6 HISTORY OF THE MACOUN FAMILY 



to be Glyceria nervata. While leaning out to gather the leaves, 

 one day, that were floating on the surface of the water in the 

 ditch, I tumbled in head foremost and Frederick ran away scream- 

 ing. My father, who was clipping the hedge inside, jumped over 

 and before long had pulled me out. I remember that I was so 

 young at the time that I had not ceased to wear baby clothes. 



Another thing I remember was that the Earl of Clanwilliam, 

 who, by the way, was our landlord and a member of the Magill 

 family, invited my father and Frederick to go to Gill Hall near 

 Dromore and have lunch with him and they went and Frederick, 

 like most youths, got sick from the quantity of food he ate and 

 was taken in hand by the butler. 



The last thing I recollect about my father was going with 

 him, dressed more like a boy, to Moira, where he drew his pension 

 and he took me to the Church and showed me a tablet that was 

 placed there in memory of a soldier, named Lavery, who was killed 

 in the American War. I remember little more about my father, 

 except that he was a tall man and frightened the boys on the 

 street when he would get a little tipsy and dress up in his uni- 

 form. After my father's death I recall many things that hap- 

 pened. I remember the day before he died quite well. The doc- 

 tor had him sitting up and I saw him bleed him and take a large 

 bowl of black blood out of his arm and the next day he died. At 

 any rate that was the only thing that impressed me about my 

 father's death, except the pride I felt when being patted and such 

 things by the friends that came to the funeral. 



The next thing I can recall with wonderful clearness was what 

 they called in the north of Ireland, "The Windy Night," when 

 many farm houses and stack-yards were blown to pieces and in- 

 numerable trees uprooted and the whole country devastated. It 

 is remembered in Ireland to this day. It took place on the night 

 of the 6th of January, 1839. 



I remember being sent by my mother to school to an old wo- 

 man who had five or six young ones like myself and my impres- 

 sion is that she was acting as nurse for us instead of teaching us 

 anything from books. The chief thing I recollect is that on the 

 21st of June she marched us by a Saint's well near the village, 



