promise much in the way of ease and luxury, as we desolately gaze on the rude, solitary table, whose legs are formed from the uncarpentered branches of a bamboo, the three condemned hospital-looking stretchers, made of the same material, and held together by a net-work of coarse coir rope, and the two crazy chairs with one seat between them. A couple of hours industriously spent, however, furnish it with a very materially improved appearance, the nakedness of the stretchers being hidden by the mattresses that we have brought with us, and these drawn close to the table on either side make a luxurious substitute for chairs, whilst a gun-case,

laid across the two seatless chairs, is pressed into doing the extra duty of a form or a side-table. But whilst we are driving our wits to the very

furthest

verge

of their inventive extension, a new visitor makes his appearance amongst us, a personage of no little consequence to us in our anticipated excursions. He is the Genius of the place, the only human dweller in all that vast and glorious wilderness, and well does his appearance harmonise with the romantic character of the scene His long hair, perfectly white from age, is tied up in a knot at the back of his head ; whilst, in front, a snowy beard undulates half way down his breast. His only covering is a white linen girdle round the loins, and his only defence against all the wild beasts that surround him, is the white willow wand that he carries in his hand. In that old jungle-patriarch, reader, you see our “ Elephantfinder.” He is personally acquainted with every herd of elephants encamped within a dozen of miles of us at that moment. They, unsuspecting innocents, little dream of the treacherous part he acts towards them, or that slender willow wand would not so easily effect a lane through the centre of a herd for him to pass on his course. But he has no fear, never having been harmed or attacked by an elephant in his life, although he has lived all his days in the very centre of their haunts ; and whilst he enjoys the sport of seeing them shot, I doubt not but he is not a little astonished and amused at all the pomp and circumstance attending their destruction at the hands of the “white man.” Formerly an elephant-finder's services might have been dispensed with, but so numerous and frequent have been the invading parties on this territory, engaged in that animal's destruction, that they have in a great measure been seared away from the plain to the denser parts of the jungle.

We are forthwith put in possession of a statistical account of the enemy, the exact spot each herd that moment is in possession of, the length of time they have been there, and the advantages of the locality for our taking up a good position. If there is a tusker among any of the numerous herds in the vicinity, the old man is entitled to a considerable addition of good things from the lucky fellow who brings him down. There being only about one elephant in every two thousand in Ceylon that

possesses tusks, they are considered a great rarity; and such a distinguishing mark of beauty are they regarded by the animals themselves, that on the approach of danger the “tusker" is invariably surrounded by the remainder of the herd, and, thus forming literally a body-guard, they protect him until the danger is over, or until each elephant has been shot down dead where he stood. Five o'clock the following morning is the hour fixed upon for commencing hostilities, and the old native having been constrained to drink our healths in a bumper of brandy pawnee (a proceeding, though hostile to his creed, apparently not by any means so to his personal feelings) is allowed to depart to acquire fresh information of recent arrivals, whilst for our own part, having put our house in order, we turn our attention to assisting the cook in getting ready the “feed” for the evening ; nor on such an occasion did I ever know the old adage to hold good, of “ too many cooks spoiling the broth,”—every body has a great idea of culinary art in the jungle, and much latent gastronomic talent is therein developed ; besides, as every-one concocts a hash of his own, he is obliged to praise and eat it in self-defence, so the whole party is pretty sure of being satisfactorily accommodated.

If one could but virtuously and determinedly resolve on going to sleep as soon as dinner was over and digested (that is to say, about nine, P.M.), how clear would be the head and steady the hand the next morning at five, A.M. ; but whether it is the everlasting rule of contrariety that regulates human nature generally, or the idea that we may possibly not survive to pass another evening in the same agreeable manner, that invariably makes the claret more fruity, the beer more malty, the cognac more seductive, and the cheroots more aromatic, is a question I would at present rather not undertake to penetrate into the depths of ; but certain it is, that in nine cases out of ten the slightest ghost of a head-ache, and the pop of a soda-water cork at our neighbour's bed-side the next morning, brings remembrance and repentance at the same moment into our hearts.

This being our first excursion, however, the excitement consequent thereon leaves little room after a few minutes for other reflections; we are about to encounter a wilderness of monsters, the slightest contact with the weakest of whom would leave difficult work for mortal experience to remedy; and after all, there is a mighty small degree of Kudos attached to being crunched like a beetle under the feet, or within the proboscis of an offended elephant; such were the thoughts that, no doubt, preponderated in the minds of the party generally as we sallied forth for the first time from the bungalow into the plain. Leading the van, marched the old finder, having most emphatically enjoined the strictest silence on our part wherever we followed him ; then came the firing party, ourselves, walking in Indian file ; and lastly, our attendants, carrying one or two spare guns each, brought up the rear.

