COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 125 



Hounds as successor to Mr. Naylor, who handed 

 over to him twenty-nine couple of hounds and made 

 him pay for the entry. I went down with him and 

 Jack Squires, his huntsman, to the sale of the Craven 

 Hounds. Squires was a very clever fellow and a 

 capital huntsman. He had hunted wolves in Russia, 

 but unfortunately was not quite steady. He said to 

 me, " I have been foolish and got into trouble, but I 

 have got a fresh start now and I mean to keep it ". 

 Soon after this Spencer wrote to me saying that he 

 had to part with Squires after being in his service 

 ten days. He then engaged Will Goodall, who had 

 been first whip at Belvoir. He wrote : " I like what 

 I see of Goodall. He is keen as mustard, very active 

 and sharp, and I breathe much more freely than when 

 in the atmosphere of Squires, from whom breezes 

 occasionally emanated other than those of milk, which 

 was his usual outward and visible beverage ! " 



I wanted some more hounds, and went to stay at 

 Althorpe, and Spencer let me have three or four couple. 

 I said to him, " I suppose draft price ?" He said, " Oh! 

 no ! the Master of the Pytchley cannot charge an ex- 

 Master anything," and made me a present of them. 



2 2nd July. I went to judge horses at the Agri- 

 cultural Show at Newcastle and stayed with George 

 Fenwick. 



" CALDECOTE HALL, NUNEATON, 



"Saturday Night. 



" MY DEAR THOMSON, 



"No one will grieve more than you will at 

 the sad end of poor ' Rainbow '. He never was better 



