ot mention the jackal and hyena, both of which
animals can be shot after dusk from the tent or hut, by throwing out
some carcase or bait before sunset to attract them. Let us pass to
that animal which, in my opinion, of all creatures presents by far the
best sport on the coast of Barbary--I mean, of course, the wild boar,
or halouf, as he is called in the Arabic language.

I had long had a desire to hunt the halouf. On my arrival at the
Caid's house at Solyman (about twenty miles from Tunis), an old Arab
named Mahmoud was sent for, who was reported to be, like Nimrod, a
mighty hunter before the Lord and before the tribes.

The next day we started before sunrise to the river, where the boar
was supposed to be.

_En route_ I questioned my Arab by interpreter. "The halouf," he
replied, "when wounded, is as dangerous as the lion. I have," he
continued, "myself seen a boar repulse the attack of a young lion."

Of boars there are no doubt plenty in Tunisia. They are fond of lying
in the thickest brushwood, what the French call _broussailles_, and
the main difficulty is to drive them out. It requires some one
perfectly conversant with Arabic, and having some authority over the
natives, to make them beat properly; otherwise, in a short time they
will give over, and pretend that there is nothing there. The best
localities for boar are near Solyman, in Tunisia, and Biserta, about
fifty miles from Tunis. As for Algeria, the country is now so much
frequented by Europeans of all nations, who frighten, if they do not
kill, the game, that one has to go a long way into the interior before
any sport can be met with.

The French talk a great deal about "_la chasseaux pantheres_" and "_la
chasse aux lions_," &c. &c.; but, in my humble opinion, their forte is
"_la chasse aux dames_" or, in plain Saxon English, the success of the
"_salon_." Let me conclude with a few words regarding regimen. In this
burning climate, above all things observe temperance. I do not mean by
that expression that you must be a teetotaller, but the more you can
abstain from heating liquids or solids, the better. The other extreme,
too, is bad; too much lemonade, or water, or sherbet, is apt to
produce diarrhoea. Nature seems to have indicated to the Arabs the
best beverage in this zone, both to quench thirst and to preserve
health, viz., coffee; but as on a march or out shooting you cannot
always stop to have a fire lit, the next best drink is a little weak
b