Summer months in the Forest--_Mare_ No. 3--Description of it--The
Woodcock fly--The Banker has a day's sport--Arrives at the
_Mare_--Difficult to please in his choice of a hut--Proceeds to a
larger _Mare_--His friends retire--The Banker on the alert for a
Wolf or a Boar--Fires at some animal--The unfortunate
discovery--Rage of the Parisian--Pays for his blunder, and recovers
his temper.
During the months of June, July, and August, the great heats in our
forests are suffocating, and the woodcock, which during the livelong day
has been squatting under some mossy root, is impressed with the idea
that a bathe in a clear pool of cold fresh water would be very conducive
to its health. Thus directly the sun, red as a shot which leaves the
furnace, falls below the horizon, and that the clouds surrounding the
spot where it disappears, at first lurid and bright like fire, then
yellow like a sea of gold, become cool, pale, and at length sink into
more sober hues, the woodcock,--which waits only for this moment to open
its wings and promenade the neighbourhood,--comes forth and commences a
study of the winds. Guided by instinct, and by the fresh currents of
air that float unseen in the atmosphere, she follows the sweet upland
breezes, and soon arrives at the spring or piece of water of which she
is in search.
The _Mares_ No. 3, in which the woodcock more especially loves to take a
bath, are almost as difficult to find as the one that I discovered, for
they are hidden in the depths of the forest; like it, also, they are for
the most part small, encircled by the thick foliage of the surrounding
trees, and consequently very dark; and the more this is the case, the
more solitary they are, and therefore the more sought after by this
bird. A woodcock never bathes in the _Mare_ No. 1; for to them resort
one after another all the large game, or those No. 2, as these are too
open. The woodcocks are discreet and bashful, and, like the wives of the
Sultan, love a retired bath-room, where they may disport themselves on
banks ever fresh and green, perfumed with wild flowers, and immerse
their fair persons in pellucid waters that have never been tainted with
a drop of blood, or covered with feathers torn from the victim of the
sportsman's gun. Thus it is therefore that the _Mares_ frequented by the
woodcock are so entirely hidden by the thick and falling branches, so
enveloped in deep shade, that you must have eyes made on purpose to be
able to discover their large brown bodies plunging in the crystal water
and wading amongst the flags. In aid of the sportsman, now as in the
spring, a little fly comes buzzing and wheeling about in the air to warn
the sportsman of the arrival of the birds, which, directly the moon's
white horn is seen glancing between the trees, arrive flapping their
wings in small parties of two and three at a time. One afternoon, when
the wind blew soft, and the sun was refulgent in the azure above, we
proposed an excursion in the forest to our friend the banker, who was
now quite convalescent.
"What! do you wish to give me up to the beasts?" cried he, jumping up
from his seat.
"Not at all, dear sir, pray don't be alarmed; we are merely desirous of
making you acquainted with the most innocent, the least dangerous sport
of the _chasse à l'affût_," and having convinced him, we started.
Everything went well as far as the entrance to the forest; but there the
_millionnaire_, little accustomed to walk over the stumps of underwood
and amongst the thorns, he began to drop into the rear, stopping every
now and then to rest against some tree, or disentangle his legs from
some yards of bramble, puffing and blowing, and ejaculating Oh's! and
Ha's! by dozens.
"Courage! sir," we said, "courage! we shall arrive too late; one brisk
half-hour's walk, and we are at our posts."
"Upon my word, gentlemen, you are really considerate; I walk, I suspect,
quite as fast as you. But"--and how was he delighted to find an excuse
for a halt--"you spoke of a _chasse a l'affût_, hiding for what I should
like to know--for bears, panthers, or crocodiles? is it this kind of
game we are to watch for?"
"Oh! no--for woodcocks."
"Woodcocks!--what, have you made me walk since the morning through
perfect beds of briars and over miles of large stones, escalade the
mountains, descend precipices, and brought me through water-courses and
dark ravines, to kill a few woodcocks?"
