414 LEAVES FROM A HUNTING DIARY 



(Saturday, April 7th, 1855. The last day of the season with 

 the Essex foxhounds is described at length in the diary, the 

 meet taking place at Passingford Bridge, while on Thursday, 

 April I 2th, a similar record of the last day with the staghounds 

 is given, when they met at the usual trysting place, Ingatestone 

 Hall. The Surrey staghounds bringing their work to a close 

 at the usual nieet of East Grinstead, on April 17th and not 

 before it was time, as the ground was hard and dry enough to 

 lame any horse, and the extraordinary dry weather lasted up to 

 the end of the first week in July, the rest of the month and the 

 greater part of August being very wet. 



On September 22nd, 1855, Mr. Vickerman purchased two 

 horses at the sale of Mr. Robert Field's effects at Pyrgo Park, 

 one of which by "Gibraltar" he christened " Malakoff," on 

 account of his coming into his possession so soon after the 

 taking of the Malakoff on the 8th September, and for his sire's 

 name being that of another distinguished fort of at least equal 

 reputation.) 



Thursday. January 3rd, 1856. The staghounds met to- 

 day at Long Barns and our hind was a young untried one and 

 daughter of our capital hind " The Miller's Maid," unluckily she 

 was run into and killed at Waples Mill before assistance could 

 be rendered. She was a promising hind, capitally bred on her 

 dam's side and would probably have run well had she survived 

 to-day. So many accidents arise with untried deer that I feel 

 sure that it would be a good plan to hunt them for the first 

 time with a few harriers, or even beaoles, to o-ive them a notion 

 of what was intended with hounds from which they could get 

 away, but they are blown and overpowered by quick stag- 

 hounds before they have learned to take care of themselves. 



From the Journal, March 7th, 1856. 



One's old superstitious feelings formed in one's childhood 

 and in my case impressed on my mind by a sudden rap on 

 the head on the ice which rendered me insensible, are some- 

 times singularly confirmed. Thus the dislike to boast or 

 exult, or as it is phrased in the old adage, " Not to holloa 



before you are out of the wood," and " Not to tell the d 1 



too much of your mind," was certainly confirmed by the 

 experiences of the present week. It happened only last Satur- 

 day that being a long dragging day and a large field with 

 the foxhounds there was plenty of opportunity for gossip, and 

 several people observed upon my exemption from falls as con- 

 trasted with my earliest performances in Essex. To the latter 



