small toilet we seated ourselves, and began discussing roast-fowl and chicken cutlets; but before we had gone far, our light was flapped out by a large white moth, left swimming in the oil; then followed swarms of small insects of the jumping genus, accompanied by little crickets and large crickets, crickets which made chirping enough even to have gladdened Mr. Dickens's heart. On they came, hosts of crickets, black, grey, and brown; some jumped into the wine-glasses, some into the tomata sauce of the unfortunate cutlets, some into the curry gravy, some into Hudson's pale ale, some into the pickles, some into the oil-burners. We looked at each other, we two who were at dinner, or at least, who wanted to eat it. "What shall we do?" H said.

the jungle above our heads. Well, all this pe- | were posted, and dinner on the table; s with rambulating of a tiger a short time before (I fancy at dawn), upon the very spot where we wanted to eat our breakfast, was not very comfortable; but still, we had gone to his realm, not he to ours; so, as we were hungry, and there was no other sand-bank in view, there was nothing for it but to proceed with operations. So the camp-table was placed under the tree, and the two chairs set, the table-cloth laid, and then behold the covered dishes coming; fresh fried fish in one, and savory food in the other, peculiarly native, being a preparation of rice, and that small yellow grain called dhal, fried with a little butter and a good many spices, then eggs and toast, and lastly, the dear old Britannia metal marching teapot, with the two cups, and the good English-looking comforting tea poured into them. So we eat and drank, and were merry, only casting a look to the jungle every now and then, if a breeze stirred the leaves, and respectfully keeping our faces that way. The meal concluded, a good deal of food was left for the crows, if not for the tiger, all the overplus of the rice being emptied out on the sand by the natives before scouring, and putting away their pots; then a general embarkation, and on we floated again to the noise of the dripping paddles.

The sun was by this time high, and although we were creeping along under the shadow of the bank, it was growing hot. Our canoe was very much like a coffin, though a 'good deal longer, but not much broader. We could just sit side by side on the floor, at the entry of the mat roof; so we pulled out Borrow's "Gipsies in Spain,' as being a work I had lately received, and which, with writing, fishing, and sketching materials I had sent on board; so we read, and talked, and dozed, and caught bright glimpses of the blue Naga range of hills ever and anon in the turns of the river.

At last the heat abated, and the shadows lengthened; the birds began to chirp and twitter, and the mirror of the stream became constantly broken by the lazy fish now leaping to every passing fly. An order was given to make for the first sand bank which was large enough to give us mooring room, as well as afford space for the pitching of our little hill tent. One was soon descried (though there are not many on any river in the month of April); but it was too small for any comfort; however, it was the only one, and we must be satisfied. The table and chairs were placed as usual, but there was no room for pitching the tent-that was impossible. By-and-bye the sun set, and the sky and water became many-coloured; then the drowsy sound of beetles died off one by one; the butterflies fluttered in under the large leaves, and the moths fluttered out. After them came the longwinged bats, and then whole flights of little ones darting athwart the twilight sky; then the first stars came out above the mountain tops. I could count them at first, but soon their hosts multiplied brighter and thicker, and brighter still then came the report that the sentries

'Send for a bearer with a large punka” (san), was my suggestion. Presently he came, and we had most vigorous puffs every sweep of the fan; but instead of sending the crickets away, it sent them from the table-cloth on to our faces, and there they were, crawling and jumping all over us. I fairly got up and ran awayI believe Major H-did the same: then we laughed a great deal, and sat down again. 1 said-"Let us eat fast before the crickets come again!" And we tried to do so; but there they were, the legion, the army, the host! So we got up in dismay, had the lights put out, and the dinner taken away. "I think we had better take a walk," said I, as I felt something biting my feet and ancles very much; so we got up, and walked to and fro, the length of our little sand-bank. But I heard the humming in my ears, all through the air in fact: it became more cadenced, more concentrated. I knew what it meant, but I said nothing, in silent despair. We walked and talked, and tried to keep up each other's spirits; but we never hinted as to how we should get through the night.

The bell-bird had now begun his long solitary call, full and round, and distinctly clear; sometimes close, then measured, like the sound of some full, deep-toned gong, sometimes distant; when it died away like the last long strokes of the vesper in some Italian square-cloistered tower-yes, that lonely bird calls the live-long night to itself: none of its kind seem ever to answer it; but still, as the night comes, it calls on with its melancholy note for ever!

The sky had clouded; all the stars were gone; a sight breeze was stirring the trees, and a damp air had crept out of the jungle, which spoke of rain. "Ah!" said I, perhaps the land-flies will get drowned, and the crickets at least will be obliged to get into their holes."

"But the musquitos!" said Major H—. There was no answer to this.

Night waned: it was late: it was time to go to bed. "I am going to wrap myself in my cloak, and lay myself under the camp table to keep off the dew," said my husband.

