ALKEN'S ILLUSTRATIONS. 



youth, I happened to make their first acquaintance 

 amongst the contents of an old-fashioned sporting 

 library, and once seen they are never likely to be 

 forgotten. 



Already familiar with the famous aquatinted en- 

 gravings, the writer, over a quarter of a century ago, 

 was delisrhted to discover in an Exhibition of Aiken's 

 drawings, held in Bond Street, the complete series 

 of water-colour pictures originally designed for the 

 illustration of Mytton's improving Memoirs. Tempt- 

 ing as were these additions to any collection of 

 Aiken's works, the value at which the series thus 

 exhibited was estimated seemed prohibitory to a 

 modest purse. Averaging .^25 per drawing, the 

 total came to ;^500, a sum which distinctly chilled 

 the writer's acquisitive propensities. I subsequently 

 discovered that the lucky proprietor happened to be 

 a private gentleman of my acquaintance, who pos- 

 sessed a most extensive collection of sporting pictures, 

 including the larojest oratherinof of Aiken's oricrinal 

 drawings probably in any collector's possession. These 

 interesting suites, it was understood, had been secured 

 en bloc direct from the successors of the original pub- 

 lishers. The series of " Mytton " drawings consti- 

 tuted the gems of the collection, and, on further visits 