"Would you prefer confronting a wild boar?"
"Certainly," said the puffing convalescent; "if there was no chance of
danger, I should infinitely prefer killing a boar."
"For to-day this is impossible."
"Why so?"
"Why, in the first place, there are no boars in this wood, and it is too
late to take you to those which they frequent."
"Then we shall find only woodcocks in the place we are going to?"
"Nothing else; at least during the half-hour we shall remain."
"And if we were to remain more than half an hour?"
"Oh! then we might perhaps by accident see a roebuck--perhaps a hungry
wolf."
"A hungry wolf!--the deuce! And if there should come by chance a wolf to
the _Mare_ when I shall be all alone, what must I do?"
"Why kill it, to be sure."
"To be sure, why of course I should kill the ferocious animal,"--and the
banker, though smacking his fingers and whistling as if quite
unconcerned, looked very grave. Continuing our walk, we arrived at the
_Mares_.
"Goodness," said my companion, "how dark it is here,"--looking into each
hut that was shown him. "Misericorde! if I were to ensconce myself in
this leafy cabin, this gloomy sombre hole, I should fancy myself seated
at the bottom of a blacking-bottle--I respectfully decline the honour of
occupying the hut."
"Very well, let us proceed to another," we exclaimed. But the second
was pronounced more lugubrious and melancholy-looking than the first,
and the third not more agreeable than the preceding one.
"It is no longer a matter of doubt," said the Parisian; "you are a
family of owls. What! place myself in these holes, these mouse-traps, in
these tumuli of leaves, where the archfiend himself, habituated to every
kind of darkness, could not distinguish anything?--thank you, gentlemen.
As to you, you can see clear; but by the great telescope of the
observatory, if I were to get into one of these rustic ovens, I should
not in five minutes be able to distinguish the end of my nose--I should
not be able to find my way to my breeches-pocket."
"But, my dear sir," said I to him, when alone, for my two friends were
now snugly seated in the rejected huts, "you are very difficult to
please, and it becomes embarrassing, for these cabins are all alike;
when you have seen one you have seen a dozen. Now this, believe me, is a
capital one; come, seat yourself here."
"I am much obliged to you, not that one; for this pool of water in
particular has something very sinister about it; the spot feels raw, and
has an unpleasant wolfish air."
What was to be done? While debating thus, I remembered that at some
little distance from the place where we then were, stood two large
farms, Les Fermes des Amandiers, and that, at a distance of half a mile
beyond them, there was a magnificent _Mare_, in the style, it is true,
of _Mare_ No. 2, large and open, and yet it would be as useless to wait
for woodcocks there as it would be to hope to catch a trout in the
basins of Trafalgar-square. Such a spot seemed to me admirably
calculated for the banker; I resolved, therefore, to conduct him to it.
"If this hut does not please you," said I, "follow me, and quickly."
"Where are you going to take me?"
"Oh! do not alarm yourself, I have just thought of a place that will
suit you exactly: a charming spot, delightfully scented by a thicket of
honeysuckles; but you must be on the alert. See, the sun is nearly below
the summit of the tallest oaks--we shall not have more than one hour of
daylight; and I must return here."
When we arrived at the _Mare_ of which I was in search, the immediate
neighbourhood of it was already silent and deserted. "Heavens!" said the
enchanted banker, "what a delightful spot! Quick!--where shall I place
myself? Let us look for the hut--ha! here it is, but half in ruins;" for
it had not, in all probability, been occupied three times in the last
three years; we were obliged therefore to cut some branches, and roughly
repair it; and the banker, having crept into the interior, like a sweep
up a chimney, requested to have his last instructions.
"Well, when night has nearly closed in," said I, laughing under my
moustache, "be on the _qui vive_. The woodcocks will be here, but move
not; be like a statue for a few minutes; let them approach--let them
come, fly and whirl, and look about them; then, when reassured by your
silence, they will fall into the shallow water, paddle in the grass, and
plunging throw their legs into the air. At that moment they are yours.
