CHAPTER II. 



Newera Ellia — The Turn-out for Elk-Hunting — Elk-Hunt, 

 ing — Elk turned to Bay — The Boar. 



WHERE shall I begin ? This is a momentous ques- 

 tion, when, upon glancing back upon past years, 

 a thousand incidents jostle each other for precedence. 

 How shall I describe them ? This, again, is easier asked 

 than answered. A journal is a dry description, min- 

 gling the uninteresting with the brightest moments ot 

 sport. No, I will not write a journal ; it would be end- 

 less and boring. I shall begin with the present as it is, 

 and call up the past as I think proper. 



Here, then, I am in my private sanctum, my rifles 

 all arranged in their respective stands above the chimney- 

 piece, the stags' horns round walls hung with horn- 

 cases, powder-flasks and the various weapons of the 

 chase. Even as I write the hounds are yelling in 'the 

 kennel. 



The thermometer is at 62 Fahr., and it is midday. 

 It never exceeds 72 in the hottest weather, and 

 sometimes falls below freezing-point at night. The sky 

 is spotless and the air calm. The fragrance of mignon- 

 ettes, and a hundred flowers that recall England, 

 fills the air. Green fields of grass and clover, neatly 

 fenced, surround a comfortable house and grounds. 

 Well-fed cattle of the choicest breeds and English sheep 



are grazing in the paddocks. Well-made roads and 



C 33 



