'This scene,' said Sir George Grey, 'did not live wholly to me, until I
met with an incident while hunting in South Africa. Coming upon a young
spring-buck, which had been exhausted by the pursuit, I lifted it into
the saddle before me, and carried it home. All the way, the velvety skin
of the little fellow was brushing against my clothes.
'These were not worn again for some time, and when I did take them out, I
was struck by their delicious smell of herbs and grasses. The scent had
been communicated by the spring-buck, accustomed to make its home among
the sweet growths of nature. It was the hunter's fragrant smell which, in
part, caused Isaac to mistake Jacob for Esau.'
While trekking through Cape Colony, to see everybody and everything for
himself, Sir George was often able to be the keen sportsman. Before his
camp was awake, of a morning, he would make a bowl of black coffee,
shoulder his rifle, and start off, with a couple of bush-boys for
gillies. He would return in the forenoon, deal with his work as Pro-
Consul until the evening, and then, perhaps, seek another shot. Or, if
his people were on the move, he might sally from them at one point, and
rejoin them later. Deer of various sorts were not scarce, and he kept the
camp larder furnished with fresh meat.
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