capital supper!' exclaimed he.

"'M. Louet! A cigar?' cried Méry: 'It is good for the digestion.'

"'Thank you, most illustrious poet!' answered M. Louet; 'I never smoke. It
was not the fashion in my time. Smoking and boots were introduced by the
Cossacks. I always wear shoes, and am faithful to my snuff-box.'

"So saying, M. Louet produced his box, and offered it round. We all
refused except Méry, who, wishing to flatter him, attacked his weak side.

"'What delicious snuff, M. Louet! This cannot be the common French snuff?'

"'Indeed it is--only I doctor it in a particular manner. It is a secret I
learned from a cardinal when I was at Rome.'

"'Ha! You have been to Rome?' cried I.

"'Yes, sir; I passed twenty years there.'

"'M. Louet,' said Méry, 'since you do not smoke, you ought to tell these
gentlemen the story of your thrush-hunt.'

"'I shall be most happy,' replied M. Louet graciously, 'if you think it
will amuse the company.'

"'To be sure it will,' cried Méry. 'Gentlemen, you are going to hear the
account of one of the most extraordinary hunts that has taken place since
the days of Nimrod the mighty hunter. I have heard it told twenty times,
and each time with increased pleasure. Another glass of punch, M. Louet.