liquor before dinner, to say nothing of
the flushed face, the heat, the thirst, the
indigestion, cum multis aliis of horrors,
detract considerably from the animal gra-
tification of feeding a la mode de Paris.
I did not recover from the effects of this
morning's excess for some time ; I felt
drunk for a week.

After all, and not being over-parti-
cular, I am satisfied with some of Twi-
ning's best green, a muffin, a new-laid
egg, and an occasional layer of tongue —
as far as breakfast is concerned ; but
commend me to Very for a recherche din-
ner. His soups a la Reine, filets de soles,
vols au vents, and Marengos, are, like Mr.
Hunt's blacking — matchless.

We left Paris on the 2Sth of August,
and arrived at Monsieur Hubert's cha-
teau, near Mery, in Champagne, the fol-
lowing day. To the Enghshman who

142 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

may not have had the opportunity of
travelling much in France, the word
"chateau" sounds inconceivably grand,
and he would expect to find a magnifi-
cent castellated mansion, surrounded by
a spacious domain ; but, on the other
side of the Channel, the word " chateau"
conveys a less dignified meaning. We
were, consequently, not disappointed on
driving up to a moderately-sized tene-
ment of stone, on the banks of the Seine ;
but whatever lacked of grandeur was
amply made up for in hospitality and
kindness. A more friendly reception
never welcomed • a guest than we expe-
rienced from Monsieur Hubert.

We were domiciled for three weeks
under his roof, and our time was passed
most agreeably. He kept open house
during our stay, and what with feasting,
dancing, drinking, shooting, and other
little diversions, we had a very merry

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 143

time of it. The partridges were very
plentiful, and as for the quails, they
were hterally in swarms in the neigh-
bourhood of the vineyards and the plan-
tations of hemp ; the numbers were
inconceivably great, perfectly incredible ;
and he who desires to eat this delicate
bird in perfection, should run down to
Mer'y, from Paris, and if he do not thank
me for the hint, there is no gratitude
extant.

And then the wine ! I could write a
library in its praises. The champagne-
drinker of this country would scarcely
recognise his favourite beverage were he
to taste the wine as made on the spot,
so great is the difference between the ex-
hilarating nectar, as drank at the vineyard
itself, and the wine we so much covet
here. They are both champagne wines,
it is true. Hodgson's pale ale, and table-
beer, are both malt liquors ; but which is

144 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

»

the best ? And, as Hodgson's pale ale is
to small beer, so is the champagne at
Mery to the champagne , in England —
Q— E— D—.

Now, having established my position,
I will proceed to inform my readers why
this is. My authority is derived from the
fountain-head. Monsieur Hubert himself.
He is one of the largest landed proprietors
in the country, and decidedly one of the
most respectable of its merchants.

I learnt from him, and I was unac-
quainted with the fact, that the wine of
Champagne is but a sorry traveller, de-
teriorates in quality by land- carriage, and
is invariably sea- sick on a voyage. Of
the truth of his assertion I am thoroughly
convinced, for I never, in any country, or
at any table, tasted such wine as I did
during this excursion. I speak not of
any choice specimens, such as were pro-
duced at Monsieur Hubert's own table.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 145

or at the houses of the other wine mer-
chants in and about the town of Mery,
but of the common run of first quality
champagne, to be drank or purchased at
an hotel, or of any dealer in wines.

Monsieur Hubert related an anecdote
to me of a large batch of champagne
which he forwarded to this country, and
which tends to corroborate his assertion.
He had received a large order from the
Marquis of Hertford, to send him three
or four hundred dozen of the very best
wine that could be procured ; more than
usual pains were bestowed to select the
very choicest specimens.

The champagne was sent and duly re-
ceived— a very high character accom-
panying the consignment as to its quality;
and Monsieur Hubert assured me that
finer wine never left his cellars. His dis-
may and disappointment, therefore, may
easily be conceived, upon his receiving a

VOL. II. H

146 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

letter from the Marquis's steward, in-
forming him that this much vaunted wine
was not drinkable ; a request was added,
that Monsieur Hubert would send a con-
fidential person in his employ over to
England to satisfy himself as to the fact.
Monsieur Hubert's head cooper was ac-
cordingly shipped off to this country,
and on his arrival in London found
every bottle of the celebrated wine as
ropy as linseed tea.

At the wine cooper's request a large
vat was procured, into which the whole
of the wine w^as emptied ; by a certain
process, known only to this cooper, he
recovered the precious liquid, and re-
stored it to its pristine excellence. The
champagne was re-bottled, corked, wired,
and resined ; and I have no doubt that the
creaming nectar w^hich the noble Marquis
distributes, with his wonted liberality,
to the guests at his hospitable board comes

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 147

from the stock which was supplied by
Monsieur Hubert from Mery.

Monsieur Hubert attributed its maladie
to the dehcate and superior quahty of
this wine, which was so suddenly affected
by the sea- voyage and change of climate.
I have no doubt the wine is good to this
day, and very palatable, but I very much
question if it has ever regained its original
flavour and excellence.

It is possible that many of my readers
have never tasted the second growth of
champagne wine, the petit vin, or tisanne,
as it is termed by the natives ; this truly
delicious beverage can never be procured
out of the wine country, for it will not
bear the carriage even up to Paris ; but
it is worth a pilgrimage to Champagne
to partake of ; for I know not a more
delicious or refreshing draught to the
thirsty and wearied sportsman than this
cooling and effervescing thin potation
H 2

148 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

affords. It is sold at every cabaret in the
country, as ale, beer, and cider are with
us ; the price varies from eight to twelve
sous the bottle ; it is sold likewise from
the cask by the litre ; it is, in truth, most
grateful and refreshing stuff ; and, more
than all, there is not a headache in a
hogshead of it.

Our engagements in Picardy and Nor-
mandy compelled Captain P , Mr.

W , and myself, to leave the jovial

party congregated beneath Monsieur
Hubert's roof. We quitted Mery with
unfeigned regret ; and should circum-
stances admit of my visiting Paris once
more, I shall not fail to extend my trip
as far as the flats of Champagne, where
it will afford me heartfelt pleasure to
renew the acquaintances I formed during
my short stay amongst them.

On my return to Paris, I found my
favourite John Man ton gun at the Hotel

THE SPORTSMA.N IN FRANCE. 149

des Etrangers, it having been forwarded
to me from Abbeville. I was therefore
afforded an opportunity of trying it
against M. Lepage's supernaculums, and
found it shot quite as well as the William
Moore I had with me ; better it could not.
I had several learned conversations with
Monsieur Lepage on the subject of guns
and gun-making, and I found him, when
alone, a very reasonable person.

He very candidly acknowledged that
the workmanship and material of the
English guns were superior to anything
he could produce. He is a clever and an
enterprising mechanic, and has taken in-
finite pains to make himself a proficient
in his craft.

There is one point to which he pays
particular attention, and that is the exact
proportion of charge suited to each gun
that he sells — this is an example well
worthy of imitation by our own makers.
My own observation and experience

150 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

enable me to assert, that this very essen-
tial point is but too frequently neglected
by even the first-rate firms in this metro-
polis.

No two guns shoot alike ; and it is only
by unremitting attention to their various
powers of throwing shot that their res-
pective merits can be proved. Some guns
take less powder and more shot, and vice
versa; and many pounds of both have been
expended before the desired end has been
accomplished. I have known guns to
have been actually condemned, as want-
ing in almost every requisite, which have
eventually proved superior to those of
reputed and tried excellence.

I can picture to myself the novice fur-
nished with one of Man ton's best doubles,
with all the appurtenances to boot — a gift
from his indulgent governor, uncle, or
aunt — sallying forth in the grey of the
morning, with old Ponto at his heels.

I will take it for granted that he starts

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 151

armed with salutary hints and cautions ;
but T can venture to affirm that he will
not have exercised his patience by trying
his new toy at a given reasonable dis-
tance (say forty yards), for the purpose
of ascertaining the exact proportion of
powder and shot suited to his barrels.

This, I admit, to a young beginner is
a tedious and an unentertaining process,
and occasions a vast expenditure of pow-
der, shot, and paper ; but I earnestly re-
commend the experiment to the young
and to the old. In causing the gun to
undergo this test, the value of the piece
will be materially enhanced by the know-
ledge of its powers, which can never be
ascertained but by the perseverance of
its owner.

Partridge shooting in the present en-
lightened age is reduced to a science, and
is as much a game of observation, posi-
tion, and tenace, as whist itself. Obser-

152 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

vation, inasmuch as without it no person
can ever hope to be a sportsman ; posi-
tion, for on placing yourself will mate-
rially depend the fiUing of your bag ;
tenace, as it rests with yourself, and
the aid of your dog, to command success.
A man to be a sportsman must have
been born with a predilection for this
healthy pastime, or, as my friend Mr.
Deville would say, with the bump of
philo-detonativeness strongly developed.
Poetanascitur nonfit; and the same rule is
to be applied to the knight of the trigger.
But how many lovers of field sports of
the present day^ assume to themselves the
title of sportsman without the slightest
ground for such assumption, or perhaps,
more properly speaking, presumption !
How very few of those who enter the
field possess the necessary qualifications
to entitle them to such an enviable dis-
tinction ? Patience, observation, presence

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 153

of mind, and, above all, good temper, are
indispensable ; and yet how rarely are
these qualities united in one and the
same person !

Nine men out of ten who carry a gun
defeat their own intentions by intern-
perately and injudiciously rating the faith-
ful quadruped which is administering to
their gratification ; when, by letting the
dogfoUowthe dictates of the surpassing in-
stinct with which he is gifted, they would
find the animal to have been in the right.

No person who is not a first-rate sports-
man should attempt to break a dog,
especially a setter ; for by this self-im-
posed task he will in all probability ruin
the animal, and acquire such a habit of
belabouring his dumb companion as to
render himself unworthy of possessing a
good dog.

There are dog-breakers by profession
in abundance, both in the vicinity of
H 3

154 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

London and in every country town ; and
I can undertake to assure my readers
that they will find it cheaper in the end
to submit to the expense of having their
dogs tutored secundum art em by an expe-
rienced hand. Notwithstanding my
predilection for the setter, I would re-
commend the neophyte to take the field
with a stanch old pointer.

However strange it may appear, he
must submit to be instructed by his dog ;
but it must be a good one ; for it would
be next to cruelty both to the man and
to the beast — but particularly the latter —
to entrust a young, high-couraged, hot-
headed, self-willed dog to a beginner.

The setter, however, is a noble animal,
both in disposition and appearance ; he
is endowed with more sagacity than the
pointer, and in point of courage and speed
all the w^orld knows he is immeasurably
superior. Where the breed is very choice.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 155

and, to use an Oriental term, the dogs
are of '' high caste," in nine cases out of
ten the setter supersedes the necessity of
a retriever ; and it would be superfluous
to point out the advantages my favourite
animal possesses in a woody country,
where wounded birds would inevitably
be lost under the ancien regime of shoot-
ing to pointers alone.

It frequently happens that pointers are
foot-sore, and consequently useless in a
stony country ; whereas the setter, being
by nature furnished with ample protec-
tion to his feet, is seldom, if ever, unfit
for work from this cause. I shot for
three seasons consecutively (including
the spring, when the snipe were in the
marshes) with my invaluable god-send
" Mouche," and never took any other dog
out with me, and she was never on the
doctor's list for an hour.

I would take the liberty of recom-

156 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

mending to all masters — and herein more
especially the young sportsman — to pay
particular attention to the feet of their
dogs after a long day in dry weather, and
where the soil is hard and exposed much
to heat.

Some gentlemen of my acquaintance, on
reaching home, leave their dogs to the
care of a domestic, thinking that by order-
?*r?^their animals to be fed and consigned
to the kennel they have requited the
faithful beast for his day's labour : not
so ; and the palpable negligence of con-
signing a good and serviceable dog to the
casual attention of an uninterested, un-
educated menial, savours (to me) of in-
gratitude, to use no harsher term.

A really good sportsman is ever mind-
ful of his sagacious and faithful com-
panion in the field, and ascertains himself,
and considers it a paramount duty to do
so, that his dog is properly attended to.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 157

The first thing to be loolced after is, the
state of the animal's feet ; they should be
carefully examined, and washed with warm
water and plenty of soft soap ; it is astonish-
ing the relief this simple application af-
fords ; these ablutions finished, the feet
should berubbed dry, and the dog thenfed.
He should have a plentiful supply of good
clean straw, and abundance of room to
stretch himself.

Every one knows that after a hard day's
shooting there is nothing so refreshing
as a tepid bath, more particularly to the
feet ; and it is idle to suppose that the
dog is not as susceptible of the luxury as
the master — the benefit arising to both is
manifest ; and the setter or pointer, with
this care, which common humanity ought
to point out, will invariably be fresher,
more capable of enduring fatigue, and be
up to his work during the whole season ;
when by neglecting his comfort by trust-

158 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

ing to a servant, the chances are, your
dog will be knocked up in a month.

I speak from experience and practice,
and could adduce numberless instances in
support of my argument.

Where the locale admits of the enjoy-
ment of wild-fowl shooting in the winter,
the dogs employed for this purpose should
have a greater share of care and atten-
tion, and warmth should be afforded them
with an unsparing hand.

By some I shall doubtless be thought
over particular and fastidious ; but I do
not hesitate to say, that during the whole
of the time I was in France I devoted, in
the winter season, a brick-floored room
in an out-house, to the use of a setter
and retriever. It had a large open fire-
place, and while my tenants were occu-
pied in seeking sport for their master, a
large wood fire was kindling on the hearth
to welcome them on their return home.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 159

This indulgence, however, I only granted
in very severe weather, or when the dogs
had been much in the water during the
day.

It would be needless to dwell upon the
comfort and enjoyment the dog must
derive from the warmth ; but it may not
be irrelevant to point out the advantages
arising from this humane proceeding.

Let any man ask himself how he would
rehsh being lodged in a cold, damp, out-
house, without bed or fire, in the month
of December or January, after having
been wet to the skin all day in a swamp ?
My sagacity inclines me to answer for
the gentleman, " not at all." Then why,
I ask, should not the health as well as
the comfort of the dog be consulted ?

From the unpardonable neglect I have
hinted at, dogs are frequently afflicted
with chronic rheumatism, more especially
setters ; and too much care cannot be

160 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

aken to give them the opportunity of
warming and thoroughly drying them-
selves before a good fire, the expense at-
tendant upon which will prove a saving
in the long run.

I adopted, both at Abbeville and
at Quimper, the plan of allotting for
each dog a very large round wicker-
basket employed for wild-fowl shoot-
ing, about three parts filled with clean
straw, or fine deal shavings, on which
was laid a large fold of strong drugget,
or coarse blanket. As my fire was
composed of logs, and consequently in
an open fire-place, a high common wire
fender was placed around it to pre-
vent the dogs approaching too nearly, or
lying in the ashes, of which they are very
fond.

Where the animals are all of the male
sex, it will be found the better plan to
allow a separate wooden bowl or platter

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 161

for each to feed out of ; for every dog,
like the beggar, "knows his own dish,"
and consequently much dissension and
fighting will be avoided.

With regard to the food to be recom-
mended, I should say that in France the
pain de munition, the coarse brown (or shall
I say black ?) bread served out to the
troops is beyond compare the best. In
every departmental town on the Con-
tinent will be found a garnison, and the
soldiers will cheerfully exchange two
brown Tommys for one white loaf. This
was the plan I went upon, and found it
to answer marvellously well. The bread
thus obtained was boiled down in pot-
liquor. If our kitchen occasionally yielded
none, some sheep's heads, or half a
bullock's, were purchased for a mere
trifle ; and the broth or soup answered
admirably. I avoided all kinds of raw
meat, for 1 am persuaded it annihilates

162 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

one of the most valuable properties in a
dog — the nose. I hold meat of any kind
to be objectionable ; it should be stewed,
and the juices thoroughly extracted from
it, and then the soup may be given with
the bread soaked in it.

