CoL Anstruther Thomso7is AI aster ship. i8i 



five years. I have not^ I regret to say^ been able to ap- 

 pear personally in the hunting-field of late j that, however, 

 is my misfortune rather than my fault, as it has been the 

 pleasure of some part of this company to send me to a 

 distant country, where I have been hunting with a very 

 different pack from that of the Pytchley ; and one which, 

 to my feelings, is not nearly so pleasant a one. It is a 

 stiff country though, and I have seen some very ugly 

 falls in it. (Laughter.) It has some attractions, however, 

 which no other pack can boast of. It never fails to 

 meet, be the weather what it may, and there are never 

 any blank days. (Zanghter.) Like you, we too have 

 lately had a change of Mastership ; and we not only 

 had a new Master, but an entirely new pack of hounds. 

 {Much laughter.) You know that it is a very different 

 thing taking up an old pack and getting a lot of 

 old scratch-dogs together ; and last season we had the 

 pleasure of seeing at our first Meet a pack consisting 

 of hounds of all sizes, and of all sorts of colours. 

 (Great laughter.) In fact I heard some ill-natared 

 people remark that a good many of the pack were pretty 

 well used to the ratting-business ; which didn^t sound 

 nice, at all events. {Laughter.) I, unfortunately, have got 

 to such a weight [the Right Hon. Gentleman rode about 

 twenty-three stone'], that I ride to hunt, not hunt to ride ; 

 and I must say that I prefer the style of hunting in 

 which the hounds and not the Huntsman hunt the fox. 

 At the first Meet the other day of the St. Stephen^s pack, 

 I saw some new hounds, more extraordinary than any 

 which appeared last season. They were importations 

 from the Tipperary kennel [great laughter) , 'which. I don't 

 think any Master of Hounds would like to see hunting ; 



