CHAPTER II 



A Good Old Sport" Lawyer " H. An Heir- Apparent Impounded. 



ONE of my older acquaintances of those days 

 was Joseph Harris, of Woodperry, a fine 

 specimen of the old type of yeoman- 

 farmer, and known throughout the country-side 

 as " one of the real old-fashioned sort." Hale and 

 hearty, with a cheerful countenance, ruddy with 

 the hue of health, and set off by hair of silvery 

 whiteness, he was redolent of the country in look, 

 speech, and everything else. He was an enthu- 

 siastic fox-hunter, and in his younger days kept 

 up with the best, but when I knew him he admitted 

 he felt a bit too old and stiff to do more than a 

 gentle toddle after hounds afoot. However, horse, 

 hound and fox were alike welcome on his land at 

 all times. He had a wonderful reputation for the 

 brewing of ale, which was thought to rival even 

 the audit liquor of Brasenose and Magdalen. 

 Many a sportsman has had a taste of it, and gone 

 on his way afterwards " like a giant refreshed," 

 for Joseph, being given to hospitality, did not 

 keep his good things to himself, whether they 

 were stories of hunting exploits, of which he had 

 a rare assortment, or the cup that cheers. 



I told the following story in an article I contri- 

 buted some years ago to Baity* s Magazine of Sports 



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