Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/228

222 the time; but unless the guests are invited to do the shooting, the honor of killing the beast is reserved for the Emperor. Exceptions are made in case the bear should endanger the life of his Majesty, which sometimes happens. Bears have little sense of Imperial dignity, and a Czar as of no more consequence to an untamed bruin than is the most ordinary peasant.

"A gentleman who was stopping on an estate in the interior of Russia," said Doctor Bronson, "happened to be a witness of an Imperial bear-hunt several years ago, and told me about it. He said not less than five hundred Cossacks and peasants were employed in watching the bear, to keep him from straying, and the brute had become so accustomed to their

presence that he stood quite still when approached by the Emperor, so that the latter delivered his shot at a distance of not more than a dozen yards. The animal was killed instantly, the ball penetrating his forehead and crashing through bis brain.

"After the hunt the party rode to the house of the owner of the estate where the bear had been found, and enjoyed a hearty supper, and after the supper they returned to the capital. The body of the slain animal was dressed for transportation to St. Petersburg, where it was to be served up at the Imperial table.