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The Seneschal had not thought at all of making any personal

allusions, and had not noticed what they were secretly

whispering; glad that he had been able to stir up laughter among

the ladies and the young men, he turned to the hunters, wishing

to cheer them up also; and he began anew, pouring himself out a

glass of wine:-

"In vain do my eyes seek the Bernardine; I should like to tell

him a curious incident, similar to what occurred at our hunt

to-day. The Warden told us that he had known but one man who

could shoot at long range with as good aim as Robak, but I knew

another; by an equally sure shot he saved the lives of two men of

high rank. I saw it myself, when Rejtan, the deputy to the Diet,

went hunting with the Prince de Nassau in the forests of

Naliboki. Those lords were not jealous of the fame of an untitled

gentleman, but were the first to propose his health at table, and

gave him countless splendid presents, and the hide of the boar

that had been slain. Of that wild boar and of the shot I will

tell you as an eyewitness, for the incident was similar to that

of to-day, and it happened to the greatest sportsmen of my time,

to the deputy Rejtan and the Prince de Nassau."