Take your time and a deliberate aim, and miss them not. The sport over,
remain where you are, and on our return we will join you."
"All you say is very clear and very pretty," replied the banker; "but I
feel already a horrid cramp in my left leg; and if I am to remain
crumpled up in this hut, like a Turk taking his coffee, or like a monkey
gnawing an apple, when you come for me I shall have lost the use of my
limbs."
"Oh! if that is likely to be your fate, walk about--stretch your legs;
you have yet twenty minutes before dark. Adieu, sir, adieu; and good
luck attend you; for myself, I must be off to my post." But I had gone
scarcely thirty yards when he shouted after me, "Oh! Henri--my dear
young friend--come back. Here! see, a pack of wolves! What do I say? no;
a whole family of bears has passed this way! Look! the border of the
_Mare_ is ploughed up by the feet of these savage brutes."
"Bears, sir! those marks are merely the trampling of the shepherds'
dogs."
"Shepherds' dogs! Stoop down--look closer; do you mean to tell me that
the shepherds' dogs have made these prints of cloven feet in the mud?"
"No! those are holes made by the young calves from some neighbouring
farm, that came to drink here," I replied, repressing a laugh.
"Nonsense! Henri; calves, indeed! they are the marks of buffaloes and
wild boars. You cannot deceive me; for I know something about such
things. Why, this _Mare_ is, I have no doubt, the rendezvous of all the
beasts of the forest for ten miles round. Thank you, I don't intend to
remain here."
"Not remain! why you will, if you are correct, have far better fun than
we shall. Come, get into the hut."
"Remain with me, and divide the honour of the sport."
"Me? no: I thank you,--adieu! and keep your eyes about you."
"Halloo! Henri, come back. By the spectacles of my grandmother, what
will become of me? I am a fool! I have lost my sight--I have forgot my
eye-glass."
"Try to do without it."
"Impossible! it is useless--without an eye-glass I cannot see a yard
before me; I shall most certainly leave this _Mare_. I shall be off with
you."
"My dear sir," said I to him, "you must know and feel that if I thought
there was the most remote chance of danger, I would not leave you alone;
you really have nothing to fear--if you come with me, you will be
dreadfully in the way, and without doing the least possible good. The
huts are so very small, that there is only sufficient room for one: we
shall kill nothing, and be laughed at into the bargain."
"But these terrible quadrupeds; what if they should come and devour me
when you are gone?"
"I tell you you have nothing to fear."
"Very well, then I will believe you; after all, I am not a coward, but
a man: a royal tiger would not frighten me, and in spite of these sombre
looking trees waving to and fro, this silence, and the solitary look of
the place, I remain; yes, by Jupiter, I remain; only barricade me in the
rear, cut some thick branches, palisade me well round--there, now I
think you may leave me, I require nothing more--and yet one word; if I
were in danger, do you think you would hear me if I called?"
"Certainly, a whisper may almost be heard in the forest at night--the
trees conduct the slightest sound."
"Well, then, give me a shake of your hand. Adieu."
"Adieu, sir; be patient, and, above all, wait for our return."
"Let me alone for that; never fear my leaving this hut alone."
"And cover your head well, for nothing is so likely to give one cold as
the night air rushing into the ears."
"And mind, now, don't pray forget me. If you are not here in
three-quarters of an hour, I shall fire signals of distress, and make
the forest ring again with my maledictions."
