The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1869-11-19
FREMONT SANDUSKY COUNTY, OHIO; FRIDAY NOVEMBER 49, 1862

} to year after year; and what is more, h'
| read them. He had his newspaper
[ and magazines in those DAYS threl
months after date. He had expedition,
| to Sydney, at that time even growing
ito be a beautiful place; and long ridel
. over plain and through forests, after
4. his business. Last and not least, he
$ had his sport.
5 He got to be the greatest sportsman
of those parts. His 'run,' as they cal
} the ground occupied under lease from
: government by squatter, was a vast
stretch Of country, twenty-five miles by
: twenty nearly all bare, rich, level plain,
! at considerable elevation above the
/ sea, almost entirely without wood, and
only marked here and there by two or
three grass grown extincts voleanos,
which rose perhaps three or four hun
dred feet above the level of the table
land. 1t was one of the richest runs
in those parts, keeping a sheep to every
three acres, but it was a very bad sport
ling run. There were many lakes upon
it, swarming with waterfowl, from the
gigantic pelican and black swan, down
to the tiny gray grebe; but it was bad
country for sport. He hardly ever
fired a gun on his own run, save at the
ducks, and more particularly at the
other specie of game, which shall no
tice directly.
But his house stood at the very edge
Of his run, close to the pillow line which
separated him from his neighbors. And
behind his house began the great forest
of which his neighbor's run consisted.
These forests, at first open, that is to
say, formed by large trees without un-
derwood, rolled up into a densely-thick-
eted (scruPby) region Of greater eleva-
tion-a wilderness of flowers, a paradise
Of game; at that time, merely a wild
labyrinth ofrocky gullies, or little glens,
where the virgin gold lay about on the
surface, shining, after each shower, out
of the red clay which formed the soil,
like the window of a jewelers. shop.
Afterward this very hunting ground Of
LionePs held a population of thirty
thousand souls, and nobody was more
amused than himself when be heard of
the vast treasures which his old hunting
ground had yielded, from the surface
and from few ft deep.
At first Lionel took the usual course
of hunting in the colonies, and had
dogs, half-breed greyhounds, for the
ksngaroos, but he lost half of them;
then he tried on many occasions TO ride
down emus on his best horses, but he
lsmed his horses, lost his emus, and
once had q serious accident against a
tree himself. He put his wits to work.
He took his youngest and best horse
and carefully trained Bim to standing
fire. He got some terrible falls, but
afterwards he had splendid sport. He
would ride up to kangaroo and shoot
it dead with a single bullet from his
earbine; he would ride into a flock of
turkeys on his own plains, and with the
reins on his spirited young horses
neck, would pick off three or four be-
fore the foolish creatures thought it
time to move.
So far. He Vegetated on here with
bis accumulating wealth, and his books
his business, and his sport, and there
was but little to disturb him. Old
memories were getting very dim; and
the most painful parts of them, with
the dark exception of his most unhappy
duel, were getting so mellowed by time
as to be almost pleasant So when he
after five years vegetation, got the in
telEgencs that his cousin, the Honora-
bic Edward Hornby, had come into the
colony, and had been inspector of po-
tice for the Southern District.
Lionel met Edward Hornby at sess-
ions with an open brow and an open
hand, two years after he had heard of
his being in the colony as police inspec-
tor, which was seven years after his
own arrival, when he was getting to be
wealthy and well-to do man. The
meeting on his part was cordial, and on
that of his cousins apparently so. But
ne was very much struck by his
cousins appearance,
He did not look dissipated; all his
nerve and vitality we're left but there
was a wild, fierce, bandit look about
the man for which he could not in any
way account. He asked the head sti-
pendiary magistrate about him in con
fdence-This officer was a very dear
friend ofhis, and they had mutual
respect for one another.
Its an awful shame said the stipen-
diary magistrate to Lionel; the home
government serves US shamefully. This
is home appointment This man,
this cousin of yours. my dear Lionel,
is desperate man; he has been kicked
out of every billiard room from Bruss-
sells to Naples. But his cousin and
your cousin, Lady Alice, married
Lord Granton; and so, when Europe is
too hot to hold him, he is foisted on US
as police inspector. 1t is too mons
trous-We are not strong enough to
cast the old country of, but the time
will come when we shall be. You are
making your fortune, you have your
position, you will go home and go in
to Parliament-Do for heavens sake
tell the assembled British nation that
we are sick already of having ill-reput-
ed men thrust upon US in responsible
positions. Do for heavens sake, man,
tell them that we are forced to stand it
now, but that the time will come when
we will stand it no longer
Lionel saw but little of his cousin af-
ter this. When Edward as inspector
of police, came his way, he was always
absent from the bench. The last time
save two-he ever saw him was at a
fancy ball at Government House. Ed
ward was dressed as bandit, and Lilo
mel was obliged to agree that he looked
tie part to perfection.
In this quiet southern home, with
his focks grazing far across the plains,
and old, quiet good-humored, content
London pick-pockets and forgers around
him Lionel had troubled himself but lit
tie about bushrangers. His people were
all rogues and conVicts. He knew |
that very well; but they were not men |
who had been convicted Of violent |
crimes, with the exception of one, who
had fred loaded pistol at his colonel |
at Gibralter, because the colonel had re-
f,,saJ e Iot l =: M. III