"Your majesty is perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in hunting." "In hunting, do you say ?" "I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to bay." "Ah, ah!" said the king, "it was when the animal was brought to bay, then, that the accident happened ?" "Alas! sire, unhappily it was." The king paused for a moment before he said: "What animal was being hunted ?" "A wild boar, sire." "And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild boar-hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for that class of people who, unlike the Marechal de Gramont, have no dogs and huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do." Manicamp shrugged his shoulders.

"Youth is very rash," he said, sententiously.
"Well, go on," said the king.
"At all events," continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate and hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting--all alone." "Quite alone?
indeed ?--What a sportsman! And is not M.de Guiche aware that the wild boar always stands at bay ?" "That is the very thing that really happened, sire." "He had some idea, then, of the beast being there ?" "Yes, sire, some peasants had seen it among their potatoes." [2] "And what kind of animal was it ?" "A short, thick beast." "You may as well tell me, monsieur, that De Guiche had some idea of committing suicide; for I have seen him hunt, and he is an active and vigorous hunter.

Whenever he fires at an animal brought to bay and held in check by the dogs, he takes every possible precaution, and yet he fires with a carbine, and on this occasion he seems to have faced the boar with pistols only." Manicamp started.
"A costly pair of pistols, excellent weapons to fight a duel with a man and not a wild boar.

What an absurdity!" "There are some things, sire, which are difficult of explanation." "You are quite right, and the event which we are now discussing is certainly one of them.

Go on." During the recital, Saint-Aignan, who probably would have made a sign to Manicamp to be careful what he was about, found that the king's glance was constantly fixed upon himself, so that it was utterly impossible to communicate with Manicamp in any way.