A BEAR ADVENTURE IN CEYLON. 149 



" You have often asked me for the particulars of 

 the adventure of our friend H., in the jungle of 

 Ceylon, with the two bears ; and having lately had 

 the circumstances related to me by our friend him- 

 self, I shall endeavour to conquer my habitual dislike 

 to writing, while I impart them to you. In doing so 

 I shall adhere, as nearly as possible, to the very 

 words he used in his narration ; and, as the whole 

 is interesting, I have no scruple in making him com- 

 mence with you, as he did with me, from the day 

 before his hairbreadth escape. To those who never 

 were in the country where the scene is laid, it is 

 necessary to explain that the southern coast of 

 Ceylon, from Tangalle stretching eastward to the 

 province of Batticaloa, is a desert, with the single 

 exception of Hambantotte, where a civil servant is 

 stationed, for the superintendence and collection of 

 the salt spontaneously produced along the coast. 

 The character of the country varies, being sometimes 

 deep sand, at others jungle and forest, and frequently 

 large grassy plains. The inhabitants of this tract of 

 country, of nearly two hundred miles, are so few, 

 that it may be said to be abandoned entirely to 

 elephants, buffaloes, wild hogs, and last, not least, 

 abundance of leopards, as well as bears of a most 

 ferocious race. Occasionally, a few runners are 

 stationed in huts, from fifteen to twenty miles apart, 

 for the purpose of transmitting such letters as 

 Government may send by that route ; and there is, 



