CIlAr. XYI.] 



COVNTR}' LIFE. 



231 



which Lore ahuiidaiicti of hirge rtiticulak'd fruity st-rvmg 

 as an excellent vegetablt;. The ground was as thickly 

 covered witb dry luuves as it is in an English wood in 

 Novuiuher ; the littk rocky streams were all dry, mid 

 scarcely a drop of water or even a dump jjlauc wari miy- 

 whore to he seen. About fii'ty ^-ards beluw my house, at 

 the foot of the hill, was a deep hole in a watercourse 

 wliere good water was to be had, and where I went daily 

 to bathe, by having buckets of water taken out and pour- 

 ing it over my hodj'. 



My host Mr. iL enjoyed a thorouglily conutr}' life, de- 

 pending aluiost entirely on his gun and dogs to suppl}' 

 hiss table. Wild pigs of large si^e were very pieutiful 

 and he generally got one or two a week, besides deei- 

 occasionally, and ahundnnce of jnugle-fuwl, hornbills, anil 

 great fruit pigeons. His buffaloes »ui)plied plenty of milk, 

 Irom which he made bis own butter; he grew his own 

 rice and coUee, and had ducks, fowk, and Uieireggs iii pro- 

 lusion. His palni-ti-ees supplied liiui all the year round 

 with *' sagueir," which takes the plane of beer ; and the 

 sugar made from them is au excellent sweetmeat. All 

 the line tro]iical vegetables and fruits were abuudant in 

 theii" season, and his cigars were made from tobacco of hia 

 own luising. lie kindly sent me a bamboo of buliulo- 

 iidlk every morning; h wjis as thick as cream, and re- 

 H aired diluting with \>'ater to keep it iluid daring the ilay. 

 It mLses very well with tea and collee, althongU it ha^ 

 a siighi peculiar tlavour, which after a time is not di&- 

 agi-eeabie, 1 also got as much sweet sagneu" " as 1 liked 

 U> di'ink, and ILr, M. always sent me a piece of each pig 

 he killed, which with fowls, eggs, and the birds we shot 

 ourselves, and buffalo beef about once a fortnight, kept 

 my larder suliicicntly well supplied. 



Every bit of Hat land was cleared aud used m rice- 

 fields, and on the lower slopes of many of the hills tobacco 

 and vegetables were grown. Most of the slopes ai-e 

 covered with huge blocks of rock, very fatiguing to 

 scramble over, wlnle a umuber of the hills are so pre- 

 eipitous as to be quite inaccessible. Tiiese circumstances, 

 combined with the excessive drought, were ^•ery unlavour- 

 able for my pui-suits, lUrds wert* aearce, and I got but 



