THE DIARY 
 
 OF 
 
 COLONEL PETER HAWKER 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'INSTRUCTIONS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN' 
 
 1802 — I 8 
 
 OO 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 By sir RALPH PAYNE-GALLWEY, Bart. 
 
 IX TWO VOLUMES— YOL. I. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 LONG i\I AN S. • b 'S. E fe" n' AND CO 
 
 AND. NEW. YORK -15 EAST. 16"^ STREET 
 
 (AJl rights rcservcd'\ 
 
H 
 
 V'l 
 
 89-46855 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 1 HAVE GREAT PLEASURE in acceding to the request that 
 I should write a short introductory notice of Colonel Peter 
 Hawker, the Author of this Diary and of the well-known 
 ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen.' Colonel Hawker's posi- 
 tion among sportsmen and writers on sport is mainly owing 
 to the great reputation he achieved with reference to the art 
 of killing wild fowl, and he may most justly be termed the 
 father of wild-fowling, for he brought this sport to such 
 perfection that his name will always suggest itself wherever 
 duck shooting is practised in our Islands. 
 
 Although Colonel Hawker's present reputation is mainly 
 based on his proficiency in this one branch of sport, it must 
 not be forgotten that he was equally celebrated in his own 
 day for his knowledge of and success in game shooting. 
 
 The immense popularity of Colonel Hawker's book 
 ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen ' was due to the large 
 amount of original information it contained, and to the 
 terseness, accuracy, and common sense with which it was 
 written ; it is in fact a work every line of which was evidently 
 penned from actual personal experience and nothing else. 
 It is true that ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen ' may not 
 seem original in these days, but this is because almost every 
 writer on shooting since the first edition of the book was 
 published has so freely borrowed from it. 
 
 There is no doubt the Colonel's book stood unrivalled for 
 quite fifty years as a manual on guns and shooting, and on 
 
vi COLOxNEL HAWKER'S DIARY 
 
 all connected with killing game and especially wild fowl, and 
 in many respects its contents are, with possibly a few altera- 
 tions, such as the substitution of breech-loaders for muzzle- 
 loaders, just as useful to the present generation as they were 
 to the last and to the one before that, particularly in regard to 
 all details of coast fowling. 
 
 The steel illustrations in the later editions of Colonel 
 Hawker's book are splendid examples of sporting pictures, 
 and some of them are reproduced in this Diary. I consider 
 the one facing page 146 is the best. The best edition of 
 * Instructions to Young Sportsmen ' is the ninth (1844), which 
 was dedicated to the Prince Consort. The tenth was brought 
 out ten years later, and the eleventh in 1859. The two latter, 
 being somewhat abridged by the Colonel's son, are not so 
 interesting as the last published in the Author's lifetime, i.e. 
 the one of 1844. The first edition was printed in 18 14, the 
 last (the eleventh) in 1859. 
 
 This Diary only contains extracts from its original, the 
 whole of which if given intact would fill several more 
 volumes. In it the Author was in the habit of setting down 
 almost everything he did, thought, and said during fifty 
 years, adding comments on nearly every shot he fired, how- 
 he killed, and why he missed. The Diary bears the impress 
 of truth and close observation from beginning to end, and 
 contains numerous quaint and highly original remarks very 
 characteristic of the Colonel. There are some very interesting 
 accounts of its writer's journeys to the Continent both before 
 and after the fall of Napoleon, and of his expeditions to the 
 North to shoot moor game. These latter records will doubt- 
 less entertain sportsmen of the present time when they read 
 of the Colonel's delight at bagging a few brace of grouse 
 at places where now hundreds are killed in one da}-. I 
 should say, after perusing this Diary, that Colonel Hawker 
 was the keenest and most hardworking shooter ever known ; 
 such entries as — * breakfasted by candlelight, walked hard 
 
INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 all day in a deluge of rain, bagged 3 cock pheasants ; 
 gloriously outmanoeuvred all the other shooters, came home 
 very satisfied and dined off one of the birds ' — will show 
 the thorough sportsman he was. That the Colonel was 
 a marvellous shot there can be no doubt whatever, and 
 in the style of game shooting he pursued has probably no 
 equal in these days ; as a snipe shot he has never been, 
 and perhaps never will be, equalled — fourteen to fifteen snipe 
 without a miss in as many single shots, and with a flint gun, 
 speaks volumes as to his skill. My idea of the Author of this 
 Diary has always been that he was the * hardest ' man, in 
 regard to health, that could be imagined ; but it will be seen 
 that he was continually fighting against illness, and frequently 
 incapacitated by his severe Peninsular wound ^ ; and the way 
 in which he was, to use his words, wont to * quack himself 
 up,' to enable him to take the field with his gun, is worthy of 
 admiration as an example of British pluck. Colonel Hawker 
 was, it may easily be seen, a man of vast energy, and a very 
 shrewd observer. Nothing, apparently, could escape him, 
 whether on his travels abroad or in pursuit of game and wild 
 fowl at home. He was, besides, a most accomplished musician 
 and musical critic, and was intimately acquainted with many 
 of the celebrated pianists and operatic singers of his day. 
 
 Longparish House and its water meadows, so often alluded 
 to by the Author of this Diary, and the river Test, in which 
 he caught literally thousands of trout (when trout could be 
 caught therein without first crawling for them like stalking 
 a stag, and then throwing a floating fly), are just as of yore. 
 So is Keyhaven near Lymington, save that there are few or 
 no ducks and geese to be seen there now. The cottage which 
 Colonel Hawker built is still standing, and is the large one 
 shown facing in the view on page 146. 
 
 I must not omit to record that the Colonel served with the 
 greatest bravery and distinction under Wellington, and when 
 
 ' A bullet went clean through his thigh, the bone of which it severely shattered. 
 
viii COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 
 
 merely a boy led his squadron, and won the word * Douro ' for 
 the colours of his regiment, the then 14th Light Dragoons. 
 The recognition of this gallantry by his old corps is feelingly 
 alluded to in the note on page 163, vol. ii. 
 
 In figure Colonel Hawker was over six feet and strikingly 
 handsome, and up to the end of his life was very erect. He 
 was, no doubt, somewhat of an egotist, but it was in a good- 
 natured way, and a confirmed but amusing grumbler against 
 his personal ill-luck, and his constant enemy the weather ; 
 he was, however, an instructive and witty companion, and a 
 conversationalist who always commanded attention, particu- 
 larly when he related his long and varied experiences of 
 sport, the adventures of his younger days in the Peninsular 
 war, or conversed on music, literature, and travel. 
 
 Colonel Peter Hawker was born in London, December 
 24, 1786, He was the son of Colonel Peter Ryves Hawker, 
 who died in 1790, by Mary Wilson Yonge, a daughter of an 
 Irish family. His great-grandfather, Colonel Peter Hawker 
 (who died 1732), was Governor of Portsmouth in 1717, and 
 his father commanded the ist Regiment of Horse. It is 
 worthy of note that his ancestors served in the British army 
 without a break from the days of Elizabeth, 
 
 Colonel Hawker was gazetted cornet to the ist Royal 
 Dragoons in 1801, lieutenant 1802, and then reduced to half- 
 pay by the peace of Amiens ; he exchanged into the 14th 
 Light Dragoons in 1803, and obtained his troop in 1804; 
 with this regiment he served in Portugal and Spain, and 
 in 181 3 retired from active service in consequence of a severe 
 wound received at the battle of Talavera in 1809. In 181 5 
 he was appointed major of the North Hampshire Militia, 
 and in 1821 was made its lieutenant-colonel by the Duke 
 of Wellington, and afterwards a deputy lieutenant for his 
 county. 
 
 Colonel Peter Hawker first married, at Lisbon in 181 1, 
 Julia, only daughter of Major Hooker Barttelot. 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 In 1844 he married (secondly) Helen Susan, widow of 
 Captain John Symonds, R.N,,and daughter of Major Chatter- 
 ton. Colonel Peter Hawker died in London at No. 2 Dorset 
 Place, August 7, 1853, and is buried at ]\Iarylebone Church. 
 
 Colonel Hawker had by his first marriage two sons, — 
 Richard, who died young, and Peter William Lanoe, for 
 some time a captain in the 74th Highlanders (who married 
 in 1847 Elizabeth, daughter of John Fraser, of Stirling, N.B.) ; 
 and two daughters, — Mary, who married Mr. Charles Rhodes 
 in 1842, and Sophy, married in 1843 to the Rev. Lewis 
 Playters Hird. 
 
 The late Captain Hawker, of the 74th Highlanders, left a 
 son and a daughter. His son, Mr. Peter Hawker, formerly of 
 the Royal Xavy, the present owner of Longparish House, 
 married in 1883 the eldest daughter of Colonel Alfred Tippinge, 
 late Grenadier Guards ; and his sister, Miss Hawker, is the 
 talented authoress of ' Mademoiselle Ixe.' 
 
 Besides his celebrated ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen ' 
 Colonel (then Captain) Peter Hawker published anonymously, 
 in 1810, 'The Journal of a Regimental Officer during the 
 Recent Campaign in Portugal and Spain ; ' ^ 
 
 ' Instructions for the best Position on the Pianoforte ; ' 
 
 ' An Abridgment of the New Game Laws, with Observa- 
 tions and Suggestions for Improvement,' an appendix to the 
 sixth edition of ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen,' which 
 was dedicated to William the Fourtn. 
 
 In 1 820 Colonel Peter Hawker patented his very ingenious 
 hand-moulds for use on the pianoforte. 
 
 Ralph PAYNE-GALL^VEV. 
 
 Thirkleby Park, Thirsk : August 1893. 
 
 ' Verj- scarce ; if any reader of this could kindly lend me a copy, I shouk 
 feel extremely indebted. — R, P.-G. 
 
 VOL. I. a 
 
LIST OF PLATES 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME 
 
 Portrait of the Author. By A. E. Chalon^ R.A. . Froiitispiece 
 
 Sketch Map of Parson Bond's Preserves. By 
 
 Colonel Peter Haiuker to face p. 12 
 
 Sketch Map of Solent and Coast. By Cohmel Peter 
 
 Haiuker ,,132 
 
 Hut Shooting on the French System. By Colonel 
 
 Peter Haiuker ........ „ 1 84 
 
 Commencement of a Cripple Chase, after firing 
 two pounds of Shot into a Skein of Brent 
 Geese and two Wild Swans. By Colonel Peter 
 Hawker „ 258 
 
 First of September &c. 1827. By J. Childe . . „ 318 
 
THE DIARY 
 
 OF 
 
 COLONEL PETER HAWKER 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 1802 ' 
 June 2jtJi. — Arrived at Longparish House. 
 September. — Altogether killed 200 head of game this 
 
 month. 
 
 Instances of uncertainty in killing jack snipes : The first 
 
 thirteen shots I had at these birds this year I killed without 
 
 missing one ; have since fired eight shots at one jack and 
 
 missed them all. 
 
 1803 
 
 January 26th. — Sketch of a bad day's sport : Being in want 
 of a couple of wild fowl, I went out with my man this morning 
 about ten o'clock. The moment we arrived at the river 5 
 ducks and i wigeon flew up ; we marked the former down, 
 and just as we arrived near the place it began to snow very 
 hard, which obliged us to secure our gunlocks with the skirts 
 of our coats. No sooner had we done this than a mallard rose 
 within three yards of me. I uncovered my gun and made all 
 possible haste, and contrived to shoot before it had gone 
 twenty yards, but missed it, which I imputed to the sight of 
 
 ^ My second season of sporting (age 16^ years). 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 -Jh 
 
2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 1803 
 
 m}^ gun being hid by the snow. My man fired and brought 
 it down, but we never could find it ; and another mallard 
 coming by me, I fired and struck him, insomuch that before he 
 had flown a gunshot, he dropped apparently dead, but we were 
 again equally unfortunate notwithstanding our dogs were with 
 lis. \Miile we were loading, the 3 remaining ducks came by, 
 a fair shot. Having reloaded, we went in search of them, 
 but could not succeed. On our road home, coming through 
 the meadow, the wigeon rose in the same place as before. I 
 shot at it, and wounded it very much ; we marked it down 
 and sprung it again ; it could hardly fly, from its wounds. Un- 
 luckily, my gun missed fire, and my man was unprepared, 
 thinking it had fallen dead. We marked it into a hedge ; 
 before we had reached the place we spied a hawk that had 
 followed it ; from the same place the hawk was, the wigeon 
 flew out of the hedge close under my feet. I fired at it, but, 
 ■owing to agitation, had not taken a proper aim ; however, a 
 chance shot brought it to the ground ; my dogs ran at it ; it 
 flew up again, but could not rise to any height, but continued 
 to clear the hedges, and we never could find it again. To 
 add to our m.isfortunes, we both tumbled into deep water. 
 
 June \tJL — Left Longparish House to join the 14th Light 
 Dragoons on the march at Hythe. 
 
 September \st. — Folkestone. 4 partridges and i landrail. 
 I went with Major Talbot and his brother : we were out from 
 half-past four in the morning till eight at night, and walked 
 above five hours before we saw the first brace of birds. 
 Major Talbot killed a brace, and his brother i bird ; a brace 
 of birds and i rabbit were shot between us by means of firing 
 at the same instant. 
 
 1804 
 
 February i ZtJi. — Left Folkestone to be quartered at Dover, 
 till further orders. 
 
 JMarcJi 6th. — Left Dover for Romney. 
 
i8o4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 3 
 
 May yd. — Romney. Went out in the evening, saw several 
 very large shoals cf curlews, but could not get near them ; just 
 as it grew dusk I laid myself down flat on the sands : every 
 flock assembled into one prodigious large flight, and pitched 
 within ten yards of me. I put them up with the expectation 
 of killing not less than twenty, and my gun missed fire. 
 
 June lAftJi. — Romney. Shot an avoset (swimming). This 
 is a bird rarely to be met with but on the Kentish coast. The 
 above is its name in natural history ; it is here known by the 
 name of cobbler's awl, owing to the form of the beak, which 
 turns up at the end like the awl. 
 
 September 1st. — Romney. In a bad country we had never 
 been in before ]\Iajor Pigot and I bagged nine brace and a half 
 of birds, exclusive of several we lost. We sprung one covey 
 too small to fire at ; ^lajor Pigot picked out the old hen and I 
 the cock, and bagged them both. There were sportsmen in 
 almost every field. In the course of the day, my old dog Dick 
 caugrht 8 heds^ehog-s. 
 
 Xoveuiber 2'^rd. — Marched from Romney to be quartered 
 at Guildford. 
 
 December 2yd. — Left Guildford to stay a week at home at 
 Longparish House. 
 
 1805 
 
 May 2Zth. — ^Marched from Guildford to Chertsey. 
 
 Jmie iith. — Marched from Chertsey to Wandsworth. 
 
 lyth. — Marched from W^andsworth to Hounslow Barracks. 
 
 26th. — II brace of carp with a draw net, average weight 
 one pound. 
 
 2yth. — 21 brace of carp and 3 dozen dace (casting net). 
 
 October ijth. — ^ly new gun, No. 45 36, arrived from Manton. 
 
 ^ist. — I followed a teal for near four hours before I 
 could get a shot at it, and after I fired it flew almost out of 
 sight and dropped within a few yards of my servant John, who 
 happened to be riding by and who picked it up. 
 
4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 1805 
 
 Decei)ibcr 27//?.— Marched into the town of Hounslow. 
 As we were getting close to the town, a mallard flew up and 
 came round several times within shot of the troops. I rode 
 on to the Colonel's, borrowed his long gun and returned to 
 where the bird had dropped, which was within thirty yards of 
 the turnpike road, in a large pond. After looking for him for 
 some time I heard him fly up behind me from the very place 
 I had been beating, therefore it appeared I must have gone 
 within a few yards of him ; I had, however, a tolerably fair 
 shot, but the gun, being very foul, hung fire, and 1 missed 
 him. 
 
