236 LORD LILFORD 



' I well remember our first meeting. It was 

 at dinner in Upper Brook Street, in 1882. 



1 There was something very attractive in 

 the strong handsome face and gentle voice, and 

 in the self-forgetfulness of one who, though 

 obviously ill and in pain, was interested in 

 everyone around him and in every subject but 

 himself. 



1 There was an especial charm, too, in talking 

 to one who seemed to be on friendly terms with 

 strange birds and beasts — who was as familiar 

 with a Lammergeyer or an Imperial Eagle as 

 with a Sparrowhawk ; who " knew them at 

 home," as boys at Winchester used sometimes 

 to say of familiar friends — quite a different 

 thing from knowing their stuffed skins in a 

 cabinet, and productive of a different type of 

 naturalist. 



1 In after years, when I had the privilege 

 of knowing Lord Lilford much better, it was 

 easier to understand the attractiveness of his 

 character in the extraordinary calm, the un- 

 selfish gentleness under conditions which most 

 of us would have found intolerable. For 

 although under Lady Lilford' s constant care 



