Our Grand-Master Elephant Hunting.

OUR GRAND-MASTER ELEPHANT HUNTING .

We are indebted to tbe Times for the following animated description of a day of hard work , and no little risk : — All Sunday night rain gathered in the roof of our calico and bamboo dwellings . When

Monday morning dawned , the landscape was shrouded in steaming vapour , but preparations for the elephant drive were actively begun . At 6 all were ready , and the Prince turned out in a broad-brimmed solar topee , a dark shooting suit

and knickerbockers , and those necessary articles called leech-gaiters , which are required to baffle the efforts of the Ceylon leeches to suck

travellers dry . The jungle in which the elephants were abiding was about seven miles from Ruanwella , and horses were sent on to await the party , and take them by a bridle-path to the Krael .

Lord Aylesford , Dr . Fayrer , Lord . C . Beresford . Mr . Hall , Mr . Fisher , ancl Mr . Varian went ahead in a mail coach . The Prince , with Lord Sufiield and Major-General Probyn , escorted by two Lancers of the Governor ' s Body Guard , followed in a carriage . Mr . Birch , Mr .

Filz-George , Lieutenant Thackwell , and I closed the rear . Wc drove through a wooded country , sparsely peopled , in which the view was shut in by walls of dense forests . Men and children flocked to the roadside to see the cortege pass , but women were not visible once . On the main

road the people were more ' numerous . At 8 our carriage pulled up at a small village , called , I believe , Algeda , where several hundred Cingalese were congregated . Two or three saddlehorses were standing by thc roadside . " Where is the Prince ? " exclaimed Mr . Birch . " He has

gone , " was thc reply . Mr . Birch was in despair . Lieutenant Thackwell mounted and rode after him . Mr . Campbell , of the Police , galloped off , and Mr . Varian set out on foot , but thc Prince reached the ferry at Avisawella , nearly three miles , before he was overtaken and brought

back to the place which had been overshot so unaccountably . There was a chance that the delay would have proved very injurious , for the beaters had begun to drive nearly two hours before the Prince was at his post . Meanwhile Mr . Fiu-Gcorgc ancl I resolved to walk to thc

rendezvous . A path , deep-trodden by many feet , led by the side of a clear stream through the forest , but the impressions of solitude were dissipated by the appearance of police sentries guarding the path . After proceeding half a mile we came to some bamboo huts and the

embers of watch-fires . There we found some huts , in which bread , eggs , and fruit were on sale . Besides elephants , some thousand men had been engaged for more than a fortnight making the road , watching and constructing the Kraal . We then passed two barriers guarded

by police , ancl finally arrived at a raised platform , on which we found Lord Aylesford , Dr . Fayrer , and others , awaiting the arrival of the Prince . The platform was , in fact , a grand stand , from which we looked down on a stockade . Outside , running across thc jungle

from the valley , up thc hillside , was a kind of net , into which , when it was opened , the beaters could drive the elephants after they had been forced past the high rock on which thc Prince was to be placed . In the jungle at thc other side of the stockade , trees , creepers , and

bamboos were so thick that 20 or 30 yards off the stockade could hardly be seen . Beyond was the impenetrable forest gloom . At 9 the Prince arrived , but the yells of the beaters had been audible some time before . We

proceeded at once to the Prince s stand inside thc forest , and , attended , by Lord C . Beresford , Mr . Fisher , and Mr . Varian , noted the shots . Mr . Hall was placed within sight on a similar stand in a tree . No one else was allowed

inside . 'What followed may be told shortly , though it lasted for a long time . In the jungle were two herds , one an old tusker , charged with the death at different times of four European sportsmen and of many cattle , with three females , kept apart from another herd of seven elephants .

Our Grand-Master Elephant Hunting.

When the beaters came up the latter put themselves under a leader whose courage and coolness were only equalled by his sagacity and strategical skill . The animal not only refused to be driven in the direction wished for , but , charging the line of beaters at the head of his

column , he broke through them again and again , driving them up trees for shelter , and comparatively spoiling the sport . So hour after hour passed . " One herd , " cry out the beaters , " is coming nearer "—just as in a deer drive in the Highlands ; and every eye was strained to

pierce the * forest depths where bamboos and young trees cracked like pistol shots beneath the tramping of hoofs . Every ear listened for the report of the Prince ' s rifle , as they must be close to the Prince . The platform was deserted , and every one crossed to the Kraal armed with

bamboos to thrust through the interstices and chive back the elephants . The Natives were expectant , but silent , the old chief who directed the proceedings walking to and fro in a state of great agitation . Suddenly the cries of the beaters ceased , and the crashing and snapping

noise m the jungle receded . The tusker had broken through . 11 , J 2 , 1 o ' clock came and went , still no shot was fired . Thrice the Prince caught a glimpse of a ridge like the top of a loaf of brown bread moving swiftly through the jungle . A suspicion arose that the Chief was

playing falsely . He was to have whatever elephants could be kraaled , and if the Prince fired there was small chance of driving them outwards to the enclosure ; so it was supposed he had given secret orders to dodge the Prince ' s stand it possible , and he was told that if the Prince

did not get a shot the Kraal would be destroyed that night . Perhaps he was wronged . About 2 o ' clock , when the Prince had been five hours on the stand , a report came that the old tusker and the three ladies he was guarding so devotedl y had separated from the herd of

seven , and had escaped clean away through the beaters into the forest . Before the tusker got away Lord Suffield sent to the Prince for leave to go and shoot him when he was reported to be close , but the Prince thought it would be best to wait , so he got off without being shot at .