 1806 
 
 February loth. — I jack snipe, i rabbit, and 2 hares. The 
 hares ran out of a hedge together. I killed them right and left 
 immediately in front of Lord Berkeley's house at Hounslow ; 
 and while I was hiding under the hedge, fearing a keeper 
 might be on the look-out at hearing the gun, a dragoon ran 
 and picked up both the hares, gave a view hollow, and held 
 one up in each hand in order to be seen from the windows of 
 his Lordship's mansion. Of course I retreated immediately, 
 and luckily got off unseen. 
 
 Game killed by me up to February ist, 1806 (at Houns- 
 low) : 46^ brace of partridges, 1 2 brace of hares, 4 brace of 
 pheasants. 
 
 Fowl, rabbits, and snipe, killed up to April ist, 1806 
 (at Hounslow) : 8 brace of rabbits, 23^ couple of snipes, 
 I couple of teal. A wild duck, ox-eyes, rails, fieldfares, 
 redwings, herons, larks, &c. 
 
 j2C)ie 22;/<7^.— Went a gudgeon fishing at Walton-on- 
 Thames with a party ; had good sport and returned in the 
 evening. 
 
 29///. — W^cnt a gudgeon fishing at Walton ; had indifferent 
 sport. In the evening tried for barbel, and killed 2 ; the one 
 small, the other 6 lb. 
 
i8o6 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 5 
 
 July A,th. — Went a fishing at Walton ; in the morning killed 
 2 dozen gudgeon ; in the evening 4 barbel. Their weights 
 were : (i) 9I lb., (2) 3 lb., (3) i lb., (4) \ lb. 
 
 ijth. — Marched from Hounslow Barracks to Alton in 
 Hampshire, to remain with my troop till further orders. 
 
 3 \st. — Marched to Winchester, to remain till further orders. 
 
 August 1st. — Rode over to my home at Longparish and 
 killed 8 trout (fly fishing), and returned in the evening to 
 Winchester. 
 
 I2th. — At Longparish. 7 trout. 
 
 2ist. — At Longparish. 8 trout, and shot i heron, i snipe 
 and I green sandpiper. Received my new double gun. 
 No. 4699, from Manton. 
 
 September ist. — Longparish. 30 partridges and 2 hares. 
 N.B. — 3 brace shot and lost besides. 
 
 Altogether I killed in September 53^ brace of partridges, 
 5j brace of hares, i brace of quails, and i landrail (at 
 Longparish). 
 
 22n(^. — Marched to Fareham, for the purpose of conveying 
 the horses of the 17th Light Dragoons to Salisbury. 
 
 2^t/i. — Marched to Romsey. 
 
 26t/L — Marched into Sarum. 
 
 ^ot/i. — Received an order to join at Winchester. 
 
 October \2tl1. — Marched from Winchester to Romsey, on 
 our way to Dorchester. 
 
 I yJi. — Marched from Romsey to Ringwood. X.B. — Drove 
 over in the morning before the troops and killed 6 partridges, 
 I pheasant, i teal (flying), and I rabbit. 
 
 \Afth. — Marched to Blandford ; remained there till the 
 1 8th, when we marched into Dorchester Barracks. 
 
 November ^tJi. — Marched to Sturminster, to remain during 
 the election at Dorchester. 
 
 24///. — 3 woodcocks, 2 rabbits, and i pheasant. 
 
 Previous to killing the last woodcock I missed both barrels 
 at him, and followed him for near two hours. 
 
6 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 1806 
 
 25///. — 4 cock pheasants. 
 
 It rained incessantly during- the time I was beating for 
 them, which obliged me to secure the lock of my gun under 
 my iacket, and consequently lost much time in firing ; yet, 
 although the wind was high and the covers thick, I missed 
 but one shot. 
 
 December i^tli. — Went on leave to Longparish. 
 
 1807 
 
 January 1st. — Returned to the regiment at Dorchester. 
 
 22nd. — 4 pheasants, i hare, i woodcock, and i wood pigeon. 
 
 Notwithstanding it blew a hurricane, and rained almost 
 the whole time I was out, I only discharged once without 
 bagging ; I had then a shot going rapidly down the 
 wind, and greatly intercepted by trees. It was at a phea- 
 sant, which I marked down and killed afterwards. I saw 
 but 5 pheasants, i cock, and i hare all day ; so (with the 
 exception of i pheasant which rose out of shot) I brought 
 home all I sprung up. 
 
 2/\th. — In the morning, going past a lake, I saw 5 tufted 
 ducks, which I fired at on the water with the long gun at 
 about 70 yards, and winged one of them. Old Dick imme- 
 diately dashed in after it, and on getting near it some tame 
 ducks fluttered from under the banks of an island, which he 
 sprang at, and in consequence lost the bird I so much wished 
 to have brought home. On my return by the same place, a 
 mallard flew over my head, which I winged (a very long shot) 
 and lost. While beating the ditches for snipes I spied a very 
 fine trout, which, with a piece of whipcord and a stick, I in- 
 stantly snared ; and he proved, when dressed, to be very well 
 in season. 
 
 Game killed up to February ist : 182 partridges, 33 phea- 
 sants, 43 hares, 2 quails, and 2 landrails. Total, 262 head. 
 
 MarcJi gt/i. — Marched with my troop to Bland ford, to 
 remain during the assizes at Dorchester. 
 
i8o7 COLONEL HAWKER^S DIARY 7 
 
 May 10///. — Left Dorchester to remain at Longparish 
 during the Hampshire election. 
 
 wtJi. — The election began and ended in favour of Sir H. 
 Mildmay and Mr. Chute. 
 
 2////. — Longparish. Killed 20 brace of trout with a fly in 
 three hours. 
 
 315/. — Joined the regiment at Dorchester again. 
 
 June 2gth. — Marched to \Ve}^mouth. 
 
 July loth. — Received orders for the regiment to march 
 from Dorchester, Weymouth &c. to Guildford and Basing- 
 stoke. 
 
 I2th. — Marched to Blandford. 
 
 i^th. — To Salisbury. 
 
 14///. — To Andover. \\>nt over to Longparish : had 
 some indifferent sport fly fishing. 
 
 17///.— Joined my troop at Basingstoke. 
 
 22nd. — Marched away from Basingstoke to Bagshot. 
 
 2'^rd. — Marched from Bagshot to Hounslow. 
 
 27///.— The regiment were reviewed. 
 
 29///. — The regiment marched on their way to the east 
 coast of Sussex. I went on leave to London. 
 
 August 1st. — Went to Lord Bridgewater's at Ashridge 
 Park. (Killed a number of rabbits here.) 
 
 yth. — Returned to London. 
 
 lOth. — Left town on my way to Sussex. 
 
 iiih. — Joined the regiment at Blatchington. 
 
 I2th. — Went over to my troop at Bexhill. 
 
 14///. — Went on leave of absence to Longparish. 
 
 September ist. — Longparish. 40 partridges and 2 hares. 
 I had only one gun, and shot with the same three dogs the 
 whole day. Rested two hours in the forenoon, and left off 
 .shooting by six o'clock. 
 
 Game bagged the first week : 91 partridges and 3 hares. 
 
 October 26tlL — A woodcock. I found him in some very 
 low wood where cocks seldom resorted, and taking him for a 
 
8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 1807 
 
 nightjar, did not think it worth while to disturb the cover by 
 firing, and refused an excellent shot at him ; but soon dis- 
 covering my mistake, I followed and flushed him again, and 
 fired twice at him, and although the wood was not four acres 
 he escaped, and completely defeated us. But being the first 
 that had been seen here this year I was so unwilling to give 
 him up, that I went home and returned with all the rabble 
 I could muster, and placed Buffin in a tree to mark. We 
 began with beating where he first sprang from ; we had not 
 gone thirty yards before one of Siney's terriers flushed him, 
 and I brought him down. 
 
 November 20th. — Received a new double gun from Mr. 
 Joseph Manton, No. 4326. 
 
 1808 
 
 Game bagged from September ist, 1807, to February ist, 
 1808: 217 partridges, 11 pheasants, and 31 hares. Total, 
 259 head. 
 
 February ^t/i. — Received an order to join the regiment. 
 
 /th. — Left Longparish and joined at Eastbourne to-day. 
 
 loth. — Went to Bexhill Barracks. 
 
 March lyth, — Went up to London. I rode the fat mare to 
 Tonbridge (above 35 miles) in three hours and ten minutes, 
 from whence I took the young mare to Westminster Bridge 
 (30 miles) in two hours and forty-five minutes. 
 
 20th. — Returned (on horseback) to Bexhill in a little more 
 than eight hours. 
 
 Wild fowl, rabbits &c. bagged up to April 1st, 1808: 72 
 snipes, 5 wild ducks, 5 woodcocks and 14 rabbits. Total, 96 
 head; adding game, total 355 head; exclusive of herons, 
 wood pigeons, moorhens, fieldfares, rails, &c. 
 
 May i^tJi. — Marched from Bexhill to Pleydon Barracks. 
 
 \6tJi. — Went a fishing with a casting net and stop net, and 
 killed 1 1 tench (average weight above i lb.), 5 jack, i eel, and 
 a large quantity of roach. 
 
i8o8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 9 
 
 iJtJi. — Went with the same nets to the canal, where we 
 killed a large basketful, consisting of bream, jack, perch, 
 eels, roach and dace. 
 
 July 6th. — Marched away from Pleydon Barracks to 
 •Cranbrook. 
 
 20th. — Arrived at Ipswich with my troop. 
 
 2gth. — Arrived at Norwich Barracks. 
 
 September yd. — Returned to Ipswich ; while on the road 
 tried some stubbles and killed i partridge, and 2 more shot 
 and lost in the corn. 
 
 8///. — 1 8 partridges, besides a brace shot and lost. Not- 
 withstanding the weather was very stormy I only fired three 
 shots the whole day without killing, two of which were 
 •decidedly too far off. I took three double shots, and bagged 
 both birds each time ; and one brace I took while it was 
 raining, and had to take my gun from under my coat before 
 I fired right and left. 
 
 YOtJi. — 13 partridges, 4 French partridges, and i turtledove. 
 
 13///. — 9 partridges and i rabbit, with 2 partridges shot 
 and lost in fourteen shots. 
 
 N.B. — One of the two shots missed was a long random one. 
 
 14//^. — Went out round the barracks for two hours after 
 the field day and had three single shots, and one right and 
 left, and bagged 5 partridges. 
 
 15///. — 12 partridges, i French partridge, and I turtle dove. 
 In eighteen shots, though a wild windy day, and most of 
 them long ones (fired right and left twice ; bagged both 
 birds each time). 
 
 \Jth. — 14 partridges and 2 rabbits, besides a brace shot 
 and lost, in twenty-one shots. On going out I met with a 
 farmer who (having the deputation) told me I was welcome 
 to shoot wherever I pleased provided I would not disturb 
 his pheasants. After having beat the whole manor we went 
 down to some rushy ground, where Dido came to a dead 
 point. This farmer (who was then in an adjoining field with 
 
10 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY 1808 
 
 his labourers) came to the hedge to see the result of Toho ! 
 Five partridges rose at the same instant, all flying different 
 ways and excessively rapid ; I killed first to the left, and 
 then (turning round) to the right ; and Pearson, who was 
 with me, killed also a bird with each barrel. The farmer 
 judging of our shooting by what he had seen, and appearing 
 to think us dangerous fellows to invade a manor, went up to 
 Pearson in a violent rage desiring him immediately to leave 
 the grounds ; assigning no other reason than that ' he did 
 not choose we should shoot any more.' He then made up 
 to me, but I ran through the river ; and he (not being willing 
 to wet his toes) relinquished his pursuit, and stood bawling 
 and beckoning for me to stop, which I of course pretended 
 not to hear, and escaped without being warned off. Before 
 I was out of his sight the dogs ran into a bog, and put up an 
 immense number of snipes, and by making haste up, I got 
 six shots and bagged 4 snipes, besides a fifth, shot and lost. 
 The farmer soon disappeared ; and I beat my way to the 
 alehouse, reserving his manor for another day's sport. 
 
 2ist. — 8 partridges and i red-legged partridge. 
 
 One of the partridges which I killed was found by Don 
 in a hedge, who caught it, and after I had forced it from him 
 by opening his mouth with one hand, and taking the bird in 
 the other, it fluttered from me, and then flew up ; and went 
 off so strong that it was with difficulty I could fire quick 
 enough to bring it again to hand. 
 
 22;/c/. — 16 snipes, two of them jacks ; and a redshank. 
 
 The last day I had been shooting here I found these 
 snipes and avoided the farmer (who had the deputation) b\' 
 running through the water, in order to save my warning, and 
 secure a well-prepared attack on them. As the whole ground 
 they occupied consisted only of a few small bogs, my only 
 chance was to lose no time, for which I had a second double 
 gun. The commencement of my attack was a bird with each 
 barrel ; and then taking the other gun from m)- m.an John, killed 
 
i8o8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 11' 
 
 with that also with each barrel. As I fired so many random 
 and unfair shots, I did not keep account of my missing, but 
 my markers said they thought I could not have killed more 
 than four more shots. I brought home the greater part of 
 what I found ; and picked up the snipe w^hich I lost the 
 other day. Finding the snipes I had left were completely 
 driven away, I went (wnth snipe shot) over some turnip fields 
 &c. and bagged 6 partridges. I had two doublets ; the other 
 shots were single, and some very long ones ; yet I only fired 
 once without bagging, and then I broke both the legs of the 
 bird, which dropped apparently dead in the next field. 
 
 2'jtJi. — 12 partridges. 
 
 Calculating that I wanted six brace to make up my 200 
 head of game, and knowing I should not be able to have 
 another day's shooting in September, I fagged till nearly 
 dark, and could only make up five brace and a half; it then 
 got so late I gave it up and drove towards home. On going 
 along the road I spied a covey feeding ; to w^hich I imme- 
 diately ran down under the hedge, and when I thought I 
 was nearly opposite to them, stopped ; but before I could 
 discern them, they flew up. I let fly at one (an immense 
 distance) which I brought down dead, and completed my 
 number. 
 
 N.B. — In looking over my book I find I might have saved 
 myself all this trouble, as I had miscalculated ; and have now 
 made up 203 head of game, which are as follows : 
 
 Game bagged in the month of September 1808 : i;/ 
 partridges (three brace of which were the red-legged French 
 birds), 2 hares, 3 rabbits, and 21 snipes. Total, 203 head 
 of game. 
 
 (9r/6'<^tT UY.— 6 pheasants, 2 partridges, i rabbit, and i ja\'. 
 Besides 2 fine cock pheasants which I shot and lost in the 
 underwood, almost every pheasant I fired at was a snap shot 
 among the high cover ; notwithstanding which, I am glad to 
 say I missed but twice all day, making my 8 out of 10. 
 
