228 HOG-HUNTING. 



and impregnated by the exhalations of decayed 

 leaves and decomposed vegetable matter, en- 

 tailing certain death to the hunter, were he 

 tempted to follow up his perilous calling out of 

 season. 



Hog-hunting, or pig-sticking, as 

 Hog-Hunting. 



carried out in India, is a truly regal 



sport, being the incarnation of all that is exciting. 

 It combines all the attractions of fox-hunting 

 with the excitement of steeple-chasing, height- 

 ened by that intense fascination which the pre- 

 sence of danger only can inspire. It is con- 

 siderably over twenty years since I took my 

 maiden spear, yet there are times when every 

 incident of that memorable day comes vividly 

 before me, and in my mind's eye I see the well- 

 remembered forms of my old associates in the 

 forest and the field, and think I hear their joyous 

 voices resounding in my ears. In both the 

 Deccan and the Nugger Hunts, after Her Ma- 

 jesty's health had been drunk, Bob Morris's chant 

 was ever " the opening lay," so I give the words. 



