COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 103 



In 1844 I was on leave at Kilmany ; my mother 

 then lived there. I joined again at Hounslow on 

 1 4th January. On I5th February Sam Dickson and 

 I went down to Swindon and put up at the Goddard 

 Arms to hunt with Lord Gifford, then Master of the 

 V.W.H. I had four capital horses "Prisoner," 

 "Cannibal," "John" and "Discount," a very hard 

 puller, which I bought from Elmore. He had be- 

 longed to Sir Francis Grant. 



John Galley was then living at Burderop Park. 

 He was a dear friend of mine, and a most amusing 

 and delightful companion. We often stayed at 

 Burderop. 



Sir John Ogilvy of Baldovan was staying at 

 Charlton Park. He married Lady Jane Howard. 

 Lord Andover was a great friend of mine. He kept 

 a pack of beagles, and we fraternised over that. His 

 father, old Lord Suffolk, was very kind to me. The 

 first morning when I came down to breakfast an old 

 gentleman, with his grey hair cropped very short, 

 in a green coat and brass buttons, was sitting on 

 the fender toasting a bit of bacon. The large hall 

 in the house had not been finished, and there were 

 amateur frescoes on the plaster of the walls. At 

 dinner time the ladies went into the dining-room, and 

 the men straggled in by chance. The butler was a 

 great character, and had been there all his life. At 

 dinner Lord Suffolk asked for some mustard. The 

 butler looked over his shoulder and pointed at his 

 plate, and said, "Ye got some". 



Sir Benjamin Hall kept his horses somewhere 



