THE PUCKERIDGE, 185O 3/5 



(As Mr. Vickerman returned home with " Peep o' Day's" 

 forehead ornamented with the brush, he called at the Priory and 

 delighted the children not a little by taking " Peep o' Day " 

 into the hall, and shutting the door to keep out the cold : and 

 very well and quietly he stood and behaved, not at all caring 

 for the bright fire in the hall, which looked cheery and comfort- 

 able, nor the lights, nor the exclamations of the children. He 

 looked twice his size in his unusual position, and made the old 

 hall assume an air which recalled the scenes and descriptions 

 of halls of old manor houses in the days of chivalry, or at least 

 those of the Cavaliers. 



Saturday, December 22nd, Little Canfield Hall. Owing 

 to frost Sir Charles Smith, Helme and Kortwright were the 

 only ones who showed. Though ploughs were going in all 

 directions, hounds did not hunt, so Mr. Vickerman took a bee- 

 line of his own across country straight to Canfield Church, and 

 then from Leaden Roothing to Nine i\shes, jumping some 

 forty fences. At Nine Ashes he called on Abraham Caton, 



who soon had his beaoles out and rave him a run with a hare. 



• /I 



Mr. Vickerman dearly loved a ride home across country (that 



sort of thing would not be allowed at the present time. — Ed.), 

 for on Saturday, January 4th, 1850, after an indifferent day in 

 the Fyfield country, he and his nephew Jack (who was riding 

 "The Queen"), in company with Tom ^lashiter and a stranger, 

 who had recently taken Ditchleys (Mr. Blomfield), came across 

 country, leaving Fingrith Hall on the right ; nearing Black- 

 more, both he and his nephew got down at the last fence.) 



Mr. Vickerman writes : — "Our new pastor, James Hodges, 

 dined with us last night, with the Fanes and the Gills ; I trust 

 that he will be as much liked as Fane (whose going is univer- 

 sally regretted and for whom the parishioners are getting up 

 some testimonial, to the subscription list of which I gladly 

 added my name)." 



(Comments after a bye-day with the Puckeridge, at Widford 

 on February ist, 1850, when Eastwick Wood, a covert of 160 

 acres, edging the beautiful Gilston Estate, sold just previous to 

 that date to Mr. John Hodgson by Mr. Vickerman's firm, 

 sustained its reputation by providing two foxes and two runs.) 

 The country is not to be compared to Conyers', there are so 

 many headlands and green road-ways through the centre of 

 fields leadino- to o-ates, that even the foxes seem to prefer 

 running down them than over the soft ploughed land on either 

 side, and the fences are very blind and straggling, so that one 

 finds oneself galloping with the ruck and going unsatisfactorily, 