12 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 1808 
 
 yd. — Went from Ipswich with a party amounting to near 
 twenty, beside markers and beaters, to storm a preserved cover 
 belonging to a Parson Bond, because he never allowed anyone 
 a day's shooting, and had man traps and dog gins all over 
 his wood. I had made out a regular plan of attack and line 
 of march, but our precision was frustrated by the first man 
 we saw on reaching the ground, who was the keeper ; we 
 therefore had no time to hold a council of war, but rushed 
 into cover like a pack of foxhounds before his face. Away 
 he went, naming every one he could, and we all joined him 
 in the hue and cry of ' Where is Parson Bond ? ' 
 
 In the m.eantime our feti de joie was going on most 
 rapidly. At last up came the parson, almost choked with 
 rage. The two first people he warned off were Pearson 
 and myself; having been served with notices, we kept him 
 in tow while the others rallied his covers and serenaded 
 him with an incessant bombardment in every direction. 
 The confused rector did not know which way to run. The 
 scene of confusion was ridiculous beyond anything, and the 
 invasion of an army could scarcely exceed the noise. Not 
 a word could be heard for the cries of 'Mark!' 'Dead!' 
 and ' Well done ! ' interspersed every moment with bang, 
 bang, and the yelping of barrack curs. The parson at last 
 mustered his whole establishment to act as patriots against 
 the marauders, footboys running one way, ploughmen 
 mounted on carthorses galloping the other, and everyone 
 from the village that could be mustered was collected to 
 repel the mighty shock. At last we retreated, and about 
 half-past four those who had escaped being entered in his 
 doomsday book renewed the attack. The parson having 
 eased himself by a vomit, began to speak more coherently, and 
 addressed himself to those who, being liable to an action of 
 trespass, were obliged to stand in the footpath and take the 
 birds as they flew over ; at last so many were caught that the 
 battle ceased. Though a large number of pheasants were 
 

 
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i8o8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 13 
 
 destroyed, the chase did not end in such aggregate slaughter 
 as we expected, and not more than one-third of those brought 
 down were bagged, in consequence of our being afraid to turn 
 off our best dogs ; we brought away some of the parson's traps, 
 one of which was a most terrific engine, and now hangs in the 
 mess-room for pubHc exhibition. Only one dog was caught 
 the whole day, and whose should that be but Parson 
 Bond's ! After leaving the cover I killed 2 partridges and 
 I hare. 
 
 '^tJi. — 4 partridges. 
 
 GtJi, — Went to Woolpit for two days' shooting. 
 
 7///. — 8 pheasants, 3 partridges, and i hare. 
 
 ZtJi. — 5 pheasants and 8 partridges, and returned to 
 Ipswich (23 miles) by four in the afternoon. In one of the 
 covers I fired five shots at pheasants and only bagged one, 
 though I brought down my bird every shot. In both days I 
 lost a number of pheasants, owing to the brambles being so 
 strong the pointers would not face them ; I scarcely bagged 
 a bird except those killed dead, and to the best of my 
 recollection out of all the pheasants I winged only one was 
 bagged. As it was, with what Pearson and I killed we were 
 literally obliged to buy a sack to bring them home, which we 
 nearly filled ; and what with the addition of some hares and 
 rabbits caught by the dogs it was nearly as much as I could 
 lift. What then would our sport have been, had we bagged 
 all those we lost ? I scarcely missed a shot in the two days, 
 and certainly never let a fair shot escape. 
 
 \gtJi. — 4 partridges. I went on horseback from Ipswich 
 about three in the afternoon purposely to get a shot at some 
 French partridges, in hopes of getting the old cock to have 
 stuffed. I went into a piece of potatoes (where thc\- always 
 laid) without a dog ; at last I trod up the whole covc}', 
 which I forbore shooting at, and singled out the old cock, 
 which I winged and lost ; coming home I killed the above 
 4 birds. 
 
14 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 1808 
 
 Game bagged by myself up to leaving Ipswich : 231 par- 
 tridges, 9 of which were French red-legged, 29 pheasants, 
 8 hares, 4 rabbits, 21 snipes. Total, 293 head of game. 
 
 24///. — The regiment commenced its march for Romford, 
 preparative to going on foreign service. 
 
 26//?. — The first division arrived at Romford (to remain 
 till further orders). 
 
 November A^tJi. — The first division marched from Romford 
 •on their way to Exeter. 
 
 ytJi. — Marched to Reading. 
 
 8//^. — Marched to Newbury, from whence I went over to 
 Longparish on leave. 
 
 \ytJi. — Left Longparish for Dorchester on my way to 
 .Falmouth for embarkation to Spain. 
 
i8o9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 15 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 1 809 
 
 September 2%th. — Arrived once more home again at Long- 
 parish House, having returned from Spain and Portugal, in 
 consequence of my wound received at Talavera, on July 28. 
 
 (All memorandums of my military service and my journal 
 abroad are put by themselves in another book,^ and published.) 
 
 SJiooting abroael. — N.B. I had scarcely any shooting in 
 Portugal, and the only birds I killed there which I had never 
 shot before were 2 storks and a Portuguese owl. 
 
 On finding the shooting so bad in this country, I de- 
 spaired of getting any in Spain, and left my gun with the 
 heavy baggage, which I had afterwards reason to regret, as I 
 found that Spain not only abounded with game, but curious 
 foreign birds of every description. While there, I sometimes 
 borrowed an old gun, with which I never failed to have sport, 
 particularly with red-legged partridges, wild pigeons, &c. 
 
 Oetober '^rei. — Went to London to be under the care of 
 ]\Ir. Home for my wound, which on the 4th he examined, 
 and having discovered that the ball had gone through and 
 shattered my hip bone, advised me to continue in London 
 under his care. 
 
 181O 
 
 Mr. Home having daily attended me, extracted two 
 splinters, and instructed John how to pass the setons, which 
 were deemed necessary to be used for a length of time, gave 
 
 ' fourual of a Regimental Officer dui'ing the recent Campaign in Portugal 
 and Spain. ( London , 1 8 1 o. ) 
 
16 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY iSio 
 
 me leave to return to the country for a few weeks for change 
 of air, as my lungs were in a very bad state, and I had in 
 consequence been dangerously ill. 
 
 JaJiuary \yJi. — Left town and arrived at home at Long- 
 parish House. 
 
 25///. — While we were sitting at dinner a woodcock flew 
 up the lawn and dropped under the parlour window. All 
 jumped up, and I hobbled to see him as well as I could. My 
 servant seized a loaded gun, and began opening the window ; 
 while he was doing this, I eagerly snatched the gun from him 
 and killed the woodcock. The three following circumstances 
 make this occurrence still more remarkable : the first, that 
 woodcocks are so scarce in this country, I have but rarely 
 killed three in a whole season's shooting ; secondly, that when 
 I shot this bird I was confined a perfect cripple, and could 
 not venture out even to the garden ; and, thirdly, that a friend 
 of mine had laid a bet that I was well enough to shoot a 
 cock before this season was over. 
 
 February ^rd. — Went out in my mother's chaise. 
 Except being conveyed from place to place, this was the 
 first time I had been outside the house for six months and 
 three weeks. 
 
 I took the gun with me, and, among other things shot 
 from the chaise, I killed a sea-gull and a rook, right and 
 left. 
 
 \0tJi. — I adopted the plan of driving the phaeton down 
 the banks of the river and firing from it at what few snipes 
 I could find. They, however, rose too wild to give me a 
 fair chance. 
 
 \JtJi. — Have continued to drive out almost every day,, 
 taking my gun, and killing (from the carriage) redwings, 
 fieldfares, blackbirds, larks, &c. To-day, among other things,. 
 I killed several snii)es. 
 
 2jtJi. — Being a fine day for fishing, I was taken in the 
 chaise to the river side, where with the assistance of a stick I 
 
i8io COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 17 
 
 contrived to support myself so as to be able to throw a fly, 
 with which 1 killed 5 brace of trout. 
 
 J continued by the river for about an hour, when I 
 became so faint, and my wound so painful, I could fish no 
 longer and returned home. After resting on the sofa, I got 
 again in the carriage, and was driven to the common, where I 
 killed a snipe, and should have got several more had the 
 bitch behaved well and stood them. I came home to dinner 
 about four o'clock ; and dined on trout and fieldfares of m}' 
 own killing. 
 
 Marc]L \2tJi. — Left Longparish for London. I took a 
 chaise and pair at Whitchurch, from which place I started 
 after four o'clock ; and, notwithstanding I was detained 
 near half an hour at Westfordbridge, and the roads were 
 execrably bad, I reached Staines (42 miles) by thirty-five 
 minutes past eight. 
 
 13//^. — Proceeded from Staines to town. In the evening 
 I hobbled to the new Covent Garden Theatre. 
 
 14///. — Mr. Home inspected and probed my wound, and 
 was of opinion that the setons should be continued several 
 months longer, and therefore advised me to return to the 
 country. 
 
 20///. — Dined out and went to the opera, from whence I 
 had to crawl all the way up the Haymarket without being 
 able to get a conveyance home ; and then had to sit in a 
 house while a fellow with a wooden leg went in search of a 
 Jarvey. 
 
 2\st. — Left town at one o'clock (with chaise and pair), 
 reached Longparish at ten minutes before eight. I was 
 driven one eight-mile stage, namely, from Basingstoke to 
 Overton, within forty minutes. 
 
 24//^ — Received my leave of absence till November 24th 
 in consequence of Mr. Home's sick certificate. 
 
 June i6th. — At about four in the morning my mother's 
 accident happened. She was dreadfully burnt, and lost her 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
18 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY ^ June 
 
 right hand by endeavouring to light her fire with the paper 
 from a canister of powder. 
 
 Jtdy 13. — 2\ brace of trout (largest fish \\ lb. weight), 
 besides many thrown in, not wanting. 
 
 N.B. — Caught fish by throwing the fly as I sat in the 
 phaeton. 
 
 19///. — Received a letter from Mr. Home desiring me to 
 close my wounds by discontinuing the operation of the seton. 
 
 N.B. — They have now been kept open twelve calendar 
 months all but eight days. 
 
 August 6th. — Went fly fishing and caught a number of 
 small trout, which I threw in. Coming home I saw two wood- 
 peckers on the lawn, got a gun, and, at one shot, killed one 
 of them, wounded the other, and winged a swallow which 
 was flying by at the time. 
 
 yth. — Went fly fishing to Hurstbourne Park ; caught 2 
 brace of trout (about i^ lb. each), besides small ones thrown 
 in. Afterwards hobbled after a shooting party and killed 
 1 leveret and i jay. 
 
i8io COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 19 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 1810 
 
 September. — Longparish. My wound having sufficiently 
 recovered to enable me to go out for a few hours a day on 
 horseback, I took out my certificate for killing game, and on 
 the 1st I killed 36 partridges and 2 hares, besides i brace of 
 birds lost. We sprung a covey near Furgo Farm, out of which 
 I killed a brace with each barrel, and several of those that 
 flew^ off pitched, and ran on the thatch of Furgo barn. In the 
 evening I killed and bagged five successive double shots. 
 
 X.B. — The most I heard of being killed in our neighbourhood 
 by anyone else was seven brace by Captain Haffendon. Some 
 parties from Longparish have been out and killed nothing. 
 
 30///. — N.B. My wounds are now so far healed, that 1 am 
 able to walk as sound as ever I did in my life, but have yet 
 to recruit myself in general health, being at present very 
 nervous and weak. 
 
 Game bagged in the month of September 1810: 210 
 partridges, 6 hares, 4 quails, 3 landrails, 2 snipes, 2 wild 
 ducks. Total, 227 head. 
 
 October 26th. — Went to shoot with Mr. Wakeford, at 
 Tytherley House, and killed 3 hares, 2 pheasants, and i 
 partridge. We shot with spaniels, and soon after we began 
 were joined by a sheep dog, who forsook his flock to spend 
 the day with us, and rendered us more service than any one 
 of the cry ; he kept well in bounds while we were beating ; 
 ran the pheasants off their legs the moment we found 
 
 c 2 
 
20 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 them, and pressed the hares so hard that he obHged 
 most of them to leave the hedgerows within shot. 
 
 2gtJL — 4 partridges, i woodcock, and i pheasant, besides 
 2 snipe at one shot. The cock was the first I had seen or 
 heard of this season. I killed him a snap shot in high covert, 
 and never knew that he fell till John found him dead. In 
 addition to my day's shooting I had famous sport with the 
 harriers, which I met in the field, and followed with my old 
 shooting pony. I found them two hares sitting, one of which 
 I started, was in at the death of, and brought home in u\\ 
 game bag. 
 
 November 27id. — 4 snipes and i jack snipe. I was ex- 
 tremely ill and nervous, and shot infamously bad, or I should 
 have killed ten couple. 
 
 y'd. — 2 snipes, besides 2 which I fired at with Captain 
 Haffendon (who also killed a couple). 
 
 N.B. — We beat Bramsbury Moor (the very ground where 
 I yesterday found such an immense number of snipes) and 
 only saw a couple, one of which I got a shot at and killed. 
 In the other places we found but very few more than we killed. 
 ytJi. — 5 snipes. I returned home by some fens which were 
 literally swarming with starlings, of which I killed a large 
 number. These birds cared so little for being shot at, that (the 
 moment I had fired both barrels) they returned and pitched 
 v.ithin twenty yards of me. They literally darkened the air, 
 and the noise they made was not to be described. 
 
 \2tJ1. — I pheasa* t and 10 snipe (one a jack snipe, besides 
 another shot and lost), and (excepting two long random 
 shots, which, I believe, I fired accuratel)- on the birds) I only 
 missed 2, one of \\hich I secured with my second barrel, 
 .so that, out of the 12 snipes I fired at (within range of m\- 
 gun) I brought down 11. 
 
 16///. — Saw Mr. Home in London, who inspected my 
 wound, and gave me a certificate to extend m}- leave, and 
 advised m}* remaining in England for at least two months. 
 
iSio COLOXEL HAWKER^S DIARY 21 
 
 2\st. — Received my leave (from the Adjutant-General) 
 till January 24, 181 1. 
 
 z^tJi. — Wrote to Lord Bridgewater, offering to relin- 
 quish my leave, and volunteer out with the detachment 
 which was under orders for Portugal. 
 
 ^^otJi. — Saw Lord Bridgewater, who approved of my going 
 out, and gave me leave to remain at Longparish till the 
 detachment marched by on their way from Coventry to 
 Portsmouth. 
 
 December 2;/<f. — Having again equipped myself with 
 chargers and appointments for foreign service, I returned to 
 Longparish. Walked the whole day in the Clatford and 
 Abbot's i\nn marshes, and only got three shots at snipes. One 
 of the two I killed, I first wounded, and he flew up in a high 
 elm tree, and there sat till we pelted him out. He then flew 
 off so strong that I was forced to stop him with a second 
 shot. 
 
 \jtJi. — Went to shoot at Longstock and killed 2 ducks, 
 2 snipes, i red-headed curre, and 3 bald coots, besides i 
 snipe, I duck, and 2 coots, which I could not get out of the 
 water for want of a good dog. In the evening went on to 
 Houghton Lodge, where I dined and slept. 
 
 \ZtJi. — Got up by candlelight, breakfasted at break of 
 day, and sallied forth for a grand chasse at Longstock, in 
 which we were sadly disappointed, for, after being detained 
 there, wet through, for four hours, waiting for the rain to 
 blow off, it came on such a stormy day, that the punt could 
 not be managed, and the boatman (who was a ver)' sul!:y, 
 stupid fellow) got me bogged among the rushes on the middle 
 of the lake, there broke his punt pole and told me we should 
 most likely spend the evening out. Luckily, however, liie 
 blockhead was mistaken, and my day was finished with only 
 being wet through, never getting a shot, losing my ammu- 
 nition out of the bag, and coming home as sulky as a bear. 
 
 lotJi. — Went to shoot at Collingbournc Wood ; got wet 
 
22 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 through, and never fired off my gun. In the evening went to 
 Clanville Lodge to shoot the next da}-, 
 
 2ist. — A wet day. 
 
 22nd. — Was out all day, and only fired twice. Killed 
 I pheasant and i partridge. 
 
 22,rd. — Returned to Longparish. 
 
