COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 151 



of boots in his hand. I said, " That is just what I 

 want ". I stuck one of the boots up on the window 

 and made a sketch of it, which I took to Boehm, 

 and he finished his sketch, which was a very admir- 

 able likeness. 



In 1877 the Devon and Somerset Staghounds 

 got rabies. All the young hounds and suspicious 

 ones were killed. Sixteen couple of the old ones 

 were chained up, each separately ; a wire-fence ten 

 feet high placed round the kennel field, and they went 

 to exercise every second day with wire muzzles on. 

 They were kept so all through the summer. When 

 hunting began rabies again broke out, and the 

 whole lot were destroyed. 



i2th August, 1878. — I went down from London 

 to "The Feathers" at Minehead ; took chestnut 

 horse and Charlie's deaf helper ; found Elmhirst and 

 his wife staying there ; dined with them. Next 

 morning rode to Cloutsham Ball. Mary, Jack 

 Russell's housekeeper, had driven over with Arthur 

 Heal's daughter. 



This was the new pack and they killed a lot of 

 sheep. Poor Fen wick said, " I have not heard that 



d d word ' 'Ware sheep ' for sixteen years ". I 



forget what we did. We rode home about twenty- 

 five miles, got wet through, and home about ten 

 o'clock. Mary would not let us go upstairs for fear 

 of dirtying the carpet ; pulled our boots off in the 

 kitchen, and Jack got cramp in his leg. At dinner 

 he said, " What tipple will you have ? " I said, 

 "Cider, of course". He said, "Mary, I'll have 



