COL. ANSTRUTHER THOMSON 245 



Charity School children in uniform, straw hats and 

 aprons. Found a lame fox, a very pretty find. Fox 

 ran snapping past H. Callender and J. A. T., who 

 said, "He don't go right". One of the hounds 

 actually had hold of him as he bundled into a hole, 

 and so just saved himself. They then proceeded to 

 dig for the poor little thing while the pack went 

 to draw again. Found another fox, who made a line 

 for the next wood. Cut off a corner of ploughed 

 field. Huntsman all wrong. Wrong side and wrong 

 way. Bucketed along road ; no good. After some 

 time they let the bagged lame fox out. Mostdis- 

 graceful proceeding. Enormous yelling crowd of 

 running boys and men. Fox let out miles away 

 from pack. General scuffle getting out of wood 

 after them. " Harby," quite wild with excitement, 

 plunged and rushed at a nasty blind ditch. Cis 

 Oakeley just in front of me, so had to pull him rather 

 to the left. He quite lost his head, and apparently 

 never even noticed a horrid strong binder, so down 

 we both came, on his right side. I of course hung, 

 notwithstanding my safety skirt, but comforted myself 

 that it must break directly and that I should then be 

 free. But not a bit of it. I had, out of youthful 

 folly, substituted lace instead of the orthodox tabs 

 and buttons, and the consequence was that the lace 

 (a champion) held me suspended upside down like a 

 huge pendulum. " Harbinger " behaved like an 

 angel, and only jogged slowly. Had he chosen to 

 gallop, I must have been smashed, probably killed. 

 He trod on my hand and knocked my mouth with 



