, 1889-12-08
THE ROYAL BOAR HUNT.
GERmANY's EMPEROR AND HIS CRU.
NEWAGo FRIENDS.


A blast is heard from the gamekeepers
outside, announcing that the boar has
been loosed. Fifteen minutes more passed,
and then the master of the hunt, Count
Richard Dollna S~chlobitten. advancing
to the prince, salutes him and says:
Your royal ~highness, it is time for the
hunt to begin" Prince Frederick Leo
pold raises his hand, Herr Palm %salutes.
and then, lifting the waldhorn to his
lips. blows a long and powerful note that
re echoes shrilly throughout the castle.
The hunting park is right in the mid
die of the Grunewald woods. A little
distance from the castle is the wide and
deep river llavel. along whose banks
there is abundant cover. Should the
boar, however, take it into his head to
cross the river, he is practically safe
from the hunters, for, long before they
could cross in boats, he would rave dis
appeared in the forest. But the hounds
are off on a keen scent, and as they pick
up the 'faehrte' of the game they give
cry that tells the hunters where to fol-
low.
Now the whole field. is in full chase,
Hofjagermeister Graf Won Donna lead
ing CALAMITY on his powerful black
horse. Presently he turns and makes
room for the ladies, for the chase is yet
young, even though the joyous bark of
the hounds can be heard at intervals, in
d~icating that they are still on the track.
The prancing of some of the horses rid
den by the ladies causes a delay.
The emperor is exceedingly partial to
Prussian horses, ard this fact has set the
| fashion urlara Iarotnfnrn tharn ..nrn
many English horses used in the hunt
ing field. Our Prussion breed is slow
but more enduring than the English, and
in every way better adapted for the
rough work of a BOAR chase.
The supreme momen of the hunt is
when the boar lies bleeding and dead
and the princes aide-de-camp with his
hunting knife cuts from the nearest pine
tree a bunch of needles, which the prince
gayly distributes to those who happen to
be present the moment the fang"
or dagger stab in the lungs, "the
coup de grace" is given. None who
are not ON the spot at the in
slant of victory may share the "bruch."
AS each of the fortunate hunters places
his spray of pine in his hat or coat the
bugles sound the "Hallallil Hallallil
Hallalli!' the signal of the death of the
boar. This brings all the laggards to
the spot, hot and breathless with riding
and their horses flecked with foam.
Then with his hunting knife Herr Palm
administers the ''curee' to the dead boar,
cutting it open with a single dexterous
stroke. One of his assistants then takes
out the liver and intestines, which are
flung to the pack of dogs and quickly
devoured.
After the chase all return to the Castle
Grunewald, where dinner awaits them.
Merry and hungry, chatting gayly over
the successful sport, and without even
an attempt at toilet, the hunters sit
down, this time to a regal table. Unlike
the lunch in the forenoon, which was
eaten in the courtyard, the dinner is a
stately and imposing affair, the sole pc
culiarity being the utter absence of even
the semblance of preparation Of the part
of the diners. They sit down Just as
they come in from the forest, their
hunting suits torn and bloody or soiled
by tumbles from their horses or contact
with trees and bushes. Even the ladies
look slightly b~edraggled, some having
their long habits and their hunting
gloves stained with the marks of the
chase; but all are pleased, and it is a
happy party indeed which, disregarding
the conventionalities, begins to do JUS
tice to the good cheer their imperial host
sets before them.
To the rider who grasped the boar be.
longs the honor of toasting the emperor,
after the solid dishes have been disposed
of. This ceremony, from time imme-
Ill -. - T. "
brew called "St. Hubertus Grunewald
punch"
There is one unique feature of the an
nual hunting dinner. For many years
it has been h custom to invite as guests
not to the hunt, but to the feast that fol-
lowed it, a dozen of the most prominent
journalists of the capital. These spec
tacled professional gentlemen, who
would be sadly out of place in a hunting
field, contribute in no small degree to
the entertainment of the dinner, where
everybody present Is supposed to help
along the merriment in a Bohemian way.
1t falls to the lot of some journalist, des-
ignated in advance by royalty itself, to
prepare and read to the members of the
Hubertus run a 'agd Protokoll," or YER
sified narrative of the hunt, and this,
with many other similar productions, is
kept as a memorial at the castle. For a
number of years this pleasant task was
performed by the late DR.. Louis Schnei-
der. The newspaper men are really the
only well dressed men at the dinner.
They attend in full evening costume and
their elaborate toilets furnish a strange
contrast to the rough, dirty suits, frowsy
hair and muddy skirts of the merry fol-
lowers of the boar.
With he emptying of the punch bowl,
and when the last shout OYER the news
paper mems verses has died away, the
hunters who reside in Berlin or Potsdam
begin to think of home. 1t is quite dark
outside the castle, but these jewellers
think nothing of an evening through
the somber Grunewald woods. In pairs
or groups they walk or ride home, max
ing the air merry with their songs and
laughter as they go. The ladies who do
not stop over night at the castle &C
company them. Every h~unter-carefully
shows his or her bit of .'bruch." for it IL