CELEBRITIES AT HOME.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6498, 24 December 1881, Page 3

CELEBRITIES AT HOME.

(WW14.1 Ms Hosatio Boss at Wttiu, Ono of our most romarksh'.o sportsman hat just attained hi* 80th birthday. It is now non than half a century since Mr Horatio Bom, of Bcaito Castle, Forfarshire, astonished the aborting world os ft steeplechase-rider on his fameus horae Clinker agaimt Captain Douglaa on Badioal over Leicestershire | and indeed, steeplechase-riding aa now praetiaed, may be laid to date from that erect, it being the flrat ateeplaohaae on record. Although advanced in yean, Mr Bom ia atill a marvel of physical atrength and endurance. No man living ha* killed so many ataga t nor la bia score in this respect complete, for even now, during the teaaon, he sallies forth each morning after an early breakfaat for a atalk on Ben Nevis, and seldom return without s head or two; for bia hand ia almost aa ateady and bia eye ae true sain thoae earlier day a of hia life when he earned for himaelf the sobriquet of “ the deer-stalker.” Wyvia lodge ia situated high up the mountain from which it takes its name, at the extremity of a picturesque lake called Loch Glass. Becogniaiog the natural suitability of this locality for a deer-forest, Mr Boas by patience and perseverance baa arrived at a yield of from forty to fifty good ataga per annum. Here it is, far from the madding crowd, that ho haa made himself a home, for rarely indeed can he be induced to leave hia beloved retreat. The Lodge ia a good twelve miles from anything in the shape of a village, and hia rifle for the most part supplies the larder. Venison there is the staple food, but then it is eaten fresh, and not in a state of semi'putrefaction, os ia too much the fashion farther south, and a venison steak at Wyvis ia a thing for an epicure to remember. Should you aa a friend make a pilgrimage to the ahrine of the great deer-stalker, he will, if at home, coma out to meet you, cap in hand, with a short telescope dung over hia shon'4er, his whole face beaming with pleasure and radiant with an innate Muse of good health, dad in a suit of home-spun from “ the Bobber” at Inverness, with kniekerhoeker stockings to match, yon see before yon a man considerably above middle height, but so well proportioned throughout that he appears shorter than be really is—an effect towhioh his breadth of shoulder no doubt eontribntes. The massive coronal development and contour of his head are particularly fine, and the silvery fringe of white hair on each side impart an additional dignity of expression. The closely-shaven lip and omn reveal a wellformed month, indicative at once of great firmness and benignity of character—an expression confirmed by the blue-gray eyes above, which have a keen crispness and merry brightness that remind you somehow of a bright morning in autumn. The eagle eye of the sportsman is tempered, you can see, by a benevolent sympathy with every living thing, and the whole aspect and atmosphere of the man is redolent of a life spent in the open air, and in constant contact with Nature while following his favourite pursuit 44 In glory and in joy npen the mountain-side." If you are disposed to listen, he will then regale you witn stories of the chase, and point out to you All that is worth seeing and observing from the raised plateau on which his house stands. "You ought to see the deer here,” pointing with bis band to the lake, “ on a moonlight winter's night, when the snow is on the ground, trooping across the frozen surface of the boh; it’s a sight you would not forget.” That dell on the slope of the mountain is the burial-ground of all the slags which have here fallen to his rifle, and he hoe given strict injunctions that his own ashes should be buried among their bones, A few years ago Lord Cairns paid him a visit, and seldom has the ex-Lord Chancellor enjoyed a happier week, although it was not his good luck, m spite of repeated stalks, to get within shot of a deer. , . Mr Boss is not merely himself a great shikari, but is also the father of great rifleshots. Hercules, Colin, and Edward, his sons, are all more or less renowned for their prowess with the rifle, and the name of “Edward Bois” haa of late yean almost eclipsed that of his father; for he not only won the Queen’s Prise, but alone holds the gold and silver medals of the National Bifle Association. Hercules Bora won the Cambridge Cup, and was the champion shot of India for three successive yean; while in 1863 Mr Boss and his three sons formed four of the Scotch Eight in the International Challenge Match for the Eloho Shield. Bat, stranger still, the expert use of the rifle is not merely confined to the men of the family, but extends in a remarkable degree to some of the ladies. Mrs Horatio Bora, nte Miss M&orae, has in her day been a splendid shot with her rifle, and Mrs Colin Bora is scarcely less dextrous with her gun. Not long logo, the knowledge of the latter in this respect stood her iu good stead. She had gone out with a small double-barrelled shot-gun, in the hope of getting a hare or rabbit. Engrossed with this object, she wandered on and on until she suddenly found herself confronted by a herd of deer. To her surprise, one of the herd—a magnificent stag —instead of taking to flight at her approach, kept advancing steadily towards her. As he drew near she recognised him by his magnificent head «i an especial favourite with her father-in-law, who bad dubbed him “ Lord Dalhousie " in honour of his donor. Not wishing to harm in any way this monarch of the herd, but at the same time anxious to divert him from hia advance, Mrs Colin discharged her first barrel in the air t but the stag, not to bo frightened by snob a “demonstration,” continued to advance almost at the charge, and she then deliberately took aim and discharged her shot exactly in the heart of the stag, which fell dead then and there. Then arose the question whether the foot should he revealed to the veteran himself, and after consultation it was thought best, knowing his affection for the animal, to keep it from him, in the hope that he would not remark the deer's absence. But it was soon observed that the old man grew restate and disturbed > each day ho went out earlier and returned later, wandering in search of bis favourite. Then elowly the truth leaked out. Hi* regret was unfortunately increased by the foot that, instead of preserving the head, it, aa well ae the body, bad been got rid of surreptitiously, all, no doubt, with the intention of sparing hia feelings, This incident will serve to illustrate life at Wyvis. Mr Boas to this day does not use a breechloader when he shoots small game j and In stalking he maintain* that his single MartiniHenry—the “queen of the forest,” as he has styled it—ls superior to any other weapon. In his hand it certainly appear* so, for only two years ago he picked out the finest of five stags, reloaded and killed the eeoond. Hit •pare time is now given to photography. He has the largest collection known of photograph* of animal*. Be haa photographed •togs, both living and dead, aa studies for hia great friend, the late Bir Edwin Landseer, who, ia recognition of his services in that way, presented him with the proof engraving*, sicced by himself, which you now see in the during-room at Wvvie Lodge. For a short time he rat in Parliament The sport was not to his taste. He proved himself a much more effective representative of this country aa the frequent guest of Austria's greatest magnates, Prince Esterhaay and Prince Litehtenstein. Many are the remlnisoenees which he recalls, riot only of his own surprising feats aa » sportsman with them, and of their wealth, grace, and nobility, but he bear* testimony also to their being sportsmen in the highest sense of this much-honoured title. Ai viii to be expected, Mr Boss became a leader of Volunteers in 1869. nor did he consider U i»fra dig. to go es a pupil to the

