FAMOUS MASTERS 63 



MR. THOMAS ASSHETON SMITH 



Probably the performances of no Master of Hounds 

 have been more discussed than have been those of 

 P»'Ir. Thomas Assheton Smith. This hero of the horn 

 and saddle was born in Queen Anne Street, Caven- 

 dish Square, on August 2, 1776. His grandfather, 

 Thomas Assheton, of Ashley Hall, in Cheshire, had 

 assumed the name of Smith on the death of his 

 uncle, Captain William Smith, who died without issue. 

 His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Watkin 

 Wynn, Before he had completed his eighth year he 

 was sent to Eton, being at the time the youngest 

 boy in the school. Here he remained for eleven 

 years and was chiefly noted for the number of fights 

 in which he was engaged. On one occasion he had 

 a set-to with Mr. "Jack" Musters, which lasted for 

 an hour and a half, by which time the two boys were 

 so knocked about that they could not distinguish 

 each other. But the fight made no difference to their 

 friendship in manhood. Indeed, Smith, not only at 

 Eton but in after life, enjoyed fighting for the mere love 

 of the thing, and he used to declare that if a boy were 

 not well thrashed when he was young he would most 

 probably need it when he became a man. For this 

 reason some writers have portrayed him as an irascible, 

 obstinate man, who was never happy unless he was en- 

 gaged in a quarrel. This, however, I consider to be a 

 libel, for he was a typical country squire^ liberal with 



