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