 1811 
 
 Januaiy. — Game killed up to leaving Longparish fur Por- 
 tugal : 249 partridges, 13 hares, 24 pheasants, 5 rabbits, 3 
 woodcocks, 68 snipes, 4 quails, and 3 landrails. Total, 369 
 head of game. Besides 5 ducks, i curre, coots, wood pigeons, 
 moorhens, water rails, fieldfares, &c. 
 
 GtJi. — Left Longparish to go (per mail) to Exeter, and 
 from thence to Plymouth, to embark once more for Por- 
 tugal. 
 
 N.B. — My wound is not yet healed. 
 
 jtJi. — At four in the morning got into the mail, and at 
 eleven at night reached Exeter. Had a delightfully jolly 
 party, and, not being post day, the mail stopped whenever we 
 saw game, and during the journey I killed 4 partridges. 
 When it was too dark to shoot, our party mounted the roof, 
 and sang choruses (while I joined them and drove), and in 
 which the guard and coachman took a very able part. 
 
 9///. — At one in the morning got into the mail, and at nine 
 reached Plymouth. 
 
 \2tJ1. — The detachment and baggage were embarked. 
 
 i^tJi. — Went (although far from well) to the Hangings 
 near Mavey (about eight miles from Plymouth), and killed 
 I snipe and 3 woodcocks, including one which I knocked 
 down, apparently dead, and had in my hand above five 
 minutes, when it suddenly sprang from me, and after fluttering 
 for a few seconds on the ground, flew away as strong as if it 
 never had been fired at, and I stopped it with a second shot. 
 
iSiT COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RV 23 
 
 X.B. — Only saw 8 cocks (ver}^ wild) the whole da}^, 3 of 
 which were killed by those who were with me. Consequently, 
 we only left a couple behind, at which, by the way, we never 
 got shots. 
 
 Specimen of what a bag of game in a sortie from garrison 
 usually costs. Chaise and postboy, 2gs. ; refreshment at ale- 
 houses, I2,s. ; paid man for his dogs, ys. ; gates, 6d. Total, 
 2/. gs. 6d. With the comfort of getting wet through, and 
 sitting benumbed in the chaise for nearly three hours while 
 crawling over (and often being lost on) the cross roads. 
 
 i6tJi. — Found m}'self extremely unwell, and was confined 
 for the day. 
 
 In consequence of seeing a letter from Lord Bridgewater 
 wherein he thought that I had embarked for the command of 
 the remount, I wrote to his Lordship explaining why I had 
 not, which was my having, for several days, been very unwell. 
 
 23;'^. — Received a letter from Lord Bridgewater to counter- 
 mand my going to Portugal, and apprising me that he, of his 
 own accord, had applied to the Adjutant-General for an ex- 
 tension of my leave. In consequence of this I disembarked 
 my horses and baggage. 
 
 24///. — The convoy sailed, and I proceeded home again to 
 Longparish. 
 
 2'jtJi. — This day, finding myself considerably better, I 
 began to regret that I had not gone abroad, and, contrary 
 both to orders and advice, resolved on going to Portsmouth, 
 from whence twelve ships of the line were on the point of sail- 
 ing. Accordingly, in the night (or, rather, on the morning of 
 the 28th), I posted off to the above place, where I saw Sir 
 Joseph Yorke, of whom I got a passage in the ' Victoty,' and 
 re-embarked on the 29th. This ship, in addition to her own 
 crew, being stowed with the whole of the 36th Regiment 
 besides several other military men, was so crowded that all 
 those on board were in perfect misery. The only berth that 
 could be got for me was in the surgeon's medicine closet, off 
 
24 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 the cockpit, in total darkness, where the air was so foul that 
 in several parts a candle could not be kept alight, and the ex- 
 tinguished snuff of it was literally a relief from the infernal 
 stench of the place. Our mess in the ward room, consisting 
 of above sixt}', was so crammed that comfort of an}' kind was 
 out of the question, and we were the whole time sick, and far 
 more from this circumstance than the motion of the ship. 
 Our living was the worst we had seen on board any ship what- 
 ever. 
 
 Contemplating on what I had to go through, how little I 
 was able to bear it, and the chance of giving great displeasure 
 to Lord Bridgewater, forgoing away in direct disobedience to 
 his orders and advice, I got into the long-boat, which was 
 going ashore in the evening, and took my portmanteau, with 
 some thoughts of not returning, and on my arrival at Ports- 
 mouth I was so much at a loss how to act for the best, and 
 so whimsicalh' undecided, that I actually tossed up whether 
 I would return to the ship or not. The toss coming in 
 favour of my going again on board, I returned in the long- 
 boat. 
 
 30//^. — At about eight in the morning, got under way 
 with a fine breeze from the eastward. 
 
 31^/. — The wind shifted directly against us, but, it not 
 blowing very hard, we continued to lay our course, and nearly 
 reached the mouth of the Channel. 
 
 February 1st. — There came on a severe gale of wind, and 
 the fleet was so blown about that some damage was done, and 
 we, among others, broke a mizen-topmast. We were at last 
 obliged to put about, and sail into Torba}% where we arrived 
 just as night set in. During the four days I was on board I 
 ate scarcely a morsel ; was so weak that I fainted several 
 times, and my wound discharged considerably more than it 
 had done for a length of time. I was in consequence told by 
 all the officers on board that I was a madman if I continued in 
 the ship, and this suggestion being strongly repeated by the 
 
i8ii COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 25 
 
 surgeons induced me, once more, to relinquish the attempt of 
 joining the army in Portugal, and I was taken on shore to a 
 little fishing town called Brixham. Here I slept the night, 
 and in the morning took a chaise, and proceeded to Exeter, 
 on my road to which place I was overtaken by a man who 
 told me that the fleet had again sailed. 
 
 ^tJi. — Home again to Longparish House. 
 
 lOtJi. — Went per mail to London. 
 
 15///. — Went down to Lord Bridgewater's in Hertford- 
 shire. 
 
 \6tJL — Walked out with the keeper's gun and killed 4 
 hares, 5 rabbits, and i wood pigeon. 
 
 lytJi. — Returned to London, and took places in the 
 mail of Tuesday night for Falmouth, to proceed once more 
 to Portugal, having given up my six weeks' leave and decided 
 on a passage by the first Lisbon packet I Arrived in Falmouth 
 on the 2 1 St. 
 
 24///. — Took my passage for Lisbon in the ' Princess 
 Charlotte ' packet, and in the evening went on board. 
 
 25///. — Sailed early in the morning, and after being all 
 day at sea and nearly clearing Channel, we were driven back 
 by contrary winds, and obliged to return to Falmouth Roads, 
 where we dropped anchor about four o'clock. We then 
 went on shore, leaving nearly all our baggage packed up 
 on board. 
 
 March ist. — The wind having shifted to the north, the 
 signals were fired, and we were routed up soon after daylight ; 
 and no sooner had we discharged our bills, given up our 
 lodgings, and were on the point of going on board, than the 
 wind returned to its old quarter, and the preparations for 
 sailing were of no avail. 
 
 ^th. — The wind came again to the north, and we were 
 called up at break of da}% but it blew such a violent hurricane 
 that it was impossible for the boats to get off till evening, 
 when, about six o'clock, we returned to our ship. 
 
26 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RV Uarcu 
 
 gf//. — Soon after eight in the morning we got under \va}- 
 with a gentle breeze from the N.N.E. accompanied by the 
 whole convo}-, which had so long remained windbound in 
 Falmouth harbour. 
 
 Number of miles travelled in my three attempts to rejoin 
 the arm}' in Portugal, notwithstanding I have been the whole 
 time in a bad state of health : From London to Longparish, 
 6i ; from Longparish to Plymouth, 155; back again, 155; 
 from Longparish to Portsmouth, 39 ; from Brixham to 
 Exeter, 32; from Exeter to Longparish, 112; from Long- 
 parish to London, 61 ; from London to Ashridge, 29; back 
 again, 29 ; from London to Longparish, 61 ; and from Long- 
 parish to Falmouth, 204. Total miles, 938. Besides four 
 days' hard beating in Channel, being imprisoned, at anchor, 
 in three different ships, and costing me about 200/. 
 
 i6t/L — Came in full view of the rock of Lisbon early in 
 the morning, and ^^■ere beating to windward all day and 
 night. 
 
 17///. — After beating the whole morning off the bar, we 
 got a fair wind, and sailed into the Tagus ; w^here we anchored 
 by four o'clock, and I went on shore to Madame de Silva's. 
 
 N.B. — A very comfortable passage of nine days. 
 
 27///. — Went to see the cork convent, which is about a 
 league from C intra, and inhabited by twelve friars. The 
 whole of this little monastery is cut through solid rocks, which 
 are beautifull}- interspersed with the gardens and temples of 
 the monks, and command a full view of the sea and town of 
 Colaris. The inside of this convent is entirely constructed 
 with cork, and from being detached among the miost solitary 
 mountains, and having scarcely a light but the glimmering 
 lamps of the altars, it has a sepulchral appearance truly 
 calculated for the retirement of its holy fathers. On our 
 return, we inspected the house, which was built b}' Mr. 
 Bcckford, and is now in a state of ruin. This fine quinta 
 stands in a forest of cork trees, overlooking Mafra (with the 
 
i8ii COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 27 
 
 whole vale around it), the sea, and the stupendous heights of 
 Cintra, from a foreground of cork trees and orange groves. 
 
 28///. — We were shown over the Prince Regent's palace, 
 which stands in the town of Cintra, commanding the whole 
 country around it. This edifice is very large, and contains 
 one immense hall richly gilded and decorated with painted 
 swans ; a second with magpies ; and a third with deer, which 
 are yoked with divers coats of arms, containing the heraldry 
 of all the noblemen in Portugal. The fountains here are very 
 fine, and among them is the principal curiosity of this palace, 
 namely, a large temple lined with Dutch tiles which spout 
 forth water from every side, above and below, by the mere 
 touch of a small engine in an adjoining room, and thus 
 form a sudden and continued shower bath, resembling tor- 
 rents of rain. 
 
 29//^. — Walked out with my dog and gun accompanied by 
 a captain in the 2nd Portuguese Foot ; killed 2 red-legged 
 partridges, some Portuguese larks, some of which are like 
 ours only of a redder tint, from the high coloured sand of this 
 country, others considerably larger, more the colour of ours, 
 and with a black ring round their necks, and i snipe. The 
 latter was considered a curiosity at this time of the year, and 
 the partridges are now so scarce that I saw but three all da}'. 
 
 April 2nd. — Found myself considerably better from a 
 severe illness, which I brought on by my exertions in the few 
 hours' shooting. 
 
 4///. — Hired asses and went round the environs of Cintra, 
 having that place and the rock in every point of vie\v^ In 
 our ride we passed the town of Colaris, from whence come 
 the greater part of the oranges for exportation. The beauty 
 of the road to this place is scarcely to be described ; it first 
 goes through an immense forest of cork trees lying under 
 stupendous rocks, and is covered with the most beautiful shrubs 
 and flowers, and contains the quinta of the Due de Cadaval ; 
 and then it goes through a most extensive range of orange 
 
28 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY April 
 
 and lemon orchards, where the trees are breaking down with 
 fruit, with which }'OU may load yourself without dismounting. 
 
 JtJi. — Returned to Belarra, and took up our abode at 
 Madame Silva's in Jonqueira. 
 
 N.B. — Our bill at Cintra came to near jol. for nine days' 
 plain living, and no visitors. 
 
 12///. — Having received a letter authorising me to return 
 to England (as \vcll as a sanction to the same from General 
 Peacocke), and not wishing to avail myself of this without 
 being fully justified in so doing, I had my wound inspected 
 by Dr. Hosack, the staff surgeon, and voluntarily appeared 
 before the IMedical Board, who pronounced mc ' totally unfit 
 for field duty ' and gave me a certificate accordingly. 
 
 May ^tJi. — Appeared again before the Medical Board (for 
 a final decision), and was ordered ' to return to England for 
 the recover}' of my health,' &c. 
 
 lOtJi. — Embarked on board the 'Sally' transport, which 
 (with a fleet of 58 sail) w^as bound for England, under convoy 
 of the ' Abercrombie.' 
 
 \yJi. — ^Soon after daylight w^e got under way, but with 
 such an unfavourable wind that we w^ere obliged to work the 
 direct contrary course for England so far as to be past St. 
 Ube's, and halfway to Cape St. Vincent, before we could get 
 a favourable offing. 
 
 \gtJi. — Passed a turtle sleeping on the water. A boat 
 was immediately sent after him, and when, with great caution, 
 the crew^ had rowed close to him, he was taken up and brought 
 on board. 
 
 2\st. — Having neither aldermen's cooks nor London re- 
 cipes on board, we were so hard run for dressing our turtle, 
 that I was the man honoured with that appointment ; and, 
 as m\' receipt was most highly approved, I have made a 
 memorandum of the w^ay precisely in which I dressed it, viz. : 
 Having the turtle killed, boned, and well cleaned with scalding 
 water over night, it was put in the saucepan about half-past 
 
iSii COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 29 
 
 nine in the morning, with more than twice as much water as 
 would cover it, and then left to keep boiling. At eleven I put 
 in two onions (cut in quarters), a piece of butter half the size 
 of an orange mixed with flour (and a teaspoonful of fine 
 sugar), and a crust of burnt bread. At twelve I added half a 
 pint of Madeira, a small teaspoonful of cayenne, a tablespoon- 
 ful of anchov}- essence, two ditto of Coratch sauce ; some 
 allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and peppercorns ; some pickled 
 samphire, and capsicorn, with all the juice and half the rind 
 of a large lemon. At two I added another squeeze of lemon, 
 ^\'ith two glasses more Madeira, and (after it had boiled with 
 these a few minutes) it was served up. 
 
 N.B. — About half an hour before we sat down to dinner, 
 the wind at last came fair for England. We had, till then, 
 been (ever since we left Portugal) working to westward for a 
 fair wind, and instead of being any nearer to home in our 
 nine days' sail, we were this day (at twelve o'clock) 125 miles 
 farther from England than we were when in the river Tagus, 
 viz. 2)7 degrees 27 miles north latitude ; I4 degrees 20 miles 
 west longitude ; the Land's End bearing N.N.E. 850 miles. 
 
 25///. — Entered the Bay of Biscay, the wind continuing 
 very fair. 
 
 28///. — Opened the Channel. 
 
 2<^tJi. — Saw the Start Point (which was the first land dis- 
 covered, in consequence of the weather being too thick to 
 distinguish the Lizard), and continued up Channel with a 
 beautiful wind. 
 
 30///. — Passed the Needles, and dropped anchor a little 
 beyond Hurst Castle. We were here destined to remain the 
 night, having a contrary wind, the tide against us, and being 
 above 30 miles from Spithead. As we were nearly opposite 
 Lymington, it luckily occurred to me that I had better (if 
 possible) get put ashore there ; I accordingly gave the pilot a 
 guinea who put me across, by which I saved at least 30 miles 
 by sea and 4 miles by land. After taking some tea at 
 
30 COLONEL HAWKER'S UL\RY April 
 
 Lymington, I proceeded to Romsey, where I passed the 
 night, and on the morning of the 31st arrived once more at 
 Longparish. 
 
 I must observe that the miseries I encountered on the 
 voyage (from being without a soul to attend me, except 
 occasional assistance from a cabin boy, and an Italian steward 
 that would turn the stomach of a hog) were adequately com- 
 pensated for by the master of the ship, who (I think it but 
 justice to say) was one of the most civil, agreeable, and ac- 
 commodating men I ever saw, and (it may be unnecessary to 
 add) very far superior to his bearlikc brethren. We were (as 
 it is but fair to expect and customary) poisoned to death with 
 putrid water, rancid salt butter, fleas and other dirt (added to 
 having our brains nearly beat out between decks) ; but I had 
 no time to grumble or complain, having been every day busily 
 employed in taking care of my things, cooking my dinner, 
 looking after my sheep, &c. We were luckily tolerably well the 
 whole three weeks we were on board, and not at all seasick. 
 