Having gone about half a mile from the house, the guide came to a dead halt, and plucking a handful of grass, threw it into the air to discover in which direction the wind blew, for it is necessary to approach the animals against the wind, their power of scent being so strong that they would be aware of our presence several hundred yards off, and keep at a most respectful distance for the remainder of the day. Finding we are in the right direction as far as this is concerned, we are given to understand that we are within a quarter of a mile of the nearest herd, consisting of about thirty animals. We then divide into parties of two, accompanied still by our spare gun carriers--the elephant-finder taking under his especial patronage the most inexperienced duo of the party; in this manner we are enabled to attack the enemy both in front and flank; and all the necessary instructions having been imparted, we proceed forward as noiselessly as possible ; you and myself, reader, forming a party of ourselves, and patronised in the present instance by the guide, who alnost frightens us out of our wits at the savage contortions he makes at us when we unhappily chance to snap a withered twig in our progress, as we wind our way like two boa-constrictors through the underwood, in any thing but a delectable state either of mind or body.

Look sharp, now! Up goes the old man's hand in the air, and at the

signal down we drop as mute and motionless as a pair of oysters, expecting the next moment to have the whole of the herd on the top of us. Leaving us in this position for a minute or two (it seems an hour) the finder crawls forwards on hands and feet, every now and then peering above the branches to get a view of the quarry. A slight beckon with his hand, without a turn of his head, releases us from our uncomfortable position, and again we are creeping slowly towards him. He points forward, whispering at the same moment “Ellia!" (the elephants !)

We are at the extremity of a patch of jungle, and the animals are located in an open spot about twenty yards ahead, but still we are unable to perceive them, so silent are they, and so exactly do their bodies resemble in their hue the natural appearance of the jungle itself.

A sudden report of a gun on our right alters the scene entirely. It is as if a stone was hurled into a wasp's nest. In another second we burst into the open space, and find ourselves in the centre of about forty wild elephants, all running here and there, wheeling and counter-wheeling, in an agony of apprehension and alarm ; each expecting his neighbour to lead the way off, and each having apparently lost every tittle of instinct ; and now is the exciting moment--the moment to try what a man's nerve is made of, as well as to test his coolness and presence of mind. It is useless to fire away right and left in the hopes of a random shot bringing an elephant down. Your life depends on your loaded barrel ; and ensconcing yourself near a corner, you wait patiently until an animal marks you out for a charge and comes directly at you, or, in passing in front of you, presents an opportunity that you cannot forbear taking advantage of. Still, if it is possible, one should always have a barrel loaded, but if all happen to be discharged, keep a look-out for a neighbouring tree or rock, around which you can dodge the animal, for if you can do this, you have a decided advantage over him. When the elephants are thus attacked in front and Alank by experienced hands at the work, they are dropping thick and fast. Escape in the rear is prevented by the nature of the ground, and as they wheel round in confusion on receiving the fire of one party, they receive that of the other. No

person ever thinks of firing at an elephant at a greater distance than a dozen paces, so if one has the faculty of remaining cool and collected, it is not very easy to miss the vital spots in the head, which are the hollow part in the centre of the forehead, about as large as a dessert plate, and two similar places, of a corresponding size, just immediately before the ears ; a bullet penetrating either of these parts must find its way to the brain.

The excitement that the novice experiences on bringing down his opponent apparently with so much ease, (albeit he has previously had a dozen shots without any visible results following,) is apt to make him headstrong and careless, and numberless and providential have been the escapes

caused by too great self-confidence and foolhardiness in this respect.

I well remember the first shot that I was fortunate enough to obtain at an elephant, and its consequences. The brute was within six yards of me when I sent a ball at its temple--not then knowing the exact spot that was mortal, I happened to hit him about an inch too high, and divided an artery, on which a stream of blood spouted out like a jet of water from a fire-engine, giving me as complete a drenching as if I had been soused in the Red Sea, completely blinding me for some minutes, and leave ing me in a vastly pleasant predicament to continue the morning's work.

A fearful crash of branches on all sides of me, as I retreated into the jungle to rinse the blood out of my face and clothes indicated the final rush and escape of the remainder of the herd. Driven at last to desperation by stray shots from the tyros of the party, one prevailing sentiment seemed to animate the wounded wretches, and sauve qui peut became the order of the day, leaving us in possession of the slain, which amounted to about eight or ten elephants.

Having satisfactorily arrived at the conclusion as to who was the slayer of each particular animal, a matter not very easily accomplished, where every one is so anxious for “ the honour of the thing” (a point, however, generally conceded by the veteran to the more inexperienced), we proceed to congratulate each other on the event, whilst our servants are engaged in amputating the extremities of the animals' tails (the trophy we preserve of our victims), which, being covered with long black bristles, have been made useful and ornamental by some enterprising elephant shot, by being highly polished, and turned into bracelets - six bristles kept at regular distances by small bars of gold, making a very unique and exceedingly pretty ornament.

