for at the time when our history commences he
is an emperor. He had been hunting the wild boar; and, as often happens
to sporting princes, had become separated from his courtier attendants.
The enthusiasm of the chase had led him on, into the fastnesses of the
forest, where he came suddenly face to face with a bear. Princes have
their hunter ambition as well as other men; and, in hopes of tailing a
trophy, this one attacked the bear with his boar-spear. But the thrust
that might have penetrated the flesh of a wild boar, had no effect upon
the tough thick hide of Bruin. It only irritated him; and as the brown
bear will often do, he sprang savagely upon his assailant, and with his
huge paw gave the prince such a "pat" upon the shoulder, as not only
sent the spear shivering from his grasp, but stretched his royal
highness at full length upon the grass.

Following up his advantage, the bear had bounded forward upon the
prostrate body; and, no doubt, in the twinkling of a bedpost would have
made a corpse of it--either squeezing the breath out of it by one of his
formidable "hugs," or tearing it to pieces with his trenchant teeth. In
another moment the hope of Russia would have been extinguished; but,
just at this crisis, a third figure appeared upon the scene--in the
person of a young hunter--a _real_ one--who had already been in pursuit
of the bear, and had tracked him up to the spot.

On coming upon the ground, the hunter fired his gun; but, seeing that
the shot was insufficient, he drew his knife and rushed upon the bear.
A desperate struggle ensued, in which, as may be already anticipated,
the young hunter proved victorious--having succeeded in sheathing his
blade in the heart of the bear, and causing the savage quadruped to
"bite the dust."

Neither the prince nor the peasant came scathless out of the encounter.
Both were well scratched; but neither had received any wound of a
serious nature; and the amateur hunter rose once more to his feet,
conscious of having made a very narrow escape.

I need not add that the prince was profuse in his expressions of
gratitude to him who had saved his life. The young hunter was not one
of his own party, but a stranger to him, whose home was in the forest
where the incident occurred. But their acquaintance did not end with
the adventure. The prince became an emperor--the peasant hunter a
lieutenant in the Imperial Guard, afterwards a captain, a colonel, a
general, and fina