 The following is the diary of our passage from the log- 
 book : Monday, May 13th, 52 miles ; Tuesday, 14th, 50 miles ; 
 Wednesday, 15th, 50 miles; Thursday, i6th, 50 miles; Friday, 
 17th, 54 miles; Saturday, i8th, 39 miles ; Sunday, 19th, 47 
 miles; Monday, 20th, 58 miles; Tuesday, 21st, 85 miles; 
 Wednesday, 22nd, 104 miles ; Thursda}-, 23rd, 142 miles ; 
 Friday, 24th, 112 miles ; Saturday, 25th, 122 miles ; Sunday, 
 26th, 122 miles; Monday, 27th, 128 miles; Tuesday, 28th, 
 120 miles ; Wednesday, 29th, 120 miles ; Thursday, 30th, not 
 worked off when we left the ship, but said to be about 100 
 miles. Total made good : 1,555 miles. 
 
 July gth. — Went in a boat to the Needles for rock 
 shooting, and killed among other birds a cormorant. My 
 killing the latter bird was considered great sport ; as the 
 boatman and other people informed me that it was the first 
 they had seen dead the whole season ; for, although every 
 shooting party had tried every way for them, the cormorants 
 
iSii COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 31 
 
 were so difficult of access, and (even when within reach) 
 carried away so much shot, that none had been killed. 
 
 The plan I adopted was, being put on the extreme point 
 of the Needles, and then climbing part of the way up them, 
 and there waiting till these birds came over from behind me. 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to remark the terrific grandeur 
 and m^ajestic appearance of the rocks, when these (as well as 
 every other beauty we surveyed in the island) are so well 
 known, and have been so often described. 
 
 The shooting here is most excellent practice, and well 
 calculated to teach a person to fire quick, and divest himself 
 of that bungling trick of what is called ' covering my bird,' as 
 you have not only the rapid flight of these fowls to encounter, 
 but the incessant motion of the boat, as the bays with which 
 these rock birds abound are seldom without a great swell of 
 sea : you have, therefore, your object to catch in a moment, 
 and unless you put the very centre of your shot on to the birds, 
 they will very rarely fall, as the blow they take is scarcely to 
 be credited. They dive so quick that if you fire at one on the 
 water, he will generally be down at the flash, and particularly 
 if wing-broken. I was told by the boatmen that a man com- 
 pletely outmanceuvred them (a few days since) by one of For- 
 syth's patent locks, which never failed to kill them on the water. 
 
 Coming home I went ashore to see the white sand pit, and 
 the coloured chalk height, in Alum Bay, and in my walk 
 killed a rabbit. 
 
 The only objection to this excursion was that (from my 
 having been ill and nervous) it gave me a severe headache^ 
 which is little to be wondered at, when we consider the inces- 
 sant firing of heavy loaded guns, the constant confusion and 
 scramble in the boat, and the continual view of the chalk 
 precipices, added to the intense heat of a broiling sun, and 
 the repeated (though irresistible) application of a beer bottle 
 to one's mouth. 
 
 10///. — After having surveyed Freshwater Bay, the cave, 
 
32 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY July 
 
 and everything else within our morning's sail, I again paid 
 my respects to my friends the cormorants, which, by the way, 
 are provincial!}' called the ' Lsle of Wight parsons.' 
 
 I was landed again on the point of the Needles, and this 
 day, not having Mrs. Hawker with me, I had no one to be 
 alarmed, and therefore climbed a considerable way up the 
 rock, and there took a position in ambush, directing the boat- 
 men to put to sea at some distance behind the rock, and 
 prepare me, by the blowing of a post horn, for the approach 
 of the ' reverend devourers.' At last there came three of 
 them suddenly upon me, and I killed 2 cormorants, right 
 and left. 
 
 The first I brought down by putting small snipe shot 
 through his head, and the second bird I shot in the body and 
 wings wath No. 3, and though, I suppose, forty }'ards from 
 me, my Joe Manton broke both his wing bones short off from 
 the body, and killed him dead. It may be proper to observe 
 that this bird fell quite lifeless, whereas the first-barrel bird, 
 through whose head I put the small shot, paused for some 
 time before he fell. 
 
 I found that my plan of the horn answered extremely well. 
 
 I then went to have a few hours' pastime under the rocks, 
 but found the birds so very wild that I despaired of getting 
 shots, but by dint of perseverance killed 5 puffins, 2 razor- 
 bills, and 3 willocks. We then went and amused ourselves 
 taking up the lobster pots, and in lieu of what we took out, 
 fastened a paper with some money in it to the wickers of 
 the pots, and then sank them again. 
 
 28///. — This day being the anniversary of the battle of 
 Talavera, makes it exactly two years since I got my wound, 
 from which I may now consider m}'self just recovered, though 
 it has not completely healed up. 
 
 August ZtJi. — Went with Lord Hinton, who had never 
 fished with a minnow before, and the trout ran so remarkably 
 well that he caught 7 brace of the largest fish we had seen for 
 
i8ii COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 33 
 
 the season in the space of an hour and half. I killed also one 
 trout, while instructing him how to troll, which was the largest 
 caught this year, weighing 2 lb. 
 
 Lord Hinton hooked a trout with a minnow, which was 
 so large as to require nearly twenty minutes to get him to 
 the top of the water ; and while we were in the very act of 
 landing him, we had the sad mortification to see him break 
 the tackle and swim away. He was the largest trout I ever 
 saw, and has defeated all the fishermen. I should guess his 
 weight at about 7 lb. 
 
 igtJi. — Attended the carpenters and fishermen at the taking 
 up the weir wherein we thought that the enormous trout, 
 hooked by Lord Hinton, must have concealed himself, as he 
 clearly went there on breaking the tackle. We, of course, 
 caught every fish that it contained, but saw nothing of him, 
 our largest fish being but little more than 2 lb. 
 
 VOL. \. 
 
84 COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 1811 
 
 September \st. — Longparish. Sunday. 
 
 2nd. — 18 partridges, 4 hares, and i quail. Little as this 
 may appear in comparison with our sport some years, it is 
 more than we have ever done in proportion to the extreme 
 scarcity of birds. There never was so bad a breed of, or so 
 few, partridges since the memory of the oldest men in our 
 \-illage. What we got was by downright slavery. 
 
 yd. — Walked out with lame dogs after a three o'clock 
 dinner, and killed 10 partridges. (I missed but one shot.) 
 
 A^tJi. — 9 partridges, i hare, i landrail, i rabbit, i wood 
 pigeon, and i teal. 
 
 N.B. — Killed everything I fired at, except two partridges, 
 one of which was a long distance from me, and at the other 
 the gun hung fire. 
 
 yJi. — 7 partridges, i quail, and i hare. Shot at Enham, 
 where the extreme scarcit}' of birds prevails, as well as in 
 every other place. 
 
 6tJL. — 5 partridges, 2 snipes, and i hare. 
 
 jtJi. — 4 partridges and i hare. Found but one covey 
 the whole day, out of which I killed a double shot ; I had 
 but six shots with fagging all the morning ; luckily, however, 
 I killed them all, one being at a bird which I knocked down 
 and lost ; and all (except the double shot) single birds. 
 
 Received an order from Lord Bridgewater to take charge 
 of a recruiting party about to be stationed at Newbury. 
 i2th. — 2 partridges. 
 
i8ir COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 35 
 
 N.B.— Fagged the whole morning, and got but two fair 
 shots : never was the game so scarce. 
 I'^tJi. — -7 partridges. 
 
 14///. — Went over to take up my recruiting party at 
 Newbury. 
 
 \6th-. — 12 snipes and i water crake (or spotted gallinule). 
 Besides another water-crake and 3 snipes shot and lost in 
 the high reeds. With the exception of some random shots 
 which I fired towards evening, when the snipes became very 
 wild, and once when I lost my bird by the gun hanging fire, 
 I missed but one shot the whole day, so that (with these 
 exceptions) I knocked down 1 5 snipes and 2 water crakes 
 out of 18 shots. We found three couple of the latter birds, 
 which I consider a great curiosity, as I never saw but three 
 before in my life, and all of these were in different years and 
 different countries. I never met with any in Hampshire 
 before, although the water rails here are very numerous. 
 
 Game killed in the month of September : j^ partridges, 8 
 hares, 3 quails, i landrail, 18 snipes, i rabbit. Total, 104 head. 
 
 N.B. — Never was game so scarce as this year. 
 
 October ij-/. — 7 pheasants and 2 partridges. It was a very 
 wet day, and I got my game partly at the expense of a 
 tenacious old farmer, who (leaving his own covers behind for 
 his private preservation) sallied forth to the annoyance of 
 every poor little farmer in the neighbourhood, when I enticed 
 him on by a feint to cross his beat, and then tipped him the 
 double and hung upon his rear ; had the weather been fine I 
 should have played the devil with his pheasants, as every bird 
 I shot quite dead on the spot. 
 
 14//^.— Went to Weyhill Fair, where the principal curiosity 
 was a creature (shown under the name of a mermaid) that 
 was caught and brought alive from the Southampton river. 
 
 November ^rd. — Went to Lord Bridgewater's at Ashridge. 
 
 AftJi. — Walked out (in my Bond Street dress, and, in short, 
 completely unprepared for shooting) with the keeper's old 
 
36 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov 
 
 gun, which was stocked so different from my own, that I 
 missed a third of what I fired at ; notwithstanding this (and 
 the day being showery), I bagged lo partridges, 4 hares, 
 I pheasant, i rabbit, and i woodcock, besides a quantity of 
 game that I only wounded from the gun not coming well to 
 my shoulder. The birds here were so wild that we could 
 scarcely get into the fields before they were up, and even in 
 high turnips and cover they sprung out of shot ; but their 
 numbers I could compare to nothing but swarms of bees; 
 seven and eight coveys in a field was quite common, and 
 through a tract of country for ten miles ; I am confident 
 that had I been prepared to go out at xA.shridge and taken 
 my own gun, had a fine day, and plenty of ammunition, 
 I could have filled a sack. As to hares, you kill as many as 
 you want, and then leave off ; fifty in a field are sometimes 
 found, and all this clear of the preserves. 
 
 1812 
 
 Recapitulation of game killed up to February 1812 : 
 119 partridges, 20 hares, 3 quails, i landrail, 41 pheasants, 
 13 rabbits, 2 woodcocks, 48 snipes, 7 wild ducks, i teal, 
 I wigeon. Total, 256 head. Besides adding herons, wood 
 pigeons, fieldfares, &c. 
 
 March ist. — After being tortured for three days and three 
 nights ^vith the toothache, I had a tooth drawn and driven in 
 again, by which severe operation you effectually remove all 
 pain (by destroying the nerve), and at the same time restore 
 the tooth for mastication. 
 
 April i6th. — After having made up my mind to return to 
 the army in Portugal, I was this evening taken with a slight 
 cold in my loins, and on Sunday I completely lost the use 
 of m}^ limbs. I went to Mr. Home for something to give me 
 relief, and on seeing how far from being recovered I was, 
 he decidedly forbid my going abroad, and advised me to 
 leave the army, on the annexed certificate : 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 37 
 
 {^Copy:) 
 
 ' This is to certify that Captain Peter Hawker's general 
 health is so much impaired by the wound in his hip, and the 
 parts so liable to inflame and swell upon slight exertions, 
 tliat he is, and will continue to be, unfit for actual service for 
 a considerable time. 
 
 (Signed) * EVERARD HOME. 
 
 ' London, Sackville Street : 
 ' May i-jth, i8i2.' 
 
 Jzine 26th. — Received a letter from Lord Bridgewater 
 giving me choice either to join the depot, take a recruiting 
 party (in a district where the new system was not yet es- 
 tablished), or remain at Longparish on the strength of my 
 sick certificate. 
 
 Having declined the latter, I wrote to Lord Bridgewater 
 to request his orders for my doing whatever would be, in his 
 opinion, most for the good of his regiment, &c. 
 July 1st. — Went fly fishing and killed 10 trout. 
 
 August nth. — This evening received a new double gun 
 from Mr. Joseph Manton, No. 5802. 
 
 \2th. — /\fter trying my gun at paper, and finding that it 
 shot tolerably close and remarkably strong, I rode over to 
 Leckford and killed about a dozen coots and moorhens, with 
 two ducks ; and (as far as I could then judge) think the 
 gun will suit me. 
 
 19//^.— Fished (with a fly) at Wherwell. and killed 22 
 large trout. 
 
 2/^th. — Agreeably to an order received the preceding 
 day, I left Longparish to take up a recruiting party at Brad- 
 ford, Wilts, where, on my arrival, the place was so full 
 (owing to the fair) that I was obliged to take my tired horses 
 out of the dog cart and feed them in the back way to the 
 inn ; and after riding the leader all over the town (which is 
 roughly paved, and up and down tremendous hills), and then 
 
38 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug. 
 
 galloping two miles to the fair ground in search of my 
 party, I heard that the men had marched from Bath back to 
 Weymouth, instead of to Bradford, owing to a mistake in the 
 route. I then proceeded to Bath (in order to get a bed, &c.), 
 and on my arrival found this to be the case. 
 
 2^tJi. — Having (till my party could arrive) nothing to do, 
 I started soon after nine o'clock for Bristol, and having spent 
 an hour in seeing the ' lions ' of that place, I mounted the box 
 of the Welsh mail, and went to the New Passage (in Gloucester- 
 shire), and crossed the Severn to the Black Rock (in I\Ion- 
 mouthshire), where, after dining on plenty of Severn salmon 
 and an excellent leg of Welsh mutton (for 3^-. 2^/.), I recrossed 
 the water, in a vessel with 119 Irish pigs and 4 Tipperary 
 hog drivers, and then went back to Bristol by the return 
 mail, into which I bundled with three old women from 
 Glamorgan ; and, what with the incessant roar of the herd of 
 swine and the everlasting clack of the Taffys, my ears were 
 for hours recovering. To recover my nerves I got some tea 
 and coffee with Charley Langford, of the Middlesex Militia, 
 and after sitting with a party there till half-past nine, I re- 
 turned in a hack chaise to Bath, where I arrived at 1 1 o'clock 
 and went to bed. 
 
 30///. — Having got leave to be absent, I went to Long- 
 parish to meet Lord Hinton, for a week's shootincr. 
 
;8i2 COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 39 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 l8l2 
 
 • 
 
 September \st. — So much corn was standing, and so exe- 
 crably bad was the prospect of sport for this year, that many 
 first-rate sportsmen dechned going out, and several of those 
 who did came home with empty bags. Lord Hinton and I 
 started between ten and eleven. I killed ii partridges and 
 I hare. 
 
 ^th. — Was out all the morning, and never got a shot. 
 
 ^tJi. — 5 partridges. 
 
 N.B. — All we found the whole day was one covey of 15, 
 out of which Lord Hinton and I bagged 12. 
 
 jtJi. — 5 partridges and 2 hares. Killed some birds besides, 
 which I lost in the corn. Excepting long random shots. I 
 never missed a bird the whole week. With the exception of 
 one which towered, all my birds fell dead to the gun. 
 
 Game bagged the first week : 33 partridges and 3 hares. 
 Total, 36 head of game. 
 
 N.B.— Though (without picking my shots) I never missed 
 a fair shot the whole week, and I had five brace of good dogs 
 to shoot with, yet the above is all I killed, so infamously bad, 
 in every respect, is the shooting this year. 
 
