These Days Will
Always Be Looked Back To By Me With The Greatest Pleasure.
The moments
of sport lose none of their brightness by age, and when the limbs become
enfeebled by time, the mind can still cling to scenes long past, with
the pleasure of youth.
One great addition to the enjoyment of wild sport is the companionship
of thorough sportsmen. A confidence in each other is absolutely
necessary; without this, I would not remain a day in the jungle. An even
temper, not easily disturbed by the little annoyances inseparable from a
trip in a wild country, is also indispensable; without this, a man would
be insufferable. Our party was an emblem of contentment. The day's sport
concluded, the evenings were most enjoyable, and will never be
forgotten. The well arranged tent, the neatly-spread table, the beds
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 on 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. The slips, which have
held the necks of dogs of such staunch natures, will hang neglected from
the wall; and all these souvenirs of wild sports, contrasted with the
puny implements of the English chase, will awaken once more the longing
desire, for the 'Rifle and Hound in Ceylon'.
End of The Rifle and The Hound in Ceylon, Sir Samuel White Baker
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