58 THE OUT-STATION ; OR, 



Poor , at being so unexpectedly left in the 



lurch, to stand the brunt and reputation of being gifted 

 with certain inventive faculties (vulgarly called lying), 

 endeavoured to mend matters by seizing his hat. 

 rushing straightway to his chambers, and then and 

 there concocting and transmitting a hostile billet-doux 

 to the General for not supporting him in what he 

 knew to be a fact. 



The answer to this pugnacious missive followed 

 immediately in the appearance of the General's good- 

 humoured physiognomy, and on being upbraided for 

 his treachery in thus " backing his friend," he replied, 



" Pooh, pooh ! my dear fellow, don't be so savage ! 

 I am well aware that what you said was perfectly 

 true, but seeing that every body in the room was fully 

 persuaded that you were telling a falsehood, I had no 

 ambition to appear in the same light!" 



Captain never showed his face again at that 



club during his furlough in England, but his story 

 was perfectly a matter of fact, and the gentleman 

 who had shot that amazing quantity of elephants was 

 the commandant of that particular district of the 

 jungle in which I was myself located, one of the most 

 excellent men that ever lived, whose exceedingly 

 polished and unassuming manners would rather in- 

 dicate him the destroyer of fourteen hundred hearts 

 than the same number of elephants ! 



If you ever had, Reader, the good fortune to make 

 the acquaintance of poor Tom Rogers, Major in 



