COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 49 



came from Fife. About eleven o'clock, having eaten 

 and drank more than was good for me I went to 

 bed. I was told that about three in the morning the 

 chairman slipped off his chair, and as he was so fat 

 they could not pick him up again ; so they put some 

 pillows under his head, and left him there till morn- 

 ing. They then got him into bed, where he re- 

 mained all day and all night, and went home in his 

 carriage at 3 p.m. on the following day. He was 

 very hospitable and kind, and I often spent a happy 

 time at Brechin Castle. 



Archie Douglas was a grand sportsman and a 

 first-rate horseman. About 1826 he was sent for to 

 ride a steeplechase at Melton — I think against Cap- 

 tain Ross — but he did not win it. Latterly he was 

 very deaf Once at dinner Lady Panmure said, 

 "Will you have some fish, Major Douglas?" He 

 replied, " We had a capital run to-day ". When 

 quite an old man Lord Rosslyn, M.F.H., gave him 

 a mount one day in Fife. We met at the New Inn. 

 Peter Paterson of Carpow said to him, " Douglas, that 

 horse is a capital fencer". He replied, " I'll try". 

 The first fence was a ditch, a wall and a hedge. He 

 cleared it all and went on with the hounds alone. 



In autumn I got out hunting a few times with 



Lord Kelburn. He hunted the hounds himself. 



Will Smith was his kennel huntsman, who had been 



in Fife the previous season, and whipped-in to 



Walker. It was a tremendous hard winter, seven 



weeks of frost, and all the roads blocked with snow. 



The first day after the frost Lord Kelburn's hounds 

 VOL. I. 4 



