1 82 By Mountain, Lake, and Plain 



Zard, on the twelfth of that month, I was dis- 

 gusted to find that the roaring was practically 

 all over. Another shock I here sustained was the 

 discovery that my servant, for one of those reasons 

 only known to that perverse breed, had at the last 

 moment exchanged my rifle for another, but rather 

 newer one, he had found in the Consulate. Both 

 were Schonauer Mannlichers, but the substitute 

 had not the Lyman rear sight which I had now 

 used for years in preference to any other. 



The charm of the country soon dissipated vain 

 regrets. My first camp was on the breast of a hill 

 ankle-deep in grass. Below, a clear stream, half 

 hidden between rocky, fern -grown banks, " mur- 

 mured its quiet tune." Copses of oak and beech, 

 scattered over the broad hillside, gave an air of 

 sylvan beauty to a scene that to eyes tired with 

 Persia's dust and glare was peculiarly delightful. 

 The hill crests reared up in jagged cliffs about 

 whose summits hung fleecy clouds, while the slopes 

 were cleft by forest-filled coombs. A more delight- 

 ful shooting-ground the heart could not desire. 



It was, I think, with mutual curiosity that I 

 and my wild-looking hunters started on our first 

 morning's walk. The nature of my thoughts 

 may be imagined. Theirs, I think, if expressed 

 in language, would have been anythiDg but 

 complimentary 



