CHAPTER VIII HUNTING AND SHOOTING
Leamington-Moors-Orkney and Shetland-Balloon-Telotype
I RETURNED to my mother and sister, who then occupied Claverdon, much in need of a little rest. I was also conscious that with all my varied experiences I w.as igrnorant 4 the very A B C ()f the life of an English country gentleman, such as roost of the friends of my family had been familiar with from childhood. I was totally unused to hunting, and I had no proper experience of shooting. This deficiency was remedied during the next three or four years. Under the advice of my eldest brother, I bought a hunter and a hack, and began to hunt at the rate of about three days per fortnight in Warwickshire, at neighbouring meets.
The next year I established myself at Leamington, jobbed horses, and hunted methodically. There was a small " Hunt Club," supposed to be somewhat select, to which I belonged, and where I dined when not otherwise engaged. The hunting men most to the fore in Leamington in those days included some who had considerable gifts, each in their respective ways. Foremost among them was Jack Mytton, son
of the more famous Jack Mytton (1796-1834) who
was notorious for his daring feats and other ex
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