44 THE SOUTH DEVON HUNT 



in Gra^-ity, because Beal says you cannot bear the 

 sight of her, but before you part with her you had 

 better see her work. She is one of the best in the 

 kennel and more steady than you could possibly 

 expect." From these observations it is clear that 

 Sir Walter had a good eye for a hound and nice 

 ideas of make and shape. 



The letters contain some amusingr references to 

 domestic troubles. '' "\"\liat shall I say to the house- 

 maid here ? " Sir Henr\' asks in one letter, " I tliink 

 she wants a little of Mrs. Martin's controul. She does 

 just what she likes, not much, and frequently absents 

 herself without saj-ing a word to Mrs. Scale. Goes 

 to balls, etc., and knocks up the nurses at 5 o'clock 

 in the morning to let her in at the window ; pretty 

 rapid ; . . . Shall I give this young lady to under- 

 stand that she is under my controul?'' Later, "I 

 find the housemaid does not improve. She walked 

 off Friday and did not retiu-n until Saturday after- 

 noon. ... I think we had better look out for another 

 for you." The incident closes with the remark " I 

 have dealt out the law to the gay housemaid.*' 



^^^len Sir Walter first took over the country, its 

 limits were not clearly defined. Necessity for a 

 strict demarcation of boundaries had not then 

 arisen. It chd arise later, and Sir Walter's daughters, 

 the Misses Carew, have in their possession corre- 

 spondence between their father and Mr. John Crocker 

 Bulteel on the subject. Unfortunately the letters 

 cannot at present be found, so we do not know 

 what arrangement was arrived at. We shall see, 

 however, that Sir Walter continued to the end to 

 hunt the Marley country, including Skerraton, Har- 

 bourneford, etc., and we know that at some sub- 

 sequent period a ''' rectification of the frontier " 



