Le Lievre de mon Grand Pere was published in L'Echo des Feuilletons in
1855. It is set in the village of Theux, near Liege, on the Belgian
border, at some point in the early 19th century. The narrator reports that
one Jerome, the grandfather of a friend of his' was the village
apothecary, a free-thinker, and an avid hunter. Jerome began to poach on
the land of the Prince-Bishop, and came in conflict with a childhood enemy
and forester, Thomas Pihay. The foresters catch Jerome poaching, and
Thomas shoots Jerome's dogs, and tosses Jerome in jail.
That winter, Jerome encounters Thomas again, and kills him. Jerome returns
home to await arrest, but by chance, the body is buried by snow, and is not
discovered for months. The crime is never attributed to Jerome.
However, Jerome's dreams and his hunting trips are haunted by the figure of
a gigantic white hare (associated with Saint Hubert, the patron saint of
hunters.) The hare is impervious to bullets, and leads Jerome's remaining
dogs to their death. Jerome hunts the hare continually, neglects both his
business and other prey, and impoverishes his family. Finally, his wife
prays to Saint Hubert that Jerome may, at last, catch his hare. But when
man encounters hare, who will be catching whom?
