ao THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, chap. hi. 



The afternoon was wearing away, and they did not 

 appear. We could wait no longer, but determined to 

 take a stroll and examine the country. We therefore 

 left our horses and proceeded. 



The grass was most verdant, about the height of a 

 field fit for the scythe in England, but not so thick. 

 From this the snipe arose at every twenty or thirty 

 paces, although the ground was perfectly dry. Cross- 

 ing a large meadow, and skirting the banks of the 

 lake, from which the ducks and teal rose in large 

 flocks, we entered a long neck of jungle which 

 stretched far into the lake. This was not above two 

 hundred paces in width, and we soon emerged upon 

 an extensive plain bordered by fine forest, the waters 

 of the lake stretching far away upon our left, like a 

 sheet of gold. A few large rocks rose above the sur- 

 face near the shore ; these were covered with various 

 kinds of wild fowl. The principal tenants of the plain 

 were wild buffaloes. 



A herd of about a hundred were lying in a swampy 

 hollow about a quarter of a mile from us. Several 

 single bulls were dotted about the green surface of the 

 level plain, and on the opposite shores of the lake were 

 many dark patches undistinguishable in the distance ; 

 these were in reality herds of buffaloes. There was 

 not a sound in the wide expanse before us, except the 

 harsh cry of the water-fowl that our presence had 

 already disturbed — not a breath ol air moved the 



