5.  Having on several days obtained sight of some of them, he, with his attendants, on horseback and accompanied with dogs, gave chase; but they baffled all pursuit.  After a chase of a whole day, which effected nothing but the fatigue of the party, he began to despair of success.

6.  “The next day,” says he, “by sunrise, I was in pursuit of game, in the hope of obtaining some provisions for my men.  After several hours’ fatigue, we saw, at the turn of a hill, seven giraffes, which my pack of dogs instantly pursued.  Six of them went off together; but the seventh, cut off by my dogs, took another way.

7.  “I followed the single one at full speed, but, in spite of the efforts of my horse, she got so much ahead of me, that, in turning a little hill, I lost sight of her altogether, and I gave up the pursuit.  My dogs, however, were not so easily exhausted.  They were soon so close upon her that she was obliged to stop and defend herself.  From the noise they made, I conjectured that they had got the animal into a corner, and I again pushed forward.

8.  “I had scarcely got round the hill, when I perceived her surrounded by the dogs, and endeavoring to drive them away by heavy kicks.  In a moment I was on my feet, and a shot from my carbine brought her to the earth.  I was delighted with my victory, which enabled me to add to the riches of natural history.  I was now able, also, to destroy the romance which attached to this animal, and to establish the truth of its existence.”

Definitions.—­l.  Bril’liant, sparkling, shining. 2.  Di-ver’si-fied, made various.  Pe-cul’iar, especially belonging to. 4.  Le Vaillant (pro. leh va yon’).  Nat’u-ral-ist, one who is acquainted with objects of nature.  Spec’i-men, a sample. 5.  Baf ‘fled, defeated, escaped from.  Fa-tigue’, weariness. 7.  Con-jec’tured, guessed. 8.  Car’bine, a short gun.  Ro-mance’, a story without truth.

Exercises.—­Of what country is the giraffe a native?  To what height does it attain when full grown?  On what does it live?  How does it defend itself?  Relate the story of Le Vaillant’s giraffe hunt.

LXI.  THE LOST CHILD. (165)

1.  A few years since, a child was lost in the woods.  He was out with his brothers and sisters gathering berries, and was accidentally separated from them, and lost.  The children, after looking in vain for some time in search of the little wanderer, returned, just in the dusk of the evening, to inform their parents that their brother was lost and could not be found.

2.  The woods, at that time, were full of bears.  The darkness of a cloudy night was rapidly coming on, and the alarmed father, gathering a few of his neighbors, hastened in search of the lost child.  The mother remained at home, almost distracted with suspense.