At home — I mean in Old England — -
T substitute the commonest and coarsest
sea-biscuit ; and when this cannot be pro-
cured, where the distance from a sea-port
town is great, the oaten cake, or coarse
barley bread, will be found to answer
equally well. Both are extremely nourish-
ing ; and when steeped in pot liquor, is as
well relished as the pain de munition of La
belle France.

Setters in general are foul feeders, and
eat voraciously ; and if care be not taken
to counteract the effects of gluttony,
much evil will result. All dogs generate
bile quicker than any other animals ; and
the stomach should be cleansed of all im-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 163

purities by occasional doses of medicine.
Some of my friends administer the blue
pill as an alterative, but I am not as yet
a convert to the system, as I am of
opinion that the only admissible purga-
tives are salts and castor oil ; and these
will keep the dog's body in a proper
state. The peristaltic persuaders so much
in vogue with some enterprising dog-
doctors only tend to tuck the animal up
and irritate the intestines.

When young dogs are vermicelliciously
inclined, the following is an excellent re-
medy ; indeed, I have never found it to
fail : — Pound some glass in a mortar
until it is perfectly pulverized, and as
fine as magnesia ; give the dog as much
as will lie on a sixpence every other day
for a week. To make it palatable, and to
ensure its safe and steady transit to the
stomach, rub the powder down in a piece
of dripping, or butter, the size of a wal-

164 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

nut ; on the intervening days, give him
(fasting) three table- spoonsful of castor
oil, (lamp oil will do, faute de mieux ;)
and before the last dose is administered
he will have parted company with all his
worms.

In calling the attention of the sports-
man to the state of his dog's feet after a
long day it is to be remarked that, in
wild fowl and snipe-shooting, they may
become too soft, in which case astringents
should occasionally be applied. If the
feet be washed with strong brine^ this
evil will be obviated, and the remedy,
however simple, is very efficacious, and
can be procured on all occasions.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 165

CHAPTER VI.

Setters again — Anecdote of " Right," a celebrated
dog — A few remarks upon simple shooting —
Guns and gun-makers — Ball-shooting with a
John Manton— Westley Richards and the Bishop
of Bond Street — Back-action lock — Rifles to be
preferred for boar-shooting — Rifle-shooting in
America.

The only objection having a shadow
of reason to back it, and which has been
urged against the setter, is the difficulty
of breaking him thoroughly, and render-
ing him sufficiently tractable to hunt with
other dogs. I admit that great patience
and an unusual proportion of good temper
are required to bring a high bred setter to

166 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

a proper degree of subordination ; but
then, I will ask, when these difficulties
are surmounted, is not the master repaid
in a tenfold degree for the expense, time,
and labour he has bestowed upon the
animal ? Surely the most stubborn
sceptic will acknowledge that I am justi-
fied in asserting that he is.

It has been my lot to own some few,
and to meet with many, of the wildest
dogs of this breed ; but, by perseverance,
they have been conquered at last, and
have ever proved the stoutest andstanch-
est animals. A friend of mine became
possessed of one of the most headstrong
devils that ever was fired over, yet he
turned out one of the very best dogs I
ever remember.

He belonged some years ago to a

Colonel M , stationed at Tilbury Fort,

who, however good a marksman at his
country's foes, was perfectly harmless in

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE, 167

the field — as far as the partridges were
concerned. The dog in question was
considered by his master as perfectly in-
domitable— so much so, that, either dis-
gusted at his own lack of skill, or the
dog's self-will, he was induced to part
with him to the friend I have alluded to
for a very moderate sum.

The dog was taken from Essex into
Kent, and consigned to the care of one
of the very best dog-breakers of his day —
old Wells, the old and faithful keeper in
the service of the late Lord Darnley. In
such hands there was no lack of instruc-
tion, and the noble preserves of Cobham
furnished abundance of subjects for the
dog to practise upon. In less than three
weeks the animal turned out to be one
of the most perfect creatures of his
kind ; and old Wells has frequently been
heard to declare, that although '* Right"
(the dog's name) gave him more trouble

168 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

than any quadruped that ever came under
his hands, he was never wrong, and would
find more birds than all his lordship's
kennel put together. Independently of
fetching his game in very superior style,
he was an excellent retriever.

On one occasion, I remember particu-
larly, on returning home in the evening
with his master, after a hard day's shoot-
ing, the dog stopped at the side of a
hedge ; he was walked up to and en-
couraged ; he dashed in, and up got a
tine cock pheasant. The bird was hit
hard, and he towered, but went off at
least a quarter of a mile. " Right" was
sent after him, although we could not see
exactly the direction he was taking, as
we were much below the ground he had
to pass over. We ascertained afterwards
that the dog had gone through a cover,
had swam a canal, and crossed several
ditches. He returned to us after an ab-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 169

sence of about five-and- twenty minutes,
with the bird in his mouth.

Poor " Right" is now gathered to his
forefathers; but, with the exception of
being a httle wild after any temporary
cessation from his duties in the field, I
agree with my venerable friend Mr. Wells
in pronouncing him one of the stanchest
and best setters on record.

A man, to become a really good snipe
shot, must practise for several seasons be-
fore he can hope to arrive at perfection.
Independently of its diminutive size, the
snipe, on rising, makes such rapid turns,
and flies so crookedly, if I may be allowed
the expression, that a very good part-
ridge shot may cut but a sorry figure in
a marsh.

Nothing but great practice, patience,
and coolness=^ will overcome the difficul-

* It is known to all snipe-shooters that when the
bird rises he makes a screaming noise, resembling
VOL. II. I

170 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

ties which present themselves to the fol-
lower of this fascinating sport ; for nine
sportsmen out of ten, who have become
tolerable proficients in this branch of
their education, will acknowledge that
they have felt more real pleasure in bring-
ing down a couple of snipe in a marsh,
than five brace of birds in the field ; and
so it is in the every-day occurrences of
life : the greater the diflBculty in obtain-
ing any given object, by so much is the
satisfaction increased in possessing it.

Sportsmen of the old school adhered
pertinaciously to the plan pursued by
their forefathers, of shooting with an old,
broken-down pointer ; but, in this en-
lightened age, we know better ; and any

the sound of the word '' escape." A friend of mine,

a noted shot, invariably exclaims, " I'll be d d

if you do !" — giving as a reason, that it affords him
time to take his aim coolly and collectedly. The
plan appears to succeed with him, for a snipe rarely
" escapes" from his merciless barrels.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 171

one who has any pretension to knowledge
in these matters is aware that the setter
is indisputably the dog best suited for
this species of sport.

The setter, if properly bred from the
crosses I have before pointed out, will
turn out naturally a water dog; and
where the swamp is intersected by small
rivers, gulleys, and wide ditches, an ani-
mal of this kind is indispensable.

The snipe, ninety-nine times out of a
hundred, flies against the wind ; the
shooter w^ill therefore beat his ground
accordingly, to secure to himself the cer-
tainty of a cross shot — the grand deside-
ratum in snipe-shooting.

If an eccentric bird should, contrary to
the custom of his tribe, take to wing
down wind, the chances of escape are
greatly in his favour ; for his flight will
be so rapid, his twistings and turnings so
bewildering, especially to the unpractised
I 2

172 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

eye, that he usually gets off with a whole
skin ; but, on the other hand, if one stray
shot hit him, he is done for, by reason of
his body being more exposed, and his
feathers in this position affording no pro-
tection.

Snipes invariably lie better in warm
than cold weather, particularly single
birds. In wisps they are generally wild,
and, on their first arrival after a flight,
are frequently unapproachable. Much
will depend upon the goodness and cun-
ning of the dog in such cases.

It is a good plan, in long, high grass,
weeds, or rushes, on arriving near the
spot where you have killed your bird, to
throw down your hat or cap as a guide in
searching for it. This precaution, how-
ever, is only to be practised when your
dog happens to be otherwise engaged on
a point elsewhere.

A curious circumstance occurred to me

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 173

at Abbeville in 1829 : — My lady-like set-
ter, " Mouche," was standing some snipe,
one of which was shot to her ; but as she
never moved from her original point, it
was an understood thing between us that
more birds were before her. As soon as
I had loaded I threw down my cap, as I
thought, near the spot where the first
bird fell, and returned to the dog, and
killed another bird to her. Upon going
back for the first bird and my cap, I
could not find the bird, and, after expend-
ing some time and trouble, gave up the
search. On picking it up, however, to my
astonishment I found the snipe under it ;
so accurately had the spot been marked.

As far as my observation and expe-
rience enable me to form an opinion, I
should say that we must yield the palm
to our Gallic neighbours, both as to the
quality and quantity of their marshes and

174 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

swamps, as well as the profusion of snipe
with which they abound.

The whole of Picardy, Lower Nor-
mandy, and Lower Brittany, are literally
swarming with them. It would, there-
fore, as I have before said, amply repay
the enthusiastic lover of wild-fowl shoot-
ing to take a trip to Abbeville in the
winter. A more favoured spot for this
species of amusement is not to be found.
The distance is nothing — in fact, but a
two-days' journey from tlie Tower stairs.
If the amateur start from London in the
morning by the steam-boat, he will arrive
at Calais in the evening, and the follow-
ing day, the Paris diligence will set him
down at the Titty de Buff, (as I once heard
an accomplished country-woman of mine
call the T^te de Bceuf,) at Abbeville, in the
afternoon.

As a matter of course, he will visit the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 175

marshes, and, if he be a good shot, I will
ensure from ten to fifteen couple of snipe
every day in the season. I would advise
the stranger, before he ventures alone on
the banks of the Somme, to send for my
friend Isidore Lefort, the professional
chasseur and dog-breaker of whom I have
made mention. He dwelleth in the Fau-
bourg St. Giles, and, for the trifling re-
muneration of a franc, and an occasional
goutte of eau de vie, he will be happy to
escort any knight of the trigger, and shew
him the marshes. This precaution will
be found necessary, for without a guide
in the first instance, the inexperienced
visitor might chance to make his exit in
one of the many treacherous bogs which
abound in these marshes. Monsieur
Isidore is a very civil fellow, a very fair
shot, and (for a Frenchman) a tolerable
sportsman.

I had contemplated causing a few

176 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

hundred circulars to be lithographed, by
way of presenting my readers with letters
of introduction ; but, as this proceeding
might be attended with inconvenience, I
can save them and myself any further
trouble by merely requesting any one or
more of my friends to whisper the word
" Mouche" in Isidore's ear. It will ope-
rate like magic, and ensure, not only ad-
ditional civihty and attention, but also an
induction to some particular nooks and
corners in a certain part of a certain
swamp, where only a chosen few are
permitted to pull a trigger.

My readers will, I hope, have borne in
mind my recommendation of Monsieur
Duflos' matchless fen-boots ; and should
any snipe-shooter ever venture as far as
Abbeville in pursuit of his favourite di-
version, he will, I trust, make trial of
them. His health and comfort will be
materially improved, — indeed, no one who

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 177

has not experienced the blessing of having
been fitted by this renowned son of Cris-
pin can form any idea of the luxury of
his phable casings for the extremities.
They are as supple and flexible as a silk
stocking, and impervious to wet — in
short, inconceivably delightful to the
bog-trotter.

I have already adverted to the supe-
riority of the English over the French
guns, both as regards material and work-
manship. The difference in price is cer-
tainly great, and I must acknowledge
that the sum demanded by our crack
makers is rather exorbitant, — but, if the
sportsman wish to have a really good
gun, he must expect to pay a good price ;
and T am convinced there is no real eco-
nomy in buying an inferior article. I
have an innate horror of cheap things of
any kind ; and as to a cheap gun, I mean,
I 3

178 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

one turned out by a third-rate mechanic,
— I shudder at the thought of it.

Notwithstanding the aversion^ or pre-
judice, as it may be termed, which J shall
ever entertain for low-priced guns, I am
free to confess, as the parliamentary
phrase goes, that the magi in the gun
trade, with only one exception, charge
too much for their first-rate doubles, and
that exception is Mr. Westley Richards.

I trust, however, that the day is not
far distant when our leading gun-makers
will form a kind of Joint-Stock Company,
and reduce the price of their fowling-
pieces. I know that it could be done,
for I am in the secret, and I could also
tell them how, and still leave them a fair
and reasonable profit, — but blabbing is
not my forte.

The French phrase of " Vemharras du
choix" is peculiarly applicable in the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 179

selection of a gun, for where the manu-
facture is brought to such a pitch of per-
fection, as in the present day, by the two
Mantons, John and Joseph, Purdey, Wil-
liam Moore, and Westley Richards, For-
syth, &c., it is hard indeed to choose.
Each of these celebrated firms have their
patrons and admirers ; and the sportsman
must be fastidious indeed who could find
any fault with the workmanship.

I have recorded the merits of the John
Manton gun I had with me at Guimgamp
— for ball shooting I never saw it equalled,
— but all the guns from Dover Street are
renowned for this quality ; hence the re-
putation they have gained for themselves
in India. I may say that during my cam-
paign at Monsieur de C 's chateau, I

was indebted for my life to the excellence
of this gun ; for had it not carried a ball
in such a superior and rifle-like manner,
more than one boar would have taken

180 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

some very disagreeable liberties with my
person.

I have a letter by me at this moment
from an old sportsman, which tends to
corroborate my assertion ; and as the
gallant writer is as distinguished in the
jungle as in the field, he will not, I am
sure, be displeased at my here giving an
extract from his epistle, which was ad-
dressed to the late Mr. Manton.

After an account of his several hunting
excursions, accompanied by a long list
of killed, wounded, and missing, the
Colonel goes on to say, —

" It may be satisfactory to you to
know that I always preferred your double-
barrelled guns to any rifle piece.

" Returning from Asseer Ghurr, in
April last, at a village in a very hilly
country, where it was next to impossible
to kill, I learned that in the short space
of four months above fifty people had

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 181

been killed by a tiger ; and while I was
at breakfast, within a quarter of a mile
of my camp, three of my camp bullocks
at graze were destroyed.

' ' I went out and saw the tiger repeat-
edly, but had no opportunity of a good
shot. About four o'clock in the evening
I again went out, and found, but lost al-
most immediately. In about an hour,
however, I was fortunate enough to ob-
serve the monster — a fine, large male
tiger — ascend the ridge of a hill. On per-
ceiving my elephant, he instantly crouched,
and I had only his forehead to fire at.
The distance was eighty yards, and at an
angle of about fifty degrees.

" I stopped my elephant, and taking
as good an aim as my position admitted
of, I fired. The ball struck between the
upper part of the nose and eye, and was
so instantly fatal as not to alter the
position of the animal. You, of course,

182 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

know the number of the gun ; and I can
only assure you that a better cannot be
had.

" I remain, Sir,

" Your obedient servant,

'c w C ,

" Lt.-Col. Regt., Baitool.

" To Mr. John Manton,

" Dover-street, London."

This letter says much in support of my
argument, and I can safely assert that
the gun I had with me in Brittany was
equally good with the one alluded to.
But I had another favourite double with
me also, which, for general shooting, I
almost preferred ; and this one was made
by Westley Richards.

