“Your letter of the 4th reached me last evening; and I lose no time in assuring you that it will afford me sincere satisfaction to see you here at the time you propose leaving town.
“The plan which I should recommend you to pursue is, to
put yourself in the Cheltenham day coach, which passes by or near to your
street. You will arrive at the end of your journey about seven o’clock in
the afternoon. Having dined on the road, you would be inclined, perhaps, to
walk about before dark and view the town, and, the following morning, early,
finish seeing the walks, &c., there, and, by the ten o’clock coach,
from the Plough Inn (where your coach will set you down), come on, and join me
in Gloucester, where I will make a point of meeting you. [And I was taken,
among other lions, to see the far-famed Jemmy Wood in his
dark shop-den.] We could then see all the lions of that city, get our
mutton-chop early, and come on here in the afternoon Newnham coach, which
leaves Gloucester in sufficient time to give you an opportunity of seeing the
beautiful country between it and this place. We will not fix any day for going
down the Wye, as that must depend on the weather; but we will take the first
fine days for it. Our intention is to go from Ross to Monmouth one day, see all
| THOMAS H. KING. | 75 |
“In determining on your day for leaving town, you will, of course, be regulated entirely by your own convenience. We shall be ready to receive you at any period between this and the end of the first week in September (when we intend going to the sea-side), which suits you best. I regret that it is not in my power to give you much encouragement in the sporting way, as, in the first place, we have very few birds, and, in the next, our harvest will be late this year. The wheat will only be in part cut by the end of this month, and the barley and beans will not be ripe until considerably later. Therefore birds, hares, and rabbits will escape into the standing corn. However, I will promise you that the keeper shall do all in his power to show you something. I mention this because I do not wish you to be disappointed in any way, and under the impression that you might have an opportunity of seeing good sport elsewhere in September, and therefore wish to join us earlier. As I before said, you have only to form your own plans, and we are at your service at any time.
“I again remind you that you will only receive from us a plain welcome; but it shall be a very hearty one; and I will do all in my power to render your stay with us as agreeable and interesting to you, as it will be highly satisfactory to ourselves.
