Our road from
this, descending, lay among the nooks and dells of the shady side of
the mountain; and the wild rose and the heliotrope perfumed the air
at every step as we walked along in full enjoyment of the morning
breeze. Our sepoy guide of to-day was not of the educated branch of
the army. He was the stupidest specimen of his race I had ever met;
and as his language was such a jargon as to be nearly unintelligible,
we failed signally in obtaining much information from him.
Among other questions, I made inquiries as to woodcock, the cover
being just suited to them, and after a great deal of difficulty
in explaining the bird to him, he declared that he knew the kind
of creature perfectly, and that there were plenty of them. By way
of convincing us, however, of his sporting knowledge, he added that
they were in the habit of living entirely on fruit; and he was sadly
put out when F. and I both burst into laughter at the idea of an old
woodcock with his bill stuck into a juicy pear, or perhaps enjoying a
pomegranate for breakfast.
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