COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 193 



sent on fifteen couple and remained at home with 

 the sick ones. "Flighty" was blowing so hard I 

 sent her home in the carriage. Found at Lundin ; 

 ran a fox to ground at Sunnybraes ; bolted it and 

 killed it. " Priestess" was there at that time ; went 

 on to draw Largo Den and never saw her again. 

 On Thursday "Hamlet" died and several others; 

 had them examined, but found no trace of poison. 

 " Puss," my terrier, was running with the hounds 

 and came home to Charleton with me. He was 

 taken ill. The other terrier was shut up during the 

 day, and went home with the hounds to the kennel. 

 He was all right, which rather proves that the 

 mischief was done while out hunting. 



One day I was drawing the moor at Wemyss and 

 Randolph was about 100 yards from me ; presently I 

 hear a voice shout " Harry, Harry, help, help ! " It 

 sounded a long distance off. I found that Randolph 

 and his horse had tumbled down an old coal-pit ; it 

 had been covered with fir branches. Randolph was 

 clinging to the side of the pit ; the horse had dis- 

 appeared. I jumped off, got hold of a branch, put 

 my foot down ; he got hold of my ankle and climbed 

 up. We could not see the horse, but the stirrup 

 iron shined. The pit was about thirty feet deep ; 

 the branches had gone down under the horse, so he 

 was not hurt. They got men and spades and began 

 to dig, but found that it was a built shaft. They 

 then let a miner down with a rope and at last suc- 

 ceeded in pulling the horse up. 



October 25 th. — Bay Middleton was married in 

 VOL. II. 13 



