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  EDITORIAL 
  GLEANINGS. 
  

  

  We 
  were 
  much 
  indebted 
  to 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  of 
  Arts 
  for 
  

   advanced 
  proofs 
  of 
  a 
  lecture 
  delivered 
  last 
  year 
  before 
  his 
  Society 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  E. 
  North 
  Buxton, 
  on 
  tbe 
  Preservation 
  of 
  Big 
  Game 
  in 
  Africa. 
  

   Unfortunately 
  our 
  space 
  lias 
  not 
  enabled 
  us 
  previously 
  to 
  make 
  use 
  of 
  

   this 
  most 
  interesting 
  material, 
  and 
  we 
  now 
  seize 
  the 
  first 
  opportunity 
  

   of 
  publishing 
  adequate 
  extracts 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  "Of 
  course, 
  man, 
  the 
  destroyer, 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  at 
  his 
  work, 
  but 
  

   his 
  power 
  has 
  enormously 
  increased, 
  and 
  should 
  be 
  tempered 
  by 
  mercy. 
  

   If 
  you 
  compare 
  the 
  weapons 
  of 
  old 
  with 
  modern 
  arms 
  of 
  precision, 
  you 
  

   will 
  understand 
  the 
  ever-increasing 
  rate 
  at 
  which 
  the 
  depletion 
  of 
  life 
  

   goes 
  on. 
  What 
  was 
  the 
  primitive 
  way 
  ? 
  I 
  call 
  an 
  eye-witness 
  of 
  one 
  

   hundred 
  years 
  ago 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  By 
  means 
  of 
  signals 
  from 
  natives 
  posted 
  on 
  

   high, 
  an 
  immense 
  concourse 
  of 
  men 
  and 
  dogs 
  were 
  speedily 
  assembled 
  

   near 
  the 
  deep 
  and 
  bushy 
  ravine 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  Elephants 
  had 
  taken 
  

   refuge. 
  The 
  clamour 
  of 
  the 
  naked 
  hunters, 
  reverberated 
  by 
  the 
  preci- 
  

   pices, 
  became 
  tremendous. 
  I 
  was 
  frequently 
  constrained 
  to 
  tremble 
  

   for 
  the 
  safety 
  of 
  the 
  pursuers 
  whilst 
  witnessing 
  their 
  fearless 
  advances 
  

   towards 
  the 
  huge 
  and 
  irritated 
  victims, 
  seeing 
  that 
  their 
  slender 
  lance 
  

   constituted 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  their 
  armour. 
  To 
  see 
  them, 
  in 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  

   perfect 
  nudity, 
  boldly 
  proceeding 
  to 
  within 
  reach 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  

   powerful 
  brutes, 
  could 
  not 
  but 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  serious 
  appre- 
  

   hensions. 
  Three 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  were 
  at 
  length 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  and 
  several 
  others 
  severely 
  speared.' 
  

  

  "You 
  will 
  understand 
  that 
  from 
  such 
  a 
  contest 
  there 
  were 
  plenty 
  

   of 
  survivors. 
  Now 
  skip 
  thirty 
  years, 
  and 
  listen 
  to 
  this 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  com- 
  

   parison. 
  By 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  the 
  rifle 
  had 
  begun 
  to 
  be 
  appre- 
  

   ciated, 
  and 
  the 
  favourite 
  weapon 
  was 
  a 
  two-groove 
  rifle, 
  and 
  a 
  belted 
  

   spherical 
  bullet 
  : 
  — 
  ' 
  I 
  crawled 
  in 
  and 
  came 
  upon 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  backwater 
  

   from 
  the 
  main 
  river, 
  150 
  yards 
  long 
  by 
  50 
  wide, 
  with 
  high 
  banks, 
  

  

  especially 
  the 
  one 
  opposite 
  me, 
  on 
  which 
  sat 
  dear 
  old 
  blazing 
  away 
  

  

  right 
  merrily. 
  "What 
  is 
  it?" 
  I 
  shouted. 
  "Look 
  at 
  those 
  breasts," 
  

   he 
  replied. 
  Bang! 
  "There, 
  again." 
  The 
  pool 
  was 
  alive 
  with 
  

   monstrous 
  heads, 
  and, 
  though 
  this 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  I 
  had 
  seen 
  the 
  

   Hippopotamus 
  in 
  the 
  flesh, 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  mistaking 
  him. 
  I 
  opened 
  

   fire 
  at 
  once 
  from 
  my 
  side, 
  at 
  heads 
  which 
  showed 
  for 
  a 
  second 
  above 
  

   water. 
  Nothing 
  came 
  of 
  it. 
  Though 
  the 
  Hippopotamus 
  were 
  hit 
  

   Zool. 
  4th 
  ser. 
  vol. 
  VIII., 
  April, 
  1904. 
  n 
  

  

  