I never knew the sportsman yet who
did not assert that he had the best gun
that ever was fired out of, and the best
dog that ever stood to covey. Contra-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 183

diction is worse than useless in such
cases ; and as I make it a point to humour
every one to the top of their bent, I (to
borrow an elegant expression from Lord
Duberly) " always sit mum chance," and
let the self-satisfied gentlemen expatiate
ad libitum on the merits of their several
nonpareils.

For fear I may be accused of falling
into a similar error, I will content myself
by saying that I believe I once had as
good guns and as good dogs as any pri-
vate gentleman in her Majesty's domi-
nions.

I have remarked that the top-sawyers
in the gun trade charge too high a
price for their first-rate doubles, but that
Mr. Westley Richards is an exception.
The price demanded by the Mantons,
Purdey, Moore, &c., is somewhat about
fifty-four pounds, and sometimes rather
more. This is their hooking charge. Now,

184 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

Mr. Bishop, of Bond-street, who is West-
ley Richards's agent, asks from eight-
and-thirty to forty pounds, ready money.
Here is a great difference in the price, but
I can assure my readers none will be found
in the guns or the workmanship, for both
are perfect. I have shot with first-rate
guns made by all the first-rate makers,
but I never met with any superior to
Westley Richards's, but a vast number
very inferior to them.

The " Bishop of Bond-street," as this
facetious agent terms himself, is unre-
mitting in the discharge of his duty to
his employer, and personally superintends
and inspects the finishing of the guns.
It must in justice be admitted that they
are got up in a very superior manner,
and I will add, that they shoot stronger
and quicker than many others whose
makers shall be nameless.

In short, they are turned out in the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 185

very best style, and, for neatness and
finish, are not to be surpassed, if equalled.
The workmanship is perfect ; and these
advantages, coupled with the circum-
stance of Mr. Westley Richards charging
some fourteen or fifteen guineas less than
his competitors in the trade, have secured
to the aforesaid " Bishop of Bond-street"
such a flow of first-rate patronage and
custom as to keep this self-created pre-
late in constant work.

Mr. George Wood, of Ottershaw, with
whom I have the pleasure of being ac-
quainted, patronizes the Bishop ; and his
keepers and himself have dealt death and
destruction with Mr. Richards's guns in
the well-stocked preserves of this beauti-
ful domain. I happened to be in Surrey
two years ago, and Mr. Wood was kind
enough to invite me over to Ottershaw,
after his return from the Highlands.

My own guns were in Brittany, but

186 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

this was no impediment in the way of my
sport, for I was provided with one of Mr.
Wood's private particulars, and a splendid
little gun it was — I made some surprising
shots at rabbits with it, perfectly incredible
to distance ; and the shot were thrown
with a strength and concentration I never
yet saw surpassed ; this in rabbit shoot-
ing is especially desirable ; for with a
scattering, weak-^shooting gun, you have
the painful reflection of dooming the ani-
mal to a lingering, torturing death.

I am perfectly disinterested in making
these observations, and I can therefore
honestly and conscientiously say to him
who wants a good double, go to the
Bishop of Bond-street, and if he do not
sell you a first-rate one, I know nothing
of guns.

As economy is the order of the day, it
may not be irrelevant to state, that where
price is an object, the sportsman of mode-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 187

rate means may pick up an excellent gun,
by a first-rate maker, at one or two re-
spectable repositories in this metropolis.

Gentlemen's sons of the present day
begin to know the value of pounds, shil-
lings, and pence ; and many a scion of a
noble house is not above purchasing a
second-hand gun, when, some fifteen or
twenty years ago, he would have cut his
dearest friend for entertaining such a
plebeian idea.

Mr. Vaughan, the silversmith in the
Strand, has an exceedingly good selec-
tion of guns. I accompanied a friend of
mine to this establishment not long ago,
he being about to make a second-hand
purchase for an acquaintance in the
country. I was really surprised at the
extensive and judicious assortment ; I saw
some new, and a few second-hand guns,
by the two Mantons, Purdey, Lancaster,
Westley Richards, Forsyth, and one by

188 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

Anderson ; and they were worth looking
at.

It is far from my wish or intention, in
noticing these chance guns, to interfere
with or diminish the sale of new ones
from the fountain heads ; nor do I ima-
gine that these observations can possibly
injure the celebrated artists ; for, generally
speaking, they have more work in hand
at all seasons of the year than they can
finish, and more orders than they can
execute ; and although they may possibly
view with a jealous eye such an estab-
lishment as Mr. Vaughan's, I still assume
to myself the privilege of pointing out to
the economist, the half-pay officer, and
the sportsman of pleasing manners and
small fortune, where either of these classes
of my readers may hit upon an unim-
peachable gun.

A diversity of opinion exists as to the
merit of the back-action lock ; the advo-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 189

cates for the innovation contending that
the appearance of the gun is materially
improved, and that on the new principle
the locks are effectually protected from
wet.

Quant a moi, 1 do not agree with
these disciples of the new school, inas-
much as I do not think the construction
of the back-action lock adds to the beauty
of the stock — it is not half so sportsman-
like in appearance as the old system ; and
as to keeping out damp from the locks, if
they be properly fitted, and turned out by
any of the respectable firms I have men-
tioned, water will never find its way to
the inner works on the ancient prin-
ciple.

But I am prepared to shew that the
back-action lock principle is d effective in
two essential particulars, — firstly, the
stock of the gun is materially weakened,

190 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

from the circumstance of the principal
hold of the lock itself being through the
grasp, where it necessarily tapers off, and
the long narrow plates do not make up
for the diminution of strength and solidity-
occasioned by boring through the stock
at this important point ; and, secondly, a
gun mounted in this way can never shoot
so sharply as on the usual plan, because,
from the peculiar construction of the
back-action lock, the hammer has a
greater distance to travel ere it falls on
the nipple, and it is consequently less
quick in its operation. The locks of a
gun, like wheel-horses in a mail, cannot
be too near their work.

Notwithstanding the excellence of Mr.
John Manton's guns, and their superior
powers of carrying ball, I would earnestly
recommend the boar-shooter to arm him-
self with a rifle ; this is decidedly the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 191

weapon for such hazardous sport. I
found the benefit of them at Rennes, on
our second visit to Brittany.

The art of rifle shooting has been much
practised of late years, and we can boast
of some very tolerable performers. Mr.
William Moore, the gun and rifle maker
of the Edge ware-road, is, I believe, the
first rifle-shot of the day, and has won
more cups, prizes, and matches than any
Englishman around ; Captain Ross is also
a proficient, and Count D'Orsay like-
wise.

I was present at a match between the
two latter, which was for a thousand
guineas, and contended for about six
years ago, in Mr. Purdey's shooting
ground, near Notting Hill. The distance
agreed upon was one hundred and fifty
yards, at thirty-inch targets, without a
rest. Large sums were depending upon
the event, as from the Count's well-known

192 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE,

celebrity as a first-rate ball shot, his
friends were very eager to back him.

It was understood between the con-
tending parties that he who should put
the greatest number of bullets through
the target should be considered the win-
ner. This was the private compact en-
tered into by the competitors themselves,
without reference to the established rules
of target-shooting.

I have ever been taught to believe that
in target shooting, the person who hits
the bull's eye, and who puts the greater
number of shots in and nearest to it, is
considered the winner. Not so, however,
in this instance ; for, according to the
agreement between Captain Ross and
Count D'Orsay, the former was pro-
nounced the winner, although the latter,
in my humble opinion, shot the better of
the two; as, upon inspection, the bull's
eye of the Count's target presented more

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 193

perforations in and about it, than Cap-
tain Ross's.

By the stipulations it was understood
that each miss was to be computed as
thirty inches against the shooter. The
Count unfortunately made several at
starting, from over excitement : he was
decidedly nervous, probably owing to the
high reputation of his antagonist, and,
abiding by the private arrangement, he
was the loser, although, as I have before
stated, he shot better in the aggregate
than Captain Ross. But even this exhi-
bition, good as the shooting may be con-
sidered in this country, would be laughed
at by a North American Indian, and the
Americans themselves.

I had the good fortune to be quartered
in Canada some two or three-and- twenty
years ago, and having, during my stay in
that country, visited the States and some
of the Indian tribes, I have witnessed

VOL. II. K

194 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

some extraordinary feats performed with
the rifle.

I once saw an Indian chief shoot a duck
through the head at a distance of eighty
yards, as it was floating on Lake Huron ;
and I could quote many similar instances
of the wonderful precision with which
this weapon is used in the back woods.

I became so fascinated by the miracles
I saw accomplished by the grooved bar-
rels, that I took to rifle-shooting myself
in those days, but I never got beyond
hitting a bottle once out of three times,
at seventy-five or eighty yards, and that
with a rest. But this is barely the pons
asinorum amongst rifle-shooters, so I fear
I did not do my master much credit.

My instructor in this useful branch of
gunnery, as it is termed by our trans-
Atlantic brethren, was an American —
one of the most patient and kind-hearted
of men ; and who, in addition to his un-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 195

rivalled skill in the use of the rifle, was
thoroughly master of the science of pro-
jectiles, and was theoretically as well as
practically informed on all matters re-
lating to the gun.

Having afforded me the benefit of his
tuition and bright example during a visit
to Upper Canada, he was kind enough to
forward to me at Quebec the following
clever paper, which I have ventured to
transcribe for the benefit of my readers,
to some of whom it may not prove unin-
teresting.

k2

196 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER VII.

RIFLE SHOOTING, BY AN AMERICAN
GENTLEMAN.

" Kingston, Upper Canada,
** Aug. 4th, 1819.
" Dear Sir,

'' As you have proved one of my best
and most diligent pupils, I shall attempt
to give you a few plain instructions, and
make a few plain observations about the
rifle, aiming only to make myself so un-
derstood, that attention to what I shall
communicate will enable any one to
acquire a skilful management of this

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 197

kind of gun, and many to become expert
marksmen.

Few men arrive at a very great degree
of perfection in rifle-shooting. The
" heaven-born rifle shot" must have long
muscular arms, strong hips, coolness of
action, and presence of mind, keenness
of eye, and command of temper, nerves
unbraced by anything except exercise and
spring water,'* and, added to all, constant
practice.

OF THE RIFLE BARREL.

The rifle barrel should be of the octa-
gon form, three feet seven inches and a
half long, and weight at least five pounds.
Five pounds is a very light barrel. This
length is generally adopted by the best
rifle makers. It gives one spiral revolu-

* I am sorry that I cannot, in this instance, agree
with my American friend — I like a dash of brandy
in it.— F.T.

198 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

tion and a half to the grooves or rifles ;
so that the ball, upon leaving the mouth
of the gun, will have turned a time and a
half on its own axis.

This completely keeps up the rotatory-
motion as long as the progressive motion
exists, or very nearly so ; and it is the
combination of these two motions which
checks the aberration in the flight of the
bullet, and is the cause of the superior
accuracy and precision of the rifle.

Experience teaches that the number of
grooves or rifles should be seven, cut
exactly parallel to each other all the way
down.

This number will answer for a gun
carrying either an ounce ball, or a hun-
dred and upwards to the pound. The
rifles should be cut shallow; otherwise
there will be too much friction, and too
much windage, both of which operate
against accuracy and range.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 199

In shallow grooves, the patch is not cut
through before it leaves the gun, as is
the case when they are too deep ; nor is
the gun so apt to become foul.

The barrel should be heavy, to enable
you to poise it steadily without a rest ;
and it should be of an equal size from the
breech to the muzzle. Weight and length
are indispensably necessary to the rifle.

Take a light or short gun, present
either at arm's length, you cannot keep it
to bear on a fine object longer than .a
few seconds. Take one with a barrel of
the weight (the lightest admissible) and
length I have named, and you can keep
it poised off hand without any perceptible
vibration.

Besides, a heavy barrel, by reason of its
additional thickness, counteracts the effect
of the explosion of the charge of powder
on the barrel, and prevents the vibration
caused thereby communicating any effect

200 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

to the bullet as it is discharged from the
gun. Weight also prevents recoil ; the
least degree of which would undoubtedly
change the direction of the aim, and of
course the ball.

The rifle barrel should be stained a
dark brown ; bright barrels reflect too
much light for accurate vision, and are
too easily seen by wild game. For the
same reason, steel mountings are pre-
ferable to brass or silver.

As lessening the friction of the ball as
it passes in contact with the barrel is
one of the causes of the accuracy of the
rifle, great care should be taken that the
barrel be bored perfectly smooth, and free
from flaws. It should be so equally
bored that, in loading, the bullet should
fit tight all the way down, and not become
looser as it approaches the powder.

To enable you to examine the inside of
the barrel, take a piece of looking-glass,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 201

and draw with it the sun's rays to a focus
on the touch-hole ; look down the muzzle
at the same time, and you may detect
the smallest flaw or inequality.

OF THE RIFLE SIGHTS.

This is of the greatest importance. If
not accurate, or the sights of a rifle by
accident get out of order, the rifle is
absolutely good for nothing till they are
regulated. The upper surface of the
barrel should be so fashioned as to admit
the sights being made low without the
breech interfering with the eye when
taking sight.

The fore sight should be made of the
best silver, six-eighths of an inch long,
thick on the top, soldered to a brass-
plate, and dove-tailed into the barrel ; the
lower end of the sight, two inches from
the muzzle, and made to fit tight exactly
K 3

202 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

in the middle of the upper surface of the
barrel.

A fore-sight made altogether of ivory-
is preferable to any other, as it never
glares. The hind-sight should be of iron
or steel, browned or blued, never bright ;
the notch shallow, as fine as possible,
scarcely wider than a hair, and coming to
a point at the bottom.

Both sights should be made as low as
the line of sight along the barrel will
permit, without being interrupted by the
breech.

The hind-sight should also be dove-
tailed into the upper octagon of the
barrel, about twelve inches from the
breech ; though it is evident that the
further the sights are apart, the less the
angle of variation will be.

Bat fashion and convenience must be
consulted a little, as you can shoot

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 203

quicker with the hind-sight twelve inches
from the breech, and the eye is better
pleased, as it looks better. Where the
notch is made, the sight should be made
thin, by cutting out a piece. It should
be fitted too tight to be moved with the
fingers, requiring a smart blow with a
small hammer to move it.

Now, should you find after repeated
trials, at diff*erent distances, with a rest,
that your gun shoots too low, you must,
with a dull file, cut the fore-sight down a
little, being extremely cautious to cut
scarcely a hair's breadth, till you make
other trials. Should the fore-sight be so
low as not to bear cutting sufficiently,
you must have another hind-sight made
a little higher.

It is inconceivable to a person igno-
rant of rifle shooting what a slight
diff'erence in the height of the sights will
make a considerable difference in the

204 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

shooting. If your gun shoot too high, cut
down, by very slow degrees, your hind-
sight.

The greatest caution must be used in
cutting down the sights ; if you cut the
least too much, new sights will have to
be made. Thus it will be seen that a
high fore-sight causes the gun to shoot
low, and a high hind-sight makes it shoot
high; because the higher the fore-sight,
the more you must depress the muzzle
and elevate the breech ; and the higher
the hind-sight, the more you must elevate
the muzzle and depress the breech. If
the gun shoot too much to the right,
knock the hind sight very httle to the
left. When the hind sight is to the left,
you must incline the muzzle that way to
catch the range of the sights : thus it
will shoot to the left. If the gun shoot
too much to the left, knock the hind
sight to the right.

THE SPORTSMAN IN J-RANCE. 205

Although the sights be only the six-
teenth of an inch out of the true line, it
will, in the distance of a hundred yards,
cause an aberration of four inches and
seven-tenths. A good rifle shoots a ball
for a hundred yards in a straight line,
point it as you will.

