The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1892-03-19
THE GRAY WOLF.

the old Marquis q ArNllle after dinner
at the house of the Baron des Ravels
Saint Hubert.
We had started stag during the day
The marquis was the only one of the
guests who had not taken part in the
pursuit. He never INDUCED in the chase.
During the entire time Of the repast we
had talked of little else than the massa-
ere of animals. Even the women inter-
ested themselves in the sanguinary and
often incredible tales, and the speakers
mimicked the attacks and the combats
between men and beasts, gesticulating
with their arms and conversing in ex-
cited tones.
M. d'Arville spoke we'll, with GER
tain air of poetry, trifle sonorous, but
full of effect He had often repeated
this history, therefore he spoke fluently,
not hesitating to find choice words in
which to depict his images
"Messieurs," he said, Il have never
hunted, nor did my father, my grand
father or my great-grandfather. This
last was the son of a man who hunted
more than all of you. He died in 1854.
will tell you how.
"He was named Jean, was married
and was the father of this child, who
was my great-grandfather, and he lived
with his younger brother, Francois
d'Arville, in our chateau in the midst Of
| forest in Lorraine Francois d'Ar-
vile had remained a bachelor through
love of the chase, These two hunted
| from one years end to the other, with
ont repose, without stop, without lassi-
tude. They loved nothing else, under
stood nothing else, talked of nothing
else, lived for nothing else than the
chase. This terrible, inexorable passion
possessed them to the heart, had invaded
them entirely, leaving no place for any
thing else.
"They had prohibited any one from
interrupting them during the chase
for any purpose whatever. My great
/ grandfather was born while his father
was following fox, and Jean d'Arville,
instead of interrupting the run, swore,
In the name of the saints, the rascal
might better have waited until after the
huntr
"His brother Francois was even more
carried away by this passion than him
self. From the time he arose in the
morning he went to see the dogs, then
the horses, then the shot birds in the i'm
mediate vicinity of the chateau, up to the
time of leaving to start some larger
game. They were known throughout
the neighbOring country as NJ. le Mar
quis and NJ. le Cadet, the mobiles of that
day not epdeavoring like those of our
I T., ,rfa1,1fol, n 1ngaa,,IiV,o@ Ifav
archy in titles; because the son of a mar
quis is no more a count, nor the son of a
viscount baron than the son of a gen.
eral is a colonel by birth; but the shah
by vanity of our day finds profit in this
arrangement return to my ancestors
"They were, it appears, huge, long
hairy, violent and vigorous. The young
er, even taller than the elder, had q
voice so strong that, according to O
legend of which he was the hero, all the
leaves of the forest trembled when hC
shouted. And when they leaped into
the saddle to depart for the chase it was
a superb spectacle to see these two
giants bestriding their great horses.
"Now, toward the depth of the win
ter of this year, ll64, the cold was exces
sive and the wolves became ferocious
They attacked the belated country peo
pie, wandered around the houses a
night, bowling from the setting to tn,
rising of tho sun, and depopulating tn,
} stables.
: "And soon weird rumor circulated
: They talked of a colossal wolf, witt
gray hair, almost white, who had eatel
! two children, devoured a womans arm
strangled all the watchdogs Of fh
country, and who penetrated withou
fear into the Enclosures to sniff unde
= the doors. All the inhabitants declare,
that they had heard his shuttle, and tina
it had made the flames of the lamp
flicker. And soon q panic ran through
all the province. Nobody dared go on
after nightfall. The darkness seeme
to be haunted by images Of the beast,
THE d'Arville brothers resolved {
. find this animal and kill it, and they &C
cordingly summoned all the gentleme
Of the country to grand chase, 1t wa
in vain. They hunted the forest owe
and searched the thickets, hut did no
encounter it. They killed plenty q
wolves but not this one, And eac
:, night, after the chase, the animal, q
though to ayenge itself, attacked som
traveller or devoured some cattle, alway
far from the place where they had bee
searching for it. At last one night
$ penetrated the pig stable Of the Chatea
d'Aryille and ate the two finest porker
The two brothers were inhamed wit
anger, considering this attack as a bri
vado from the monster, a direct injury,
defiance. They took all their stron
Y bloodhounds, accustomed to the pursu
Of redoubtable beasts, and entered th
chase, their hearts provoked to fury.
From dawn until the hour when I'll
purple sun descended behind the grea
bare trees, they beat the thickets witt
out finding anything, Finally, bot
furious and desolate, and astonished thi
all their skill had been bafiied by tn
wolf, they were walking their hors'
20 along a path bordered by bushes, whe
z they were suddenly seized by IA sort {
mysterious fear.
"'This beast is not an ordinary one
said the Oldest, 'One would almost sa
that he had human attributes
"'We should have a ball blessed
a our cousin. the bishop, said the younge
= or have some priest pronounce the nece
sary wsrds. He ceased speaking.
v See how red the sun is, repliS
: Jean. Tho big wolf will do son
wickedness.this night,
''He had hardly spoken these wor,