"I think I'll try to get under the musquito curtain in that coffin of a boat," said I, "and see if I can't get a little sleep."

very

hard.

"Get

So said, so done. I called my woman, who | was sound asleep. I shook her undressed me, and I crawled in on hands and up," said I; “ I want to bathe." knees; made a great fanning before the gauze "Bathe! Mem Sahib!" burst forth the wocurtains, where I intended to enter; made a man. "But its twelve at night, or two in the dive in head-foremost, tucked in the curtains, morning. How can you bathe just now?" and laid myself down to repose from my la- "Ah, never mind that," said I. "Get up; bours. At first a kind of sleep came over my bring the water-pots. Come, be quick!" eyelids, and I thought I was getting away to the Natives have certainly a notion that the blessed dream-land, when a humming commenced Sahiblogs (c'est à dire, nous autres) are all more in my ears, and a sensation as if I were having or less mad-deranged in mind, unsettled, or live coals strewed all over my body came on me. by whatever more kindly name it may be called. I moved to a cool place on the sheets: the What with the needless trouble they so often humming came close to my ear. I gave myself take in climbing rocks to see views, wandering a desperate slap to try and smash him; then a into impenetrable jungles to look after flowers, humming above my head. I gave myself another trees, and plants; lavishing a sum for an insect slap there; then a keen, decided sting on my which they would call dear for a silk handkerleg, then one or two on my foot. I rubbed them chief, or a pitcher of clarified butter. Coming furiously together, then a universal pricking all away as I had done in this instance, in a wretched over my body! No, this will never do! I hot canoe, to be bitten to death by musquitos, darted up; it was intensely hot; no breath got when I might have stayed at home in my own to me in my coffin! I crawled out; the night comfortable house, where I had my dressingwas dark and quiet, for, though a waning moon room and spring couches! Well, there was no was up, the sky was completely clouded, and a accounting for what the Sahiblogs would do.. little drizzling rain was falling-just a night for a musquito orgy, thought I. I looked round; most of the men and servants were lying stretched on their mats on the sand, rolled up in their long white sheets, looking like so many corpses; but notwithstanding, one heard the slaps which were going on in all quarters. But they are patient beings, and think if one must needs be devoured by musquitos, sand-flies, or any other noxious insect, it is as well to lie to be devoured as to sit for the same purpose. So there they lay, every man in his sheet. The two sentries were stalking up and down at a little distance: I looked for the table, but the space under its protecting shadow was empty.

"Where is II?" thought I to myself; and I began looking round. Presently, not very far from the boat, close to the water's edge, seated upon a little cane stool, with his feet in the water, did I see my unfortunate husband. "What is the matter?" said I; "are you ill? Why are you sitting with your feet in the water?" A groan was my only answer.

“H—, dear, you'll make yourself ill!" cried I, "with your feet in the water; its raining. "Its dreadful!" said he. "What was to be done? I felt the musquitos from head to foot -I was in a flame.

"I wonder," said I, " if these musquitos bite the tigers in the jungles as they do us. What do you think they would do if they did? they could not eat them, you know."

"I fancy not," said my husband; "but I should not like to meet one just after a biting such as I have had."

And the bell-bird was ever calling its melancholy note, and the owls were hooting to each

other.

"Well," thought I to myself, as I had already got wet through with the rain, "I think I had better get a bath that will cool me; so I crawled | into the boat again, and got hold of my sleeping attendant in the back compartment of it; she

....

and then this bathing at two in the mo: ning! . . . . but, however, she got up, adjusted her drapery about her, took a water-pot in each hand, and crawled out after me. Once outside the long tunnel, I seated myself on the edge of the canoe. "Now fill the water-pot," said I, "and pour the water over me; and go on filling and pouring until I say stop."

So it was done-oh, it was delicious! One water-pot after the other was emptied over me; there I sat, quite happy and contented; but I heard my poor abigail rubbing her feet one on the other in the bottom of the boat, but the musquitos had no time to bite me; whenever they settled, another splash came down. Thus it went on, until about half-an-hour of dawn. "Now," said I," bring me my things, and I'll dress;" and so I did-I was all ready, and as fresh and as cool as a cucumber. Then the general ablution began. All the Hindoos walked into the water to say their prayers; every one bathedthe bugle sounded to boat, and off.

