COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 



CHAPTER n. 



MY SCHOOLDAYS. 



I WAS born at Charleton on 9th August, 1818. About 

 the first thing I can remember was when George IV. 

 came to Scotland in 1822. My father took the Fife 

 Yeomanry over to be reviewed on the sands at Porto- 

 bello, and we had a flag on the top of the house at 

 Charleton and another on the hill above Coates. 



Our old nurse, Annie Gordon, came from Bal- 

 gonie, Lord Leven's place near Markinch, which 

 was afterwards burned down. She used to sing 

 about the " Bountree Bank" and the "Warlock 

 Craigie". She was a wizened old woman with a 

 mutch, and used to make " so wens " (a kind of fer- 

 mented oatmeal) in the nursery cupboard, and once 

 a year she allowed herself a feed of raspberries and 

 cream. She died at Charleton, and was buried at 

 Newburn Church. 



About this time Sir John Hope gave me a black 

 pony called " Pinkie". I was put on him on a pad 

 without stirrups, and I used to cling on by my heels. 



One day the hounds met on the top of the hill at 

 Charleton. I rode " Pinkie " and my sister Mary 

 was on a donkey. Jimmy Honeyman went out to 

 take care of us, riding my father's gig horse 