Lay down a straight line a hundred
yards in length ; then lay down another
of the same length, beginning at the
same point, and let it pass through a
point four feet distantfrom the beginning,
and one sixteenth of an inch from the
second point, you will find this second
line to be constantly diverging from the
first ; and at the end of one hundred
yards, will be distant from the first, four
inches and seven-tenths.

Suppose the rifle barrel four feet long,
and the hind-sight one-sixteenth part of
an inch too much to the right or left ;
then, if four feet, or forty- eight inches,

206 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

err one-sixteenth part of an inch, one
hundred yards, or thirty-six hundred
inches, will err 4.7 of an inch, or four
inches and three quarters. Then multiply
4.7 of an inch by the sixteenth of an
inch, and it gives 72.2, which shews
that, at the end of one hundred yards,
the original error has increased upwards
of seventy-five times.

This will at once convince you of the
extraordinary deviation of a rifle bullet
when the sights are but the sixteenth part
of an inch out of the true line. This is
but one of the errors. Moving the gun in
pulling the trigger would also increase it
in precisely the same way. The practical
part of all this is familiar to the western
hunter, but not to the rifle smith, as no
rifle shoots true when first taken from the
shops.

In shooting, exposed to the sun, there
is sometimes such a glare that you can-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 207

not take good sight ; this may be prevented
by having a tin shade, about four inches
long, made to fit on the barrel, over the
hind sight, and high enough to see the
object to be shot at, under it, at a distance.
It should be in the shape of a section of
the barrel, slit longitudinally. When the
sights are properly regulated, mark them.

OF THE BREECH.

The rifle should be single breeched.
Though not so convenient to take the
barrel out of the stock for the purpose of
washing, yet, as it is attached to the stock
by the breech screw, it lies more secure,
and is not hable to be placed in a different
situation when put back into the stock,
which might cause an alteration in the
shooting.

The common patent breech, or the pear
chamber, as we call it, would increase the
power of the gun, by the powder acting
immediately on the centre of the ball ;

208 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

but then the chamber must not be more
than filled with powder.

I prefer the common single breech,
with the patent chamber, on the percus-
sion principle. From the strength of per-
cussion locks, and the suddenness of the
explosion, it might be presumed that some
depression in the gun would take place ;
but I have known one used with great
success by an experienced hunter in the
West, who gave it the preference over the
flint.* By the percussion plan, the ex-
plosion is so quick, that there is, in fact,
less chance of a deviation in the line of
fire before the ball leaves the gun.

OF THE STOCK.

The half stock of curled maple, walnut,
or other handsome and variegated wood,
extending about one-third up the barrel ;

* The reader must bear in mind that this paper
was written very shortly after the adoption of that
invaluable invention, the percussion principle.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 209

the barrel ribbed, but made in the Ger-
man fashion ; silver escutcheons, thumb-
piece, star, &c. ; steel mountings, of the
usual rifle fashion, I think handsomest.
This, however, is a matter of taste, in
which any one can please himself.

I once saw a rifle, made at Harper's
Ferry, in our States, by order of the then
Secretary-at-War, for an Indian chief,
who had distinguished himself at the
battle of the Horse-shoe. It was a splen-
did piece of workmanship. Instead of
the scroll guard, a limb which grew out
of the main stock, just below where
the right hand grasps the breech, was
fashioned to resemble the butt-end of a
pistol, handsomely chequered and capped
with silver. This enabled you to grasp
the gun with strength and steadiness,
and had a very handsome appearance. I
thought it an improvement.

The thimbles for the ramrod should be

210 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

made large, to hold a strong stout ram-
rod. The screw should be made long, to
give a good hand-hold in wiping. After
much experience, I give a decided prefer-
ence to the double triggers, with a set
screw to regulate them, and a flier in the
lock.

OF THE CHARGE.

I have never found any difference in the
charge of powder, except that an increased
quantity increased the range of the ball.
I usually shoot at small objects, a short
distance, with half a charge of powder ;
but find it makes no sort of difference
in firing at them a double charge, in-
tended to break the bones of a deer, at a
long distance. Dupont's canister pow-
der,''^ with the blue label and two stars, I
prefer to any other for cleanliness and
quick firing.

* The American gunpowder may be very good,
but I think Pigou's, or Curtis and Harvey's, would
be found equal to it.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 211

There is an unglazed, soft kind of
powder, manufactured among the moun-
tains, very proper for rifles. Owing to
its softness, the patch carries down all
the dirt every time you load. The char-
coal employed in making this powder is
prepared from hemp stocks ; but soft
powder does not keep well.

OF THE BALL.

I prefer a rifle that carries not more
than sixty to the pound. If smaller,
they easier get foul, and are much more
difficult to clean, neither can they be
much depended upon for long distance.
The ball should not be perfectly spherical ;
it should be a little oblong ; and the neck
should be cut off flat, which should always
be put downwards. This configuration
keeps the ball from roUing over, or chang-
ing ends in its flight, and preserves the
rotatory motion on its own axis.

212 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

The moulds should be made stout and
heavy, (to prevent, as much as possible,
their heating when casting balls) without
shears or cutters at the rivet, to cut off
the necks of the bullets, as they loosen
the rivets, and injure the shape of the
balls.. The mould should be made flat on
the top, and the top flush with the han-
dles. There should be an iron plate on
top, (a quarter of an inch thick) and
made to turn on a small rivet or screw.

To the plate is connected a lever, about
two inches long, with a feather- spring
attached, to keep the plate in its place.
This plate should have a hole in it, bored
larger at top than at bottom, so as to
leave a sharp edge. The lead is poured
through this hole in the plate, into the
moulds. A smart blow is given with the
end of the lever, against anything capable
of bearing resistance.

The plate is thus moved far enough to

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 213

cut off the neck, and the spring imme-
diately forces it back in its proper po-
sition, ready for another bullet. In load-
ing, always push the ball home to the
powder. This may be told by the ramrod
rebounding. Should there be any vacancy,
there is some danger in shooting the gun.

OF THE WRAPPER, OR PATCH.

For this purpose common parchment
has been recommended. I have never
seen it tried. I cannot think it good, and
it is out of the reach of riflemen generally,
at least in our country. If put in dry, T
am sure it will not accommodate itself to
the shape of the ball, and fill up the
grooves ; and if wetted, it must be fired
off immediately, or it will become dry,
and as hard as a horn.

The best quaUty of flannel is the best
material for this purpose I have ever
tried ; it unites suppleness with consist-

214 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

ence, carries down all dirt, fills up the
rifles so as to prevent the escape of any
flame, and neither burns nor cuts. I re-
commend all riflemen to give it a trial.
Prime before you load,^ and never pick
the touch-hole after loading, unless your
gun flash, and do not even then mash in
any powder. After a flash, clean the
touch-hole, by introducing the picker or
feather, and shake in flne powder.

The Indians, when in action, to load
quick, dispense with the patch ; but they
chew the balls a little, to give the rotatory
motion. When the rifle is clean, grease
the under side of the patch ; when foul,
wet it in your mouth.

CLEANING THE RIFLE.

When very foul, take the barrel out
of the stock, and wash it with hot water

* The copper cap and nipple were not known in
America when this paper was written.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 215

and soap. As a gun-barrel has no tem-
per, or is as soft as the iron can be made,
you need not fear to injure it by hot
water. If not very foul, stop the touch-
hole with a feather and pour two tea-
spoonsful of strong vinegar in the barrel.
The nitre of the powder will cause the
vinegar to effervesce to the top, and loosen
all the filth. Wipe out with good soft
tow. Then take a piece of tow, rolled
loosely into the size and length of a quill ;
twist one end fine, and insert it in the
touch-hole ; let the rod and screw down
the muzzle ; get hold of the tow, and
gradually twist it all through the touch-
hole. This will clean it thoroughly.

Never squib ofi^ a little powder after
cleaning your gun. If it be perfectly dry,
there can be no use in it ; and if not, it
makes it dirty before you begin to use it.
When you put by your rifie for any length
of time, never put it away clean, except

216 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the locks ; the smoke of the powder in
the barrel is the best preventive against
rust. Stop the muzzle with rag, tow, or
cork ; wash out before you use the gun
again. The screw should be made long,
as observed before, to give a good hand-
hold in wiping out. Never twist the tow
on the screw when wiping ; lay it on the
muzzle, give the screw a gentle twist in
it, and push it down.

Should your gun get choked in wiping,
pour in a little hot water. If, in loading,
it get choked, and the ball remain fast,
and you cannot force it down in the usual
way, let one person steady the gun vvith
the butt-end on the ground ; then hold
the ramrod stiff with both your hands,
one near the muzzle, the other near the
end ; let a third person strike the ramrod
with a piece of wood ; the ball will then
go down without mashing or bruising.
Never ram the bullet too much ; it com-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 217

presses the powder, excludes the air, and
prevents a simultaneous ignition of the
powder. The ramrod sometimes swells
too big for the thimbles, and cannot easily
be drawn.

Take the gun between your knees,
the butt on the ground, and the barrel
towards your face ; place both hands on
the ramrod, and push upwards, holding
and compressing the gun between your
knees at the same time. If it cannot be
drawn in this way, knot a silk handker-
chief or strong string several times round
the end of the ramrod ; wrap the ends
round your hands and pull, while an-
other holds your gun. Never put your
ramrod in the joint of a door, or use
pincers or bullet-mould to pull it out;
these ways mash and injure the rod;
the way I have recommended will always
succeed.

VOL. II. L

2i8 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

COMPARATIVE RANGE OF THE RIFLE
AND SMOOTH GUN.

Against all authority I maintain that
a rifle shoots a ball further than a smooth
gun. Take a rifle of the length and
weight I have mentioned, which carries
sixty balls to the pound ; put in a full
charge of powder, so that you may see
where the ball strikes ; then take a smooth
gun of exactly the same calibre, sixty
balls to the pound, and of any length ;
fire it, and see which throws the ball
farthest. This I have frequently tried,
and the result has been uniformly in
favour of the rifle.

When I hear gentlemen say that a
smooth gun shoots a ball farthest, I have
ever found, upon inquiry, that the ex-
periment was made either with a musket
or large ducking-gun, and a rifle carrying
sixty, eighty, or a hundred to the pound.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 219

Now this proves nothing, as we well
know that the range is in proportion to
the diameter of the ball, other things
being equal, — such as the powder, quality
of the guns, and so on.

Thus, sir, I have given in my expe-
rience. Should it aid in directing the at-
tention of gentlemen to this healthful
and delightful sport, I shall be exceed-
ingly gratified at having lent my instru-
mentality. Perhaps I may one day spring
a trigger on your race-course at Quebec
myself, where, if you can find a man who
can hit the size of a dollar, one hundred
yards, with a rest ; the size of a twenty-
five cent piece, fifty yards, without a rest ;
and a ten cent piece, thirty yards, without
a rest, — you may confidently pronounce
' that man is not so easily beaten,' and
you may bet him against the field, two
to one.

Yet I have known shooting superior to
L 2

220 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

this : in fact, I have seen such exploits
done with the rifle, that they would not
be believed in any country where that
arm was not in exclusive use, and the
smooth bore looked upon with ineffable
contempt.

I have the honour to remain,

Dear Sir,

Your very obedient and obhged friend,

S S .

To F. Tolfrey, Esq., Quebec.

I give this letter verbatim as I received
it from the writer; and, making due al-
lowance for national idiom and peculiarity
of style, I think my readers will admit
that it contains a great deal of sound,
practical information.

If my little work should perchance be
taken up by one or more of our crack gun-
makers, they may benefit by a perusal of
this paper, albeit from the pen of an

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 221

American, for they may be tempted to
exercise their ingenuity and talents in the
art and mystery of rifle-making. Such a
weapon as described by my transatlantic
correspondent would be invaluable in the
Highlands, for deer stalking.

Mr. Moore, of the Edgeware-road, is
the only one of the trade who has exclu-
sively devoted his attention to this branch
of his vocation ; he has made it his study,
and has turned out some first-rate rifles.
For boar-shooting they are indispensable ;
and whether the sportsman pursue the
wild hog in Norway, Sweden, Germany,
France, or on the burning plains of Hin-
dostan, he should never be without a
rifle. Were I to undertake another cru-
sade against the sangliers, I am not sure
that I should not provide myself with a
double-barrelled rifle ; for a second bullet
at command would, in many instances,
prevent much mischief.

222 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER VIII.

Good regulation in France, in restricting the shoot-
ing— The opening day regulated by the harvest
— Game-laws — Our Game-laws, and a few obser-
vations on the game-bill — No grouse in France —
Remarks on grouse-shooting — How to pack birds
intended for presents — Sporting on the moors
— Training recommended — A dog made a com-
panion— Patent safety-guard — Accident men-
tioned.

There is one salutary regulation in
France, which is invariably and strictly
enforced throughout the country, and
which, by the way, I could wish to see fol-
lowed in our own bird counties — and
that is, the mayors of communes and dis-
tricts being empowered to postpone the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 223

opening day of the shooting season, in
the event of a backward harvest.

It is a judicious enactment, and well
worthy of imitation. The first of Septem-
ber is a dies non, provided the grain be not
housed ; and I have known, in some De-
part ements, the chasse to be interdicted
until the 10th, I2th, and even the 15th
of the month. The birds, too, are none the
worse for being a fortnight older ; and I
am convinced that if grouse-shooting
with us were not permitted until the end
of August, it would be of more real bene-
fit to the sportsman than as the law now
exists.

The penalty of shooting in France be-
fore the period officially announced by the
mayor of the town, village, or district, is
very severe — fine and imprisonment, in a
greater or lesser degree, according to the
enormity of the off^ence, and the character
of the offender. If he be a notorious

224 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

poacher, the confiscation of the gun is
superadded to the punishment.

Where the landed proprietors are
wealthy, and their domains large, the
estate is well preserved, as a good estab-
lishment of gardes de chasse is kept up ;
and these functionaries, with very few
exceptions, perform their duty zealously
and faithfully. Where the revenue of the
Seigneur will not admit of this outlay,
depredations on his manor are but of too
frequent occurrence ; for almost every
Frenchman carries a gun, and he will pop
at the partridges w^henever he can ; —
whether he kills them or not, is of little
moment.

The French Deputes do not trouble their
pohtical brains about game-laws ; for, with
the exception of a royal ordonnance,
which compels every sporting subject to
take out a ports d'armes, at the rate of
twelve-and-sixpence a head, there is no

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 225

further opposition to frightening the
game in la belle France — barring always,
as the Irishman says, in the few instances
of the wealthy Seigneurs, who may be
selfish enough to preserve the game on
their estates, for their own amusement
and for their table.

Our own House of Commons, however,
has given us a bill — but then, such a
bill ! A greater curse surely was never
inflicted upon us poor sons of guns, who
dehght in puUing a trigger. If this said
Game Bill is not revised (I had almost
written rescinded), in five years hence we
shall not have a bird left to fire at.

I would ask, has this celebrated bill
effected the purpose for which it was
enacted ? namely, — the annihilation of
poaching. Has it not, on the contrary,
materially assisted the poacher in carry-
ing on his nefarious traffic, by affording
him an open market for his spoil ? No
l3

226 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

doubt the selling of game is extremely
convenient to certain landed proprietors,
and by such needy gentlemen the pre-
sent game-laws are viewed with indiffer-
ence ; for so long as they can covertly
supply Leadenhall market, they will ta-
citly lend their aid to uphold this un-
sportsmanlike legislative enactment.

