Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the _Duc de Grammont_,
and the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau,
in order to enjoy the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to
meet them, to see with my own eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard
so much. Accordingly I ordered post horses, and arrived in the town about
six hours after his Most Christian Majesty.
After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set
out at eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour--a late one in
France, when compared with England--the roads were by no means thronged,
and I could very plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians
were attached to the court, and that the pedestrians were either such as
had been in the enjoyment of some of the good things of this life under
the present family, or such as were in expectancy of them. There was a
third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by the
desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of
obtaining the entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness
the feats of the royal party. Among this latter class, old men, old women,
and very young boys predominated.
The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The
various alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted,
create an imposing and majestic _coup d'oeil_, which is only bounded
almost by the horizon. At the bottom and in the middle of these alleys
were placed mounted _gendarmes_ to restrain the intrusion of the populace,
and to prevent them from coming--such is French curiosity--within shot of
the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my left, the great
body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed
space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party
took their station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly
behind. Across this stand, and within the enclosed space, were the
roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, while the King, the Dauphin,
the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, had their shots in
succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "_coup_." Ten men were
busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin.
Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as
the chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot
after shot passed in quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the
ears of those among the crowd--and they were the fewer number--who had
hearts within them, and to British feeling each reverberation brought a
mingled sensation. In England, and in most other nations, whether
civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some chance at least of
escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed space
around the stand was surrounded by a kind of _chevaux de frize_, six feet
in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the
work of destruction of course went rapidly on.
Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose
drivers vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were
placed for the purpose of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they
accumulated in quick succession within the enclosure. In the short
interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts filled with the
produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed to
the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as
they had been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself
were ranged; and he numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one _marcassin_
(young wild boar;) the spoil of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks,
being eight less than his royal father, while the rest of the company
destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total of 138 roes, and
one wild boar.
While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of
disembowelling quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range
the game in the order I have mentioned--another ripped open the body with
a sharp knife, while a third party, to the amount of a dozen, were
engaged in the disembowelling.
The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into
evening. The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the
forest and return to Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I
had not yet seen him, and my party being anxious to come in contact with
royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the crowd began to rush towards
the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept them at bay. The
multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two lines;
and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming.
His majesty was on foot--he was surrounded by the officers of his
household, dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his
breast. On his head was a small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap
years, and of services. His breeches were of the homeliest thickset; and
he also wore a pair of large leather gaiters--such as are very common
among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. Though the conformation of
his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, and he
appeared in perfect health.
It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a
deeper tint to the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and
his majesty had been engaged in the sport from six in the morning,
without intermission. Untired, however, in the work, the king determined
to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he returned to
the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain.
Three separate bevies of deer were let loose--again I heard the fearful
shots, and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the
crowd; and, after having given directions about the game, entered his
carriage with a hasty step, and at a rapid pace drove off for
Fontainbleau.
_Monthly Magazine._
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