314 REMINISCENCES OF 



nothing. I thanked him and said that arrangement 

 would not do ; but I bought a good many horses 

 from him. I also had a letter from my old groom, 

 John Whitehall, who was leaving Lord Stamford, 

 wishing to come back to me. He had ^200 a year 

 with Lord Stamford. I engaged him at 120 per 

 annum. 



" SULBY HALL, WELFORD, 



" RUGBY, i^th April, 1864. 



" MY DEAR THOMSON, 



" I have heard this morning from Suffield, 

 who absolutely and finally declines the hounds. If 

 you are disposed to honour us by being our master, 

 would you send me a letter stating your views, such 

 as I can show to the members of the hunt. 



" We have deferred our hunt meeting from 

 Wednesday 2Oth to Saturday 23rd, at Northampton 

 at 2 P.M. The hounds hunt at Brampton Wood, for 

 the last day, on Friday 22nd. 



"If I can get the members of the committee 

 together, I will try to get a sort of official invitation 

 to you in the meantime. But from the feeling shown 

 when your name was mentioned at the last hunt 

 meeting, I am quite sure you would be very ac- 

 ceptable to us. 



" Yours very truly, 



" FRED VILLIERS." 



George Whyte- Melville was the secretary, and 

 F. Villiers was the chief man on the committee. 

 Lord Suffield had been mentioned as likely to take 

 the hounds before I came into the field, but withdrew. 



