COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 245 



Charity School children in uniform, straw hats and 

 aprons. Found a lame fox, a very pretty find. Fox 

 ran snapping past H. Callender and J. A. T., who 

 said, " He don't go right ". One of the hounds 

 actually had hold of him as he bundled into a hole, 

 and so just saved himself. They then proceeded to 

 dig for the poor little thing while the pack went 

 to draw again. Found another fox, who made a line 

 for the next wood. Cut off a corner of ploughed 

 field. Huntsman all wrong. Wrong side and wrong 

 way. Bucketed along road ; no good. After some 

 time they let the bagged lame fox out. Mostdis- 

 graceful proceeding. Enormous yelling crowd of 

 running boys and men. Fox let out miles away 

 from pack. General scuffle getting out of wood 

 after them. " Harby," quite wild with excitement, 

 plunged and rushed at a nasty blind ditch. Cis 

 Oakeley just in front of me, so had to pull him rather 

 to the left. He quite lost his head, and apparently 

 never even noticed a horrid strong binder, so down 

 we both came, on his right side. I of course hung, 

 notwithstanding my safety skirt, but comforted myself 

 that it must break directly and that I should then be 

 free. But not a bit of it. I had, out of youthful 

 folly, substituted lace instead of the orthodox tabs 

 and buttons, and the consequence was that the lace 

 (a champion) held me suspended upside down like a 

 huge pendulum. " Harbinger " behaved like an 

 angel, and only jogged slowly. Had he chosen to 

 gallop, I must have been smashed, probably killed. 

 He trod on my hand and knocked my mouth with 



