nilly before he got to the right one. The reins go
through bullocks' noses, so by Scripture that _should_ guide them. We
went off at a canter, and hadn't got a mile when Boots and Monteith's
dumbie dashed at right angles across a bridge to the cemetery; we
followed, missing the edge of the bridge by an inch,--pulled round and
went off on the straight again--seven miles in the cool of the morning,
grey sky, soft light, new birds, new trees, new country, no mistake it
was pleasant. Here is a sketch (much reduced) the dumbie following us.
As we went at a canter it was not very easy to do!

[Illustration]

At the tank or loch we disembarked amongst a motley crowd of
natives--got men to carry cartridge bags, and then we surrounded the
tank, a place about three-quarters of a mile long by a quarter broad.

M. got into a portable, square, flat-bottomed canvas boat he had sent
the day before, and his heathen boatman, who swore he could row, cut
branches to hide both of them from the duck. This arrangement looked
like a fair sized table decoration, a conspicuous man in a topee with a
gun at one end, and a black white-turbaned native at the other. Away
they went, left oar, right oar! I watched these simple manoeuvres from
the far side, where, like the other guns, I was posted at the water's
edge, in full view of the duck which were swimming about in mid water,
chuckling at us I am sure. The native's rowing was a sight! first one
oar high in the air, then the other. I saw Monteith had to change and
did both rowing and shooting, probably the native had never seen a boat
in his life! When M. began firing at the duck at long range, they got up
the usual way, straight up, and then flew round and round, high up. I
didn't know whether to watch the duck or enjoy looking at the village
scene opposite, for it was at once delightfully new and delightfully
familiar. There were mud-built cottages among feathery-foliaged trees
with wide roofs of thatch of a silver grey colour, and above them were
two or three palms against the sky. Biblical looking ladies went to and
fro between lake and village, and each carried on her head a large,
black, earthenware bowl steadied by one hand, and a smaller brass pot
swinging in the other. Blue-black buffaloes and white and yellow cows
sauntered on the sloping banks, watched by men in white clothes and
turbans--it was all very sweet and peaceful in the soft morning light.

[Illustration]

The ducks flew