Some places that were good spots for shooting in those days have since that time been much disturbed, and are now no longer attractive to my eyes.
One of these places is Minneria Lake.
I was on a shooting trip accompanied by my brother, whom I will designate as B.We had passed a toilsome day in pushing and dragging our ponies for twenty miles along a narrow path through thick jungle, which half-a-dozen natives in advance were opening before us with bill-hooks.
This had at one time been a good path, but was then overgrown.

It is now an acknowledged bridle road.
At 4 P.M., and eighty miles from Kandy, we emerged from the jungle, and the view of Minneria Lake burst upon us, fully repaying us for our day's march.

It was a lovely afternoon.

The waters of the lake; which is twenty miles in circumference, were burnished by the setting sun.
The surrounding plains were as green as an English meadow, and beautiful forest trees bordered the extreme boundaries of the plains like giant warders of the adjoining jungle.

Long promontories densely wooded stretched far into the waters of the lake, forming sheltered nooks and bays teeming with wild fowl.