School of Musketry at Hytho, and seek instruction from General Hay in the art of military rifle-shooting. There two crock •hot* pasted many an afternoon together on "the shingle” in friendly content at the experimental target, and ninny were the hull'seyes implanted by them, ''ring etanding, at the 600 yards’ distance. He attended the first Hflo competition at Wimbledon, and it fell to his lot to explain to the late Prince Consort, when there, all the different detail* and arrangements of that historic meeting, nor could the Prince hare received such in* formation from worthier or more competent hand*. While the walls of Wyvis, especially the hall and smoking-room, teem with trophies of the chase, in the shape of deer-heads, &0., which have fallen to his rifle, the sideboard in the dining room groans under the weight of the numberless prices won by his rifle at the target-butte. Among these are the Wimbledon Cup, only competed for by winners, the Association Cup, sod the Duke of Cam* bridge’s Cup. In 1867, at Cambridge, after two long days* shooting at 900,1000 and 1100 yards, fifteen shots at each range each day, he—then in his sicty-sixth year—vanquished some thirty of the best rifle-shots in the king* dom, and added thereby the Cambridge Cup to his collection.

In former days, when duelling was still in vogue, Mr Bose was accounted ” the best pistol shot in Europeyet such was his consideration for the feeling of other* that he never had a serious quarrel. But as a proof of his dexterity he once killed 20 swallow* befee breakfast with a duelling pistol; as a pigeon shot he was not a whit lets noticeable. At the Bed House, in a match with Lord Macdonald, he killed 62 pigeons out of 63 shot* at 80 and 86 yards’ rise. In 1828 bo won the Bed House dab Gap, scoring 76 out of his 80 birds at 30 yards' rise. Nor will it be merely or entirely by his unrivalled skill and dexterity with the fowling piece, the rifie f and the pistol that Mr Boss will be remembered in the sporting world. His sue* cees as a steeplechase rider has already hem referred to ; but it remains to add that be likewise in his day proved himself an expert yachtsman, while his feats as an athlete m walking are remarkable, even in these days of Agricultural Hall notoriety. He walked from the river Dee to Inverness, a distance of ninety-seven miles, on one occasion without stopping; and again, after a laborious con* test in shooting porridges with Colonel Anson, in Norfolk, when the latter retired from sheer exhaustion, Mr Boss was so fresh that be challenged any of the bystanders to walk to London, a distance of seventy-miles. After an active career of unexampled length. Mr Horatio Bon now Mauds forth without doubt as the greatest of living sports* men. For of him it may truly be said, whatever he took up In the way of sport he did better than any other man could. At the Inverness meeting, some four yean ago, there was no prettier dihuiante than his granddaughter. She has just been happily married, and it ia pleasant to reflect that “ the veteran desr-stalker,” in the sunset of his He, is surrounded by his children, and children’s children, who will cheer hie declining yean, and prolong the fame of his exploits and the glory of his name.