THE BLACKMORE VALE HOUNDS. 227 



caster (1887) ex Wrekin (1885), Ancaster being 

 son of the Oakley Newsman, and through his 

 dam Amabel (1881) straining back through Russian 

 (1871) to Bel voir Guider and the Commodore- 

 Matchless family. Wrekin was the daughter of 

 Bajah (1879), the only white hound in the pack 

 when Mr Guest took over the mastership, and kept 

 on account of his being such a good worker. In 

 her pedigree appear two strains of the Voyager- 

 Ruby blood and one of Mr Villebois' Matchless. 



In consequence of Rajah's colour every one in the 

 field knew him, and long after his death a grand- 

 daughter of his that inherited his colouring used 

 to be pointed out as " Rajah " by those who were 

 evidently proud of their knowledge. 



Watchman inherited his staunchness on the line 

 from his grandam Wondrous (1883), a daughter 

 of Mr Garth's Wonder, who would never leave 

 the line of the hunted fox. Where Wondrous 

 stayed Mr Guest would stay too, even though all 

 the rest of the pack should go to a fresh cry. I 

 remember once in Westwood when the fox was 

 dead-beat it crawled under a stump where the 

 clamorous pack could not get at it owing to the 

 thick undergrowth. Suddenly at a fresh cry they 

 all raced away with the exception of Wondrous, 

 who worked on until she turned out and killed the 

 fox single-handed, the Master not leaving the spot 

 before it was all over. 



Auditor (1890) also accounted for a fox single- 

 handed, and what in this case made the perform- 



