CHAPTER XLVI 



BLIND SPORTSMEN 



When Lord Kitchener arrived in England after his 

 successful campaign against the Mahdi there was a report, 

 which happily proved to be untrue, that he was threatened 

 with total blindness ; and it is said that he received a 

 remarkable letter from a blind clergyman bidding him be 

 of good cheer, and enumerating the various occupations in 

 which he (the writer) was able to take an active part 

 despite his entire loss of sight. This story brought to 

 my mind some extraordinary cases of blind sportsmen, 

 who, notwithstanding their affliction, were able to indulge 

 freely in their favourite sports. 



I once heard the late Professor Fawcett, who, as a young 

 man, had the sight of both eyes destroyed by shots from 

 his father's gun, say that he knew certain parts of the river 

 Itchen so well that, if told where he was, he could throw a 

 fly with unerring accuracy into a pool where he knew a 

 trout lay. And so quick was his ear that when a fish rose 

 he could tell by the splash exactly where to throw his 

 fly. I have often seen him at Cambridge rowing in the 

 " Ancient Mariners Eight " with brother Dons of aquatic 

 tastes, and keeping time with the best of them. I have 

 seen him skating too, but then he always had a companion 

 to pilot him. 



Probably most Yorkshiremen are familiar with the name 

 of John Metcalf— " Blind Jack of Knaresborough." Metcalf 

 was attacked by smallpox at the age of six and lost his 

 eyesight. Yet he was an enthusiastic lover of coursing, 

 steeplechasing, and hunting. He rode wonderfully straight 

 to hounds, guided by his acute sense of hearing and the 

 occasional warnings of a friend who kept near him. But 



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