I THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER 15 



centuries had been the delight and pride of Scotchmen 

 should have remained so long neglected south of the 

 Border. It is true it had been played for two hundred 

 years at Blackheath, and for some little time at Hoylake 

 and Westward Ho, but these clubs were practically 

 supported by Scotchmen, and it is only of very recent 

 years that the golfing iron has entered into the soul of 

 Englishmen. But at Pau, thanks to the late Colonel 

 Anstruther, a golf club had existed for more than a 

 generation, and that and the lawn tennis club situated 

 on the lovely Plain de Billere, received the full measure 

 of Brooke's support and assistance. During the time 

 he was captain of the golf club it increased largely in 

 numbers, and the quality of the green rapidly improved, 

 so that of late years it has become one of the best, if 

 not the best inland green in Europe. 



In 1884 the greatest sorrow of his life came to him 

 when his brother Basil died. 



In his letters and diaries the name is frequently 

 mentioned, but it would not convey to the reader what 

 such a loss meant to him. From boyhood his brother 

 had been his chosen companion, and on every available 

 opportunity they had joined in the same sporting 

 expeditions, sharing the same danger and hardships. 

 With tastes absolutely in common, they had studied 

 natural history together, and played the same games 

 with equal enthusiasm ; and when Brooke was com- 

 pelled to live more or less at Pau, his brother had taken 

 much of the burden of the estate off his hands. No bond 

 of union ever knit two brothers together more closely. 



The illness that sundered it for ever originated in 

 a trip that Basil Brooke had taken to Mexico. This 

 illness developed immediately after his return to Scot- 

 land, where he resided with his family, and he was 

 before long in imminent danger, but recovered suffici- 



