In October, 1874, Mayne Reid was again laid low. This time an abscess attacked the knee of the wounded leg. Again reports of his death were circulated, and once more arrangements made for his burial. For six months he was on his bed, and rose at last a cripple, never being able to walk again for the remainder of his life without the aid of crutches. In 1882 a small pension was granted him from the United States Government for Mexican war services. The claim was for an invalid pension, and this was afterwards increased, but only shortly before his death.
During the last few years of his life, Captain Mayne Reid may be said to have literally turned his sword into the “plough share.” He resided then near Ross, Herefordshire, amid the picturesque Wye scenery, and occupied himself in farming. He reared a peculiar breed of sheep—a cross between a Mexican species and the Welsh mountain sheep—and succeeded at length in getting a flock, all with the same peculiarities, namely, jet black bodies, snow-white faces and long white bushy tails. An account of these sheep appeared in the Live Stock Journal, 1880. They were called “Jacob’s sheep,” being “ringed and speckled.”
The Captain used to say, jestingly, that he should go down to posterity as a breeder of sheep. Their mutton appeared on his table, and out of their wool he had cloth woven, from which he wore garments made to his own design.
He was also a large potato grower, experimenting with Mexican seed. Some clever articles upon potato culture from his pen were contributed to the Live Stock Journal, 1880.
In his Herefordshire home he wrote “Gwen Wynn: a Romance of the Wye.”
Towards the end of 1880 Captain Mayne Reid revised “The Free Lances,” in fact re-writing almost every line. The book had been originally written while he was editing the Onward Magazine in New York, but was not then published. Mr Bonner, the proprietor of the New York Ledger, paid a large sum for running it through his paper.
This revising, in addition to other literary work, was rather hard upon Mayne Reid. He writes:
“I thought I would have broken down, but I seem to get better with the hard work, only I am in great fear my poor wife will give way. She is in very delicate health, and looking quite ill. That acts sadly against me in my work, for when she is not cheerful I don’t write nearly so well.”
His wife was his amanuensis. Captain Mayne Reid regularly contributed a Christmas tale to the Penny Illustrated Paper and other journals during these latter days.
“The Free Lances” was published in three volumes, 1881, by Remington. The Saturday Review, July, 1881, says: “Captain Mayne Reid seems to be as lively a writer as he ever was, and if ‘The Free Lances’ causes any less thrill of excitement than was wont to be aroused by ‘The Scalp Hunters,’ the fault must be due to a change in the reader rather than in the author.”