WILD SILK. 167 



sects were fed on mulberry leaves, and kept 

 in houses, if it would improve the texture of 

 the silk. 



A very ludicrous circumstance occurred 

 when I was hog hunting in the district of 

 Bahar, with two Gentlemen; one of them a 

 keen sportsman, and dexterous in the use of 

 the spear; the other a spruce sort of a man, 

 w r ho would now be styled a Dandy, though 

 very fond of accompanying sportsmen, talked 

 a great deal of the sport, but w as not famed 

 for killing. It so happened that two hogs 

 came out of a sugar plantation at the same 

 time, and at the side where the keen sportsman 

 and myself were stationed : the Beau was on 

 the other side of the plantation, but it was 

 sometime before he learnt that \ve were gone 

 off in pursuit of the hogs. As he rode round 

 to the opposite side of the sugar cane, he had 

 to pass over some opium ground, in which an 

 old woman was then sowing the seed ; in gal- 

 loping up to her, to enquire the direction we 

 had taken, his horse started at a white cloth, 

 M4 



