198 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



and, being arrested by the stone, tliey are irretrievably 

 caught, as the hook fastens in the mouth or throat, 

 and the more they struggle the firmer they are held. 

 They generally struggle so violently that death from 

 exhaustion follows in a very short time, although I 

 have seen both spotted-deer and antelope brought in 

 alive, having been caught in this manner. 



Our leave was now nearly expired, so we were 

 obliged to commence a retrograde movement, nnd, 

 having packed up our trophies, we returned to 

 Bowani, where Mother Garrow, a very Paphian 

 queen, was awaiting our arrival with a formidable 

 array of dusky nymphs. For three days we kept 

 up a continuous nautch, and even after that time 

 we were not tired of gazing upon the graceful 

 pirouettes of the fair votaries of Terpsichore, or 

 listening to the warbling of the dark-eyed song- 

 stresses as they sang on the old subjects, " Love and 

 War ; " and when the time came for us to take our 

 departure, more than one shed tears as the farewell 

 words were spoken ; indeed, if " Eumour with her 

 many tongues " spake true, it was discovered, soon 

 after our departure, that there were vacancies to 

 be filled up in the Pagoda of the dark mysterious 

 goddess. 



D , " I could a tale unfold " that would 



raise up a spirit on thy fireside, that all the soft 

 sawder of thy oily tongue would never calm ! But 

 1 11 spare your feelings for the sake of " auld lang 



