Year: 1865

Oue OF The UOSt amlaOie ana eNcSilSDt on
these social spor,sueH Was an oficer whom
will call Captain Tattle. | never happened 10
meet him: but bis stories are household words
anywhere between the lndus and the Hoeslev.
. OF these | sahioin few which may be consid-
cred Is lair specimens


Tallle was loud and incesSant talker, and,
over any table where be might be placed.
never failed TO let the party know hat, whsiher
in battling with men or beasts. or in whatever
( pursuit he might be engaged, be was superior
10 any man you might mention. or who would
be likely 10 mention himself. or his proves
+ in the field here is sample:


The fact is, sir, that when | am in action,
nothing can restrain me; and nobody knew
This better than Napier. Before an engage
ment began, be always sent for me. and said :
Now. TatiIe, yen know my wishes modera
ton above all things, my boyr will do my
+ best, Sir Charles was my usual answer; but
you know cannot always answer for conse-
quelcesr At Meanee, remember in particu
lar, be had bis eye upon me and when he saw
NE up to my elbows in slain-all off nv own
sword, sir he sent an aid de-camp TO me-
Very sorry. SIR says the aid but you are to
give your sword to me. By the generals orders
| am not putting you under arrest, be added
/ laughing but you are really doing too much
/ Well, there was no help for it; SO gave him
[ up my sword But directly bis back was
turned, | fell to work with my scabbard, and
/ finished off seventeen more of the rascals-
I seventeen. ] counted them as they lay on the
ground. And this is no lie sir"
/ The latter somewhat necessary assertion was
the usual reinforcement 10 his most astonishing
revelations.


If Tatile went after tiger, it was always
Tiger such as no man had ever been after before


There was a beast in the Nepaul Tarai.
sir, that was three years in potting. He was
the terror of Dude; and Rohilcund was afraid
TO go 10 bed when he made an excursion into
that province. He was twenty three feet six
inches and q half from the point of the rose to
the tip of the tail. His teeth were as big as
tombslones, and lis roar was like an eruption
of Vesuvius. The first two seasons l had put
some lead into him, but never into vulnerable
place The third season | met him again
and he knew me, sir BY this time found
out that an elephant was worse than useless,
SO leaving my howdah, went 10 encounter
him Oh foot. You see, with large tiger, an
elephant only makes q convenient mark TO
spring at Ga foot you can watch your oppor-
tunity aud let the beast spring over you, Well.



preston of bis eye that he was aware whom be
had to deal with. He could not have spoken
palmer if he bad said, 'Tattle, my boy, I'm
going to be one too many for you this time =
That's what he meant, and l knew it. Well,
he came on and | watched him closely. First
of all be gave a roar that could have been
heard at Cawnpore. | had my double barrel
ready cooked; but was not fool enough 10
fire then; tiger. you know, always throws up
his head to roar, and what was my chance OF
hitting him in The right place? But kept
my eye upon him, aud saw him quail, then, re-
covering himself, be took the spring, upon
which l threw myself fiat on my face There
was rush of wind. as if a heavy body was
being hurled through the air. The time had
come. The tiger had gone over me twenty feet.
knew be would turn to vent his disappoint-
ment, ard was ready for him before he could
recover himself for another spring. A bullet
in the brain settled him at once, and the
scourge OF Taral-not to mention Dude and
RohilcuDd-was DO more. | do believe, how
ever, that | should not have killed him that
time, but that he had eaten village the day
before, and was rather heavy in consequence.
And this is no lie, SIR


This notable sportsman. have been told,
was also the hero of the celebrated story which
has been rendered into verse, under the title of
A New Tale of Tub Getting the animal
under barrel, be watched till its tail came
through the buughole. Then tying that ap-
peudage into knot, be could deal with It's
owner at his leisure.


Ii Tattle had to tell of a storm, it was such
a storm as nobody had seen but himself.


A storm, sir, such as would have turned
you inside out You should have seen all the
pine trees blows up-shooting around me like
arrows-and its no lie.'


He is known to have related the following,
as incidental to al occasion of the kind


This occurred. sir, upon the Calcutta course.
Martinrale, of ours, was driving ont with his
wife, The carriage was overturned, and be
had to sit upon her to prevent ber from being
blown into Eastern Bengal As it was. she
was left SO long on the road, exposed TO the
fury Of the elements, that her hair was turned
pea green ; and her foot and her nose were in
iured that she was never able to put either of
them TO the ground afterwards. And this is
20 lie sir"


When Tattle could not make an effect il
any other way, lie would start negative
pecuarity, and make a point of that. He
was as jealous Of his proves at whist as at
killing men or tigers. Thus harmless man at
mess telling of some little triumph the night
before, in which trumps were concerned, Tattle
burst upon him in this manner:


"Trumps. sir who wants trumps? l have
made more money at whist than any man of
my rank and standing in the service, yet
never wanted trumps. Why. sir, l never held
single trump in the whole course of my life."


surely. Captain Tattle, you must have held
one trump when you dealt"


Most men would have been put down by
this. bat Tatie was the more on bis mettle.


The remark just shows your ignorance, sir.
Any man who has ever played with me knows
that | always made msdeal.'


Upon the simplest subjects it was the same.
Somebody remarked in bis hearing upon
breakfast be had been to-a brilliant affair
which had lasted half day.


'.Breakiast7 said Tatile "who eats break
fast? ! never ate but oue breakfast iu my lie,
and that disagreed with NE. Not such an ass
to try another. Nobody but an idiot would
dream Of eating breakfast


The mild man who made the remark wished