Let any person, sportsman or not,
examine the greater part of the game ex-
posed for sale in the shops of this metro-
pohs, he will then find that nine birds out
of ten, and hares in the same ratio, have
not fallen by the gun. Not the mark of a
shot will he discover — for he will perceive
that the birds have been netted, and the
hares snared.

It is notorious that the poachers adopt
these methods of taking game ; and game
so taken, being comparatively uninjured,
the poulterer will give a higher price
for, because the birds do not spoil so soon

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 227

as when killed by the gun ; so that this
far-famed act, instead of counteracting
the system of poaching, affords it every
facility, and, in point of fact, encourages
it ; and it is an undeniable and indispu-
table fact, that poaching has increased
in a frightful degree since the act has
passed.

The most barbarous and cruel murders
are of daily and nightly occurrence, and
our jails are crowded with the heartless
miscreants who stop not at the shedding
of human blood in pursuing their unlaw-
ful depredations.

Those overwhelming pests, the rail-
roads, furnish their quota of reckless
vagabonds ; for the navigators employed
in these devastating works, sally forth by
night, in gangs, and destroy the game
by wholesale. Resistance is useless, as
the farmers and smaller landed pro-
prietors can tell, and their preserves are

228 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

thinned, without the power of obtaining
redress.

I am surprised, and I deeply regret^ that
the subject has not been taken up by-
some patriotic member. We have many-
sportsmen in the house, to whom, it is
reasonable to suppose, the affair must be
of some importance ; and yet, session after
session passes over without any notice
being taken of this " protection for poach-
ers," as I have heard the bill called.

The object for which I have ventured
to obtrude these pages on the notice of
my brother sportsmen will not admit of
m.y taking this bill to pieces ; but I could
shew up the absurdities and incongruities
with which it abounds ; and would also
dissect the several sections, and expose
the whole arrangement, by placing it in
its true light, for the benefit of all well-
wishers to the trigger. But I dare not
trespass on the patience of my readers,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 229

by plunging into an elaborate examination
of this mischievous act.

I can find no term more applicable, for
it strikes at the root of an Englishman's
first and noblest amusement, and tends
to deprive the sportsman of his pastime,
and the honest landed proprietor of
his game. I cannot, for a moment,
believe that the bill will be allowed to
remain as it is, and I would fain hope
that a spark of amor patricB still kin-
dles in the bosoms of our legislators,
and that some change will speedily be
effected.

But revenons a nos moutons, as we say
at Dunkirk. It is somewhat strange
that the grouse are not to be found in
France — at least, I never met with any.

During my stay at Quimper, Mr. W

and myself explored the country for miles
around, in the hope of meeting with the
heath bird on the bruyeres which are to be
met with all over Brittany — but not a

230 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

feather did we find ; and yet, finer moors
are not to be seen in Scotland, Yorkshire,
or Wales.

I have observed that much good would
result if grouse-shooting, in this country,
were not permitted until the end of the
month of August, and I think it would be
well if the proprietors of the several hills
would come to a determination, una voce,
to defer the opening day to a later period
— a fortnight at least ; and I will take the
liberty of stating why I recommend the
adoption.

In the early part of the month, during
the very hot weather, the young birds lie
like so many stones ; the old birds rise
first, and, of course, the chances are equal
that the hen bird is knocked over. The
mischief here done is incalculable, for, as
in the case of pheasants, where the hen-
birds are destroyed, the numbers in each
succeeding year must be sensibly dimi-
nished. By the exercise of a fortnight's

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 231

patience this evil would be remedied, for
the young birds would not only be stronger
on the wing, but, being wilder also, would
take flight with the old ones, and thus
afford a chance, at least, to the hens.

While I am on this subject, I may here
mention another besetting sin, which cries
loudly for reform, and that is, the manner
in which grouse are forwarded as presents
to the friends of the sportsman : no care
whatever is taken in packing them up,
and as little in the shooting of them.
The greater part of the birds that drop to
the gun in the month of August are the
young ones, and generally at such short
distances, in consequence of the over-
anxiety of the shooter, that they are
blown to ribbons. In this state they are
crammed into a close pocket, or a game-
bag, and, when shaken out, are usually a
mass of putridity. This accounts for the
many living cargoes imported into this
country from the Highlands. ^

232 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

I do not say that this is uRiversally the
case, for a good sportsman will allow his
bird, young or old, to attain a certain dis-
tance before he fires ; but the novice is
too eager to behave with this requisite
coolness.

A friend of mine, a very good shot too,
offends sadly in this particular, and bangs
away, right and left, as soon as the birds
rise. I was down with him in Yorkshire
not many seasons ago, on a very good
range of hills, and he bagged from thirty
to forty brace every day; but, from the
failing I have alluded to, he seldom
brought home more than three brace of
birds that were presentable. Some of
the younger ones were blown literally to
atoms, and were fit for nothing but pies
or soup — roasting them was out of the
question, for they would scarcely hang
together.

Instead of ramming the game into the
bag en masse, I would recommend the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 233

birds being tied by the heels and slung
separately on the waist-belt of the follower
or attendant ; by adopting this simple
plan, they will be kept sweet, and will
not taint.

Where the grouse are found in the hol-
lows, and the soil is boggy, and when they
fall into puddles or swampy ground when
shot, they should be carefully wiped dry
with a towel or cloth. This applies to all
kinds of birds, but more especially to
snipe.

Half of the snipes which are killed fall
into water, and in their wet state are
poked into a game-bag or pocket : the
consequence is, that in a few hours they
become a mass of carrion. The delicate
long bill should be swung backwards and
forwards until the moisture is shaken off,
then wiped quite dry, and hung by the
legs to the strap round the attendant's
waist.

234 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

On arriving at home, they should be
hung in a dry place ; or if any of these
dainty birds be intended for a present,
and are to be sent to any distance, the
following recipe will be found an excel-
lent preservative : —

When the snipes are thoroughly dry,
insinuate a corn of allspice, or whole
pepper, in the cavity of each eye (pre-
viously scooped out) , one in the bill, and
another in the vent ; sprinkle them with
fine pepper under the wings and feathers
— they should then be rolled up sepa-
rately in nettles, or fine paper, and they
will keep, however closely packed, for a
long time. Every bird of game, in fact,
is the better for this precaution, and the
satisfaction that must accrue to the re-
ceiver, as well as the donor, will amply
repay the additional pains bestowed upon
the preservation of the gift.

Grouse-shooting differs materially from

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 235

partridge, or, as it is commonly termed,
bird-shooting. It will be found in vain
to enjoy this sport without previous train-
ing ; the fatigue attendant upon grouse-
shooting is inconceivable to the uniniti-
ated, and unless the amateur exercise him-
self (and his quadruped also) a la Barclay
for some time previously to the opening
day, he will meet with disappointment.

I would, with submission, recommend
all enthusiasts to take a constitutional
walk before breakfast every morning, on
hilly ground, as near the scene of action
as possible, for three weeks at least
before the 12th. He will get himself and
his dogs into wind, and both will be bene-
fited by a knowledge of the surrounding
country.

Many of my acquaintances who call
themselves sportsmen, and who remain
in town until the close of the season, —
I mean the London fashionable season, —
never see their dogs until a few hours

236 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

before their services are required in the
field. How, let me ask, can any reci-
procity of good feeling, or even under-
standing, exist between them ? and with-
out this it is next to impossible to
command success.

A really good sportsman, and one who
thoroughly understands his business, will
make a friend and companion of his dog ;
a feeling of self-interest alone, should no
other exist, ought to dictate the policy of
keeping up a good understanding between
master and dog. I speak from expe-
rience and observation.

I remember some two years ago, when
on a particular moor in Yorkshire, fall-
ing in with a gentleman well known at the
west end of this demorahzed metropolis,
exceedingly well got up as to his turn-
out, armed with a new double by Purdey,
and accompanied by a superlatively hand-
some setter.

My London friend happened unfortu-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 237

nately to be surrounded by sportsmen,
and as no intimacy existed between him-
self and his quadruped, he did Httle or
no execution. The dog, not being fa-
miharized to his master's voice, was fre-
quently all abroad ; the whistle was
equally useless ; and as I happened to be
the nearest shooter to the well-dressed
Tyro, his dog was repeatedly running up
to me, which proceeding called forth
curses both loud and deep from his ex-
asperated master ; and yet I have no doubt
the gentleman never imagined that he,
by wilful negligence, had brought all the
disasters on himself.

It is a mistaken notion that too many
guns spoil the sport. I am prepared to
prove that the more sportsmen there are
(in moderation), on a given number of
thousand acres, the better will be their
chance of success ; for this simple reason
— that they drive the birds to one another.

238 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

I need only mention, in corroboration
of this assertion, that a friend of mine,
an excellent sportsman, had permission
to shoot over a private manor, not far
from the moor where I was enjoying my
sport in Yorkshire. He told me there
was no lack of birds, but they were
unusually wild, and although he was
accompanied by first-rate dogs, he seldom
got within shot of them.

After two blank days, or nearly so, he
crossed the country to the position I had
taken up ; he was rather staggered at
first, on encountering so many guns, but
found out, to his surprise, that the num-
bers did good instead of harm, furthered
his sport, and materially assisted each
other. Only one of the sportsmen, be-
sides my friend and myself, was able to
bear up against the heat and fatigue.
But how was this brought about? — by
the severe training we had imposed on

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 239

ourselves, we were in excellent working
condition, as well as our dogs.

Grouse-shooters are of course aw^are
that flags are planted on the ridges of
the hills, or any eminences, to point out
where the springs are, in order that the
sportsmen and dogs may enjoy the
necessary refreshment. Many were the
unhappy objects I beheld on the day
I am recording, who were dead beat
before twelve o'clock, and the dogs were
in an equally deplorable plight with their
owners : even the few who were resolute
enough to persevere after their temporary
rest, did little more than frighten a pack
or two of grouse ; for the dogs, from the
want of common foresight and precau-
tion, not having been exercised, were
fairly knocked up, and could not be pre-
vailed upon to leave the heels of their
masters, in spite of all the " damns,"
*^hold ups," and ''hie away, Carlos !"

240 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

bellowed voiciferously by the owners.
All the rating, kicking, and swearing,
were of no avail, and nothing was effect-
ed, save disturbing the birds.

My friend from St. James's cut but a
sorry figure, and he was not a little mor-
tified at the manifest advantage we
maintained during that and every suc-
ceeding day of our sojourn on the hills.
He was by no means an unentertaining
companion, and had a tolerable smatter-
ing of Shakspeare into the bargain ; ever
and anon indulging in a quotation, and
was more than once heard to " curse the
fate that gave him to the Moor.'^

While treating of grouse-shooting, I
cannot refrain from recommending the
universal adoption of the new patent
safety-guard. In the long heather it must
be found pre-eminently useful ; and I am
convinced, for young beginners, it will be
the means of saving many hves. All

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 241

nervous persons, and those who are
easily excited and liable to be put off
their guard, should never use a gun
without this valuable appendage.

It may appear strange, after so strongly
advocating the system, to state that I do
not use it. From constant habit, and
never losing sight of the caution and
coolness that a really good sportsman
should be master of, I do not require it ;
nevertheless, I repeat, that young and
old should be provided with this decided
improvement, and the additional expense
is too trifling to be put into the scale
against this life-preserver ; it is a clever
and simple invention, which will be the
means of preventing anything in the
shape of an accident, by all who may
adopt it.

Unlike all other guards, it effectually
bolts the lock, without interfering wdth
the usual mode of firing. When I men-

VOL. II. M

242 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

tion the name of the ingenious inventor,
Mr. Lang, of the Haymarket, I need add
but Httle in the way of recommendation ;
I, however, earnestly advise all exciteable
people to use it.

There is one other caution I would
give my readers, and that is, in driving
to, or from, the shooting ground in a
buggy, to take the caps off the nipple
before slinging the gun on the dash iron.
A gentleman with whom I have a slight
acquaintance met with an accident of
rather a serious nature, from having
placed his gun in the slings commonly
used for the reception of his umbrella,
inside the dash-board of his buggy. The
gun was not cocked, nor even half-
cocked, but the hammer was down on
the cap.

It is well known that good caps are so
easily exploded, that the slightest pressure
will fire them. It was so in this instance ;

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 243

for, in placing the gun in the position I
have mentioned, it met with some trifling
resistance and went off, and severely-
injured him. But return we to La Belle
France.

M 2

244 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

' CHAPTER IX.

Abbeville — Duck - shooting — St. Valery - sur -
Somme — Huts in the marshes — English gun-
powder — Curtis and Harvey's — Pigou and
Co.'s — Miles Peter Andrews — Quimper —
Garde champetre — Caen — Rencontre with a
garde de chasse — Curing his dog — How to
plaster the eyes and mouth — Whisperers, and
a Brittany sorcier.

It is possible that the promising descrip-
tion I have given of the wild-fowl shoot-
ing in the Bay of St. Valery-sur-Somme,
as well as at Abbeville, may tempt the
duck-shooter to run over for a few days
in the depth of winter ; if he should, he
will find a duck-gun an incumbrance ; a

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 245

ffood double, of fourteen bore, will answer
every purpose. Every kind of wild-fowl
are in such nupabers, that shots at forty
or fifty yards are to be had as fast as the
sportsman can load. The marshes at
Abbeville are dotted with huts in the
winter, in which the fowlers ensconce
themselves during the night ; they are both
air and water-tight ; and by the help of
straw, blankets, great coats, and a bottle
of Cognac cum cigars, the enthusiastic
amateur may contrive to keep the cold
out. I have on more than one occasion
deserted my virtuous bed, and indulged
in a little horizontal shooting with my
friend Isidore Lefort on a moon-light
night. On these occasions the duck-gun
is indispensable; but the unambitious
duck-shooter will find quite enough em-
ployment during the day to satisfy any
reasonable being without breaking in
upon his slumbers by packing himself

246 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

up in straw in a turf hut, in the naiddle
of a treacherous swamp.

English gunpowder is one of the strictly-
prohibited articles at the French ports,
and great care and ingenuity must be
exercised to escape the vigilance of the
prying douanniers. To the bold adventu-
rous man, as Miss Laurelia Durable says,
the experiment is worth hazarding, for
I am positive that our powder shoots
stronger than the French, and it does not
foul so much as theirs. I have smuggled
several pounds of it in my time within
the double lining to my trunk, and it is
the best plan I can hit upon for doing a
bit of contraband.

Of all our own manufacturers at home
I prefer Curtis and Harvey's : I think it
the strongest, and it is decidedly more
equable in the grain. Pigou's ranks next
in my estimation. The firm of Pigou,
Andrews, and Wilks has been established

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 247

for many years, and the original partners
have amassed colossal fortunes. Some
of my readers will doubtless remember
Mr. Miles Peter Andrews when he was
in the zenith of his popularity. His lite-
rary talents and convivial qualities gained
for him a host of friends and admirers.
At one period of his life, he wrote for
the stage, but, in spite of the excellence
of his gunpowder, his pieces never went

off-

The merit of the compositions was un-
deniable, but he lacked the tact, so essen-
tial to a dramatic author, of working up
his productions so as to make them act,
as well as read, well. In fact, they did
not tell upon the stage, and consequently
his comedies and farces were, with one
exception, mercilessly d d.

The one exception is deserving notice.
It was remarked on the occasion, in the
Morning Post, that a comedy had been

248 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

produced the preceding evening, written
by Mr. Miles Peter Andrews, and that it
had proved completely successful, and
was, moreover, replete with wit and no-
velty. This remark gave rise to the fol-
lowing squib : —

" Andrews, 'tis said, a comedy has writ
Replete throughout with novelty and wit;
If there be wit, to both 1 will agree,
For wit from Andrews must he novelty T

This was severe, and certainly unde-
served, for, barring his misconception
of stage effect, his writings betray a
depth of information, and an unusual
knowledge of mankind : but his conver-
sational powers were of the highest order
also, for a more intellectual or entertain-
ing companion, either as guest or host,
never graced a festive board.