 8///. — Having hired a house for my family at Bradford, 
 Wiltshire, I was on the point of starting for that place, bag 
 and baggage, at seven in the morning, when Woollard (who 
 had been riding all night) arrived to inform me that I was 
 to give up the recruiting party on the 24th inst. 
 
40 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 I was, however, obliged to go to Bradford to settle some 
 accounts, &c., and I arrived there by about three o'clock, in 
 time for the post. 
 
 gtJi. — After a wet morning I started for Atworth, about 
 4 miles from Bradford, to shoot with ]\Ir. Robert Webb. We 
 did not start till near four in the afternoon, and I bagged 9 
 partridges, besides one knocked down and lost in the corn, in 
 ten shots. I had two double and six single shots, and every 
 bird fell dead to the gun. Shooting and sport of this kind 
 being voted a rarity in Atworth, my success was the talk of 
 the whole village. 
 
 10///. — After getting up very early I visited ]\Ir. Coltatt, 
 of Wraxall, who is keeper over all these manors, and landlord 
 of the ' Plough ' inn ; consequently, by putting up there, you 
 have his good-will to shoot. Owing to bad weather, however, 
 apd trusting to his dogs, I got but four shots, and bagged 
 3 partridges. 
 
 wtJi. — Never got a shot. It is singular that the only two 
 blank days I had were on the two Fridays, and that on each 
 of those days I found nothing but a pair of barren birds, 
 although in two different counties. 
 
 \2tJL — Drove my tandem to a heath (between Lord 
 Lansdowne's and Colonel Thornton's), where I killed 5 rab- 
 bits, 3 partridges, and i wood pigeon. 
 
 lA^th. — 4 partridges ; and (owing to being baulked by the 
 dogs chasing) I missed within fair distance i hare ; I, how- 
 ever, secured her with the second barrel. 
 
 N.B. — With the exception of some random shots out of 
 reach and three snap shots at rabbits in high grass, the above 
 first-barrel shot at the hare is the first miss I have made this 
 season, making sixty shots in succession without missing, 
 besides some birds killed and lost in the standing corn, &c. 
 
 N.B.— I never picked my shots to seek the reputation of 
 never missing ; and I invariably fired both barrels when 
 opportunit}- offered. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 41 
 
 \6tJi. — 2 partridges. Went in search of a leash of birds, 
 which has been seen (the previous day) by the butcher, and 
 although — so intensely hot and dry — there was scarcely any 
 scent I found them, and killed a double shot ; the third bird 
 got off to covert, and we could not find him. 
 
 lytJi. — 2 partridges. Went out near the town, and as I 
 arrived at a stubble- the farmer came up ; and with his 
 damning and swearing, frightened up the above brace of 
 birds, which I killed right and left before his face, put them 
 in my pocket, and wished him ' good evening.' 
 
 1 8//?. — Walked out, never was more than a mile from the 
 town all day, and bagged 12 partridges (besides two shot 
 and lost). I killed every bird I fired at, and made good the 
 only three double shots I fired. We only found 19 birds 
 all day, and on my return I found a note from Squire 
 Jones to request I would desist from sporting in these fields 
 or near Bradford Wood as they were preserved, and telling 
 me he was authorised to ' forbid all trespassers,' notwith- 
 standing the whole town shot constantly over them, and he 
 had previously given his approbation to my shooting, and 
 I had even robbed myself to supply him with game. 
 
 My Anszuer. 
 
 * Dear Sir, — As to my certain knowledge every fellow in 
 this town shoots in the neighbourhood of Bradford Wood, I 
 am almost induced to think you are joking when you call it 
 a preserve. I regret, however, that you were not a day 
 sooner in your application, as I have this moment returned 
 with the only remaining birds (fourteen) in my bag ; four 
 brace of which I was on the point of sending you when I 
 received your note, and consequently disposed of them other- 
 wise. 
 
 * I am, &c. 
 
 * P.S. — 'I have also countermanded the sending for a capital 
 
42 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 pointer bitch of which I had promised m}'.sclf the pleasure of 
 making you a present ! ' 
 
 The squire sent a verbal message that ' I was no gentle- 
 man ! ' 
 
 ' Sir, —I am surprised that you should aggravate your 
 uncivil conduct by saying I am " no gentleman." I beg to 
 observe that did I consider you as worthy the name of one I 
 should not hesitate to take up your message in a proper light. 
 
 ' I am, &c.' 
 
 1 received the squire's message when getting into m}- 
 tandem for Longparish, and had to turn back to make the 
 above acknowledgment of its receipt. 
 
 23r<^. — On my return from Longparish I received the 
 following epistle from the squire : 
 
 'Woolley : September i8lh, 1812. 
 
 ' Sir, — As to my knowledge there has not been any fellow 
 who has sported on the estate at Bradford Wood, 1 hereby 
 give you notice that you are forbidden to shoot (or otherwise 
 sport) on the several estates of Earl Manvers, in the hundred 
 of Bradford, or the liberty of Trowbridge, and I am at the 
 same time to bring to your remembrance that any officer 
 sporting on the estates of persons without leave is contrary 
 to law ; you are also forbidden to shoot on the manor of 
 Trowle, or on any of the estates of Earl Manvers, as well as 
 on my own lands, subject to a report to the Commander-in- 
 Chief. 
 
 ' I am, Sir, 
 
 ' Your obedient servant, 
 
 ' John Jones. 
 
 'To Captain P. Hawker, 14 L.D.' 
 
 The squire being the most unrelenting tyrant and ne- 
 farious sinner, the annexed is what I returned him. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 48 
 
 I should observe that the whole town of Bradford, and 
 all the poor fellows he had persecuted, were quite in an 
 uproar of joy about it, and ready to eat me up. 
 
 ' Bradford, Wiltshire : September 24th. 
 
 ' Captain Hawker begs to inform Squire Jones that he is 
 always a day after the fair with his insignificant revenge. 
 Captain Hawker having only this night received his polite 
 notice, and being obliged to take his farewell of Bradford 
 early to-morrow, he is prevented beating the remainder of 
 the manor, which he otherwise, upon his honour, most 
 assuredly would have done. He feels particularly obliged to 
 the squire for his civil information, as the article of war 
 wherein " an officer who has leave fromi the landholder can 
 be prosecuted by the lord of a manor," has not yet appeared 
 before the public ! Whatever manors Squire Jones may 
 hold for others, he is about as deficient in manners of his 
 own as he is of popularity, good nature, or capacity for a 
 magistrate ; and as, therefore, the squire has even got the 
 start of the articles of war and even of the law itself, the 
 Captain most strongly recommends him to study Blair's 
 Sermons, Lord Chesterfield, and the Bible ; and, in bidding 
 him adieu, sincerely wishes him a sound and permanent 
 reformation both of mind and body, and that he may have 
 time to repent his sins, and prepare himself for that day 
 when " every man shall be judged according to his works ! " 
 (the text given last Sunday at Bradford church, where Jones 
 never goes).' 
 
 Out of the twelve double shots which I have fired since 
 Sept. 1st I have killed both birds eleven times, and bagged 
 them all but one, which I bungled at, and did not kill dead. 
 This makes seventy-seven out of seventy-eight fair shots. 
 
 Having been only from a quarter past eleven till three 
 to-day filling my bag, I returned to Bradford at the latter 
 hour, in good time to despatch some birds to town. Every 
 
44 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 other bird, except one brace, I gave away to the natives, 
 so they could not call me a pot hunter. 
 
 Having got my dinner I started for Longparish (in 
 the tandem) at a quarter before eight, and arrived home, 
 
 45 miles, by two in the morning ; having only stopped for a 
 short time to feed my horses, and they arrived quite fresh 
 and tolerably cool. 
 
 Game bagged the month of September 1812: 78 par- 
 tridges, 7 hares, 7 rabbits, 3 snipes. Total, 95 head of 
 game. 
 
 October yth. — 3 partridges, 3 snipes, i pheasant, and i jay. 
 
 I sprung a single snipe, and after seeing it fall, I 
 observed another going away, which, in a few seconds, 
 towered and fell in the river, so that I bagged two with firing 
 but once : the latter bird, therefore, was evidently killed by 
 accident, on the ground. 
 
 loth. — Left Longparish for Weymouth. I took a gun in 
 the carriage, and in three shots going along the road, I got 3 
 pheasants which I much wanted. 
 
 i^th. — Went over, with Lords Poulett and Hinton, to 
 Hinton St. George Park. 
 
 14.1/1. — After viewing the beauties of Hinton House I rode 
 out and killed 2 snipes and 2 jack snipes, which were all 
 that could be got, as the immense swarms seen the preceding 
 days were driven away by a change of weather. 
 
 i6th. — Returned to Longparish. Carried a loaded gun 
 in the carriage to flank the road occasionally, and bagged 
 5 pheasants and 3 rabbits. 
 
 20th. — Having, on the 19th, received orders to join a 
 recruiting party at Glasgow, I left Longparish and arrived in 
 London this day. 
 
 24th. — After the post came in, I started for Ashbridge 
 Park ; and, having dined with Lord Bridgewater, returned to 
 town, where I arrived soon after twelve at night. 
 
 As we passed Lord Bridgewater's grounds we observed 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 45 
 
 his i^eople at oat cart, and his Lordship informed us that ' he 
 was this day to finish his harvest' This shows what a late 
 season we have had. 
 
 26th. — Left London for Scotland. 
 
 Having taken places for Ferrybridge, I left the ' Bull and 
 Mouth ' inn, per Glasgow mail, at a little before eight, and, 
 after taking up the bags in Lombard Street, at the General 
 Post Office, we proceeded for the North. 
 
 N.B. — On passing the Duke of Newcastle's, on the right 
 going down, between Ollerton and Worksop, the enormous 
 quantity of pheasants, which were within twenty yards of 
 the road, is scarcely to be credited ; there were nearly 100 
 of them all close together like a flock of pigeons. Unluckily 
 for me, and luckily for his Grace, it poured so hard with rain 
 tnat I never could have unpacked my gun, otherwise the guard 
 and coachman would readily have brought to for action. 
 
 I had mtended to stop at Ferrybridge to have taken a 
 day at Methley Park with Lord Pollington ; but finding the 
 roads so bad, and that his seat was nine miles out of the 
 highway, I had not sufficient spare time. 
 
 While passing through Lincolnshire &c. we saw the people 
 at harvest, and in a few hours after, the mail was so covered 
 with snow, that, in spite of all coats, ' toggerys and upper 
 benjamins,' the whole of the outside crew were wet to the 
 skin, and almost frozen with cold. I kept my myrmidons 
 well, with the never failing remedy of cold gin and beer. 
 
 I arrived at Mr. Thompson's inn, ' The Old George and 
 Morritt's Arms,' at Greta Bridge about half-past six o'clock 
 on the morning of the 28th. 
 
 N.B. — I think the north roads, as far as possible, inferior 
 to the western. They are mended with large soft quarr}- 
 stones, which, at first, are like brickbats, and afterwards like 
 sand. Lideed, what ^\■ith the wet weather and other circum- 
 stances, it would have been misers' to have travelled in an}-- 
 thing but the mail. 
 
-ir, COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY Oct. 
 
 The posting is i^-. <^d. per mile, and very inferior to that of 
 the western road at \s. 6d. The people of this mail, and 
 particular!}' the ruffians at the ' Bull and Mouth ' office, are in 
 general a dissatisfied, grumbling set of fellows. Their ' turns- 
 out ' of horses and harness are beggarly. 
 
 In Lincolnshire there are many gentlemen's parks, fenced 
 with walls of loose quarry stone ; ricks made upon raised 
 sheds, and the carts put under their cover ; second storeys, of 
 many houses, of spear reed, cemented over and under with 
 plaister ; bread either very white or very brown, no medium ; 
 fires very large and a profuse waste of coals, which, I learnt, 
 are 5^". 6d. a cartload, free of gates and everj'thing. In 
 Hants, the}' would be 30J. 
 
 Tabic of Diail-coach expenses to the Grouse Moors 
 
 £ .s. 
 
 My place inside to Ferrybridge 
 Outside places for two servants at 2/. loi-. each 
 To a dog brought per mail 
 To extra luggage 
 Ferrybridge to Greta Bridge . 
 Six coachmen and four guards, at 4^-. each 
 Total 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 £ 18 8 
 
 I usuall}- gave the coachmen and guards 2^". for myself 
 and \s. each for my servants, though generally more if they 
 were civil and obliging. The above, however, is the common 
 price on this road. 
 
 28///. — Having learnt that the grouse were become so 
 wild and scarce that a man who had, a few days ago, killed a 
 brace was spoken of as having done wonders, I despaired of 
 getting any ; but, having travelled till I had scarcely strength 
 from my Peninsular wound to go farther (in order to secure a 
 day or two), I was resolved, at all events, to look at the moors 
 and, if possible, see a live grouse, which I had all my life been 
 longing to do. This evening, therefore, I proceeded (in a 
 post-chaise) on the high road for Glasgow &c. and stopped 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 47 
 
 at Bowes (a small place 6 miles from Greta Bridge), where I 
 bought some shot, and drove on to a public-house (3 miles 
 further) kept by one Kitty Lockey, who horses the mail. 
 
 Never was there a more admirable situation than this 
 public-house. It stands in the very best part of the moor 
 (this is Strathmoor, and from it we had a fine view of 
 Durham) ; and, being an isolated place, the grouse are as 
 likely to be found close to the house as anywhere farther, 
 and indeed the landlord informed me that he this very morn- 
 ing saw a grouse sitting within a fair shot of his door, and 
 that these birds often come close to it. I was, of course, not 
 a little ' on my metal ' at hearing this. 
 
 The public-house here is in every respect remarkably 
 good. The place where it stands is known by the name of 
 Spittle. 
 
 It was curious, on passing to this place (or rather to Bowes) 
 to observe the quantity of standing corn ; two-thirds of the 
 fields, in every direction, not being yet reaped or mowed. Com- 
 mon wheat, oats, and barley standing all over the country. 
 
 After supping (so my landlord chose to call it, though it 
 was a six o'clock dinner) on a roast duck, Yorkshire ham, 
 and preserve tarts, which (to my astonishment) I had in per- 
 fection at this hut, I went to bed with every inducement to 
 rise early, except the weather, which had been very snowy 
 and wet, and was still very stormy — all much against the 
 chance of my getting a grouse. 
 
 N.B. — It should be remembered that one brace of moor 
 game now is equal to 1 5 (or more) in August, both for value 
 and difficulty of shooting them. 
 
 2<^tJi. — The weather having suddenly changed to a very 
 hard frost, with sharp winds, I, after getting some breakfast, 
 started with my one dog and Kitty Lockey for a pilot. 
 Within 250 yards of my bedroom window, and directly in 
 front of the alehouse, Nero found 3 grouse, then 2 more, and 
 7 more (I looked at my watch, and found that we had seen 
 
48 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 these six brace within nine minutes from our leaving the 
 door). Within twenty-five minutes from our throwing off we 
 found two packs, of about lo or 12 each ; and, in short, saw 
 about forty brace during our walk, all within one mile, and 
 two-thirds of them within less than half a mile from the 
 public-house and some close to the road, where the mail and 
 other coaches pass. But the certainty of finding them was 
 sadly counterbalanced by the utter impossibility of getting at 
 them ; in spite of every manoeuvre, I could scarcely get even so 
 near as 1 50 yards to them, and it was only two or three times 
 that the dog could come within that distance. I contrived, how- 
 ever (by creeping, with my hat off, behind hillocks and ridges 
 which I thought likely) to get within sixty yards of some pairs, 
 and single ones, three of which I fired at, but with no other 
 hopes of killing than a chance shot taking a vital part. At last 
 (after I had voted it impossible to get a grouse in such weather, 
 and so late in the season) Nero came to a point, and (as luck 
 would have it) the brow of a hill was between him and his bird, 
 and I by creeping up * took him on the hop,' fired directly he 
 rose (at about 45 yards) and down I knocked him, in the act 
 of crowing at me — a fine old cock grouse. Bagged also i teal, 
 I jack snipe, and i snipe, which (with another wild snipe and 
 a flock of golden plover) were all I saw except grouse. 
 
