ROOT DITCHES 329 



pace I was going and at such a fence to check my horse was to 

 get him into the root ditch and precipitate both of us on to the 

 prostrate man and horse ; to stop him was impossible. " Cham- 

 pagne " never pleased me so much ; he jumped the fence beau- 

 tifully, lighted short of the man and jumped clean over him, 

 and gave me the satisfaction of picking up his horse and 

 assuring me that I had not touched him. 



Saturday, April i8th. "Another last day," very un- 

 expectedly, for I went by the train last night fully bent upon 

 ofoino- to town this mornino^, but on alio-htino" at Brentwood 

 met Lescher, and found that Conyers was to meet at Laindon 

 Hills to-day. I told him that I had neither horse to ride nor 

 clothes to wear, " Carlow " being in physic, "Champagne"* 

 having already done two days this week, and my hunting- 

 wardrobe in town ; f but he replied that he was sure I should 

 manage it and he was rio-ht. I decided therefore to hunt 

 "Chancellor," and sent Beckington an hour early to Brentwood 

 with despatches for town, and hacked " Rocket '' on to Brent- 

 wood, taking " Chancellor " thence to the fixture. There I 

 met several old faces and steady stickers to Conyers, including 

 the inseparable triumvirate of Colvin, Lescher and Field, who 

 all welcomed me back and seemed glad to see me. The 

 country looked particularly uninviting, heavy land with great 

 hiofh and wide fences, blind and straoforlino- about the worst 

 altogether that I had seen in my rambles this season, and the 

 very worst to bring a hot, impatient little animal like 

 " Chancellor " to. We found a vixen in Laindon Hill | 

 coverts, ran her round the covert and in it for some time, and 

 killed, the men of course declaring- it to be a doo-. We then 

 drew several coverts below the hill, including that where they 

 found the fox a fortnioht aoo, which oave them such a good 

 run, but all blank. Went back towards the hills with better 

 success, found a fox by the drag and ran him over a very 

 cramped, heavy country nearly to Hutton, where the hounds 

 were stopped as they were about to enter Lord Petre's coverts. 



The men in this neighbourhood talk of giving Conyers 

 ^200 a year to hunt their country a day a week, but I have 

 some doubt whether they will carry out the arrangement, 

 Conyers has too much country already to require more. 



Wednesday, May 6th. Sent up "Carlow" and "Chan- 

 cellor " by Beckington to have the portrait of the three taken 

 by Messrs. Barraud, of Pont Street, Grosvenor Square. 



* " Champag;ne," another of Mr. Mckerman's good horses. — Ed. 

 t Mr. Vickerman had been hunting with the Baron's and other packs. — Ed. 

 + It is interesting to hear that Laindon Hills was one of Mr. Conyers' meets. — Ed. 



