2o Leaves from an Indian Jungle. 



sheering mountain side, and, winding down a tremendous 

 open grassy spur that sunk swiftly to the hazy depths of 

 J^mgarh below, paused ere entering the path of teak 

 scrub, half way down, with its heavy heads of green and 

 thick leaves for the season was early November. 



Hark ! a faint roar rose from the glen. I stood listening 

 with tense nerves, and then recognised a rival's voice : 

 indignant, I hastened my descent. 



Reaching and passing up the bottom of the ravine, I 

 again clearly heard the hoarse challenge, and halted. 

 " Dhank ! " my lusty young voice burst forth in fierce accept- 

 ance, and with hastening steps I clattered over the boulders 

 and sprang up the bank. A fringe of thick coppice sur- 

 rounded the large akhdra of our glen, and through this I 

 forced my head and shoulders and glared forth into the arena. 

 There, facing the moon, whose cold rays fell on his -wild 

 eyeballs and bristling mane, stood a hoary old stag. Throw- 

 ing up his muzzle he gave vent to a hoarse, whistling, 

 broken-voiced bellow, displaying in that motion a throat 

 and chest livid with deep scars. The tips of his thin, sharp- 

 pointed horns for he was past his prime gleamed dully 

 against the dark background, where the indistinct forms 

 of some hinds mingled with the shadows cast by the trees. 

 The scene roused me to an unutterable fury, and I 

 slowly emerged from the copse and faced him. He turn- 

 ed his bloodshot eyes on me ; and thus we glared at each 

 other, every hair erect, tails stiffly raised, and wide-opened 

 eyepits glistening with the sickly-smelling secretion of the 

 rutting season. A sudden silence fell the jungle seemed 

 to wake and hold its breath a nightjar " Chuck, chuck, 

 chuckoo'd" in the distance we each paced forward slowly. 

 and then, with one swift rush, our antlers crashed together ! 

 Round and round, now back, now forwards, as one or the 



