Pagina 260 van 788

The hunters stood still, and each of them, with his gun ready,

bent forward like a bow with his head thrust into the forest;

they could wait no longer! Already one after another left his

station and crowded into the thicket; each wished to be the first

to meet the beast; though the Seneschal kept cautioning them,

though the Seneschal rode to each station on his horse, crying

that whoever should leave his place, be he simple peasant or

gentleman's son, should get the lash upon his back. There was-no

help for it! All, against orders, ran into the wood. three guns

sounded at once, then a continual cannonade, until, louder than

the reports, the bear roared and filled with echoes all the

forest. A dreadful roar, of pain, fury, and despair! After it the

yelping of the dogs, the cries of the sportsmen, the horns of the

beaters thundered from the centre of the thicket. Some hunters

hasten into the forest, others cock their guns, and all rejoice.