OF THE OLD AS'ORLD. 337 



good " wigging " from the commanding officer of the 

 station. 



After B 's story, which was deservedly much 



applauded, whilst we were discussing brandy-panee 

 and cheroots, and talking over the events of the day, 



B and K had a lively discussion regarding 



the relative size and strength of the lion and the 

 tiorer, and as I had had some experience with both, 

 the question was referred to me. I gave it as my 

 opinion that the tiger was the larger and more 

 powerful of the two, but that the lion, generally 

 speaking, showed the most pluck. 



" That is just what I have been contending, Hal," 



exclaimed B ; " but give us a Cape yarn to pass 



away the time, and afterwards we will have a song 

 or two, and turn in, so as to be up betimes in the 

 morning." 



" All right," I replied, wetting my whistle, " I '11 

 give you an account of my first lion. I was rusti- 

 cating at Natal, with an old chum who had given up 

 the service to turn settler, a little way up-country, 

 and was about to convert his sword into a pruning- 

 hook, when one day, as we were sitting under a mat 

 awning in front of the house smoking our manillas 

 after breakfast, a Dutch pedlar, of the name of 

 Vanderhalt, (a well-known character in that colony,) 

 came up and informed us that he had seen a herd of 

 spring-buck in the Berere, a large belt of jungle 

 some few miles distant. S , who was also very 



foml of sport, gave him some tea and a bundle of 



Y 