 On my return to the inn, I met a Mr. George Edwards (of 
 Barnard Castle, Durham), who, on my complaining at not 
 being able to make up a brace of moor game, said that (with 
 such a day &c.) he should not have credited m}' having killed 
 one, had I not produced the bird. 
 
 This gentleman (as well as the landlord) informed me 
 that anyone who had a freehold (even under 40^-.) had a right 
 (if qualified &c.) to sport over the whole of these moors (for 
 10 or 12 miles). Thus, here is no lord of the manor ; but 
 every freeholder has an equal right to sport. Their plan to 
 prevent poachers, and serve notices, is (or rather ought to be) 
 carried on by a committee ; but so little attention is paid to 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 49 
 
 the matter, that a stranger may shoot a whole season, with 
 Httle or no opposition, and a gentleman would have no trouble 
 in getting a month's leave. 
 
 In August it is common for a bungler to bag his eight brace. 
 
 loth. — Left Spittle for Penrith, but was obliged to leave 
 one of my men behind, in consequence of the guard being 
 unable to take on my luggage. I should observe that nothing 
 creates more disputes on this road than a gun case, as it will 
 go nowhere but the outside of the coach, where the guards 
 are forbid to put anything ; and, from the wretched horses 
 driven, the coachmen have so much difficulty in keeping their 
 time, that they in general are very tenacious of taking any- 
 thing more than they are obliged to do. They are, however, 
 much more civil here than farther upwards. 
 
 As you enter Westmoreland, the scenery becomes very 
 romantic, and the approach to Appleby, which you enter down 
 a steep hill, presents a magnificent landscape. 
 
 My reason for stopping at Penrith was to see Ulswater, 
 one of the finest of the lakes, and the only one I could reach 
 without going nearly forty miles out of my way. I hired a 
 gig,' and got a weaver's boy for a pilot; and, in six miles, 
 reached the village of Pooley, at the foot of the lake. Nothing 
 can be more romantically beautiful than the richly wooded 
 hills that form the side scenery, and the majestic heights 
 which compose the background of this landscape ; in a word, 
 the view creates a sort of sensation which we feel on hearing 
 Mozart's music, seeing Shakespeare's tragedies, hearing Bra- 
 ham sing, or seeing ourselves surrounded by a good evening 
 flight of wild fowl. 
 
 i\fter driving a considerable way on the road, which is on 
 the edge of the lake, I returned to Pooley to make inquiries 
 for sport, and found that a Mr. Russel had, as he termed it, the 
 farming of the fishery, and that by putting up at his house, 
 you insured yourself the liberty of angling on the lake for nine 
 miles. The following are the fish it produces : grey trout, 
 
 VOL. L E 
 
50 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Oct. 
 
 running up to 35 lb. ; common trout ; charre ; perch ; skilly, 
 or fresh-water herrings, which are caught by thousands at a 
 draught ; chub ; eels, and brandlings. 
 
 No wild fowl to speak of, but good partridge shooting 
 round the lake. 
 
 On my return to Penrith about 5 P.M. I got a brace of 
 trout dressed, some good gravy soup, a roast chicken, cran- 
 berry tarts, jellies, &c., all elegantly served up, and with great 
 civility, for 6j-. 8^., which I thought much better bestowed than 
 on a lawyer's letter. 
 
 After dinner, about half-past six, I got a lift on to Carlisle, 
 by the Manchester mail. 
 
 3ii-/. — Saw the whole of Carlisle, and the only thing I 
 observed to be worthy of remark is the excellent architecture, 
 and construction of the two new courthouses, which give a 
 grand effect to the entrance of this town. Carlisle is well 
 paved with quarry stone of a reddish brown colour, with which 
 the cathedral, castle, and other edifices are built. The former 
 has a fine window and some good oak carving ; the latter has 
 arms for 10,000 men ; though neither of these is anything 
 beyond mediocrity. 
 
 I should observe that the inns are so small and bad, in 
 proportion to the numbers who travel through this town, that 
 it is but seldom you can be accommodated with a sitting room 
 to yourself, and you are, consequently, obliged to live at the 
 same table with persons of every description. 
 
 At half-past three this evening, I left Carlisle for Moffat, 
 where I arrived about half-past ten. When you have passed 
 the river Sarke, 3^ miles beyond Longtown, you enter Dum- 
 friesshire in Scotland, where the country soon appears barren, 
 and the little cabins of stones, poorly thatched and only on a 
 ground floor, contribute to its wild appearance. 
 
 After getting nearly two miles into Scotland you go through 
 Springfield, which is now the grand receptacle for enamoured 
 fugitives ; the hymeneal business being now carried on by 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 51 
 
 one David Ling, a ci-devant coachman, who married the niece 
 of the late old man, commonly called 'the Blacksmith,' and 
 thereby succeeded him in his property and business. Priest 
 Ling resides in a tenement, or rather hovel, among a small 
 row of slated cabins, on the left as you pass down ; and a little 
 farther, on the opposite side of the street, is a pothouse called 
 ' The Alax well's Arms,' and kept by one Jemmy Reade, where 
 the nuptial ceremony has, of late, been performed. This 
 temple, however, was formerly kept at Gretna Hall, on the 
 green, which joins the hamlet of Springfield, but the house 
 being since bought for a private residence, the impatient lovers 
 have now only to direct their flight to the place before men- 
 tioned, by which they will be accommodated with having 
 500 yards less distance to reach their asylum of security ; 
 unhappily, however, the roads in this poor countr\- are ill 
 calculated for the wings of love. 
 
 I should mention that the old man, who officiated for nearly 
 forty years, at 40/., 50/. and sometimes lOo/. ajob, never was a 
 blacksmith, but, merely so called because his pairs were welded 
 together in heat. Old Joe Parsley, for that was his name, was 
 by trade a tobacconist. He was a very large, heavy man, and 
 might have died worth a great deal of money ; but from being 
 an intolerable drunkard and a very unsteady fellow, his 
 money went as lightly as it came, and after he had solemnised 
 the marriages, and dismissed his ' couple of fools ' from the 
 forge, they could not possibly be more eager to follow their 
 avocations than his reverence was to trudge off to a whisky 
 house. 
 
 The roads and horses in this country are so bad and ill 
 attended to, that even the mails get on but slowl}- and in a 
 very slovenly manner ; the harness being generally second- 
 hand, one horse in plated, another in brass harness, and, in 
 short, all of a piece ; and when thc\- do have new harness 
 (which is very seldom) it is put on like a labourer's leather 
 
52 COLONEL HAWKER'S IMARY Oct. 
 
 breeches on a Sunday, and worn till it rots, without being- 
 cleaned. The coachmen are Hke a set of dirty gipsies ; they 
 drive but one stage each, and then look after their own 
 horses. The mails are (from London) exactly the same as 
 all others. 
 
 November 1st. — I was prevented sur\eying this country 
 by an incessant pour of rain, which lasted the whole day. 
 The town of Moffat has nothing to make mention of, except 
 the wild country in which it lies, and the mineral waters for 
 which it is frequented in the summer, one of the springs 
 being similar to that of Cheltenham, and the other con- 
 sidered good for consumption. 
 
 2nd. — Went out in hopes of getting a blackcock, for which 
 this place has the name of being good ; but, after slaving tilt 
 I could scarcely get one leg after the other, I found but 
 one pack, two single cocks, and a grey hen, all of which were 
 too wild to give me the least chance. Indeed, getting at them 
 in this country (after August or September) appears impos- 
 sible, as they occupy the open heights, where they generally sit 
 like cormorants, with a sentry, either on a rock or in a tree, 
 to give the alarm. In my walk, however, I killed 2 wood- 
 cocks, which were all I saw, and 3 partridges, and should 
 have had a brace more, and a couple of snipes, but the only 
 shot I could buy was so large that it was quite by chance 
 that I bagged what I did with it. 
 
 My walk gave me a full view of this place, which lies in a 
 fine valley among small rivers, and is surrounded by a per- 
 fect amphitheatre of mountains. The oats and barley were 
 standing in every direction, and some quite green. 
 
 My guide was one David Dinwoodie, who gave me an 
 excellent account of Moffat as a sporting place ; and, among 
 other information, corroborated what I had before heard 
 here, that in June and July^ the salmon trout fr}' were so 
 plentiful that the boys would go out with an artificial fly and 
 bring in 400 of a da}'. They are, however, small ; as they 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLARY 53 
 
 run about the size of a smelt ; but they are most delicious 
 eating, and as red as any salmon. 
 
 In consequence of having seen at a distance a great many 
 ducks, I, tired as I was, after getting my grouse, and a 
 cranberry tart for my dinner, poured a flask of whisky into 
 my boots, whipped on a box coat, and posted off to the side 
 of the stream, but only saw 5 ducks, which were too 
 far from me to fire at. 
 
 I went to bed with my loins in such pain from walking 
 that I was fearful my wound would break out again ; but 
 luckily, by taking something warm, I soon recovered. 
 
 '^rd. — Being told that the only possible way to get black- 
 cocks was to creep after them- in the morning by daylight, I 
 started off with my friend David Dinwoodie, and after de- 
 spairing of seeing any, we espied a pack at feed ; but the 
 moment we stopped they flew up, although they were on the 
 opposite side of an immense valley from the hill on which 
 we were. After taking a long flight like ducks they perched on 
 a plantation of high larch firs, among some stone walls ; accord- 
 ingly, I began to creep when about 500 yards from them, 
 but having got to the end of my ambush, I found the 
 distance too far ; I then, in preference to firing at random, 
 crept over the wall, and succeeded in getting to another, 
 where I had a safe march to a breach within forty yards of an 
 old cock, who was the vidette, and after crawling on all fours, 
 with my heart in my mouth, for about 100 yards, I gained 
 the point, and down I knocked him, a fine old black- 
 cock. I was thus lucky in getting both specimens of the 
 grouse so fine for stuffing. 
 
 N.B. — It is somewhat remarkable that in the very act of 
 getting over this wall I found on it a shilling, which inspired 
 me with confidence of success. 
 
 The place where I was being near ' Moffat Springs,' 
 which is where the sulphur waters are drunk, I took a look 
 in and tasted them, and they were quite sparkling and very 
 
54 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov. 
 
 cold, though of a strong brimstone flavour. They are under a 
 lock-up shed, in a rock close to the mountains ; their distance 
 from Moffat is nearly two miles, and that of the consumption 
 waters nearh' seven, both lying to the north-east of the town. 
 
 I must do David Dinwoodie the justice to say he was one 
 of the most obliging men I ever met with — not with an object 
 in his civilit}', as is often the case in the North, for he was 
 absolutel}' affronted when I offered to reward him for his at- 
 tendance. Not so with Kitty Lockey, for he not only took 
 care to ask for money directly he had attended me, but made 
 the most imposing charges in his bill. It is, indeed, too often 
 the case that when the}- get a gentleman in an alehouse, they 
 take good care to make him ' pay his footing.' 
 
 I got back to Moffat about half-past nine, where after 
 taking my breakfast I proceeded in a chaise for Douglas- 
 mill, which is about halfway to Glasgow. I took my gun, ready 
 loaded, in the chaise ; and after killing i magpie out of the 
 window, while going on, to test the barrel that I feared would 
 hang fire, I was prepared for anything I might see on the road. 
 
 I bagged 3 partridges, and should have had 2, if not 3,^ 
 more, had I not laboured under the disadvantage of the 
 large shot, which to so small a quantity of powder, and 
 in such little charges, as a double gun holds, has neither 
 velocity enough to cut through the feathers of a bird, nor com- 
 pression sufficient to avoid his escaping very often among 
 the intervals. The difference between large and small shot in 
 a gun is, that the former goes in like the back of a knife, and 
 occasionally only ; and the other like a razor, with unerring 
 certainty. No. 7 is best for everything, unless you take a 
 duck gun. 
 
 I should make a memorandum of the posting in this 
 country, which, as well as the inns where you change horses, 
 more forcibly depicts misery than even the travelling in Spain. 
 The horses are scarcely good enough for dog's meat, being 
 
 ' Round Moffat is a most admirable beat for partridges. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 55 
 
 half starved, and kept in sheds of loose stones ; the chaises 
 are of the very worst description ; and the travelling, on an 
 average, I found to be about 4 miles an hour. 
 
 The road from Moffat to Douglas-mill has nothing for 
 remark, except that it is one of the most wretched deserts I 
 ever passed. There are several small rivers in this wild 
 country, which the postboy, or rather the ragamuffin, who 
 drove me, said were full of trout. No coach whatever, excep 
 the mail, makes it worth while to pass this road to Glasgow ; 
 but all the carriages of conveyance go round by Dumfries. 
 
 I reached Douglas-mill between seven and eight at night. 
 
 4///. — I started on my journey soon after six in the 
 morning, having got an excellent chaise with a decent diiver ; 
 and having found everything at and from Douglas passable 
 except the roads, I flashed them occasionally, and bagged 
 I snipe and 4 partridges. I am sure, had I time, dogs, and 
 small shot, I could kill a hamperful of partridges in this 
 neighbourhood ; as, from the country being so little inhabited 
 they are in great abundance, and you may shoot unmolested ; 
 and 'from the corn being out in the fields, and some of it 
 standing, the birds lie nearly as well as in September. I tried 
 the grouse as I passed the heath, but getting anywhere near 
 them proved impossible. I reached the town of Hamilton 
 soon after twelve, and there found the posting nearly as good 
 as in parts of England. I arrived in Glasgow between two and 
 three o'clock this day. 
 
 The post arrives at Glasgow fromi London on the 
 fourth day ; for instance, if a letter be put in on Monday it 
 arrives on Thursday morning. The mail leaves London 
 Monday evening at eight, and gets into Glasgow Thursday 
 morning before eight ; it leaves Glasgow soon after two on 
 Monday afternoon, and arrives in London very early Thurs- 
 day morning ; and so on through the week, except that no 
 post comes into Glasgow on Wednesday, nor goes out of it 
 on Thursday. You have 3 hours, from half-past ten to half- 
 
56 
 
 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 
 
 Nov. 
 
 past one, sometimes more, in which you may answer letters 
 by return of post. 
 
 Table in order to show for how much a gentleman and his 
 servant, the former inside with 14 lb. of luggage, the latter 
 outside with 7 lb. of luggage, may go from London to 
 Glasgow, with two breakfasts, two dinners, and two suppers : 
 
 Inside to Ferrybridge from London 
 „ Greta Bridge 
 „ Carlisle .... 
 „ Glasgow 
 
 £ 
 
 .«. 
 
 (1. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 --> 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -> 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 --> 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 £19 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 •Outside to Ferrybridge 
 ,, Greta Bridge 
 
 „ Carlisle .... 
 
 „ Glasgow .... 
 
