object in its true light; that the Observer was but denouncing abuses actually existing; that the remarks of the Herald, however right and true, abstractedly considered, were not quite applicable to the circumstances of the case; that, in fact, the government required rough handling to prevent excessive supineness and superciliousness; that a case must necessarily be overstated by those who feel an injury or endure an injustice, and that they are not to be blamed for the strength of their language under such circumstances, as long as facts are not distorted or misstated.

True, at the time, I regarded such lectures as the result of a radical bias, but I felt that they were valuable notwithstanding, as showing the impressions made upon an honest, truthful, ardent soul, who desired only the welfare of his country in all candid sincerity.

Next morning, Thursday, I strolled over the estate with Mr. Pinto, our superintendent, combining business and pleasure by inspecting the premises and popping at the birds which presented themselves as we proceeded, wondering all the while where Lister was, and why

I had neither heard nor seen anything of him. When the dinner hour drew near, however, whilst I was sitting in the verandah that overlooked the road to the bungalow, inspecting some accounts, I saw, to my great satisfaction, the portly figure of the mighty hunter making its way on his good steed Robin up the hill, both horse and rider travel-stained and wearylooking. "If you have a spark of friendship for me, my friend," said he, as he drew near, "let not dinner be delayed a moment. It's near the time, is it not ?"

It was some time since I had seen Captain Lister, but it was evident he was still the same dinner and elephants his prevailing tastes, the great objects of his attention. The shining glow which suffused his countenance was with him but an everyday affair: a glow to be seen there, whether he was scouring the forests for the haunts of its wild denizens, or reposing in quiet at home experimentalizing in sauces. He lived in a perpetual thaw-the oiliest of men. His light thin hair hung as of old, in a straight lock over either ear, giving, with the almost imperceptible whisker, the appearance of extreme juvenility to a frame

which in other respects spoke roundly of man's prime, and of a rapid advance towards "the sere and yellow leaf" of age.

In the course of the twenty years he had lived in Ceylon, he had brought down more than five hundred elephants,* and was fond of declaring that, owing to the tough beef and scraggy mutton of the island, he had not enjoyed in twenty years half that number of good dinners. Were it not for the sauces he had invented, his impression was, that his life would be unendurable.

When dinner had been concluded, and cool claret had warmed his heart a little, bringing forth its better feelings, and driving annoyance and chagrin into the background, he set himself to give me an account of his adventures, with his usual honest vivacity and truthfulness :

"I had been down to Giggagigge looking after some stores the general had ordered into

To the uninitiated this may appear like exaggeration. It is not so. Major Rogers, of the Ceylon Rifles, in the course of his residence in the island, shot upwards of twelve hundred; he was the prince of elephant-hunters.

the interior," he began, "when I determined to meet you here for a week's shooting, as I could easily have a few days to myself in riding about the country. I ought to have been here on Monday; and this, if I do not mistake, is Thursday; the Tuesday and Wednesday have been spent as civilized man never spent a Tuesday and Wednesday before, and, as I humbly pray, I never may again. Thinking I should certainly be here on Monday night at furthest, and knowing you had sent word to Pinto to prepare for me, I laid in no great stock of anything for the journey, but merely put up half-a-dozen of beer, a bottle of claret, and a cold tongue for the day's provision. I never could take to that brandy and water some men are so fond of; it wants the soothing, fruity flavour of claret altogether; but then, as you know, I was never an epicure, so that my simplicity of taste need not astonish you, though you smile at it. Besides, water is a dangerous beverage in Ceylon, where so much that is unwholesome is to be met with; no man ought to tempt his fate by drinking it in any shape. Were I commanderin-chief, I should order a supply of beer to

be provided for all marching regiments and every officer on detachment duty. I speak of the tropics only, of course-in cold and temperate climates, in Canada and the Cape, the water is excellent. If you newspaper editors would but leave squabbling with each other, and take up measures of social and political importance, some good might be done; but it's no use talking to you about it, I know; anything is considered good enough, now-a-days, for the soldier; the time was, when he had the best of everything.

"With a couple of coolies, my groom and faithful old Tom carrying a brace of rifles, I set out from Giggagigge, intending to take a snack in the middle of the day, when Robin was being rubbed down, and an occasional bottle of beer when I felt thirsty.

Tomdon't you know Tom ?-my Singhalese valet, that knows the sign' of an elephant as well as I do, and will tell you his height, age, and sex from a few yards' trace. His name was Tomalitiwagamahe; but I found that rather long, and he now answers to Tom, and likes it. "I rode leisurely on, skirting the Knuckles,* * A chain of hills in the neighbourhood of Kandy,