NATHANIEL LAWKENCE AUSTEN. xiii 



of the " eagle owl " in Norway, he writes : "I 

 watched the family group for some time ; I left 

 them without disturbing them or injuring them 

 in any way/' I fear that there are few sportsmen 

 that would have allowed these poor birds to live, 

 as did our humane friend, Austen. 



Then, again, how considerate he is towards his 

 pets, taking every possible care of them until the 

 time when his great knowledge of their habits 

 informed him that if he continued his attentions to 

 them any further, they would probably not survive 

 such attentions, even though they were well meant 

 for their comfort and happiness. 



He writes, p. 40, " My young bat throve wonder- 

 fully well, and lived with me more than four 

 months, when / gave him his liberty with the 

 others, as I was afraid they might not bear the 

 cold of the winter so well in confinement as if per- 

 mitted to chose their own places for hybernation." 



Mr. Austen was a true sportsman in every sense 

 of the word. Three times he took shooting expedi- 

 tions to Norway. The first was in 1869 ; the result 

 of these trips was the admirable and accurate de- 

 scriptions of the " Keindeer in his native home." 



These expeditions required much power of en- 

 durance and pluck. Mrs. Austen informs me that 

 her son once had a narrow escape ; he slipped down 

 the side of a precipice, his rifle being slung on his 



