374 REMINISCENCES OF 



" BULWICH, 



" igth April, 1866. 



" MY DEAR CLERK, 



" I have this morning received from Whyte 

 Melville the minutes of the meeting of the 4th April. 

 As you are a member of the committee, I want a 

 little advice from you. It is left to me to arrange 

 with Mr. Watson about the hunting of the woods 

 during the open season. It is impossible that I can 

 do so if the landed proprietors object to it, so pre- 

 sume that arrangement must be given up. I am to 

 hunt the open country four days a week during the 

 open season. Is that to hold good if the arrange- 

 ment with Watson is given up ; and am I not to 

 go to the woods at all, and if I do, on what 

 days? 



"As to the hounds, there are now in the kennel 

 seventy-one couple of old hounds, of which I shall 

 draft ten couple before ist May, to bring them down 

 to the proper complement of sixty couple of old 

 hounds. There are about twelve couple of young 

 ones, which I must make up to nineteen couple before 

 ist May. How many am I to keep in future? I 

 should think fifty-two old and twelve young would 

 be quite sufficient, and what is to be done with 

 the surplus? It is time to be looking out for a 

 customer. 



" I am going down next week to stay with Naylor 

 for Chester Races, so I shall not see you for some 

 time, and it is better to have these points settled at 

 once. We meet at Biggin Park next Monday, and 



