A DANGEROUS MOTHER. 225 



it, for the rheims that held it together had become 

 stretched by submersion in the water, caused us 

 considerable anxiety ; what occasioned this approach 

 to an accident resulted from a hippopotamus rising 

 beneath our craft. It was a female with a youngster 

 on her back. The old lady when she came to the 

 surface looked wicked, and gave every indication 

 that she would charge the obnoxious obstacle. 

 Her distance from us was so short that it 

 became necessary to take prompt steps to pre- 

 vent such a contretemps, which would only have 

 resulted in the annihilation of our raft, and the 

 crew being sent swimming, so no alternative was 

 left me but to fire, the result beinof that our would-be 

 assailant disappeared under the surface of the water, 

 with such energy and dispatch as to cause the wash 

 produced by her descent to have a similar effect to 

 that we dreaded from her attack. We saw no more 

 of the matron, and right thankful I felt that such was 

 the case, for a sea-cow, in its own element, is not an 

 animal to be trifled with. By dint of sculling and 

 poleing the raft soon after got ashore, and it was not 

 without feelings of satisfaction and gratitude. Few 

 persons have had the opportunities of enjoying field- 

 sports in the perfection that I have ; in my dreams 

 incidents in them are often recapitulated to me, in 

 my daily walks I frequently see — in memory, at 

 least — the most striking occurrences of my experi- 

 ences repeated, but I believe nothing ever impressed 



Q 



