18-91 THE FAMILY MAN. 35 



the ground before lie broke it. He was so confused that 

 he ouly slowly ascended to his usual height of many 

 hundred feet ; a sight never to be forgotten. 



On another occasion, when deer- stalking, I was under 

 shelter in a cleft of a rocky hillside at the height of .:?0()() 

 feet, and I saw a large osprey at no great distance, with the 

 greater part of a hare in its talons, drop it several times, 

 and, swooping down again, catch it in mid-air. 



At another time I saw a sea eagle on the top of some 

 precipitous rocks facing the valley. The wind was blowing 

 so hard that I crawled up on the other side of him to 

 within fifteen yards of wdiere he was, and was only prevented 

 from getting still nearer to him by a hare which passed me 

 and disturbed him by going at more than its usual pace. — 

 C. M. 



He was a hunting man, but now he never gets on a 

 horse. Well, it was like this : His wife, soon after the 

 arrival of their first baby, said to him, " I really think, 

 John, now that you are a family man, you should give up 

 hunting, it is so dangerous and expensive." " Couldn't 

 possibly give it up," said he, " I only keep twelve hunters ; 

 but I tell you what I'll do. I'll knock off one of them, for 

 every child we may have ; I'll sell Dragon-fly at once, and 

 start the season with eleven." " That's a bargain," said 

 his wife, and she kept him to it. Poor John ! his stud 

 went on decreasing till he hadn't a horse left, and now 

 lie oire.s three. 



A cavalry swell, with the (Irand Military in his eye, 

 looking over a " likely one," said to the Hibernian pro- 

 prietor, wdio had been praising up the horse, " Well, he 

 seems to have done pretty well everything ; has he ever 

 won the Derby? " To which the H. P. promptly replied : 

 ^' Begorra, he has, sorr, ficoiee ! " 



Continuation of Lord Willoughby's diary : 



SEASON 1879-80. 



A A-ery late and wet season for cubhuutiug. Harvest did not begin till 

 Seijtember 14tli. First meet for oulthnntiug- was on September 22nd at 

 ^Chesterton "Wood. 



D 2 



