BOSS CROKER'S SHOOTING 



brought on. Anyhow the butler was asked for butter 

 and some little delay occurring in its being produced, 

 Lord William asked again, and eventually a small plate 

 of it was put in front of me. I could always eat bread 

 and butter when having no real appetite or desire to 

 eat anything else, and I managed to keep company with 

 others, really lunching that day so far as my butter went 

 anyway. When I left that evening after the shoot 

 Lord William said, " Good night, little man. I'm glad 

 you showed them you could shoot birds instead of 

 men, and the next time you come here to meals there 

 shall be dishes of butter all over the table ! " 



Writing of shooting reminds me of another story 

 which Lord William told King Edward and which 

 tickled him. It was a pure invention of mine at the 

 expense of Mr Richard Croker but it was repeated from 

 one to the other. The " Boss " had chaffed me once 

 about something or other, so I got even with him by 

 saying very seriously to two or three gossips who I 

 knew would hand it about that, when Mr Croker 

 and I were in adjoining butts one day shooting, a bird 

 came running towards him. According to me the 

 " Boss " had his gun ready to fire. 



" Don't shoot the bird running," I called out. He 

 replied (again according to me !) : " No I won't, I'm 

 waiting for it to stop ! " 



Mr Croker met me after that and said, " You villain, 

 I can't get away from that yarn you spun about me! 

 I heard it yesterday in Dublin and it has even got over 

 to America and has been printed from New York to 

 the middle West, and from there to California, and 

 South to New Orleans. Sometimes I begin to think 

 it's true, and most of my friends seem to be quite 

 certain about it." Then he laughed as heartily as I 

 did all the time and shook his fist at me. 



99 



