is house in Horncastle, and says of him "although wearing
a shabby garb, he struck me with his perfect self-possession, and
superior manners. . . . I have met many characters, but Mr. Baker struck
me as being the most remarkable." He died Feb. 12th, 1903, aged 88; and
in his last illness letters poured in upon him from old friends and
pupils, expressing their sympathy and their pleasant recollections of his
company.

ODDITIES.

To these "worthies" of the town we here add two or three of its
"oddities." About 1844 Billy Boulton, who kept an inn in Millstone
Street, now called North Street, named the Tom Cat, was noted for his
great strength; for a wager he dragged a "dung cart" on the turnpike
road, from Lincoln, to his own yard in Horncastle, a distance of over 21
miles. It is said, however, that he suffered from rupture for the rest
of his life, as a consequence of the great and continued exertion
involved in this feat. The inn is now named The Cricketers' Arms, but it
may be noticed that the figure of a cat is still engraven on a pane of
the front window.

The same man bought the wife of a man named Rogers, a boatman, who put
her up for auction, standing on a tub, with a halter round her neck, in
the public street; the price paid being 20 pounds. She had a son and
daughter by Boulton, who both lived to be married, but died early. In
after years, having lost her (so called) husband, Boulton, she removed to
Lincoln, and there meeting her former husband, Rogers, she became
reconciled to him, and both again lived together, as man and wife, until
death. {160}

A man, known as Aty Rushton (short for Horatio), who lived in Horncastle,
on the West Ashby Road, about the same period, and let out horses on
hire, being in Lincoln, laid a wager that he would set off from Lincoln,
above hill, just after the moon rose, and ride to Horncastle, 21 miles,
before the moon should rise there; which would be later, the town being
in a hollow, with a steep hill in the west to hide the moon for some
time; while Lincoln is on a hill, with a view to the west over low
county, where the moon would be seen earlier. He rode a swift animal of
his own. and strained all its powers in the effort. Unfortunately there
was then a toll bar on the Lincoln road about a mile from Horncastle,
where he found the gate closed, and was delayed two or three minutes
before the keeper could pass him through. He pressed on with all speed,
gallopi