THE FINISH OF A GOOD SEASON 39 1 



between two and three hundred mustered, and it seemed as it 

 all the hunting' portion of Essex were assembled, and some 

 from Hertfordshire too ; one met almost everybody one had 

 been accustomed to meet during the season. There were four 

 Masters of hounds out, and I saw men who had come nearly 

 thirty miles from opposite points, making- a diameter of fifty or 

 sixty miles to the circle, thus drawn to a centre by a meet of 

 foxhounds, &c. 



As we returned through the High Woods we heard 

 Conyer's hounds, which met to-day at Blackmore, for a bye- 

 day, running' a fox at nearly 7 o'clock, and were told by the 

 two Fanes, who overtook us, that they had been running their 

 fox for four hours, and could neither kill him or get him away. 



Saturday, April 12th. (With the Puckeridge at Elmdon 

 Lee, Mr. Vickerman brought his hunting to a close, and says) : 

 — Thus ends the seasons 1850-185 1, the most open and 

 generally favourable, in point of weather, that I can call 

 to mind, the first of my married life and the last, in all proba- 

 bility in Essex— at least, the last in which I shall hunt from my 

 own residence in Essex. Whatever influence the married state 

 may have upon future seasons and hunting in general, it has 

 opened auspiciously for I have had by far the best sport, with 

 the fewest falls, disasters, soakings or other discomforts, greater 

 or less, than I can ever recollect, &c. 



BROOK JUMPING. 



Saturday, April 26th, 1851. In honour of Jack* having attained the 

 mature age of 18 years, he had a hoHday of two or three days, having his 

 friends and mine and formerly pupils at S. S. Newman, Gale and Rouse, 

 to stay with him at Blackmore. Willie was also at home for his Easter 

 holidays. 



While I was breakfasting this morning they ail came over to me and 

 insisted that I should join them in some fun, as they were going to have a 

 steeplechase, and I told them that I would come to look on and see fair 

 play, when I had breakfasted, and agreed as to the place where the Hurdles 

 should be fixed in the meadow called Blacklands, leading to the brook 

 dividing it from the meadow called " Farther Partridge Hills." 



On joining them I found that Jack had selected a very good line. Being 

 only able to muster 10 hurdles he had made 5 " flights '" of them at about 

 45 or 50 yards apart ; the last or 5th liight being about 50 yards from the 

 brook, with the starting post about 20 yards from the first flight, and the 

 winning post 60 or 70 yards on the other side of the brook in Far Partridge 

 Hills. From the starting post to the brook the meadow declined in a 

 gentle descent with an advantage in the height of the ground on the take- 

 off at the brook, and then after a level bit of land on the other side of the 

 brook, the ground rose rather sharply to the winning post. 



John \'ickerman Longbourne, Mr. Vickerman's nephew. — Ed. 



