XVII 
THE BOAR 
119’ 
pig-sticking in my description of the wild boar, as 
so many have written glowing narratives of this great 
sport of India ; but I cannot treat of the pig without 
personal reminiscences of those glorious, but for the 
hounds, fatal hunts, which in the days of my youth 
formed the excitement of Ceylon sports. In that 
country we seldom or never used the spear. I 
never in my life used it against a boar on foot, but 
the only weapon was the hunting-knife. 
My old hunting-knife is at this moment hanging 
against the wall, among a number of my old friends 
that are associated with early years ; and when I 
regard this trusty servant, that shows no gray hairs 
to mark the advance of time, I cannot help recalling 
the words which I wrote so many years ago at the 
conclusion of my first publication, The Rifle and 
Hound in Ceylon :—“ The day’s sport concluded, the 
evenings were most enjoyable, and will never be 
forgotten. The well-arranged tent, the neatly-spread 
table, the bed forming a triangle around the walls, 
and the clean guns piled in a long row against the 
gun-rack, will often recall a tableau in after-years, in 
countries far from this land of independence. The 
acknowledged sports of England will appear child’s 
play; the exciting thrill will be wanting, when a sudden 
rush in the jungle brings the rifle upon full cock ; and 
the heavy guns will become useless mementoes of 
past days, like the dusty helmets of yore, hanging 
up in an old hall. The belt and the hunting-knife 
will alike share the fate of the good rifle, and the 
blade, now so keen, will blunt from sheer neglect.” 
