THE BLACKMORE VALE. 8Y 



runs that on a journey from London to his newly- 

 acquired possession of Sherborne Castle, Sir Walter 

 stopped to change horses at the Old Ash Inn at 

 Henstridge, and while this was being done he 

 lighted a pipe and strolled into the inn-yard with 

 it in his mouth. The ostler never having seen 

 such a thing before, and concluding from the 

 smoke issuing from his mouth that the strange 

 gentleman was on fire, promptly discharged a 

 bucket of water over him. It is probable that 

 for the future the ostler was a wiser man. 



Two years before Mr Digby gave up the master- 

 ship of the hounds, the celebrated John Press 

 came from the Cambridgeshire to be his huntsman. 

 Press's immediate predecessor as huntsman in the 

 Vale was Wilson, who was promoted from the post 

 of first whipper-in when Turner, who had hunted 

 the hounds for five years, left the country. Press 

 came with a good record. As whipper-in he had 

 been with Mr J. J. Farquharson's hounds under 

 Jim Treadwell, and just before Mr Farquharson 

 died he gave Press a horn as a souvenir of his 

 service with him. 



Press first carried the horn as huntsman with 

 the Crawley and Horsham, in which country he 

 remained eiofht seasons. From there he went to 

 the Cambridgeshire, and during the five seasons 

 he was with these hounds King Edward VII., 

 then Prince of Wales, was for a time at the 

 university, and often had a day with them. On 

 one memorable occasion, of which Press was never 