Mr. Andrews died in 1814, and it will
be remembered that, in this year, several
of the crowned heads of Europe honoured

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 249

England with their presence, and that a
grand national fete took place, to cele-
brate the event, in our parks.

It so happened that a combustible
building, called the Temple of Concord,
was erected in the Green park, imme-
diately opposite the back of Mr. An-
drews's residence in Cleveland Row ; and
from this temple a magnificent display of
fireworks was to take place on the night
of the jubilee.

On this day of rejoicing, poor Mr.
Andrews breathed his last, and to record
the melancholy event the following jeu
d'esprit was penned : —

" Miles Peter long by gunpowder had thrived,
And though the peace was made, he yet survived ;
But when the follies of the park he spied,—
Was powder made for this? he said— and died !"

But it is time to return to Quimper
and our sport. The kind and hospitable
inhabitants of this delightful town left
M 3

250 IHE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

US but little time during the winter to
devote to out-of-door amusements ; for
the days were so short, and their hour of
dining so early, that we could seldom
spare more than two or three hours to
the marshes in the morning. The snipe,
however, were in great abundance, and
so were the woodcocks.

As the spring advanced, we committed
greater havoc amongst the long-bills ; in
fact, the marshes were never deserted at
any period of the year.

We never saw anything of the officious
garde champ^tre whom 1 had treated to a
trot of three leagues and a half to the
gates of Quimper, although we heard of
him from the gardes de chasse, who by
desire of their masters waited upon us to
shew us the best shooting on their seve-
ral terres. They appeared to enjoy the
trick I had played him, and gave us to
understand that he was heartily ashamed

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 251

of himself for having annoyed me in so
unwarrantable a manner.

This was the only case of meddling
interruption I met with in Brittany — I
might almost say in France. Whenever
I have accidentally encroached upon any
land where the prohibitory announcement
of " chasse reservee" has met my eye, I
have invariably sought the owner of the
property or his garde de chasse. If this
functionary has perchance popped upon
me before my honest intentions have been
carried into execution, I have generally
found a trifling douceur smooth all diffi-
culties.

Some five-and-twenty years ago, the
inhabitants, generally speaking, may not
have been quite so civil as in the present
day ; but they were at that period smart-
ing under recent defeat ; and they would,
when occasion off'ered, vent their spleen
on our countrymen ; but, even then, such
instances were rare.

252 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

Towards the latter end of the year
1815, I ran down to Caen from Paris, in
compliance with an invitation from some
old and valued friends of my family, who
had taken up their abode in this ancient
Norman town.

I look back, even at this distant period,
with no little pleasure, to the happy days
I passed within its walls. Even a quar-
ter of a century has not v/eakened the
ties of friendship, the foundation of which
was laid there, and time can never oblite-
rate from my mind the unalloyed happi-
ness I enjoyed in the society I had the
good fortune to be introduced to.

There are certain epochs in our lives
that remain indelibly stamped on the
memory, which years can never efface.
My visit to Caen is one of these stereo-
typed impressions — Shall I say for why ?

Here it Vv^as that I formed an acquaint-
ance which ripened into intimacy, and
grew to friendship ; and so long as the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 253

heart beats within my breast, will it hold
in affectionate remembrance the name of
*' Archer Croft."

To whom could I with more propriety
convey the feeble tribute of esteem, of
dedicating these unpretending pages, than
the companion of my youth, whose un-
varying friendship and valuable counsel
have supported and cheered me as my
worldly prospects darkened ?

He will, I trust, pardon me for record-
ing these proofs of his unceasing esteem
and regard. I have equal pride and satis-
faction in making them known ; for al-
though such a rare instance of uniform
kindness must redound to his credit, I
feel not the less flattered in being the
object of his disinterested good- will.

The Court of Chancery is a crucible
that tries the metal as well as the real
feelings of relatives and acquaintances ;
and few, very fevv' of the latter, will stand

254 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the test like my sterling friend. There
are not many " Archer Crofts" now-a-
days.

The meadows and marshes between the
city of Caen and the sea abound with
snipe ; and as Mr. Croft and myself were
enthusiastically fond of this description
of shooting, we were oftener to be found
in the swamp than our own homes.

It came to pass that on a certain day,
and being in the meadows, my com-
panion, not having the fear of a proces
verbal before his eyes, incontinently in-
vaded the sacred precincts of a neighbour-
ing wood. We had not long trespassed
on (as we afterwards learned) the for-
bidden ground, ere w^e saw a tall, lanky,
hairy-faced, Ian thorn -jawed garde de chasse
making towards us with rapid strides, and
apparently in about as amiable a humour
as a rabid bull. He was armed to the
teeth, his double-barrelled gun being

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 255

slung across his shoulders, and moreover
(to use the words of a popular and soul-
subduing ditty, under the attractive title
of " Tow, row, row,")

" A brace of pistols in his belt,
For to shoot the man wot — "

dared to set his foot in his master's bois
without leave.

This ogre in appearance, to assist him
in his flight across the ditches, carried a
huge leaping-pole, some twelve feet in
length. He approached us at a pace that
set at nought any attempt on our part to
escape, albeit we were provided with
younger legs. He was altogether the
most formidable looking fellow I ever
beheld.

On coming up to us, we were assailed
by such a lengthened vocabulary of French
oaths, that, if translated, would dumb-
found all the fish-fags in Billingsgate.

256 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

All these elegant vituperations were lis-
tened to with perfect composure ; and the
silence we imposed upon ourselves was
only broken by the jingling of certain
forty-sous pieces in the breeches -pocket
of my friend Mr. Croft, the musical chink
of which seemed as if by magic to soften
the brute ; for by degrees his savage
looks and gestures mellowed down, and
his countenance began to assume an
amiable expression ; whilst his eyes
twinkled at the silvery sound.

Without noticing his wrathful address,
we expressed the deepest interest in a
wretched looking dog which had accom-
panied the exasperated keeper; for the
poor animal appeared to be lingering in
the last and worst stage of the distemper.
We had no sooner offered our condolence
than the fellow said, " Je donnerais Men
vingt francs pour lefaire guerir.''

Mr. Croft instantly undertook to cure

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 257

the dog without the fee, and volunteered
to bleed him. The offer was instantly ac-
cepted. We were invited to the keeper's
cottage, which was close at hand :
the operation was quickly performed,
and a prescription given for the benefit
of the suffering animal. We were not
allowed to depart without drinking some
sour cider, and giving a promise of re-
turning the following day to see the
patient.

On taking leave, Mr. Croft presented
the garde de chasse with a couple of two-
franc pieces, telhng him that they were
intended as a plaister for each eye, which
would make him blind for the season, in
the event of our venturing on the pro-
perty of the Marquis de , his

master, on any future occasion. The
ready-witted keeper smiled applause, and
added, " Avec un pareil empldtre sur la
bouche, on m'^empecherait de parler aussi.'^

258 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

The additional bribe was freely given to
stop his mouth as well as obscure his
vision, and we had no reason to com-
plain of the timely liberality, for we
uninterruptedly enjoyed excellent sport
on the Marquis's terres, and were always
hospitably received by the conscientious
garde, who would never accept of any
remuneration for his cider and brown
bread, the answer being invariably, ''Vous
avez gueri mon chieny

This man's love for his dog was no
vain boasting, for his gratitude knew no
bounds when his favourite was on his
legs again ; his humble fare was always
at our service whenever we visited his
cottage, and he gave proof, by unre-
mitting attention and civility, that he
was not unmindful of the benefit con-
ferred upon him by Mr. Croft's skill in
canine diseases.

My kind friend will doubtless remem-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 259

ber the circumstance, and I hope to talk
the adventure over with him, before
Christmas, by his fire-side, and with a
bottle of his old bees'-wing between us,
at Greenham.

It will be seen that the continental
gamekeepers worship mammon as well
as the fraternity in our own island, and
I never yet knew one of these trusty
guardians of game who was not to be
overcome by persuasion and — a bribe.

The gardes de chasse on all the estates
in the neighbourhood of Quimper were
assiduous in their attentions, and did all
in their power to further our sport. We
learnt that the two little rivers which
meet close to Quimper were well sup-
plied with trout in the season. These
streams are named I'Odet and Benaudet ;
and as the spring advanced. Captain

P , Mr. W , and myself walked

some few miles to reconnoitre them.

260 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

In one of our rambles, we approached
a French gentleman's chateau near Ros-
pordon, who sent one of his servants to
request we would honour him by par-
taking of some refreshment under his
roof. We instantly complied with the
mandate, and were most kindly received

by the proprietor. Monsieur de G .

He was very proud of his campagne,
and shewed us round his grounds, and
pointed out some improvements he was
about to make.

Having learnt that Captain P was

an old dragooner, we were conducted to
the stables, where the stud were paraded
for our inspection. One of the horses
w^hich was led out had been purchased
a few days before, and he was certainly
a very likely-looking animal ; he had
but one fault, rather an unpleasant one
certainly — nobody could ride him; and but
half an hour before our unexpected ap-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 261

pearance at the chateau, Monsieur de

G had determined upon sending the

restive brute down to the village Vulcan,
who, in addition to his vocation of black-
smith, was what is termed in Brittany a
sorcier, and who possessed a kind of
charm in the way of whispering to horses.
This gift has been attributed to the
Irish as well as the French, but I believe
the faculty is not confined to Ireland
and France, but is common in various
forms to many other countries. Every
one has heard of the Laplander's habit
of whispering in the ears of his rein-
deer ; and in various parts of Brittany
several of these whisperers are to be
met wdth, whose success is invariable
and infallible.

I can here speak from experience, and
had an opportunity of seeing the skill of
the sorcier put to the proof. Captain
P — — after an hour's fruitless endea-

263 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

vour to conquer the vicious spirit of the
animal, resigned him to Monsieur de

G and his groom. " // n'y a pas de

remede," exclaimed the master ; " ilfaut
Vamener chez le sorcier.'' Upon our ex-
pressing a wish to see the miracle
wrought, Monsieur de G— — politely
offered to accompany us to the village,
in order that we might be convinced
of the sorcier's power. The garcon
d'ecurie led the refractory animal, and
we followed on foot, determined to wit-
ness the extraordinary exhibition.

On arriving at the village, Monsieur de

G ordered the groom to stop, when,

to our astonishment, he mounted the
horse, which was still saddled, and said to
us, *' Vousverrez.'' The animal allowed his
master to fix himself firmly in the saddle,

but the moment Monsieur de G

attempted to urge him forward, every
muscle of the horse's frame appeared to

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 263

be agitated with rage ; he reared, kicked,
and plunged ; in short, left no means un-
tried to shake his rider from his back.

Monsieur de G , who was an ex-
cellent horseman, kept his seat, but he
soon found that his situation was none
of the pleasantest, and attempted to dis-
mount ; but this the restive brute would
not allow, for he reared more tremen-
dously than before, and evinced a strong
disposition to throw himself over his
cavalier.

Just at this moment, a short, thick- set
little man, attracted by the noise, came
forth from a blacksmith's shop, towards
which we had been directing our steps,
and approaching the spot, acted the part
of spectator for a few seconds, merely
exclaiming '* Le coquin.''

At length the groom, impatient at his
apparent apathy, cried out, *' Mais souffle
done, Francois, il va tomher^je te dis,''

261 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

"Does Monsieur wish it?" demanded
the sorcier, for such he was.

" Nom de Dieu .'" said the groom, " s'il
le veut.'^

As soon as he had pronounced these
words, the sorcier watched his opportu-
nity, and threw his arms round the horse's
neck, who, not accustomed to such em-
braces, reared more violently than before,
raising the little man off the ground with
him ; but he kept his hold, not at all
embarrassed, and contrived even in that
awkward situation, to fix his mouth on
the orifice of the animal's ear.

What he did, or what he said, I know
not. It is impossible to imagine that the
mere breathing in the animal's ear could
have any effect, but his hands were occu-
pied in holding tightly round the neck
of the horse, and the only thing I could
observe, was the firm pressure of the
mouth on the ear. Be this as it may,

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 265

in a moment the horse became less res-
tive, stood still, shivered a little as from
cold, and from that moment his spirit was
gone.

Strange as this must appear, it is a
fact ; but how, and by what means, the
miracle was wrought, must be left for
wiser heads than mine to determine. It
is, nevertheless, unquestionably true,
that the horse became perfectly docile.
I rode him frequently after he had passed
through the enchanter's hands, and a
more tractable quadruped I never wish to
bestride.

After this adventure with the sorcier,
we frequently drove over to Monsieur de

G 's chateau, as we had carte blanche

to beat up his quarters whenever we felt
so inclined ; his cuisine and his cave were
worth visiting ; and this hospitable man-
sion being in the neighbourhood of the

VOL. II. N

266 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

trout streams, did not detract from the
enjoyment we expected to derive from
our excursions.

All the smaller rivers and streams in
France are full of trout, and they have
been fished by expert and experienced
anglers, but I never yet met with a
brother of the rod who could tell me he
had caught a salmon.

It is somewhat extraordinary that none
should have been found in the rivers near
the sea- coast, and which discharge them-
selves into the ocean. There must be
salmon in the Seine, the Somme, the
Loire, the Gironde, and the Rhone, but
who ever caught any with the fly? I
once hooked a young one in the commune

at Arques, when Captain L was with

me, in the year 1830, but he (the salmon)
carried away my foot-length, and such
a fish being in the water was deemed a

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 267

marvellous occurrence. It must have
run up from the harbour through the
locks ; and I believe I may claim the
honour of being the first fly-fisher who has
ever hooked a salmon in the Arques, or
any other river in France.

N 2

268 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER X.

Salmon-fishing in Canada — Major Browne — Rods,
lines, and flies — Visit to Jacques Cartier —
Catching fish — Dancing at the toll-house — The
Major's skill as a musician — Spearing salmon
by torch -light.

Gentle reader, are you a salmon-
fisher? If you be, go to Canada; it is
worth crossing the banks of Newfound-
land to wet your line in a North American
stream ; they one and all are full of
salmon and trout, which will be found to
take, with a voracity so gratifying to the

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 269

zealous angler, flies of all denominations
and colours. They are the veriest gluttons
that ever rose to insect ; not the finny
epicure we meet with in our stinted rivers,
which will lie furtively under a bank, or
in the eddying pool, and laugh in his
scales at your futile imitation of his living
fare, but the downright gormandizer of
real and mock flies, and who will rise at
all and every description your book may
contain.

He who has once sailed up the noble
waters of the St. Laurence on his voyage
to Quebec, can never forget the impression
he must have received upon first entering
that magnificent river. From the Island
of Anticosti to the Island of Orleans, just
below the city (a distance of nearly four
hundred miles), the scenery is transcend-
antly beautiful.

The south shore presents one of the
most pleasing pictures the eye ever dwelt

270 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

upon ; it is well wooded, and its banks
are adorned with numerous villages and
cottages, all neatly w^hite-washed, pre-
senting a coup d'oeil impossible to de-
scribe.

The river, as you approach the capital
of Lower Canada, is dotted with islets,
and gives but little promise of the
splendid scene that awaits the traveller
on nearing the city of Quebec ; for no
language can convey the remotest idea of
the grandeur of the scene on rounding the
point of land which conceals this beautiful
city until the vessel enters the basin.
The view is magnificent in the extreme,
and bursts upon the astonished gazer as
if by enchantment.