We had all, I think, good long sleeps that day, and not much of Mr. Borrow; but the weather was very hot, and the reaches of the river long. At last, a little before sunset, we came up to a high, open bank, the site of a deserted village, with some almost fallen huts still

standing here and there; one of these, however, seemed yet to be inhabited, as an old man and The boats were moored: the bank was rather a a little boy sat by it, watching our approach. high one, but a rude broken path was used into its side; by this we managed to scramble up, and our little tent was pitched just on the edge above, with the door looking down npon the water,, to catch any stray breeze which might rise with sunset. Major H- went to see that the men took up good positions for the night, and had their boats well moored, as the intense heat and clouded sky gave promise of coming storms. All our tent pins were well hammered down, and the ropes tightly knotted. I saw to this. By-and-by we took a ramble on the bank, and had

a chat with the old man and the little boy, who told us all their people had gone further up the river, where there was better opium ground; that they stayed only to gather in some few plantains from the deserted trees, which would be ripe by-and-by, and then they were to join their friends in the upper village.

below. He then ordered the sentries to be loaded, and a certain number of men to sleep with their accoutrements on, and their loaded muskets within reach.

I don't know how, but there was something ominous_about the setting in of this night. I thought I was to get a good sleep, and still I felt as though I should be woke out of it before morning. It was past ten: the wind had become a great deal cooler, a few heavy drops of rain had begun to fall; it was pitch dark—I was very tired and sleepy. I saw H― come in, put a sharp, short-bladed sword he had for use upon the chair by his bed. He loaded his gun, and also put it close by; but I was sleepy, and fell asleep.

Presently arrived the native political agent of these parts, hearing that Major H-'s boats were moored below. He gave us a good deal of news regarding the reports which had summoned us to Ningroo. He had his loaded gun in his hand; his long, square-ended Assamese sword in a wooden sheath, hooped with cane, and slung by the same over his shoulder, was all ready at hand. A large white turban, twisted round a knot of jet-black hair, was drawn up, and stuck on the very top of his head. A large white cotton plaid was wrapped round him, and in a scarf of the same material, tightly girt about his waist, stuck a long-bladed knife, with a carved ivory handle. He had a retinue of about ten or twelve men of his clan with him, and he said he had been lying about the jungles for the last two nights, in hopes of finding the whereabcuts of the Singphoes, who were said to have been collected at a spot by a small inland stream not far in rear of the stockade of Ningroo; but who having quarrelled amongst themselves about the attack, had for the present dispersed. So far good news; but still Major H, wishing to be on the spot himself, and hear the native but no answer. At last a blazing flash of officers report on the subject, as well as give lightning showed him to me, about twenty yards some orders relative to the guards and sentries off, on the bank of the river. The unearthly on duty, was anxious at the same time to howling, roaring, and raving of wild beasts now inspect the ground in the vicinity of the stock-rose to my ears. I ran to his side, and asked ade, which was greatly overgrown with jungle, and had to be cleared. The reveillée was ordered to be sounded as usual in the morning at dawn.

We had our dinner in peace and quiet this evening, without crickets and without sandflies, and the few musquitos were warded off by the evolutions of the large fan. We were very happy and comfortable this night, and talked of last night as a "horrible dream."

66

Oh," said I, how sound I shall sleep!" "Yes, won't we!" said H

The night had set in dark and stormy; heavy gusts of hottish wind came moaning down the gorge of the river; the clouds were very low and lowering; long flashes of bright lightning were darting about these clouds, but as yet neither thunder nor rain. "It will be a tremendous storm that, when it breaks," said my husband to me, as we stood looking at the sky, and stream, and opposite bank, by the glare of the quick succeeding flashes at the open door of our tent. "I wonder," he continued, "if all the tent-pins are well knocked in, or else we shall find ourselves rolled up in the tent when this storm falls on us, and carried off into the middle of the river." I assured him I had seen them all hammered twice over; " and our own canoe," said he, "I must go and see to the moorings myself." So I was left to look on, while he went down and saw that all was right

How long I may have slept I know not-till perhaps an hour past midnight-when I was awoke, but by a most tremendous noise. I sat up in my bed and listened; I called Hno answer. The night-lamp had blown out— the tent was in darkness. I felt about-everything was empty; I felt on the chair-the sword was gone; I felt-the gun was gone. I was then wide awake: I heard the crashing of the thunder above every other noise; but betwixt and between, and with it, I heard other noises. I jumped up, slipped my arms into my dressinggown, tied the sash round my waist, opened the tent door, which was soaking. It was raining in torrents. I called my husband-once, twice

him what on earth was the matter. He told me we were in the midst of a herd of wild elephants, at least that the herd had taken to the water, and were infuriated at finding obstacles in their way. He had already fired a few shots, and he had been calling to the other loaded men to fire. I never saw, I never heard such a scene in my life. The raging of the elephants; thundercrash after crash over head; and then those long crackling reports, which go wandering about the clouds to fall in with other peals which clash against each other, seeming as if they would tear the vault of heaven in two. Then that vivid, forked, fiery, flaming lightning, which for the minute it flashes, shows every leaf in the jungle, every stick and stone on the bank, every wave on the tide.

