this turn. I thought that I had him in a corner, and redoubling my exertions, I gained upon him considerably. He retreated slowly to the very edge of the creek, and I had gained so fast upon him, that I was not thirty paces distant, when he plunged into the water, and commenced swimming across the creek. This was not more than sixty yards in breadth, and I knew that I could now bring him to action. Running round the borders of the creek as fast as I could, I arrived at the opposite side, on his intended landing-place, just as his black form reared from the deep water and gained the shallows, into which I had waded knee-deep to meet him. I now experienced that pleasure as he stood sullenly eyeing me within fifteen paces. Poor, stupid fellow! I would willingly, in my ignorance, have betted ten to one upon the shot, so certain was I of his death in another instant.

'I took a quick but steady aim at his chest, at the point of connection with the throat. The smoke of the barrel passed to one side. There he stood; he had not flinched; he literally had not moved a muscle. The only change that had taken place was in his eye; this, which had hitherto been merely sullen, was now beaming with fury; but his form was as motionless as a statue. A stream of blood poured from a wound within an inch of the spot at which I had aimed; had it not been for this

fact, I should not have believed him struck. Annoyed at the failure of the shot, I tried him with the left-hand barrel, at the same hole. The report of the gun echoed over the lake, but there he stood as though he bore a charmed life; an increased flow of blood from the wound and additional lustre in his eye were the only signs of his being struck. I was now unloaded, and had not a single ball remaining. It was now my turn. I dared not turn to retreat, as I knew he would immediately charge, and we stared each other out of countenance. With a short grunt, he suddenly sprang forward, but fortunately, as I did not move, he halted; he had, however, decreased his distance, and we now gazed at each other within ten paces. I began to think buffaloshooting somewhat dangerous, and I would have given something to have been a mile away, but ten times as much to have had my four-ounce rifle in my hand. Oh, how I longed for that rifle in this moment of suspense! Unloaded, without the power of defence, with the absolute certainty of a charge from an overpowering brute, my hand instinctively found the handle of my hunting-knife, a useless weapon against such a foe.

'Knowing that B. was not aware of my situation at the distance which separated usabout a mile-without taking my eyes from the figure before me, I raised my hand to my

midway, or a hundred and fifty yards distant. I had twelve drachms of powder in the fourounce rifle, and I took a flying shot at his shoulder. No visible effect was produced, and the | ball ricochetted completely across the broad surface of the lake (which was no more than a mile wide at this part) in continuous splashes. The gunbearers said I had fired behind him, but I had distinctly heard the peculiar fut which a ball makes upon striking an animal; and although the passage of the ball across the lake appeared remarkable, nevertheless I felt positive that it had first passed through some portion of the animal.

'Away the bull sped over the plain at unabated speed, for about two hundred paces, when he suddenly turned and charged towards the guns. On he came for about a hundred yards, but evidently slackening his speed at every stride. At length he stopped altogether. His mouth was wide open, and I could now distinguish a mass of bloody foam upon his lips and nostrils. The ball had in reality passed through his lungs, and making its exit from the opposite shoulder, had even then flown across the lake. Having reloaded, I now advanced towards him, and soon arrived within fifty paces. He was the facsimile of the bull that had chased us on the previous daythe same picture of fury and determination; and, crouching

low, he advanced a few paces, keeping his eyes fixed upon us, as though we were already his own. A short cough, accompanied by a rush of blood from his mouth, seemed to cause him great uneasiness, and he halted. Again we advanced till within twenty paces of him. I would not fire, as I saw that he already had enough, and I wished to see how long he could support a wound through the lungs, as my safety in buffalo-shooting might in future depend upon this knowledge. The fury of his spirit seemed to war with death; and, although reeling with weakness and suffocation, he again attempted to come on. It was his last effort; his eyes rolled convulsively, he gave a short grunt of impotent rage, and the next moment he fell upon his back, with his heels in the air. He was stone dead, and game to the last moment.

'I had thus commenced a revenge for the insult of yesterday. I had proved the wonderful power of the four-ounce rifle, a weapon destined to make great havoc amongst the heavy game of Ceylon. Upon turning from the carcase before us, we observed to our surprise that a large herd of buffaloes, that were at a great distance when we had commenced the attack upon the bull, had now approached to within a few hundred yards, and were standing in a dense mass, attentively watching us. Without any delay, we advanced towards them; and upon arriving

within about a hundred paces, we observed that the herd was headed by two large bulls, one of which was the largest I had ever seen. The whole herd were bellowing, and pawing the ground. They had winded the blood of the dead bull, and appeared perfectly maddened.

'We continued to advance, and were within about ninety paces of them, when suddenly the whole herd of about two hundred buffaloes, headed by the two large bulls before mentioned, dashed straight before us at full gallop. So simultaneous was the onset, that it resembled a sudden charge of cavalry, and the ground vibrated beneath their heavy hoofs. Their tails were thrown high above their backs, and the mad and overpowering phalanx of heads and horns came rushing forward as though to sweep us at once from the face of the earth. There was not an instant to be lost; already but a short space intervened between us and apparent certain destruction. Our gunbearers were almost in the act of flight; but catching hold of the man who carried the long two-ounce rifle, and keeping him by my side, I awaited the irresistible onset with the fourounce.

'The largest of the bulls was some yards in advance, closely followed by his companion, and the herd in a compact mass came thundering down at their heels. Only fifty yards separated us, we literally felt among them,

and already experienced a sense of being overrun. I did not look at the herd, but kept my eye upon the big bull leader. On they flew, and were within thirty paces of us, when I took a steady shot with the four-ounce, and the leading bull plunged head foremost in the turf, turning a complete summersault. Snatching the two-ounce from the petrified gun-bearer, I had just time for a shot as the second bull was within fifteen paces, and at the flash of the rifle, his horns ploughed up the turf, and he lay almost at our feet. That lucky shot turned the whole herd. When certain destruction threatened us, they suddenly wheeled to their left when within twenty paces of the guns, and left us astonished victors of the field. We poured an ineffectual volley into the retreating herd from the light guns as they galloped off in full retreat, and re-loaded as quickly as possible, as the two bulls, although floored, were still alive. They were, however, completely powerless, and a double-barrelled gun gave each the coup de grace by a ball in the forehead. Both rifle shots had struck at the point of junction of the throat and chest, and the four-ounce ball had passed out of the hind quarters. Our friend of yesterday, although hit in precisely the same spot, had laughed at the light guns.

'Although I have since killed about two hundred wild buffaloes, I have never witnessed another