John Vickerman Longbourne 



CHAPTER XIII. 



The General Fast Day, 1847 — John Vickerman Longbourne — Jack learns a lesson — 

 The Fiiichley Stag Hounds — Jim Bean — Mr. Garland — Old Alcshech — 

 Hobsons spurt — A twenty mile point — A n eighty mile ride — The Aftermath — 

 Baron Rothschild' s Stag Hounds — " Cognac " bolts — A Disaster — The Qiiorn at 

 Six Hills — The dislike of Meltonians for mud — The Chartist Demonstration — 

 Special Constables — Mr. V. is sworn in — An unlucky season — The Opening 

 Meet, 1848, at Row Wood -Mr. Vickerman parts with "■Cognac" — A zceek 

 of Disasters — Mr. Pet re's Harriers — The Blackmore Beagles — West Essex 

 Yeomanry — Coventry Steeplechases — "Cognac" falls — The Victim wins — 

 Riding for the Brush — Abraham Caton's Beagles —The Puckeridge, 1850 — 

 Eastwick Wood — The Four Men in Pink — The test of a good run — The 

 Epping Hunt, Easter Monday, 1850 — Up! Up! Up! — The Take in the 

 Open — Bridle roads — " Carlow " draivs Mr. V . to Church on his Wedding 

 Day — Season 1850-51 — A bye day with Conyers — The great Drought — 

 Mr. Conyers advertises his meets for the first time — Lord Petre — Boyton 

 Hall — The Christys — Essex as a Hunting Country — The choice of six packs 

 ivithin fifteen miles of Blackmore — The hind " Lucy Long" — An Old Park 

 fox — The Miller s maid — Barking Creek — The End of the Season — Boys at 

 play. 



MR. VICKERMAN'S nephew, J. V. Longbourne, whose 

 portrait, as I knew him, is given on this page, comes in 

 for notice in his uncle's diary [sic) : — Saturday, March 27th, Jack 

 returned from Eton on Tuesday for his Easter hohdays and I 

 accompanied him and his father with Bridges Harvey to Grays, 

 in the afternoon and spent the following day, Wednesday, with 

 the family, being a "General Fast Day" in consequence of 

 the distress arising from the scanty harvest and failure of the 

 potato crops. The church at Grays has just been thoroughly 

 repaired and re-arrangecl, in fact, renewed, and is now (with 

 the exception of the steeple, which I cannot digest) as pretty 

 a little church as need be desired. 



