Past ana Present* 3 



on tlie carpet at his feet. On remarking, "Pray, 

 what have yon been doing?" he replied, "Ah! 

 yes, I forgot, I went ont during that heavy shower 

 to sit in the garden chair. It does me good to 

 get well soaked, and softens my old skin." I 

 immediately got his coat off, and whilst fetching 

 him a dry one, he remarked to my relative : "As 

 soon as Frank's gone out I'll have that coat on 

 again." Strange as it may appear, I never re- 

 memher it giving him a cold or doing any harm. 

 He seemed to be quite impervious to wet. In his 

 early days he was a capital swimmer and a good 

 footman, and never seemed to tire. In his old 

 age he frequently said he had hunted longer than 

 any other man. He started at twelve years of 

 age, and toddled out when over eighty-two if 

 hounds were anywhere near. He was particularly 

 fond of a drag of a fox, as well as the quest of a 

 hare. He was also very partial to good road 

 hoTinds, and had a fondness for "pricking" hares. 

 Often I have heard him, when hoimds were at 

 fault on or near a road, call out to his old hunts- 

 man, Janunie Holmes, "Try if you can prick her," 



