330 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



Thursday to Saturday, 7th to 9th May Mr. Barraud 

 at work on the horses and groom. He is much struck with 

 "Carlow," and declares that "take him for all in all" he is 

 decidedly the finest horse he has ever painted. This is some- 

 thing to be said by an artist who has painted Prince Albert's 

 hunters, many of the crack hunts, with some of the finest 

 horses in the kingdom. " Lawn meet at Ascot," "Badminton 

 Lawn meet," &c. 



(The following entry in Mr. Vickerman's diary may be taken 

 as a specimen of its descriptive interest) :— 



Monday, May iith. To-day deserves to be recorded as a 

 pleasant holiday though not a "hunting day," albeit it savours 

 of it. It was fixed upon for the performance of an engage- 

 ment made with Colvin in the early part of the season that 

 William * and myself should ride over to Monkhams and see 

 the Shorthorns on the first frosty day that stopped hunting. , 



The unusually mild weather caused the engagement to be \j 

 deferred until to-day, which in place of being frosty is one of 

 the finest, clearest, and hottest days we may expect this 

 summer. Before starting I tried Wilson's chestnut horse, Qr;V" 

 " Cognac " (which Beckington fetched yesterday after his 

 previous and unsuccessful attempts) by riding him over the bar 

 a few times, and then mounting Beckington on " Carlow" and 

 Davis Williams' groom on "Grimaldi," went out into the 

 meadows to try a few fences which, blind with leaves and long 

 grass, looked more treacherous than inviting to those who 

 knew their real width and depth. 



We went down Partridge Hills across the farm into the 

 further Partridge Hills and finding the chestnut disposed to go 

 I charged him at the brook. He tried to stop himself before 

 coming to it, and in so doing slid along from six to eight feet ; 

 but even with this disadvantage cleared the brook, here rather 

 wide, but the landing was lower than the take off, which gave 

 him an advantage. Desiring the grooms to remain where they 

 were, I put him quickly over the fence into the mead opposite 

 Wm. Caton's and then charged him back again at the brook 

 at a place where the banks on both sides were perpendicular. 

 This time he seemed to know what he was going to do and 

 without a pause took it in, his stride covering upwards of four 

 feet on each side, and clearing, as Beckington afterwards 

 ascertained by measurement, twenty-four feet. The three 

 horses then walked through the brook at another place and 



* William Longbourne, half-brother to Mr. V.— Ed. 



