CHAP. II.] The Rev. J. Wickes. 6i 



In this small clerical hunting'-pantheon a niclie must be 

 assigned to a reverend sportsmau, who, living at one 

 time of his life at Dodford, and afterwards at Boughton, 

 near Northampton, for many years got his twice-a-week 

 with hounds with commendable regularity. Without 

 any clerical duties to perform latterly, or to engage his 

 attention, to see a fox well hunted, aud to g*et a chat 

 with friends at the meet, was for several seasons a 

 legitimate source of pleasure to this true lover of the 

 chase. Jumping, with its attendant demands upon the 

 nervous system, and other drawbacks, was at no time a 

 part of the pastime he greatly affected ; but an accurate 

 knowledge of the geographical position of all gates and 

 gaps enabled him to see much of what was goiug on. 

 Living in close proximity, at Boughton, to the house 

 occupied by the author of ^^ Digby Grand,^' he greatly 

 enjoyed both his society and his abilities as a writer, and 

 was in the habit of telling his reverend brethren that " if 

 they would only read extracts from Whyte-Melville's 

 novels instead of preaching sermons of their own, it 

 would be to the advantage of their congregations as well 

 as of themselves.'^ The apt remarks and weather-beaten 

 visage of this reverend sportsman will long be kindly 

 borne in mind by those who esteemed him for his genial 

 nature, his willingness to assist a brother cleric in time 

 of need, and above all, perhaps, for his genuine love of 

 hunting. The unenlightened Esquimaux hopes that his 

 paradise will not be without plenty of whales; and 

 probably that of the old hunter just spoken of will not 

 suffer in his eyes by the possession of a nice sprinkling 

 of foxes. 



Sixth, and last, on the present list of clergy, whose 