Even then several of the animals were unmanageable . In vain thc beaters yelled like demons ; they were charged , routed , and obliged to run up the hill and descend in rear of the herd , and begin again . At last it was resolved to apply the ordeal of fire which elephants so

much dread , and dried timbers were piled up in a line to windward . Mr . Fisher and Mr . Varian marshalled the beaters once more , and permission was given to fire on the elephants in the rear to urge them on . Presently a couple of

shots were heard , the branches shook , trees were crushed . On rushed an elephant , like some great rock tearing down a hillside , to within 20 yards of the Prince , who fired ancl hit him in the head , but he went on and was lost . At this

moment up cam e Mr . Fisher , ancl said , " Sir , if you will come with me I can get you a shot . I have wounded an elephant , and think you can kill him . " Lord Suffield , hearing thc Prince fire , joined him just as he set out creeping through thc dense jungle , with Mr- Fisher and

Mr . Varian on each side in front , and Lord C . Beresford , Mr . Robertson , and Mr . Hall in the rear . Hats were lost and clothes torn , the heat was great , and it was impossible to see two yards ahead . Suddenly a small elephant which had been wounded was discovered . Thc Prince

fired cooly at him , and thc elephant dropped ancl lay as if dead . Mr . Hall stopped to take a sketch , but the elephant began to move , and then to kick , and finally to get on his legs , whereupon Mr . Hall , doubting whether with a lead pencil he could challenge an encounter ,

sought safety in temporary flight . Thc native heaters got up the trees . Mr . Fisher and Mr . Varian became uneasy and alarmed , for elephants were heard close at hand , but they could not be seen . At * any moment an elephant ,

driven mad by passion , might rush out upon the Prince where evasion and escape were hopeless , for in such a dense jungle no man could do more than creep . Lord Sufiield and Mr . Robertson were astonished at the agitation evinced

Our Grand-Master Elephant Hunting.

by the practised hunters , but the Princes aim was as steady as il he were out pheasant shooting . All at once Mr . Fisher perceived an elephant as if in the very act of charging not ten yards off . The Prince fired and struck it in the side of the head , and it disappeared in the

jungle . In a few minutes more an elephant was seen by the side of the inlet , where the bush was not so dense . The Prince fired , and the great beast fell over on its side and lay dead in a a stream , where it dammed up the waters . The

Cingalese and Europeans dashed into the stream , and the Prince cut off the tail of the animal according to custom , and the crowd cheered again and again as the Prince was seen standing on the prostrate body .

It was getting dark and quite tune to get out of the jungle . The Prince , wet , streaming with perspiration , his clothes torn , returned , amid continued cheering , to the road side , where carriages were waiting to take him to Avisawella . As soon as his back was turned the Cingalese

cut off pieces of the ear of the elephant as trophies . So far the day had ended well . Seven hours of patient waiting had been rewarded , but when the Prince arrived at Hanvele , where Governor Gregory and others were waiting to receive him , having come down the river by

boat , he dismayed them by laughingly narrating how he had been upset on his way . Lord Aylesford was on the box beside the driver . General Probyn , Lord C . Beresford , and Mr . FitzGeorge were inside with the Prince . At

the corner of a small bridge , where there was a small deep ditch , the carriage went right over , flinging the occupants or . each other . The vehicle was broken , but no one was hurt , and there was a hearty laugh at the misadventure .

A Masonic Ball At Georgetown British Guiana.

A MASONIC BALL AT GEORGETOWN BRITISH GUIANA .

The Ball given by the Union Lodge of Freemasons , in the Assembly Rooms on the 19 th November , was , as Mr . Longden characterised it , in replying to the toast of " The Governor , " ' superb and magnificent . As the Masons of the Union Lodge had on several previous well-remembered

occasions , given substantial proofs of their possessing amongst their other secrets , the secret of giving a brilliant and successful ball , the present party , from the time it was announced , was looked forward to with eager interest by those who had had the good fortune to receive an invitation , and there was much speculation as to whethet thc present

would surpass in excellence the ball given in 1871 , which , after a lapse of four years , still maintained its position in the popular estimation , as the best ball ever given here . It required a very short survey of the hall to convince the hundreds of guests present , that thc former entertainment would have to rank second to its successor . The

decoration ofthe hall had been left to Bro . C . B . Hamilton , J . W ., and Bro . F . A . S . Lambert , I . G ., and the admirable selection of the general style of decoration , together with the exquisite taste displayed in carrying out the details , received unqualified praise . Tlie decorations were very fully and

correctly described by a contemporary in a paragrngh , which we take the liberty of making use of here , with some slight alterations and addenda : — The staircase was decorated with palm leaves and plants in ornamental pots , and spanned by arches of evergreens , relieved by bouquets of flowers . The

sweep from the head of the staircase to the entrance of the ball-room was draped with blue anQ white , with the monogram of the Lodge , tastef ully decorated wilh flowers on cither hand . The western end of thc room presented to view ten pillars , representing thc five orders of architecture in

duplicate , supporting a screen , thc space between thc pillars hung with massive folds of many coloured and rich-looking drapery . In the centre , and immediately in front of this screen , was the throne of thc Master of the Lodge , which stood on an elevated dais covered with blue and white cloth

and flanked on each side with two minor platforms covered with crimson , the whole extending across the entire breadth of the room . In front of thc dais stood two noble looking columns capped respectively with a terrestrial and celestial globe , and which on other occasions , we understand ,

form part of thc furniture ofthe Lodge . The arches between thc pillars which support thereof on either side were festooned with blue and white , the apex of each being picked out with a Masonic emblem . On the pillars , hung alternately the banners of thc Knights Templar and others bearing Masonic devices . These pillars also boie ornaments of blue