But without waiting to hear anything further, I was off, and soon
reached my post. The sport, as usual, was pretty good; my friends and
myself killed four couple of woodcocks, and the _affût_ over, we turned
our steps towards the banker's cabin. No report of a gun had yet been
heard in his direction, but suddenly, and when we were scarcely five
hundred paces from the hut, and I was on the point of announcing our
arrival by a shrill whistle--two barrels were discharged one after the
other--then followed a long and heavy groan, and after that a cry of
distress. In a few seconds we bounded to the spot, and found our friend
stretched on the grass outside his hut, without his hat, his eyes
staring wildly about him, and his hair in disorder. He was trembling
with emotion, and pointed to a black animal, half hid in the water and
the rushes, which seemed very large, and was rolling from side to side
in the agonies of approaching death. Fright, downright fright, had tied
the banker's tongue; and while he is collecting his senses, allow me to
tell you, good reader, what had occurred in our absence.
Dumb and motionless, as directed, he had, during half an hour, waited
anxiously for the woodcocks; but the woodcocks had for a very long time
forgotten the road to this _Mare_; not one came--there was no sport for
him. He had already fancied he heard us returning in the distance, and
that his cramped legs would be set at liberty, and his twisted body
again assume the perpendicular, when all at once a cold perspiration
stood upon his brow, terror seized him; for behind, nay, almost close to
him, he heard advancing the heavy tramp and loud breathing of a wild
beast, and before he had time to observe what kind of an animal it was,
the brute passed so close to the hut that he pressed it down, and rushed
on to the _Mare_. More dead than alive, the banker lay half-squeezed in
a corner of his cabin, and panting for breath, dared scarcely move.
After a few minutes, however, he hazarded a careful glance outside, and
not twenty paces from him saw the immense quadruped bathing, and rolling
himself quietly in the water.
"It is a gigantic boar," said he to himself, "as large as a horse, and
as old as Methuselah--no doubt the patriarch of the forest--what tusks
he must have! Let us observe." And with a courage which did him credit,
he, after some time, suppressed his fear, and felt in the pocket of his
game-bag for two balls, which, with trembling hands, he slipped into
his gun. After this he again looked out, and reconnoitred the movements
of the enemy; but so great was the obscurity, that he could discover
nothing--unless, indeed, it was a dark mass which walked and jumped
hither and thither, rolled, frolicked, and rejoiced in his refreshing
bath. The heart of the Parisian was greatly agitated, and beat as if it
would split his flannel waistcoat; nevertheless, he took good and
deliberate aim at the black object in front, and though exceedingly
terrified, he cocked his gun, and in a perfect fever of excitement let
fly both barrels, falling immediately backwards in a corner of his hut,
perfectly bewildered with his own courage. A deep groan followed, and at
the end of a few minutes of agony and suspense, our friend, seeing no
tiger in the act of springing upon him, hazarded another look, when he
still heard the creature moaning, and groaning, and floundering in the
water.
The fact was, he had by a miracle, and without seeing, done that which
he never could have done at mid-day,--his two balls had perforated the
animal's head and neck. Observing the monster raising itself with
difficulty, and endeavouring to withdraw its legs from the sticky mud in
which they were fixed, the courage of despair rushed into his heart--he
left the hut, upsetting everything in his way, and precipitated himself
upon his adversary with a view of despatching him with the butt end of
his gun, or making him retreat further into the _Mare_, when imagine his
consternation and fear,--at the very moment his uplifted arm was
stretched out, like Jupiter's in the act of hurling a thunderbolt, the
animal raised himself on his haunches, looked him full in the face,
opened two enormous jaws, put up two very long ears, and instead of a
roar full of rage and ferocity, sent forth the most agonizing and
dolorous bray that was ever heard from the throat of any ass, French,
English, or Spanish! Yes! it was an ass the banker had mortally wounded;
an unfortunate ass, which, driven by thirst and the heat of the weather,
had left his shed at the neighbouring farm-house, to quench it and
refresh himself with a bath.
Surprise, shame, horror, and confusion began to dance a polka in the
banker's brain, and made him utter the hoarse cry which we had heard.
