THE PEPYS OF SOUTH DORSET. 41 



communication with Weymouth ; his interests were inland. But 

 reference is made to "the Weymouth woman"; she seems to 

 have called occasionally at Warmwell House, probably with fish. 



Here comes an entry interesting to Naturalists. The Kite, a 

 bird now an accidental visitor only in Dorset, was common in 

 Mr. Richards' day. In 1697 ne wr i tes : " Yesterday I by chance 

 rescued one of my chicken from the Kite." 



The 'Squire justifies his conduct in parting with a favourite cat, 

 but he is slightly inconsequent. He writes : " i ith Oct , 1699. 

 This morning I sent my barn-cat to Farmer Vie, of Lewell, to 

 keep in his barn there, being a choice male catt, but, having 

 found ye way into my pigeon's house, I was forced to put her 

 away." His dog he put to a profitable use : " Friday, the I 

 1 6th Sept., 1698, my dog Quon was killed and baked for his 

 grease, of which he yielded nib." 



I must, in justice, record the fact that Mr. Richards did a little 

 mild betting and that he didn't always win ; but he does not 

 seem to have staked more at one time than a guinea or there- 

 abouts, and the bets were not on horses, but on events of 

 passing national interest. There was some kind of a club at the 

 ''Antelope," Dorchester, (the house being then kept by a Mr. 

 Meatman a singularly appropriate name) ; it was at this club, 

 on a Saturday in 1701, that the diarist had a bet with Captn. 

 Trenchard. "This afternoon," he says, "at the Club at 

 Meatman's I layd a wager of a guinea with Captn. Trenchard 

 that 5 new regiments were raised by his maty. King Wm. by this 

 day 12 muneths." He had two bets with a Mr. Penny : "Mr. 

 Penny layd me 2 bottles of claret that Barcelona was taken by 

 the French and this day in their possession, and 6 bottles more 

 that the Duke of Saxony remd. not King of Poland." Mr. 

 Penny seems to have won his wager as to Barcelona, and Mr. 

 Richards had the best of it as to the King of Poland. 



Then, again, Parson Read, of Moreton, and the Squire dabbled 

 in lottery tickets. Lotteries were frequent at that period : " 26th 

 Jany., 1697-8. Mr. Tho. Reed, minister of Moreton, came 

 hither to see me and dined here, he pressing me very earnestly 



