290 MODERN PIG-STICKING chap.xvih 



cross the river in the dawn. You shall hear the 

 piteous whine of the beggars and the terrible cry 

 of the lepers at the tollgate, " In the name of God, 

 the Merciful and Pure, give of your charity to us 

 who are sore afflicted." You shall see the women 

 washing in their red saris, the horses shying on the 

 creaking boats, and the quiet solemn stream with 

 its long streaks of oily water which breaks into 

 foaming ripples as it meets the anchor ropes. You 

 shall face the rising sun, while before you stretches 

 the dead white sand with purple line of grass and 

 blacker sky above. You shall revel in the hunting 

 to your heart's delight ; you shall recall the glorious 

 all-pervading sun, chief feature of it all. Surely 

 the poet was right when he wrote : 



I love the merry sunlight, for it makes the heart so gay. 



You shall, in fancy, return once more, when 

 evening shadows fall, past streams of carts laden 

 with sleepy contented people drawn by still more 

 peaceful mild-eyed oxen. The raiyet at his plough, 

 the well man singing to his cattle as they labour at 

 the well, " Ram, Ram, my children, turn again, for 

 the ' chursa ' now is full," — they shall live in your 

 thoughts again. 



Whether you recall scenes such as these, or those 

 of other hunts and far distant countries, there 

 is no detail of them all that shall escape your 

 memory's backward glance : 



He that has been in such a scene, 



That scene shall ne'er forget : 

 In silent mood, in solitude 



Its dreams shall haunt him yet. 