While we were yet gazing at each other the poor creature, by a last
effort, raised his bleeding head once more above the water, and
collecting all the strength he had left, scrambled from the _Mare_,
gave a half-suffocating and plaintive bray, and casting a look full of
reproach upon the gasping banker, which seemed to say, "I die, but I
forgive you," fell dead at our feet.
A convulsion of laughter from the party, now all assembled, followed;
even the birds, awakened from their slumbers, began to sing and partake
of the general hilarity.
"Halloo! Mr. Three per Cent.," said one, "this is what you call
sporting, is it--killing starved woodcocks? Fie! sir."
"You are three infamous vagabonds," replied the Parisian, catching his
breath, and picking up his hat.
"What! sir."
"Why, you are a trinity of rascals, I repeat."
"Why, what's the matter?"
"Abominable hypocrites, I say; this is a piece of acting, a trick which
you have kindly put upon me--this ass was driven here by you, or by some
one at your suggestion; I see clearly how it is."
"See clearly, do you? it is a pity, then, you did not a few minutes
ago."
"It is an infernal plot, I say; think you that I came into this wretched
country of forests to kill donkeys?"
"Well! but whose fault is it, sir; why did you not bring your
eye-glass?"
"My eye-glass; I don't require one, gentlemen, to enable me to see that
you have made a fool of me."
"My dear sir, reflect for a moment."
"No, gentlemen, I feel indignant at the paltry joke you have played upon
me--you knew that my sight was weak, and on that infirmity you have
practised a very shameful trick; you have said to yourselves, 'Send an
ass to this Parisian, he will no doubt take it for a wild boar.' Be off,
gentlemen, depart; let me have a clear horizon, or I shall proceed to
extremity."
"Monsieur le Banquier, if you do not become a little more reasonable, we
shall leave you to your reflections and to yourself, and pretty pickings
you will be for the wolves."
"So much the better; I wish to remain, I desire it; and after the gross
insult you have offered me, I shall certainly not be beholden to you as
a guide, or return to the town in your company." And he kicked the dead
carcass before him in his rage.
"But, Monsieur le Banquier, the night is getting chilly and damp, and
remember you are only just convalescent; come, let us be off."
"Gentlemen, I have already told you I shall not accompany you."
"Why, this is madness, sir."
"Anything you please; but thus it shall be. I will not leave this wood
until I have killed a wolf; yes, I must have a wolf; it is only in the
blood of a wolf that I can wash out the insult I have received; and I
will remain in the forest eight days, fifteen, three months, if
necessary. I will live on acorns, ants, toad's eggs, and roots, but by
the soul of that stupid brute that lays there," and he gave the deceased
ass a second kick, "I will not budge until I have killed a wolf: enable
me to slaughter a wolf, and I will follow you; nay, what is more,
forgive you."
"Monsieur le Banquier, let us in the first place tie a stone round the
neck of this unfortunate animal, and throw his body into the _Mare_, and
then, as we are the only witnesses of this adventure, we swear that we
will never divulge it to any one, or make the slightest allusion to it;
and, as we are men of honour, you will of course believe us;--the secret
shall be kept inviolable. On the other hand, as we are to a certain
extent responsible for your health, and as your remaining here any
longer in this cold wind will seriously endanger it, do not feel
discomposed if we defer to another day the pleasure of seeing you kill a
wolf, and request you will accompany us back to the _château_."
With various flattering speeches and consoling words, to heal his
mortification, we at length succeeded in bringing him away with us; many
a laugh had we on our road home, and many were the promises given that
we would never reveal the events of the evening. But, alas! the secret
came out on the following day, for before twelve o'clock had struck, a
peasant came knocking at the door, howling, crying, bawling like a blind
beggar, and demanding who had killed his ass. His importunity succeeded;
the murderer was brought to light, the banker cheerfully paid for his
shot, and laughed heartily at the adventure; but in spite of his
apparent philosophy, I remarked that from that moment he never met an
ass that he did not turn away his head; and this is the kind of game
that one finds in _Mare_ No. 2.