eezed a bee by accident as I was getting out the honey.
Their stings, however, are not so severe as the English bee, as I
suffered but little from these numerous stings. The middle of the day
is generally chosen for taking a bees'-nest, as fewer are then at home.

Sometimes the position of a beehive is discovered by the aid of a
honey-bird. This little creature appears to have sense beyond its
feathered brethren; it apparently calls the traveller, and indicates
that it wishes him to follow it, uttering perpetually a peculiar note,
and flying from tree to tree, until it reaches the vicinity of the hive,
when it gives a grand chorus of chirps. This useful little creature is,
of course, rewarded with a share of the honey, and has the pickings from
the hollow tree besides.

One frequently met numbers of the little grey monkeys in the bush.
These mercurial little creatures are very amusing, and I often thought
that they must have great fun with the elephants, the old-fashioned
staid character of the latter being just the sort of butt that monkeys
would choose upon which to play their practical jokes. A monkey can
jump on and off an elephant's back with very little fear of
consequences, thanks to his wonderful activity; or can pull a tail or an
ear, with but little chance of meeting punishment from the powerful
trunk. I consider these monkeys as the regular and acknowledged
harlequins of the bush, and never could bear the idea of shooting at
one. I frequently had disputes with my Kaffirs on this subject, as they
would get into a great state of excitement if there were a good chance
of knocking over a monkey; the skin, when converted into long strips,
being a very fashionable article to wear round the waist or ankles.

I made a very good double shot on one occasion, by which I killed a buck
and doe of the black bush-buck. I obtained a snap shot at the buck as
he was bounding over a bush, and dropped him; the lady came back to peep
at what had detained her good man, and suffered for her curiosity. I
was much in want of meat at the time for my Kaffirs and dogs, or would
have spared _her_.

In both these instances I found the advantage of using a bullet in place
of shot, both animals dropping dead at once. If shot is used, at least
half the bucks wounded escape for the time, and die miserably in some
dark part of the forest, a feast for wolves and jackals. With a
bullet-wound they rarely travel far, if hit anywhere a