By such a flash, then, was made visible to my dazzled eyes a herd of wild elephants on the opposite bank of the river. There might have been five-and-twenty or thirty large males with tusks, females without, and young ones; in fact, it was a herd, and composed of animals of all sizes. Several had taken to the water, and were swimming straight for our landing-place where our canoes were moored, and above which our tent was pitched. One large female, with two young ones, was in advance of them all; the young ones, I fancy, were tired, and wanted to land; of course nothing would turn the mother. The whole herd had been startled by the report

"But how have you not been killed-been | taloons, the unlucky bonnet, drawing-books, crushed to bits?" said I.

"Oh, because I took up one of the boards of the boat when I heard him coming, and lay down quietly in the bottom of it; but I am all wet through."

With this she made the best of her way up the bank with the dripping bonnet still in her hand-for she mourned over it. But we now heard shrieks and shouts all down the bank as far as our camp extended. "Stop the boats! Save the boats!" was the cry on every side; our friend the elephant having swam deliberately down, and cast loose or swamped every canoe she came near, had then taken herself off and crossed to the herd. There were John Company's muskets, ammunition, and provisions all sailing down the river, spinning round the corners where the eddies were strongest, and never thinking of touching or stopping anywhere. All this time the herd on the opposite side had majestically marched down the stream for some way, still making a great roaring and screaming amongst themselves, but we were thankful to see they had given up the crossing opposite us. In the meantime there was a general scramble for a boat to catch the rest. Notwithstanding past danger, and all my former tribulations, I could not help laughing aloud as I wrung the rain out of my hair. They succeeded in hauling up one of the swamped canoes, and after unlading it, set out in chase of the rest, which I believe were all duly caught at different distances down the river. By this time a pale sickly moon had come out, and there was an order from Major H to fire the few remaining loaded muskets as a kind of parting and warning salute to the retreating herd; it was answered by a chorus of groans: with that we were thankful, and got into our poor little tent. I had no dry linen to put on, so was obliged to lay down in my wet; but I was tired out, and soon went to sleep to dream of those horrid elephants under various distorted forms.

The next morning, of course, there was a general drying-uniforms, woman's gear, pan

Newman's superfine colours swimming about, having inade to themselves a sea of many tints; bags of rice, foraging caps, and an abundance of other objects. The old man and the little boy of course came to look on, and seating themselves at our tent-door, told us it was not our fate to be trampled to death by wild elephants, and that was why it had not occurred last night; but that a few months ago this very herd had crossed at a village lower down to devastate the young rice crops, and when the people came to scare them away they got so infuriated that they rushed on their huts and toppled them over, tearing down their thatches, and sending the unfortunate inhabitants howling to the wilderness.

Our own boat being useless, we were obliged to have one of the small commissariat canoes emptied for Major Hand myself, into which we squeezed ourselves. The interior had been newly charred, so it was not very delightful for white clothes; but in the course of a few hours we arrived at Ningroo, where we found the native political agent's accounts verified by the native officer commanding there. So after sundry orders given, and reports received, and inspections of works and buildings made, there was not much more to do; thus, after a night's stay, the next forenoon we started, and our men pulling hard down stream all day, we arrived at our own comfortable house at about nine o'clock that night. Thus ended my adventurous trip to the outpost of Ningroo. Perhaps it may be as well here to state, that a few months after this, two Singphoes came into our verandah at Jeypore, with a large-sized female elephant's skull, slung by cane ties to a long bamboo. They told us that they had tracked the animal, which appeared sick some little time before, and having brought her down with poisoned arrows had found the skull to be full of shot-holes; they therefore brought it for us to see. And as we had no doubt that this was the remains of our poor heroine of the ford, we gave the men a due proportion of salt, tobacco, and opium, and took possession of our trophy.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

Of all the English names that have been wafted to us from the vast storehouse of the Past, that of Sir Philip Sidney is perhaps one of those that have continued to be the most ten derly and lovingly cherished by his countrymen. But while we all know that his name has been current coin in these realms from generation to generation, it must be admitted that the glorious shadow it has thrown across the page of history has been cast rather by the promise of brilliant action with which his short life was so rich, than by any great part in the affairs of men that he actually played on the world's stage. It is his character, his engaging individuality, as reflected down to us through the medium of the devoted love and the enthusiastic admiration of his cotemporaries, that have won him the place

he holds in the national heart. Time was not allowed him to enrol his name in the list of the world's great actors; but his early death, and the manner of it, have made his memory a possession to all time. When we reflect on his refined and noble nature, his chivalrous spirit and his lofty intellect, on the one hand, and on the stirring times of action and adventure in which he lived, and of the mighty spirits that were flashing around him in that Augustan age, on the other, we feel that there is no greatness in any field of action that he might not have achieved. But though he owes his popularity to the idea of deeds he would have done, and not to any that he did perform in active life, his highest fame rests on something far more real and immutable,