polished till they looked like clear amber, and joined together by such tiny delicate gold chains-which looked more like cobwebs than goldsmiths' work, and could only have been produced by the supple fingers of an eastern jeweller. Uncle Robert has lived many years in India, and has made heaps of money; but he isn't a bit like the old Indian one reads about in novels. They are always yellow and cross, and seem to live upon nothing but curry and hot pickles, and have a native servant whom they ill-treat dreadfully; but Uncle is quite rosy and stout, and has such a hearty jolly laugh, and says he would rather be waited upon by our little table-maid, Jessy, than by all the kitmaghars in the East Indies. Indeed I confess that Jessy is very brisk and attentive at table; although I must say she is much too pretty for a servant, and rather too fond of ribands, and I think I should rather have a plainer table-maid; but then the plain ones are generally cross and disobliging; and, indeed, to tell the truth, Uncle Robert has so often complimented me on being above the weakness of most young wives, who, he says, always pick out ugly servants, that I am rather afraid to change. John, who is looking over my shoulder, says I am getting "discursive," as most ladies do who attempt to tell a story-but that is all nonsense-and I am sure it is necessary to have the full particulars in order to understand a thing properly. Well, as I was saying, Uncle Robert's bracelet was as lovely a thing as ever was seen, and as I knew that he had been a great sportsman in the East, of course I was very anxious to learn all about his fight with the tiger to whom the claws originally belonged; so I said to him one evening after dinner: "Now, Uncle, it will give additional value to your lovely bracelet if you will tell me the full particulars of how you killed the tiger-in fact I am determined to know all about it." "Well, my dear," replied Uncle, "if you Some eight or nine years ago I joined a large sporting party in the North-West Provinces of India. Our principal object was, of course, "big game," by which an Indian sportsman understands tigers, elephants, and such like; but we were not at all particular and shot anything that came in our way with laudable impartiality. We had made a pretty fair bag of small game, but had been singularly unfortunate as regards the larger animals, and although we had news of several tigers in the neighbourhood we had not succeeded in even getting a shot at one. We were encamped on the skirts of the jungle, at the foot of the lower range of the Himalayas; having received information that a famous man-eating tiger had carried off several villagers during the past week, and had been tracked to his lair not far from where we had pitched our tents. Our shikarees, or native hunters, had started off to procure exact information as to the whereabouts of the animal, and we were awaiting their return before proceeding to surround him. I was sitting under the verandah of my tent smoking a last cheroot, and listening to the subdued chatter and laughter of our native servants, as they squatted round their fire some little distance off, and passed their hubble-bubbles—as their rude pipes are called -from hand to hand. The moon was at her full-shining as she only shines in the tropics—and pouring down a flood of radiance by which I could with ease have read the smallest print of a newspaper. The croak of the frogs and the chirp of the innumerable crickets was incessant, while from the distant jungle came at intervals the long unearthly howl of the jackal. I was just about retiring for the night when I observed the tall figure of a man bearing a long matchlock on his shoulder, start at once, without saying anything to emerge from the shadow of a clump of the others, and attack the tiger in his bamboos just opposite my tent, and, as he lair before he could become alarmed and was crossing towards the servants' quarters, move out of the neighbourhood. The old I recognized old Rustum Singh, who had man looked doubtful; but it is a point of been sent off in charge of the shikarees on honour with these hunters not to hold back the previous evening. when a European leads, and he merely replied:-"Where the Sahib goes Rustum will follow." So I turned into the tent to get my trusty double-barrelled "Purdy," and putting my spirit-flask in my pocket, I joined Rustum without giving my enthusiasm time to cool. Rustum was a splendid specimen of an old Punjaubee hunter. Nearly six feet in height, broad shouldered, thin flanked, and as straight as a dart, with not an ounce of superfluous flesh on his body. He moved about among our crowd of coolies like a stately deer-hound in the midst of a pack of village curs. His breast was almost covered with medals given him by the East India Company as rewards for the destruction of ferocious animals, and the old man wore them with as much pride as a famous general carries the trophies of his hard-won battles. Anxious to get the earliest intelligence, I called to Rustum as he passed my tent, and enquired if he had brought any news of the tiger. Placing the palms of his hands together, and bowing almost to the ground, he replied, "Oh hokee, waukee cumfooselah shallabelah," that is "My Lord, a ferocious tiger which has long been the terror of the surrounding villages, has been tracked to the neighbouring jungle where he awaits the death-dealing bullets of your Highness." You see, my dear, Hindostanee is a very expressive language, and you can say a great deal in a very few words. At this moment