The Upper Town of Quebec overhangs
the Lower, at an eminence of two hun-
dred feet, and presents a most imposing
appearance. The roofs of the cathedral,
catholic churches, convents, and several

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 271

of the larger public buildings, are covered
with tin, and from the somewhat remark-
able circumstance of rust being unknown
in that country, the appearance of the
city, when seen from the river, is gorgeous
in the extreme.

It was my good fortune to be the bearer
of several flattering introductions to many
officers of high rank, but none afforded
me such true and lasting gratification as
the opportunity granted me of becoming
acquainted with my kind and excellent
friend. Major Browne, of the 103rd Regi-
ment. A better sportsman, dans toute la
force du terme, never handled a gun or
rod ; he was, without exception, the very
best snipe shot I ever saw ; his execution
was terrific; and as a fisherman — ye
gods ! — old Izaak Walton was a botcher
in comparison. The accuracy, precision,
and Hghtness of hand with which he would
cast a fly over a salmon was worth cross-
ing the Atlantic to look at.

272 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

A similarity in tastes and pursuits be-
gets a ready interchange of ideas, and an
hour's conversation will often lay the
foundation of a lasting intimacy, when
kindred spirits are thrown together. Such
was the case in this instance, and I look
back with proud satisfaction to the day
when I was so fortunate as to attract the
notice and distinction of my talented
patron.

I was invited to breakfast with the
Major two or three days after my arrival,
and, as a mark of especial favour, was
permitted to examine his treasures. A
finer collection of flies and tackle of every
description never greeted the eager gaze
of the lover of angling; and as for the
rods which decorated his sanctum sanc-
torum, they were beyond all price.

The Major entertained a thorough con-
tempt for all rods, lines, foot-lengths, and
flies, purchased at any fishing-tackle w^are-
house, observing, that, although very

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 273

pretty to look at, they were more adapted
for show than use, especially in such
rivers as we were likely to meet with.
The force of his reasoning was made mani-
fest within a week of the time, as the
sequel will shew.

A party had been formed, some days
previously to my arrival, to " pic-nic" on
the banks of the river Jacques Cartier,
the most prolific of all the rivers within a
reasonable distance of the garrison of
Quebec. It is a broad, bubbling, impetu-
ous, rushing stream, tributary to that
queen of waters, the St. Laurence ; it
runs into this magnilicent river some six
and thirty miles above the capital of the
Lower Province. This was to be the first
piscatorial excursion of the season, and
great was the sport we anticipated.

I was consigned to the care of the
Major, and towards the latter end of June,
in the year 1816, we left Quebec, soon
N 3

274 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

after daylight, for the appointed scene of
action. A more joyous party never were
congregated together ; we were six in
number — Major Browne and Captain
Griffiths, of the 103rd Regiment; Mr.
Downes, a cornet of the 19th Light Dra-
goons; Captain Pearce, of the 60th Regi-
ment ; Mr. Hamilton, a West India
merchant ; and myself. Two domestics,
with a canteen and a bountiful supply of
provender, brought up the rear, in an
American waggon ; and any casual ob-
server might justly have imagined, by the
number of rods that protruded from the
three dog-carts which preceded the more
humble vehicle, that not a sahnon would
be left in the river to return to the ocean
at the end of the season.

After a delightful drive of eighteen miles,
we stopped to break our fast at the half-
way house; and having given our horses
sufficient rest, we proceeded on our road.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 275

and about two o'clock arrived at our
journey's end.

To those unacquainted with the stu-
pendous scenery of the Canadas, it is im-
possible to furnish an adequate description
of this wild and romantic spot. Do me
the kindness, then, gentle reader, to
picture to yourself a rushing, boiling
stream of dark water, flowing over an in-
clined bed of rocky substance, broken by
occasional obstructions, hemmed in by
high banks of granite, shaded by a forest
of pine trees, with here and there a slight
fall or cascade, eddies and whirlpools,
and you will form some slight idea of the
Jacques Cartier river.

The roaring of the water is heard for
some time before you approach the village
which bears the same name as the river
(christened, it is said, after a Frenchman;
who discovered it.) It is romantically
situated on both sides of the high and
rocky banks.

276 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

A long, steep, and sandy road winds
down to the river, over which a beautiful
and curiously-formed bridge connects the
straggling cottages, or, I should say,
rather, forms a communication for the
inhabitants. On the opposite side is the
toll-house and residence of the person
who rents the bridge from the govern-
ment.

The occupant, at the time I write of,
was a comely widow, who, with some of
her relatives, was on the look-out for us ;
we were most cordially welcomed by the
fair hostess, especially the major, who
evidently stood high in her good graces.
Here were our head-quarters, and most
comfortably were we housed.

Before our commanding-officer would
permit us to put our rods together, he
paraded us on the bridge, and directing
our attention to several deep pools formed
under some projecting and shelving rocks,
we beheld hundreds upon hundreds of

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 277

fine salmon, literally in layers ; some of
the fish would rise occasionally at any
living insect as it floated down the river,
but, to our inexpressible mortification,
quite out of the reach of any of our lines.
The fish were evidently making their way
up the stream ; and above the bridge, at a
small fall, some were to be seen taking
their leaps in endeavouring to force their
passage.

The fishermen of the village, who rent
several miles of this prolific river, had
placed conical nets at each of these cas-
cades to intercept the course of the
salmon ; many were caught in this man-
ner during our stay, and placed in reser-
voirs hewn out of the granite on the
banks, and there kept until forwarded to
the market at Quebec.

Our guide and master, the major,
allowed us to prepare for action, after he
had shewn us the wonders of his favourite

278 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

stream, and we set to, with no little
eagerness, to make our preparations for
accompanying him to the stands lower
down the river.

I think I see my warm-hearted friend
leering at us with a half-suppressed smile
and an occasional chuckle, as we dis-
played, one by one, our boasted London
rods and tackle ; it appeared to me at the
time to savour somewhat of malice, or
perhaps envy, at the superiority of our
equipment, as I unsuspectingly imagined ;
and this opinion was strengthened on
seeing an unwieldy mis-shapen pole, as I
thought (but which he dignified by the
appellation of rod), spliced together by
himself. This apparently unsightly tool
was composed of only two joints, and
made to splice in the centre. The lower
half was of pitch pine, and the upper
joint of hickory,with, of course, the whale-
bone top.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 279

His line, mirabile dictu, was of whip-cord,
which had undergone a six months' im-
mersion in linseed oil. Its original fabric
was, by this operation, in nowise dis-
cernible; it wore the appearance of a
supple weed, perfectly round and smooth,
and, when cast by the major's masterly
hand, fell as light as a single gut on the
water.

His foot-length was proportionally
strong at the junction with the line, being
composed of three of the stoutest pieces
of round clear gut, twisted by himself with
his own wheel or ''jenny." The whole
foot-length was made of treble gut, but
tapering down to the hook, which was
accomplished by selecting lengths, di-
mishing in texture at each knot.

In fishing in Canada there is one pre-
caution necessary, and which I had not
dreamt of, and that is to guard against
the merciless and blood-thirsty attacks of

280 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

the musquitoes and a little damnable
black fly. These infernal enemies to re-
pose and comfort assail in myriads, with
their probosces, the unprepared stranger.
The major, like an old soldier, had pro-
vided an antidote, and before starting, 1
was anointed, as well as my brother fisher-
men, with a mixture of oil of turpentine
and hog's-lard, over the face and hands,
the ears and neck having been previously
protected by a silk handkerchief tied over
the head and fastened behind.

Away we sallied, rod in hand, and
about a quarter of a mile below the bridge
we came to a large sheet of smooth water
at the foot of a short rapid. I was abso-
lutely riveted to the spot for a time ; a
more enchanting scene I never beheld.
I could have fancied myself hundreds of
miles from the haunts of man ; the wild-
ness of the surrounding landscape, the
distant murmuring and subdued roar of

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 281

the water, and the comparatively placid
stream before me, gave rise to sensations
I shall not easily forget.

This beautiful sheet of water the major
had named the hospital, from the circum-
stance of the salmon reposing in this still
pool, after the fatigue of ascending the
river. Here the fish recruited their
strength to enable them to proceed up
the numerous cascades with which the
water abounds.

Here our first trial of skill commenced ;
our gallant leader was the first in the
field, and at the second cast hooked a
fine fish. The salmon, after divers leaps
and struggles to disengage himself, took
our master in tow and went down the
stream at a racing pace, which kept the
major at a brisk trot for a considerable
distance. Our commander-in-chief was
not to be shaken off, and, fearing his prey
might give him some trouble if allowed

282 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

to reach a fall some distance lower down,
gave the fish two or three checks, and
landed the king of the rivers in about a
quarter of an hour, much to our gratifica-
tion. The salmon weighed upwards of
fourteen pounds, and was in prime season.
The major had scarcely landed his prize
ere we heard a shout from two or three
of our companions, and on directing our
eyes to the spot from whence the sounds
proceeded we discovered that the dragoon
had hooked another ; but before our
master had arrived to give the cornet the
benefit of a few hints as to the manage-
ment of his captive, the joints of his
patent rod had increased considerably in
number, and the splinters were lying at
his feet ; while the salmon, as if in deri-
sion at the disaster, went skipping off,
wagging his tail most intelligibly, as
much as to say " Catch me if you can."
Poor Downes, to use his own expression.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 283

was exceedingly disgusted at the occurrence,
and betook himself to trout-fishing, in
which, it is but fair to add, he succeeded
passing well.

It was my lot to hook the next fish, but
lost him, to my infinite discomfiture, to-
gether with my foot-length, and some two
or three yards of line. We were all
doomed to a similar disappointment,
barring always the major, who killed ^yq
fish, Mr. Hamilton two, and myself one,
at the close of the evening.

Our want of success I must attribute,
independently of our inferiority to the
major in point of skill, to the circum-
stance of our lines being too bright for
the water. I have before stated, that the
river was of a dark colour : this arises I
should conceive from the substratum
being mixed with ferruginous ore. The
major, with his habitual observation and
forethought, had remedied this objection

284 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

by steeping his foot-lengths in cocoa,
which had the effect of dyeing them of
the precise colour of the stream.

His flies were of a very peculiar con-
struction, and, with a national partiality
truly pardonable, considering their ex-
cellence, they were invariably made on
the Limerick hook. The fly he generally
used was the following : the extremity of
the body purple, the centre a reddish
brown, and the head a bright yellow ; for
the tail two narrow strips of the mal-
lard's feather, and the wings from the
pinion of a pheasant ; this was one of
the major's favourites, and a killing fly it
was ; but he had others, and in endless
variety. He had one par excellence (his
Sunday fly, as he called it) yclept " Miss
Jenny," that never failed him, as he re-
peatedly assured me. It was of a bright
red colour in the body, and when held up
to the light had a brilliant and captivating

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 285

appearance ; and were I a salmon I should
inevitably rise at it. The major, how-
ever, would never reveal the nature of the
material of which it was composed.

The Jacques Cartier river is full of fish ;
and had I but a yacht 1 would sail for the
St. Laurence every year, were it only for
the extraordinary sport to be met with in
its tributary streams. A European can
form no idea of the numbers of salmon that
are to be met with, and in point of flavour
they are equal to any I ever tasted, not
excepting those taken from the Severn.

The fish in the Jacques Cartier river do
not run very large ; the biggest I ever
caught did not weigh fifteen pounds. I
once had half my line carried away, and
my rod (a London one) shivered to splin-
ters by an enormous fish, I should say
nearly double that weight. It is true I have
seen some immense salmon in the pools
and eddies under the overhanging rocks

286 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

which I have already spoken of, but they
were out of reach, and doubtless too wary
to be enticed by dubbing and feather.

The major, in addition to his other ac-
quirements, was no mean proficient on
the violin, and in the evening the youth
of both sexes from the village were to
be seen winding down the tortuous path
which led to the toll-house on the bridge.
The widow's kitchen was often the scene
of innocent mirth during the major's
visits to Jacques Cartier ; nor did he ever
appear more in his element than when
seated on a rude table in a corner of the
room, and sending forth seraphic sounds
from his pet cremona. His music
breathed of the Emerald Isle ; and the
Canadian belles of the neighbourhood
have never forgotten the inspiriting effect
of '^ Paddy O'RafFerty," '^ Huisht the
Cat," and another of his favourite Irish
'' Planxtys."

=? ^-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 287

A bowl of stiff rum punch usually-
wound up the entertainment, and the
only reward exacted by the benevolent
major for his fiddling was a kiss from the
female votaries of Terpsichore — an offering
more relished by our military Paganini
than the widow, who viewed with a jealous
eye any infringement upon her prerogative.

We contrived to pass our time very
pleasantly while under the major's banner,
whenever we repeated our visits to this
beautiful spot. Some anti-Waltonians,
envious of our happiness, were base
enough to spread certain evil reports as
affecting our morality, and even went so
far as to hint at the cure's baptismal du-
ties being on the increase ; but I can
assure my readers it was a groundless
calumny.

To all those who may possess a fishing-
box near a salmon river, I beg to recom-
mend to their notice the following method

288 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

of dressing their fish for breakfast : — As
soon as the salmon is caught, crimp it —
if hooked in the morning, so much the
better — carry it home and cut it in sUces ;
broil them, and when done, break some
boiled eggs (not too hard) over them, with
a sprinkling of salt and a plentiful dusting
of Cayenne. The fish thus dressed, and
eaten with some rice, boiled after the In-
dian manner, perfectly dry, is one of the
best ornaments on a breakfast-table, and
is a salacious condiment much to be
coveted.

Fried fish and rice constitute one of
the many luxuries enjoyed in the East In-
dies. In the Western hemisphere I know
of but two. One is, sitting up to your

chin in a cold bath ; and the other d g

Christopher Columbus for having disco-
vered the islands at all.

The most singular meal of salmon I ever
partook of was on a fishing visit to

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 289

Jacques Cartier, about two years subse-
quently to the meeting I have recorded.
During one of my excursions with the
major to our favourite rendezvous, we
were waited upon by some straggling In-
dians, who invited us to join them some
twenty miles up the river, where they
promised us good sport in spearing the
salmon. We readily agreed to accompany
them, and set off on foot the same day
with our savage friends.

We arrived about dusk at a little en-
campment of wigwams they had esta-
blished, and after having refreshed our-
selves with a comfortable repast and a few
hours' sleep, we embarked at midnight in
a canoe, and were highly gratified at the
surpassing dexterity of our sable compa-
nions, as well as surprised at the wonder-
ful quickness of sight with which they
were endowed.

Two enormous pitch pine torches were

VOL. II. o

290 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

placed in the bow of the canoe, which at-
tracted the salmon to the light. As the
fish approached the glare on the surface
of the water, the Indians called to us and
pointed to the spot where they were, but
we could not perceive any object, excepting
on two occasions ; and it frequently hap-
pened, as we were straining our eyeballs in
our endeavours to discover a fish, a splash
would announce that a spear had pene-
trated a salmon, and in a trice it was to be
seen quivering in the boat.

On returning after our nocturnal excur-
sion, we found a blazing fire and red-hot
embers at the door, or rather entrance,
of the wigwam appropriated to our use.
A salmon of nearly twenty pounds, having
been previously gutted and cleaned, was
swaddled in some leaves and placed over
the embers on a kind of spit, to which it
was attached, and roasted with the scales
on. These and the skin were peeled off

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 291

when the culinary process was finished,
and the milky flakes which broke on the
fish being distributed to the guests, were
the most appetizing and alluring morceaux
I ever discussed.

