The dogs were held under
the whip about the carcass of the stag until the grand huntsman, having
received the order from the King, gave the sign with his wand that they
should be set at liberty. The horns sounded, and the huntsmen, who while
the hounds were held under the whip had cried, 'Back, dogs! Back!'
shouted now, 'Hallali, valets! Hallali!' When the quarry had been made,
that is to say, when the flesh had been torn from the bones, a valet took
the _forhu_ (the belly of the stag, washed and placed on the end of a
forked stick), and called the dogs, crying, '_Tayaut, tayaut_!' and threw
the _forhu_ into the midst of the pack, where it was devoured at once.
At this instant the fanfares redoubled, and finished by sounding the
retreat. The King returned the wand to the grand huntsman, who at the
head of all the huntsmen followed His Majesty."
In his promenades at Versailles and Trianon any courtiers that chose to
do so were permitted to follow the King. On his return from out-door
recreation His Majesty, after again changing his costume, remained in his
cabinet resting or working. Frequently he passed some time in the
apartments of Madame de Maintenon.
At ten o'clock the captain of the guard announced supper in the chamber
between the Hall of the King's Guards and the antechamber called "Bull's
Eye." This meal was always on a pretentious scale, and was attended at
table by the royal children and numerous courtiers and ladies.
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