But whilst we are quietly contemplating the aforesaid process of amputation, one of the fallen monsters, whose turn it has come to be operated upon, suddenly springs up into life, having been merely stunned, and makes us look out for ourselves ; a general volley is showered at his head, and he gets off or falls for the last time, as his stars have ordained it.

After undergoing a scraping, added to an ablution in an adjacent muddy pool, during which time the remainder of the party have secured their trophies, and refreshed themselves with, I am afraid, something stronger than tea-water, even at that early hour, away we proceed after the next nearest herd. In some cases, perhaps, we attempt to pursue the fugitives, but this is, in general, lost labour, for, as the “ burnt child dreads the fire,” (a proverb, a Milesian brother officer of mine improved into “ It is the drowned child dreads the water”), they are no sooner out of the reach of our balls, than they are “over the hills and far a

away,” and it is truly astonishing to witness the rate they go at when they settle down into one of their swing trots ; I believe it would puzzle a horse to keep up with them even for the distance of a mile. To see the remainder of a herd that has been attacked charge through their opponents, and then rush headlong through the jungle, bearing down in their course every opposing obstacle (like a pack of hounds running through a field of standing corn), is a spectacle to be viewed to admit of any adequate imagination of it.

The next herd that we find is, probably, located in a totally different position, and we form our tactics of attack accordingly; always remembering it is totally impossible to attack them in an open space, as they seldom ever act on the offensive, or even on the defensive, until they are forced to.

On this second occasion I was more fortunate than on the previous one, for having “ tasted blood” in more than a figurative sense, I was determined to be revenged, and found that now the first excitement was over, and one better understood how to set about the business, it was quite as easy to take the matter coolly as not, and one obliging animal guessing my wishes at the moment, and anxious to put my abilities to the test, singled me out for a victim. Curling his proboscis up under his head (not fourishing it in the air as all illustrations represent an elephant when rushing at an object), and bending its head half-way down to the groundworld of mischief peering out of that wicked little swinish eye-on he came at a quick trot at me. He was soon within eight or ten paces, my gun had been at my shoulder covering the fatal spot from the moment he commenced the charge, and when another second would have brought him bodily on the top of me, one touch of the forefinger sent an ounceball crashing through his skull, and down he sunk without a struggle or a groan, his trunk nearly touching my feet. The fall of the elephant is almost noiseless ; instead of coming down like a house, plump on its side at once, with a concussion that one would suppose enough to cause & diminutive earthquake, it sinks gradually down, first on its knees, then on its belly, and, finally, rolls over as unconcernedly and gracefully as if they were going through some civilised evolutions under the

managership of Mr. Hughes, or before the enraptured audiences at Astley's "Cirque Olympique."

Sometimes, however, this operation is unhappily reversed, and instead of the animal rolling over, it falls to the lot of the aggressor, not only to roll over, but to be afterwards knelt upon (the favourite mode with the elephant--decidedly a “knee plus ultra" one-of putting an extinguisher on his foe), or torn limb from limb asunder. These accidents, fortunately, are not frequent; and the only wonder seems to be how they are not so, when so many inexperienced youngsters venture out against wild elephants—the animals are extremely short-sighted, and when they charge down on a person, after having once marked him out, I believe they generally close their eyes, for it is very easy to jump on one side, and as the tiger never returns from his first spring, so do these animals keep charging ahead until they are again lost in the jungle. The fate of the unfortunate Major Haddock, of the 97th regiment, was a melancholy proof of the power and revenge of an elephant. Having wounded one, and his barrels being all exhausted, his best chance of escape from the animal, which had now turned upon him, lay in dodging him round a small patch of jungle. For half-an-hour this hide and seek game was kept on, until the major, imagining the elephant had attempted a ruse by doubling round in the opposite direction, also changed his course, and ran directly into the brute's clutches !—Poor fellow! he was dissected limb from limb, even to the smallest joint in his fingers, but not a bone, I believe, was broken.

An intimate young friend of mine was slaughtered, not many years ago, in consequence of his gun missing fire in the face of a magnificent tusk elephant. He was only nineteen years old, and having passed a first-rate examination at Sandhurst, had come out under promise of being speedily gazetted to a regiment in the colony. He was first knelt on, and then transfixed by the tusks. Some others have likewise been killed by these animals ; many I know have been horribly wounded, and experienced most fearful and providential escapes.

By the time that we have finished our second encounter, a feeling, if not of fatigue, at least of the necessity and agreeability of breakfast forces itself most obtrusively on our imagination ; and as we have wandered some five miles away from the bungalow during our excursion, and the sun is already high up over the mountains, and beginning to bring our garments into an unpleasant and dampish contiguity with our skin, it is straightway put to the vote whether another herd be attacked or a retreat for that day be beaten to our jungle home.

Some fire-eating, never-satisfied youngster of the party forms probably