THE 



RIFLE AND HOUND. 



CHAPTER I. 



Wild Country-^Dealings in the Marvellous — Enchanting Moments- 

 The Wild Elephant of Ceylon — 'Rogues' — Elephant Slaughter- 

 Thick Jungles — Character of the Country — Varieties of Game in 

 Ceylon — ' Battery for Ceylon Sport ' — The Elk or ' Saniber Deer '— 

 Deer-coursing. 



It is a difficult task to describe a wild country so 

 exactly, that a stranger's eye shall at once be made 

 acquainted with its scenery and character by the 

 description. And yet this is absolutely necessary, if 

 the narration of sports in foreign countries is supposed 

 to interest those who have never had the opportunity 

 of enjoying them. The want of graphic description of 

 localities in which the events have occurred, is the prin- 

 cipal cause of that tediousuess which generally accom- 

 panies the steady perusal of a sporting work. You can 

 read twenty pages with interest, but a monotony soon 

 pervades it, and sport then assumes an appearance of 

 mere slaughter. 



