now TO KEEP A HUNTING UIARY 461 



Hounds — fox, 23; stag-, 9; drag, 3 ; hare, 15 ; otter, 2 ; 

 total, 52 in 23 counties in England and Wales, never having 

 hunted in Ireland or Scotland. 



Hunting Diary. 



While laid up on the sofa from the effects of a fall into a 

 bog with " Brunette" on 4th March, 1887, I occupied some of 

 my spare leisure in reading some of my earliest notes, com- 

 mencing in 1844, when I used to write a detailed record of the 

 day's proceedings. Very interesting I found them ; many an 

 event and adventure, and many a brilliant hunter, good fellow, 

 and o-Qod run which had faded from recollection came back as 

 vividly as if it had only happened a few months ago instead 

 of forty years and upwards. My experience is that in any 

 favourite pursuit it is well worth the slight trouble of keeping 

 a diary ; only, to be of any utility and accuracy, it must be 

 recorded regularly, and at the moment, and not postponed and 

 entered up from recollection. — Hean Castle, October 28/^//, 1888. 



Mr. Vickerman lent me his hunting journal in October. 

 1896, at which time he was in full enjoyment of all his faculties. 

 On January \^th, 1897, ^^i"- Vickerman wrote to me as 

 follows: — "You are welcome to make as copious extracts as 

 you please from my diary. I quite agree that the publicity thus 

 given will be more likely to benefit than injure any future 

 publications." 



On January 26th, 1897, Mr. John V. Longbourne wrote to 

 me: " ]\Iy uncle \^ickerman hunted on the 15th, played golf 

 on the 1 8th, got a chill on the i8th or 19th, took to his bed 

 on the 20th, and died (of gout in the head) on the evening of 

 the 2 1 St. His death was indeed sudden, but he was in his 

 eio-htieth vear." 



Those who have perused Mr. Vickerman's hunting journals, 

 or who read the following biographical sketch which I have 

 taken from the Tenby Observer, of January 28th, 1897, ^^''^^^ 

 know that hunting in Mr. Vickerman's case did not interfere 

 with his leading a very active and very useful career, but rather 

 that the health and vigour which he derived from the pastime 

 enabled him to do twice as much as he could otherwise have 

 done. 



" The late Mr. Charles Ranken Vickerman was born in the 

 year 18 17, and during the earlier period of his life practised as 

 a solicitor, his father, Mr. John \^ickerman, being a well-known 

 member of the legal profession at Gray's Inn, London. His 

 father was solicitor to the late Lord Milford, who was then in 

 possession of the Picton Castle Estate. Through Mr. C. R. 



