FAMILY ORIGIN 



never count the loss of energy by indifferent observa- 

 tion — to their loss be it said. 



My father was not a great sportsman : that is by 

 way of hunting and shooting. His only recreation 

 was coursing. Coursing parties at Badbury were 

 a feature in my early days. 



There was generally a young horse to be ridden, 

 not always without fear and nerves. I remember 

 a certain gentleman, arriving with a young horse 

 not very well schooled over fences — in any case 

 he was not putting up a very good show — and 

 my father demanded, " Here, you get down and 

 let my son Charles get up, he will show you how 

 to do it," with son Charles shaking with fear and 

 trembling at the suggestion. However, it had to 

 be done. I think most horsemen will agree these 

 awkward jobs are best done with no spectators. 



Now my mother was of a totally different 

 character. Her strength lay in her moral qualities. 

 She would have us all properly schooled, that is 

 according to the resources available for the purpose. 

 I sometimes hesitate to think what might have 

 happened to a family of eleven had she not insisted 

 on this side of life being carefully attended to. 

 After all, a mother's good influence in this direction 

 is worth more than father's cash. 



I look back and picture my mother having a hard 

 life bringing up this large family. Was it any 

 wonder that her nerves were a little ragged in 

 later life ? One might well ask how did a nervous 

 system carry through such a programme with 

 credit and always a smile ? 



5 B 