a brilliant idea flashed across my mind. What if I should take Rustum at once and kill the tiger, singlehanded? The old shikaree and I were great friends, and I knew I could depend upon him to stand by me to the death; and, although I was quite conscious that it was no child's play to encounter a tiger alone and on foot, I thought of the triumph of returning successful in the morning, and became excited beyond the bounds of discretion. I therefore proposed to Rustum that we should From further questioning, I learned that the tiger lay in an old lair in a dense patch of jungle about five miles from the camp. He had carried off a native child on the preceding evening, and would not probably change his quarters for a day or two, unless alarmed. Rustum had tracked him into a thick clump of bushes in which he had no doubt his den was situated; but had retired quietly to avoid disturbing the beast. should tell you that these "man-eaters " seldom remain more than a few days in the same place, but travel great distances, chiefly by night, so that the first intimation the unfortunate villagers have of the presence of these animals, is the disappearance of one or more of their friends or relatives. Following the shikaree, who led the way with smooth, rapid strides, we made our way through the long grass which fringed the jungle to the eastward, and reached nearly to our knees. Every now and again as we passed through the rank herbage, an ominous rustle, accompanied by an angry hiss, denoted the passage of some prowling snake which we had disturbed, and certainly did not tend to re-animate my fast cooling. courage. I now sincerely regretted the unpleasant position into which my foolish impetuosity had led me: but my pride would not allow me to draw back, and I followed my guide with sullen determination. After proceeding in this way for fully an hour, Rustum turned suddenly to the left, and moved, with cautious steps, along a blind path which led directly into the thickest part of the jungle. I now felt that we were getting to close quarters. So taking a sup from my flask, I placed fresh caps on the nipples of my rifle, and braced myself up for the encounter. Suddenly pausing at a turn in the path, where an opening in the bushes denoted the frequent passage of some heavy animal, the shikaree whispered that we had reached the lair of the tiger. Sinking on my hands and knees and grasping my rifle firmly, I crawled into the low opening, closely followed by Rustum. My nerves have often been severely tried and I believe are as good as those of most sportsmen; but, I confess, as I made my way cautiously along the low dark passage, I could feel my heart beating with very unusual rapidity and force and I expected every moment to feel the rush of the infuriated animal upon me. The sudden transition from the bright moonlight without-to the darkness within-prevented me from seeing more than a few feet before me, and I crawled slowly on with a sort of blind desperation. We had groped on, as nearly as I can judge, some twenty yards, when I felt Rustum's hand upon my shoulder and heard him whisper in my ear: "Look! look! Sa hib, to the left." Gazing intently in the direction he had indicated, I could just see, about ten yards in advance, what appeared to be two dull balls of fire-which I at once concluded to be the eyes of the tiger. A restless movement of the animal and a low growl warned me that no time was to be lost. Rising gently to my knees-I slowly raised my rifle till the white patch I had taken the precaution to affix to the end of the weapon, bore exactly between the two fiery balls, and pulled the trigger! A loud roar! a crash! and then I was thrown violently on my back by the rush of some large animal which went crashing away through the jungle till the sound of its impetuous career was lost in the distance. "Well but, uncle," I said, "didn't you kill the tiger after all ?" "Why, the fact is, my dear," replied uncle, "it wasn't a tiger at all; and all I killed was a remarkably fine porker whose mamma, the sow, had chosen that snug retreat to bring up her young family. As to the claws-if you must know-I bought them in the bazaar in Calcutta, and had them made into a bracelet for my very in quisitive little niece." "Oh!" I said, and John, bursting into a loud laugh, cried "What a sell !" TO A PHOTOGRAPH. BY E. W. THOMSON. OH, Dick, after all that we've gone through And suffered together, it does seem hard That all remaining to me of you, Is this little bit of pictured card, And a few dear letters yellow with years, And some books that were pencil-marked by you I cannot read them through falling tears, For you were tender, and I am true. ALMONTE. I cannot forget the fearful day, You charged by my side through raging shell! Or your maddened face when you saw I fell But, that you nursed me, I had died. And ever and always after then, We clung together in march or fight, Your heart was pure as your sword was bright. Always ragged and often starved, With jingling spurs on our naked feet, His cumbered way on the last retreat! Then parted forever the shattered band. And together we came to our people dear. And they all had prayed for us as lost. And, Dick-your going was near at hand! And now you have gone-but I must stay, With nothing of you but this pictured card Some books, your letters, your coat of grey : The heart it covered is still. Oh! hard, I wait for the hour with little fear, When my name shall be placed on the muster roll, To the beautiful gates of pearl draw near, And meet my spirit-oh! brother soul ! |