1 6 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



Hindoo, " those not my ' biles ' but my poor mother's, 

 who arrived last night and leaves for Ell ore to day." 

 " Not true, Sir," said the Mussulman there was 

 evidently no love lost between them " they have 

 been here for more than a year and are the Tahsildar's 

 own." " Bring them at once," said I, and ejected 

 the official with a toe behind, which considerably 

 detracted from his dignity in the sight of his com- 

 patriots " and," I added, " if the bullocks are not 

 here in five minutes, I'll have you punished." The 

 swagger was taken out of the man, but he kept 

 protesting the bullocks were not his, but his mother's. 

 The peon and Ramasawmy, my boy, returned with as 

 fine a pair of Mysore cattle as I ever wish to see. 

 They had been pampered, and were somewhat fatter 

 than they should have been for hard work, but, 

 thought I, they'll be thinner before I am done with 

 them. I had them harnessed to my cart, and amid 

 the lamentations of the native official and his satellites, 

 off we went. 



The bullocks went along merrily for some time. 

 They were an excellent pair and could not have cost 

 less than Rs.150 each, which sum doubtless the 

 native had accumulated by bribes and extortions. I 

 may here say he never saw those bullocks again, for 

 reasons to be presently related. He brought an 

 action against me, putting his damages at Rs.500. 

 Prendergast gave a decree in his favour for Rs.300, 

 the original cost, but fined him a similar sum for 

 disobedience to orders, and removed him far away 

 from the locality where he had ruled the roost so 

 long. Thus he did not gain much by his action. 



The so-called road was a mere track, had never 



