The Sun.
London, England, 1827-07-13 00:00:00

INDIAN SPORT.

As a young officer of the Bengal army was pro,
ceeding up the Ganges, on his way from Berhamporo
to Patna, he beguiled the tedium of his voyage b
exercising his fowling-piece on the .innumerable
feathered tribes which haunt the sunny banks of that
noble river. Though not a first-rate marksman, his
skill was by no means contemptible. In the course
of his sporting adventures, however, he met with an
accident which had nearly made him curse tile
fidelity of his aim during the remainder of his life.
One sultry day, in pursuance of his accustomed pas.-
time, he threw up the venetian window of his
Budgerow,# and perceiving, as he imagined, a
very numerous assemblage of dark-coloured birds
on the opposite shore, he levelled his gun with
more than ordinary caution, and pulled the
trigger under the firm conviction that he should
at all events disturb their levee. He watched the
ball leap along the glassy surface of the water, until
it seemed to penetrate into the very mich t of them;
but strange to relate, not a wing stirred: Another
shot—and another—and another; but the little dark
figures remained as stationary as ever. His head
throbbed, and his eye ached from the intensity of
the heat and glare. The distant shore appeared at
times a dizzy mist; the broad smooth river reflected
intolerable radiance; and the hot air seemed com-
posed of glimmering masses of ever-moving atoms,
like the sun-illumined sands of the Desert. Under
these circumstances, the appearance of distant ob.
jects might have deceived the strongest v;sion; and
he began to suspect that what he had taken for
birds might be nothing more than a quantity of scat•
tered stones. He addressed himself to the boatmen,
some of whom confirmed his suspicions, while others
assured hire that his bullet never reached the shore.,
Vexed; and weary, and half ashamed, he gave anotber
fire, when lo ! to his utter astonishment, up rose a
group of human beings, and appalled him with their
extravagant gestures. It happened that the extra-
ordinary heat of the weather h.;sl induced a large
crowd of natives to throw themselves on the cool
p a pain, thathis
lap of the goddess Gunga.t Being up to their
necks in the "sacred stream," they presented the
curious spectacle which misled the now agitated
sportsman. He lost not a moment in directing the
Maunjee4: to make the shore, and learn if any ce•
rious wound had been inflicted. On his landing be
found, to his great satisfaction, that the people,
though sufficiently alarmed and irritated, were
wholly uninjured, with the exception of one man,
hand.
. had I
t received
occasioned, a spent
however, ball
so slight is the
on covering the wound with a few rupees, the pa-
tient seemed immediately relieved . London Week(v
Review.

A pinnace. f Ganges. # Master of the Budgerow.

harvest is now nearly over in this
During the last week the weatlK:r has
beneeignThebhiceedurhha4dg.i y
favourable, and a full average crop has
been well ricked. In the immediate vicinity of this town,
we are, we believe, warranted in saying that the crop is
not so abundant as it has been on many former seasons,
owing, probably, to the prevalence of cold dry winds during
the early part of last month, which, upon land heavily ma..
mired, had forced the grass to premature ripeness. On low
and poor land, the recent warm weather, with the rain that
has fallen, has greatly increased the crop, by thickening the
bottom. Such, indeed, has been the nature of the late
season with reference to hay, that the poorer lands will
produce a greater proportionate crop than the richer lards,
owing,, as we bane before observed, to the premature ma-
turity of the grass on the latter, at a period when there was
not: sufficient warmth to produce quantity. Wheat and
grain of: all kiwis are looking well, and promise a good if
not a superabundant crop... Liverpool Courier.