The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-04-16
THE GRAY WOLF.

the old Marquis d'Arville after dime
at the house of the Baron des Ravels
Saint Hubert.
We had started II stag during the day
The marquis was the only m of thu
guests who had not taken part in tn,
pursuit. He never INDUCED in the chase
During the entire time of the repast W,
had talked Of little else than the massa
ere of animals. Even the women inter
ested themselves in the sanguinary ant
often incredible tales, and the speaker.
mimicked the attacks and the combat.
between men and beasts, g~esticulatine
with their arms and conversing in ex
cited tones.
NJ. d'Arville spoke well, with a Ger
tain air of poetry, Il trifle sonorous, hui
full of effect. He had often repeated
this history, therefore he spoke ~fiuently
not hesitating to find choice words in
which to depict his images.
"Messieurs," he said, Il have nevel
hunted, 0 did my father. my grand.
father or my great-grandfather. This
last was the son of d man who hunted
more han 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, Francoi,
d.Arville. in our chateau in the midst OF
a 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.
out 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, memorable 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 a fox. and Jean d'Arvillc.
instead Of interrupting the run, sworc.
In the name of the saints. the rascal
might better have waited until after the
hunt
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. lie Mar
quis and NJ. lie Cadet, the mobiles Of that
day not endoavoring like those of our
W time to establish a descending hier-
archy III titles; because the son of u mar
quis is no more % count. % the son Of Il
~viscount a baron than the son Of n gen
eral is u colonel by birth: but the shah
by vanity of Ii day finds profit in this
arrangement. return to N ancestors
They We're. it appears, huge, long,
hairy, violent and vigorous. The young-
er, even taller than the elder. had It
voice SO strong that, according t. Il
legend of which he was the hero, all the
leaves of the forest tromblad when he
shouted. And when they leapcd into
the saddle to depart for the chase il was
a superb spectacle to see these two
giants bestriding their great horses.
Nov, toward the depth Of the win
ter OF this year, 1854, fine cold was cXces-
sive and the wolves became f~crocious.
They attacked the belatcd country peo-
pie, wandered around the houscs al
night, bowling from the setting to the
rising of the sun, and ~dcpopulating the
stables.
And soon q weird runIOr circulated.
They talked of a colossal Wolf, with
gray hair, almost white, who had eaten
two children, dcvOured a woman's arm,
strangled all the watchdogs of the
country, and who penetrated without
fear into the Enclosures to sniff under
the doors. All the inhabitants declared
that they had heard his shuttle, and thai
it had made the flames of the lamps
flicker. And 500 a panic ran through
all the province. Nobody dared 90 out
after nightfall. The darkness seemed
to be haunted by images of the beast.
1.-The dArville brothers resolved t.
find this animal and kill it, and they ac-
cordingly Summoned all the gentlemen
OF the country to a grand chase. 1t was
in vain. They hnnted the forest over
and searched the thickets, but did moi,
encounter it. They killed plenty Of
wolves, but not this one. And each
night, after the chasc, the animal. as
though to avenge itself, attacked some
traveller or devoured some cattle. always
far from the place where they had been
searching for it. At last one night it
penetrated the pig stable of the Chateau
d'Arville and ate the two finest porkers.
The two brothers were infamed with
anger, considering this attack as n bra.
vadO from the monster, n direct iniury,a
defiance. They took all their strong
bloodhounds, accustomed to the pursuit
of redoubtable beasts. and entered the
chase. their hearts provoked to fury.
From dawn until the hour when til"
purple sun descended behind the great.
bare trees, they beat the thickets with
out finding anything. Finally, both
furious and desolate, and astonished that
all their skill had been baffied by this
wolf, they were walking their horses