mily having previously there owned the once
well-known coaching house, named The Horn Inn; although earlier members
of his family had occupied a higher position; one of them, named
Thorowgood, having founded the Grammar School at Oxford.

Before coming to Horncastle, in 1841, Mr. Baker was known on more than
one county cricket ground, and had distinguished himself on the
University ground at Cambridge, "Parker's Piece." On coming to
Horncastle he immediately made his mark in cricket as a round-hand
bowler; and the leading young men of the neighbourhood became his pupils.
One of his feats was, in a match between an 11 of All England and 22
gentlemen of the county; when he bowled out, with his first ball,
Iddison, Captain of the All England team. The great matches in which he
took part for many years were too many to tell. Among other things he
had the distinction of being employed by Sir Evelyn Wood to train a
village club in his parish.

Besides his cricketing skill he was remarkable for his ventriloquial
powers; and the story was told, that, while sitting in conversation with
two strangers, at the Bull Hotel, he threw his voice under the table.
The two sprang up to catch the supposed eavesdropper, when he at once
calmed them by throwing his voice in another direction, and then letting
them into the secret. He was also, in his way, a fair actor; and, with
the late Mr. John Brown, the Horncastle Laureate, and others, he helped
to amuse considerable audiences, in town and neighbourhood. In comedy he
could take all the parts himself, rapidly changing his dress, and at one
moment adopting the high falsetto tones of an old crone, and the next
moment speaking in the deeper accents of a strong man. It is greatly to
his credit that, only having for many years a small shop, famed chiefly
for his two specialites, "bull eyes" and "Grantham ginger-bread," he
brought up a large family, who have taken good positions in various parts
of the country. He was a staunch conservative and churchman.

In his later years he was often visited by strangers, who were
entertained by his fund of anecdote and cricketing reminiscences. Among
these we may name the novelist, Miss Marie Corelli, who, while staying at
Woodhall Spa, sought his acquaintance, as being one of the "characters"
of the neighbourhood, and to his delight she gave him her autograph. Mr.
J. J. Hissey, the author of _A Driving Tour in Lincolnshire_, also
visited him at h