52 BEING LOST IN THE FOREST. 
while they are young, they form themselves 
into a phalanx, the weakest in the middle, 
and the strongest facing the danger ; and in 
this way they defy every other animal. But 
when the wild boar has come to maturity, he 
walks the forest fearless and alone. Hunting 
him is the favourite amusement in Ceylon. 
The hunter is mounted on horseback, and 
thrusts at the boar with a long spear, taking 
care not to let it go out of his hand. But he 
often gets the worst of it ; for the enraged ani- 
mal will charge so furiously, as to drive both 
hunter and dogs off the field. 
The soldier swam across the river, to get out 
of the way of the wild boars. When he reached 
the opposite bank he w^as very much exhausted ; 
and sitting down, he began to think over the 
many escapes he had had. Then some texts 
of scripture, that his mother had taught him, 
when he was a child, came into his mind, and 
comforted him. They were out of the 139th 
Psalm : — 
" Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or 
whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I 
ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I 
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 