"Whether our appetites were keener
than usual, I will not pretend to say, but
I never remember having eaten salmon in
such perfection ; and my old friend Dr.
Kitchener himself must have acknow-
ledged that even his own zest was not re-
quired to heighten the flavour of our
roasted dainty.

o2

292 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

CHAPTER XL

Trout-fishing at Quimper — Remarks upon tackle,
flies, and rods — Bowness, Chevalier, and Ul-
stonson — Flies described — A list given — Re-
call of the author to England — Remarks on the
hospitality and kindness of French country gen-
tlemen— Hints to English sportsmen on the
Continent — Conclusion.

I MUST now take leave to hop across
the Atlantic and return to Quimper,
where, in the month of April, Captain

p ^ Mr. W , and myself, were

making earnest preparations for whipping
the trout-streams.

Our tackle was first-rate, and we had

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 293

abundance of material for manufacturing
such flies as we thought best suited to
the water. This in some measure was a
matter of some doubt ; for I have known
the trout to vary in his taste in different
streams, and a fly that will be taken
with avidity in one river, would not com-
mand a rise in another.

In fishing a river with which the angler
has no previous acquaintance, the best
plan is to try the eddies at the corners of
the streams, and where the circular move-
ment of the current throws out a frequent
sustenance for the finny inhabitants. In
these spots the large trout will be found,
and the experience of every angler will
have told him that an excellent capture is
repeatedly made from some small spot be-
hind, or by the side of, a particular stone,
where from day to day one well-sized fish
seems to succeed another in the favourite
feeding ground.

294 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

In this knowledge of peculiar localities
consists the chief advantage of a previous
acquaintance with the water. The smaller
fish are found in most abundance in the
Tvidely-spread and shallow streams, as
well as in the extended parts of pools of
no great depth.

As a general rule, the angler may be
advised to fish with the wind in his
back and the sun in front, which not only
gives him a great command of his line,
but prevents himself or his shadow from
being so distinctly perceived. A strict ad-
herence to this plan, however, is by no
means advisable, as the angler's position in
relation to sun and wind must frequently
vary with the natural course of the river.

I will now endeavour to give a list of
the flies which are most useful in the
French rivers. I have generally found
the red hackle^ Mack gnat, and dun flies,
very taking on the other side of the Chan-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 295

nel. I found also a fly of my own making
to be exceedingly killing — a reddish brown
body, with the wings from the pinion of
the fieldfare, and a single strip of mallard
wing for tail. I did great execution with
this in the neighbourhood of Dieppe.

The very early flies — those that come in
during the month of April — are hardly
worth the pains bestowed on the imita-
tion. I allude more particularly to
the beetle-winged flies, — such as the
soldier fly and the tab fly. Of the tribe of
beetle-winged flies, the fern web, or
hazel fly, is the best : they will be found
in May and part of June upon the ferns
and hazle bushes.

Of the ephemeral flies, which come
in during the month of May, the fol-
lowing are adapted for very fine water,
which is often the case in Brittany : — 1st,
the little brown dun, or spinner; 2nd, the
little yellow May fly; and 3rd, the yel-

298 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

loiu Sally. The o«A:/3/ is an excellent one
for the month of May, and so is the stone
fly ; indeed, I almost prefer it to the green
drake, though it be not quite so fashion-
able.

The stone fly is very difficult to copy.
The neatest and best fly-maker I know,
or ever heard of, is Miss Bowness, of
Bell-yard, Fleet-street, whose family have
manufactured fishing-tackle for centuries.
I can conscientiously recommend the
trout and salmon fisher to this establish-
ment; for every article appertaining to
an angler's equipment will be found of the
best quality, and turned out in a workman-
like manner, and for neatness and finish
this firm excel all competitors in the trade.

The flies made by the taper fingers of
Miss BoW' ness are bijoux, and are executed
with a truth and fidelity perfectly start-
ling She is, in truth, the greatest enemy
the salmon and trout ever had, for her

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 297

imitations are so true to nature that these
fish have no chance.

I do in all sincerity recommend Miss
Bowness to be careful, should she ever
venture upon picking a trout or salmon
peel, for if some day or other the bone of
some spiteful fish do no choke her, I am
no true pjrophet. There is a world of
mischief in her fingers.

Mr. Bowness, who is a most intelligent
person, will give the angler every informa-
tion as to the best flies ; and any re-
commendation from him can be strictly
relied on. Those I have named will be
found very killing — the green, 9'^^!/, '^^^
black drake, will be found very useful, as
well as the Palmer.

Trout are, in some respects, like the fair
sex. I do not mean as to tickling ; but
they are capricious, and will refuse a fly
that five minutes previously they have
risen at and taken voraciously.
•o3

298 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE*

It is better on these occasions to give
them a little respite, by taking a nap on
the bank. In an hour try them
again, and change your fly until you have
hit their fancy. If they continue in the
fastidious mood, and you see them rising
at the natural fly, catch one of these and
tie one as like it as possible on the spot.
I mention this, as no true fisherman
should be without his book, dubbing, and
apparatus at the river side.

Dubbing, or what is sold as such, is to be
had in abundance in London, but it lacketh
the lustre which is so essential to the ex-
pert angler. The stuff sold at the generality
of the shops is a compound of coloured
worsteds and wool, which, independently
of the want of sparkling brilliancy when
held to the light, soak up the water, and
consequently have not that buoyancy on
the ripple of the stream which with me
is a sine qua non.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 299

To judge accurately as to the merits of
an artificial fly, hold it up between your-
self and a strong light, and if it have not
that shining, I had almost said trans-
parent gloss, which the natural insect pos-
sesses, lay it down, for it will be found
next to useless in any river or stream. Tlie
pig's down, when dyed, possesses this vir-
tue, and none but real amateurs, or rather
connoisseurs, have it; it is extremely
difficult to be procured genuine, and it is
expensive into the bargain.

The colours which will be found most
useful in France are, brown, light and
dark, purple, yellow, light and dark, and
grey. Hackles of all colours are requisite
also. It is to be presumed the sports-
man will never be without materials for
his wings — such as the pheasant, partridge,
fieldfare, and thrush, as well as mallard
wings for tailing.

The operation of fly-making amounts

300 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

nearly to an art, and great nicety and pre-
cision are required ; it is by no means an
unfitting employment for the softer sex ;
indeed, I could name one or two of my
fair friends who excel in this particular.

An old brother of the angle, Mr.

A , who lives not a hundred miles

from Cheltenham, has a daughter who
makes all her papa's flies, to say nothing
of kill-devils, spinning- jennies, and
other murderous trout-slayers ; and if the
fish in the streams around Frogmill could
speak, they would a mournful tale unfold
as to the disappearance of their compa-
nions, by reason of this amiable young
lady's skill.

I have already said that my compa-
nions and myself were well provided with
tackle. Our rods were excellent ; but all

by different makers. Captain P 's

was by Ulstonson, Mr. W 's by Che-
valier, and my own by Mr. Bowness ;

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 301

and, strange enough, all three manufac-
tured within a hundred yards of each
other — in Bell-yard, Fleet-street. Of
the three, I certainly preferred my own,
although the others were as near perfec-
tion as possible ; but much depends upon
fancy as well as use. However, the
three makers are so well known, and
their superiority so universally acknow-
ledged, that it would be difficult to award
the palm to any one in particular ; but
for choice give me Bowness. There is,
generally speaking, more elasticity and
equality of play in his rods than any others
I ever met with ; and I have witnessed fewer
accidents, in the way of breakage, with
his articles than those by any other maker.
I have fished with his rods for years, and
am bound, in justice, to testify to his merit
as a maker of fly-rods.

We commenced operations towards the
end of April, and met with tolerable sue-

302 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

cess ; and every day, as the season ad-
vanced, our sport increased. By the middle
of May we had nothing to wish for : the
trout were in abundance, and fed like
aldermen ; they did not run very large,
seldom exceeding a pound in weight, but
they rose freely, and we were always sure
of a full basket.

In the plenitude of my enjoyment, and
with the hope, if not the certainty, of being
enabled to pass some months if not years
in Brittany, my prospective happiness
was cut short by a communication from
Lincoln's-inn. This unwelcome missive
imperatively called for my presence at
home, and that with as little delay as
possible ; and, to ensure obedience on my
part, a gentle hint was conveyed to me
that the supplies would be withheld until
ocular proof was afforded the gentlemen
of the long robe that I was within a
visiting distance of their chambers.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 303

My adventures in Brittany must there-
fore be considered as at an end ; but before
I complete my task I will take the liberty
of making a few observations on the
facilities that are afforded to the English
sportsman in France, in the hope that
some few knights of the trigger will
follow my example and run over the same
ground as myself.

To begin then where I left off. Quimper
is the town I would recommend for a
fixed residence ; it combines every deside-
ratum,— cheapness of living, excellent
society, and shooting and fishing in per-
fection. The inhabitants are friendly and
hospitable to a degree, and will vie with
each other in promoting the views and
comforts of any Englishman who may be
the bearer of letters of introduction.

House-rent is extremely low, and pro-
visions incredibly cheap. Our wines we
laid in from Bordeaux direct, as Captain

304 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

P was acquainted with one of the

principals in Mr. Johnson's house, and
we were supphed with genuine claret ;
our best wane did not stand us in a franc
a bottle, and the vin ordinaire at less than
half that sum.

A married couple of prudent habits
could live most respectably and comfort-
ably on a hundred a-year; a bachelor for
much less.

The sportsman, in pursuing his favourite
pastime, will oftentimes find himself in the
neighbourhood of a French gentleman's
country seat. Let him but pay the com-
pliment of calling at his door and ask
permission to shoot ; this will invariably
be frankly and cordially given, and in all
probability such a trifling act of common
courtesy will lay the foundation of a
pleasant acquaintance, if not a lasting in-
timacy. I have uniformly found this to
be the case, and I rejoice in the oppor-

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 305

tunity afforded me of recording the never-
failing urbanity and kindness of the French
landed proprietors. I owe them all a
heavy debt of gratitude, for I have ex-
perienced such civility and attention from
them that I could never have expected,
and which I might have looked for in
vain in my own country.

I here tender them my heartfelt thanks,
as well as to the warm-hearted hospitable
inhabitants of Quimper, Rennes, and
Guimgamp.

My countrymen in general are un-
sociable animals ; and this feeling, coupled
with a certain degree of shyness and a
national reserve, conveys an impression
on the minds of the French people that an
Englishman is too proud to mix familiarly
with them and partake of their amuse-
ments. To the absence of all these freez-
ing peculiarities in my disposition and
habits, I believe I am indebted for the

306 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

cordial reception I experienced from one
end of France to the other.

The true citizen of the world is the man
who conforms to the customs and manners
of every nation. I became a Frenchman
myself in France, not upon this principle
alone, but from inclination also ; and if in
the course of human events a pittance
should be awarded me, to France will I
go, and in Brittany will I pitch my tent.

Guimgamp, L'Orient, and Quimper are
marvellously cheap towns, but the latter
for choice. Should the distance deter
the sportsman who may wish to indulge
in a month's ramble, let him try Dieppe
for trout-fishing, and Abbeville for snipe
and wild fowl-shooting ; he will find very
good bird-shooting, also, in the month of
September. There is unexceptionable Eng-
lish society at Abbeville as well as St. Omer;
and some one or two families I could
name would make any place a Paradise.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 307

Some years will elapse before French-
men will become good field shots and
general sportsmen ; their taste for racing
is decidedly on the rise, and they are
enthusiastic admirers of that break-neck
pastime steeple-chasing; but, generally
speaking, they are not fond of manly out-
of-door amusements. The game of cricket,
for instance, is a perfect riddle to them.

We got up a tolerably good match be-
hind the Hotel Royal, on the beach, at
Dieppe, for the amusement of the Duchesse
de Berri, in the year 1829. We mustered,
with some difficulty, two elevens; the
bowlers pitched their balls with scientific
precision; the batters defended their
wickets with great skill ; short and long
stops were on the alert ; in fact, all the
performers acquitted themselves most
admirably.

As soon as the first innings were over,
one of the party, who had been most active

308 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

in the display of his athletic powers, ap-
proached the Duchess's carriage in the
expectation of being complimented on his
exertions ; instead of which, one of the
suite asked the gentleman, to his utter
dismay and confusion, when this game of
creehay was going to begin !

The sportsman who may wish to under-
take a pedestrian tour through France
will never meet with the slightest check
or hindrance ; his passport and porte
d'armes in his pocket, he may wander
where he listeth. At every farm-house, —
ay, in every cabin or hut, — he will experi-
ence a frank and hearty welcome ; the
produce of his gun will be cheerfully
dressed by the bonne femme of the dwelling ;
and, lacking these, an old farm-yard cock
or hen will be sacrificed on the altar of
hospitality, and in an inconceivably short
space of time a savoury stew or soup will
smoke on the homely board.

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 309

If night overtake the wanderer, he is
sure of finding a good bed under the
poorest peasant's roof; the commonest
labourer has this solace after his daily-
toil ; for, even amongst an all but starv-
ing population, I have ever found good
mattresses and clean homespun linen
sheets.

The inland departements are well stocked
with game of all kinds. On the Dijon
road, about ten miles from Montargis,
there are some splendid preserves.
Some friends of mine were on a visit to
Mr. Kalkbrenner, the celebrated pianiste,
about eighteen years ago, at his beautiful
seat Praslin, near Nogent sur Vernisson,
and had most extraordinary sport on his
estate ; they described the quantity of
game as being perfectly incredible. This
property has been sold, I believe, since the
death of Madame Kalkbrenner • whoever
purchased it has as good shooting at his

310 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

command as the Lord of Holkham can
boast of.

The senseless cry of war which has
been raised by a rabid faction will not, I
fervently hope, lead to any unpleasant
result, — such as a distrustful feeling be-
tween the two nations. The amicable
footing upon which the English and
French have lived for a quarter of a
century is, I hope, too firmly established
to be weakened by the mischievous designs
of a discontented, revolutionary party.

All honourably- minded and well-dis-
posed persons are for maintaining the
friendly intercourse which has subsisted
so long. With the present enlightened
and newly formed French ministry we
have the certainty of peace and good will.

His most gracious Majesty Louis
Philippe has set a glorious example to
his excitable subjects, and may his wisdoni
and firmness produce the desired end I Ii^

THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 311

closing these remarks, I cannot do better
than quote the words of one of our most
popular writers'^ (for they are singularly
applicable at this moment), who says —

'' France, with all thy faults, I love thee
still ! No man should travel from his
cradle to his grave without paying thee a
visit by the way ; and with a disposition
prone to enjoyment it lightens the journey
amazingly. The French are a kind people,
and it must be his fault who cannot live
happily with them.

'* Pity it is, possessing as they do, what-
ever c^n contribute to the felicity of a
people in a state of peace, that war should
be indispensable in order to render their
idea of happiness complete — la gloire and
la guerre form the eternal burden of their
song ; as if the chief business of life were
to destroy life. They would fight to-

* From '* Sketches and Recollections" by John
Poole, Esq.

312 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE.

morrow with any nation on earth for no
better an object than the chance of ob-
taining a victory.

*' Laugh at me if you please for uttering
what you may consider a foohsh opinion,
but I look upon it as a serious misfortune
to them that the two words gloire and
victoire rhyme together. They so con-
stantly occur in that portion of their
poetry which is the most popular, and the
best calculated to excite them in a high
degree — their vaudeville songs — that the
two ideas they express have become iden-
tical in their minds ; and he will deserve
well of his country who shall discover the
means of making glory rhyme to peace. ^*

THE END.

T. r. Savill, Printer, 107, St. Martin's Lane.

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