70 SPORT IN BENGAL. 



even they will now and then indulge in a joke. Thus I have 

 seen a boar, baulked in its attack, turn and seize the charged 

 horse by the tail, and hang on sturdily till speared by me, who 

 happened to be the next horseman in the chase. On another 

 occasion, E. I. S. having slightly wounded a charging pig, 

 the latter rose up on his hind legs, and made a series of up- 

 ward cuts as he danced like a performing bear. Another day 

 the pig was not the sole actor in the comic business, which 

 was shared with him by a Portuguese clerk, a thorough good 

 sportsman, who was in the habit of joining us in many of our 

 shooting and hunting trips. Mr. William A. (" Billoo Sahib" 

 he was called by his fellow-countrymen) was, albeit as 

 black as a sloe, quite a European gentleman in his costume, 

 whatever he may have been in other respects ; and in public 

 he aped the manners and the carriage of Lieutenant- 

 Governors and other high civil dignitaries on State occasions, 

 as he had opportunities of observing them at various times and 

 places. " Billy," as I have said, was a good sportsman, and 

 whether he rode his wiry little ponies with seven stone up, 

 spear in hand, or gun on shoulder trudged manfully after 

 feathered game, he did his devoir ; and when the day's sport 

 was over he smoked his cheroot with a grand air. One day, 

 when he was good enough to accompany the beaters driving- 

 hogs for us, " Billoo Sahib " was taken by surprise in the 

 open by one which had broken back, and, after firing a wild 

 shot, took to his heels, the boar after him, both making good 

 time over a short course. Presently, the pursuer gaining 

 rapidly on the pursued, made a dash at what ought to have 

 been the latter' s seat of honour, but, annoyed and discomfited 

 at its complete absence (from defect of original construction 

 and long wear and tear on office stools), passed between 

 Mr. Billoo's extremely slender legs, and, taking him up on 

 his back, carried him some distance before casting him 

 off with a surly grunt. Now most men would have been 

 somewhat disconcerted under such treatment, and even 

 a Bishop might be pardoned for using harsh and unclerical 

 language under a similar provocation; but not so Mr. 



