book
and an ink-horn and waved them before him in a mild persuasive
way, much as a churchwarden invitingly shakes the offertory bag
under the nose of a rich but niggardly parishioner, he sprang
up with a fierce oath and flashed Inkosi-kaas before the eyes
of our learned friend, and there was an end of the attempt to
teach _him_ Zu-Vendi.

Thus we spent our mornings in useful occupation which grew more
and more interesting as we proceeded, and the afternoons were
given up to recreation. Sometimes we made trips, notably one
to the gold mines and another to the marble quarries both of
which I wish I had space and time to describe; and sometimes
we went out hunting buck with dogs trained for that purpose,
and a very exciting sport it is, as the country is full of agricultural
enclosures and our horses were magnificent. This is not to be
wondered at, seeing that the royal stables were at our command,
in addition to which we had four splendid saddle horses given
to us by Nyleptha.

Sometimes, again, we went hawking, a pastime that is in great
favour among the Zu-Vendi, who generally fly their birds at a
species of partridge which is remarkable for the swiftness and
strength of its flight. When attacked by the hawk this bird
appears to lose its head, and, instead of seeking cover, flies
high into the sky, thus offering wonderful sport. I have seen
one of these partridges soar up almost out of sight when followed
by the hawk. Still better sport is offered by a variety of solitary
snipe as big as a small woodcock, which is plentiful in this
country, and which is flown at with a very small, agile, and
highly-trained hawk with an almost red tail. The zigzagging
of the great snipe and the lightning rapidity of the flight and
movements of the red-tailed hawk make the pastime a delightful
one. Another variety of the same amusement is the hunting of
a very small species of antelope with trained eagles; and it
certainly is a marvellous sight to see the great bird soar and
soar till he is nothing but a black speck in the sunlight, and
then suddenly come dashing down like a cannon-ball upon some
cowering buck that is hidden in a patch of grass from everything
but that piercing eye. Still finer is the spectacle when the
eagle takes the buck running.

On other days we would pay visits to the country seats at some
of the great lords' beautiful fortified places, and the villages
clustering beneath their walls. Here we saw vin