 Inside, seven guards at 2s. each 
 
 ,, six long-stage coachmen at ditto 
 
 „ twelve short- stage coachmen at half ditto 
 
 Outside, for man, half price of the above 
 
 Grand total 
 
 gt/L — Went per mail to Edinburgh. 
 
 lOt/i. — Having spent the whole of the previous afternoon 
 in seeing this fine city, I got up very early in the morning 
 and went all over Leith, from whence, after buying 100 oysters 
 and a live codfish of 24 lb. weight for y. 6d, I returned to 
 Edinburgh, two miles, saw the remainder of the town, and, 
 at twelve, started by the heavy coach to return to Glasgow. 
 Although this machine carries six in and ten outside, yet it 
 goes the 42, or rather 45, miles, including the suburbs, in six 
 hours and a half The horses, and indeed the whole concern 
 of this coach, are superior to the mail ; and it performs the 
 journey in the same number of hours, as do also, I am told, 
 the five or six other coaches which start every day to and 
 from Glasgow. From the extreme roughness of the Scotch 
 roads, and consequently the stiffness of the springs, and 
 strength with which they are obliged to build these coaches, 
 we found the noise so great inside, that the passengers could 
 scarcely hear each other speak. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 57 
 
 On passing Bathgate (in the second stage, where we 
 stopped to water) we were saluted by two old women, or 
 rather fairies, one sixty-eight, the other a few years younger, 
 and each very little more than three feet high. These 
 Lilliputians are not related to each other, except in their 
 occupation, which entirely consists in presenting them- 
 selves to the different coaches, and the diversion and novelty 
 Avhich their appearance affords the passengers generally 
 produces them plenty of halfpence, and by this means alone 
 they gain their livelihood. 
 
 The road by which I returned from Edinburgh to Glasgow 
 in this coach lies nearly parallel to that which I came by the 
 mail ; the two roads are often within a mile, and never more 
 than four, from each other ; they are about the same in 
 point of goodness and distance, and unite in one at about a 
 mile from Glasgow, and somewhat more than a mile from 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 N.B. — I found Edinburgh full as dear as London ; for 
 example, 2s. for fire and ys. for lodgings, 2s. a mile for a 
 hackney coach, &c. ; w^ithout a tenth part of its comforts. 
 
 The castle (built on a stupendous rock) is one of the 
 strongest fortifications, and the finest thing of the kind I ever 
 beheld ; but with regard to everything else in this town, the 
 high expectations I had raised were sadly disappointed. 
 
 nth. — Walked out from the town of Glasgow (after twelve 
 o'clock), and bagged 4 partridges and i pheasant — a very 
 old cock bird. The latter was spoken of as an extraordinary 
 circumstance in this country, and from what I heard, it 
 appears to be one that several people had been a long time 
 in pursuit of 
 
 I got a random shot at a woodcock, which I could see 
 nothing of at the moment of firing, and, as the lairds of this 
 country take especial good care to turn their timber into 
 money before it is large enough to bear a man's weight, 1 
 ■was prevented being able to 'mount my marker' in a tree. 
 
58 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov. 
 
 which is of course the sure way to secure a woodcock for 
 the bag. 
 
 I fired but five times ; I killed the pheasant full sixty 
 yards, and a partridge at nearly the same distance ; and, 
 indeed, all my shots were extraordinary lucky ones. 
 
 N.B. — I shot with No. 8, and Butts's Hounslow cylinder 
 powder, which I found superior to Manton's. I see every day 
 more and more the consummate stupidity of people who 
 abuse small shot. 
 
 \6tJi. — After having passed the morning in going to the 
 College, and seeing the invaluable collection in Hunter's 
 Museum, I started for Dumbarton, on my way to Loch 
 Lomond, and slept at the ' Elephant and Castle ' inn, which 
 is kept by a Mr. McNicol, and far superior to any I had met 
 with in Scotland ; I had an excellent bed, a good accom- 
 modation, with a moderate bill, and great civility. 
 
 ijtJi. — Proceeded in a hack chaise to Luss inn, thirteen 
 miles farther. The last eight miles of this road are on the 
 ' indescribably beautiful Lake of Loch Lomond,' and present a 
 magnificent view of wooded islands and mountainous scenery, 
 together with the tremendous ' Ben Lomond,' and other snow- 
 capped mountains. 
 
 On arriving at Luss inn, which is close to the lake, I set 
 out partly to sketch and partly to shoot, and was far better 
 repaid my journey by the landscapes than the sport, as the 
 game was so very scarce that, although with leave over the 
 whole of Mr. McLaughlin's grounds, and with the attendance 
 of his man, I killed but 3 snipes and i woodcock, which were 
 all I shot at, and all I saw. 
 
 18///. — Having heard that there were several roe deer on 
 Sir James Cohoun's property, I obtained his permission to 
 sport for a few hours, but could not succeed in finding any, 
 at which his keeper, a respectable man who attended me, 
 seemed rather surprised ; the only shooting I got was firing 
 both barrels at a hare. After getting an early dinner I set 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S 1)L\RY 59 
 
 off, escorted by one Donald on my wa}- to ascend Ben 
 Lomond ; and after going nearly four miles b\' land and one 
 by the lake ferry, reached the inn at Row Ardenan, which is 
 a real Highland whisky house. I here sat down by a peat fire 
 with some whisky toddy, till a bed-in-a-hole (like the berth 
 of a transport) was prepared, and then retired to rest, 
 
 N.B. — Previously to reaching the ferry we passed a stone, 
 on which there is an inscription relative to Colonel Lascelles' 
 regiment having cut this road through the rock in i745j 
 about the time of the rebellion. 
 
 19///. — After getting some boiled bread and milk, which, 
 with a basket of peat to make a fire, I secured previously to 
 going to bed, I started with a guide at daybreak to ascend 
 Ben Lomond, and within three hours we barely reached the 
 shoulder of the summit ; but getting to the most elevated part 
 of it was impossible, as we found the last fifty yards a solid 
 sheet of ice ; and, indeed, for more than the last half-mile we 
 travelled in perfect misery and imminent danger ; we were 
 literally obliged to take knives to cut footsteps in the frozen 
 snow, and, of course, obliged to crawl all the way on our hands, 
 knees, and toes, all of which were benumbed with cold, and 
 were repeatedly in danger of slipping in places where one 
 false step would have been certain destruction. The going up, 
 however, was comparatively a mere nothing to the coming 
 down, in which our posteriors and heels relieved the duty 
 performed by our toes and knees. My man John Buffin, as 
 well as myself and the guide, had some very providential 
 escapes, and on our getting below this frozen atmosphere and 
 again in safety, the latter told us that ' had we slipped nothing 
 could have stopped us ; ' and, indeed, we had proof of this 
 by my dropping a stick, which soon went rapidly out of sight. 
 
 The inn where we slept stands at the foot of, and is called 
 five miles from the summit of, Ben Lomond. We were lucky 
 in having a clear day to present us with the grand amphi- 
 theatre of mountains in which this one stands. I of course 
 
60 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov. 
 
 took my dog and gun ; but the latter we were obliged to 
 leave behind on a rock, after crawling with it strapped to the 
 back as far as possible ; we found no ptarmigans ; indeed, 
 they are now become very scarce. 
 
 The killing of these birds is, from what I was told, no 
 merit beyond the labour of traversing the frozen pyramids, 
 and the novelty of getting them, as they will sit on an open 
 stone as tame as chickens, and suffer themselves to be pelted 
 before they will move, and are very frequently killed with 
 stones. Ben Lomond has on it some white hares, but we 
 saw none. 
 
 The ascent to the summit of this mountain is, even in 
 winter, sometimes very passable ; and in summer so much 
 so, that ladies very commonly go up, and sometimes take 
 with them a piper, and other apparatus for dancing. The 
 summer may, perhaps, have a different effect ; but, for my own 
 part, I was so exhausted that, being unable to walk home 
 from the inn, I hired a boat and returned by water. 
 
 In several of the most solitary glens we saw the caves 
 where the smugglers manufacture the famous Highland 
 whisky, which is so far superior to the ordinary by being 
 distilled from the pure malt and smoked with the peat. 
 They usually do this work in the dead of night. There are 
 various opinions about where the Highlands begin, in con- 
 sequence of the English language having within these few 
 years extended itself to where the Gaelic was spoken ; but, 
 as that language appears still familiar to most of the old 
 people, even as far as Luss, we may safely say that Luss is 
 in the Highlands ; at all events they unquestionably begin a 
 few miles beyond that place. After getting my dinner at 
 Luss inn I returned to Dumbarton, where I went to bed very 
 unwell. 
 
 20th. — Having had every comfort the preceding night, I 
 found myself better ; and returned, by the Dumbarton coach, 
 to Glasgow. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 61 
 
 2ist. — Removed from the filthy lodging of Mrs. Sheddon, 
 94 George Street, to the cleanest house I had seen since I 
 left England, a Mrs. Watson's in Clyde Buildings. 
 
 Mrs. Sheddon having swore that I had engaged her 
 lodgings for two months, when I particularly expressed, before 
 witness, that I would not even engage them for more than a 
 week, I was the previous evening served with the letter of 
 a lawyer, which was brought me by a most assassin-like- 
 looking fellow, with a hare lip, cut-throat face, and in a 
 beadle's livery. Mrs. Sheddon having this day refused to 
 go before a magistrate (which in this country is optional), 
 and she having preferred ' a suit at law,' to increase my 
 trouble and expense, I was obliged to employ a Mr. Donald, 
 to enter on a regular lawsuit ; and Mr. Provost Hamilton 
 was so kind as to stand bail, in order to get a certificate for 
 the removal of my baggage, which had remained all the 
 morning under quarantine. The action is of course going on. 
 
 This is a common species of imposition in Glasgow, 
 Mr. Donald having had many similar cases in hand. 
 
 27//^. — Partly from illness, and partly from seven days' 
 rain (with scarcely any intermission), I have been prevented 
 using my gun till this day, when I went in Mr. Mackintosh's 
 chariot — accompanied by his son and Mr. Horrocks — to 
 Keiss' estate, belonging to Mr. Sterling ; but only fired my 
 gun twice the whole day. 
 
 December ZtJi. — As before, I have (partly from illness, 
 and partly from bad weather) been deprived of shooting till 
 this day, when 1 walked out of this execrable town ; and all the 
 game to be found was 2 hares, i of which I fired at and killed. 
 
 lOtJi. — Walked out for a few hours near the town ; fired 
 my gun five times and bagged 2 hares, 2 partridges, and 
 I fieldfare. 
 
 \ltJi. — The weather having for nearly a fortnight been 
 intensely severe, I went by the evening mail to Greenock, to 
 try for wild fowl. 
 
•62 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 14///. — Hired a boat, and found several flocks of barnacle 
 and other fowl ; but getting even near enough to fire ball at 
 them proved impossible. Indeed, as far as can be judged 
 from what I have seen, no coast can be worse than this for 
 water shooting, as here are scarcely any rivers but what 
 freeze ; and the lakes being also susceptible of frost, the fowl 
 daily frequent the open Clyde, where no device whatever will 
 succeed in getting at them ; and, by night, they usually feed 
 on the mud, in which you must walk and stand up to your 
 knees to get a bad evening flight. 
 
 15///. — Crossed the Clyde to Dumbarton, within three miles 
 of which (opposite Craig-end ferry, where there are good boats) 
 the wild fowl are in myriads, and the solid squares of barnacle 
 have the appearance of black islands. We found it, however, 
 impossible to come within even a quarter of a mile of them. 
 
 I took my dinner at Dumbarton, and went to a place, 
 called ' the meadow,' for evening flight. Saw nothing but ten 
 wild fowl, which dropped in, one at a time (by moonlight), 
 within sixty yards of me. I fired at them, all in a cluster 
 (with a huge gun), and literally swept the pool where they 
 W'Cre, but they all escaped by diving at the flash. On my 
 return to the inn I sent for one Reade, a blacksmith (the head 
 shooter), who informed me that two couple of fowl here were 
 reckoned a good day's sport, and that with the many tons of 
 ammunition that were every year fired in the Clyde not fifty 
 barnacles were killed. It appears that even the punt-shooting 
 and cask-burying systems fail here. 
 
 \6th. — Out for morning flight ; saw but two small lots of 
 fowl, and never fired my gun. Went, at high water, to shoot at 
 the scaups, and was shown the best plan of getting at them, 
 which is to keep concealed at a distance from the river, and 
 when the birds dive, to spring up and run as fast as possible to 
 the water, and on their coming up (perhaps within ten yards 
 of you) they will instantly take wing, and give you a beautiful 
 shot. I killed 5 of them. 
 
i8i2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 63 
 
 Though the most bitter cold day that could be described, the 
 fly fishers were, if possible, more numerous than the shooters ; 
 their tackle is quite coarse, and the trout they kill very small. 
 From the natural propensity Scotsmen have for staring at 
 anything new, it is highly diverting to show them any gun 
 beyond the most common size or inferior value. On my 
 producing a Joe Manton to the blacksmith, I had a mob, 
 similar to one attendant on a dancing bear, or a man killed 
 in the street. 
 
 17///. — Mrs. Hawker having come to me at Dumbarton from 
 London the previous evening, I went to Ballock ferry to show 
 her Loch Lomond, where I killed 2 divers, i wood pigeon, 
 and I teal, which, with the exception of a wild duck that I 
 knocked down and lost for want of a dog, and a water ousel 
 that I unfortunately missed from having too large shot, were 
 all I fired at. This evening we got back to Dumbarton, and 
 there put fresh horses to our chaise, and returned to the vile, 
 stinking, foggy, asthmatic town of Glasgow. 
 
 \(^th. — Dined on some of the best trout I ever ate, which 
 proves that these fish are not only to be caught, but worth 
 catching, here all the year. 
 
 N.B.— On my return received information that the lawsuit 
 with the relentless Mrs. Sheddon was at last decided in my 
 favour. 
 
 2\st. — Went with Colonel Douglas to Dumbarton; and, 
 through having a very clever sportsman ^ to manage the boat, 
 we at last got within about 120 yards of a few barnacle geese, 
 by means of getting between them and the sun, and sculling 
 down on them. We then fired with slugs (Colonel Douglas 
 with a Spanish barrel, and I with a huge wall gun), and killed 
 a barnacle ; besides a second one which was picked up by 
 another shooting party. 
 
 22nd. — Out again ; killed only a golden-eye duck. Fired 
 my wall gun several times among flocks of barnacle and other 
 
 ' One John Menzies (called Mingas), the ferryman of Craigend. 
 
64 COLONEL HAWKER\S DIARY Dec. 
 
 fowl, at not much more than a hundred yards, and plainly 
 discovered that the barrel was a bad and weak shooter ; had I 
 one of my own duck guns, I should, no doubt, have astonished 
 the natives with the bulk of my bag. No wonder these birds- 
 are wild. Not less than a dozen boats are out every day filled 
 with shooters, who, as well as those from the shore, are 
 incessantly firing at all distances. In the evening we returned 
 to Glasgow. 
 
 December '^\ St. — Went to Dumbarton for the purpose of 
 shooting next day ; but on my arrival had reason to regret 
 leaving Glasgow, by a discovery that it is the custom of this 
 place for every soul who can carry arms to go out shooting on 
 New Year's Day. 
 
 1813 
 
 January \st. — The beginning of this day was ushered in 
 with such incessant firing, that, what with the guns from the 
 castle and every other explosion, down to the boys firing old 
 pistols in the street, I could compare the town to nothing but 
 a place besieged. And the innumerable shooting parties, in 
 the fields and round the river, were like light infantry in con- 
 fusion. I had several narrow escapes of both shot and ball,, 
 not only round the town, but in the very streets. I contrived,, 
 however, in the midst of this besieged country, to bag 3 par- 
 tridges and I jack snipe, which, with another snipe I lost, were 
 all I fired at. I went out merely to see whether or not I 
 could beat this whole host of shooters, and, as far as I could 
 learn, fully succeeded. On my return, about one in the fore- 
 noon, I saw a mob of people assembled, and was informed 
 that they were met for a purpose of charity, namely to pay 
 sixpence a shot with ball at a small target, for the benefit of 
 a poor old man, who was to furnish the winner with a cheese.. 
 I repaired to the place, and gave half a crown for the 
 poor man, and as 1 was informed that, although an immense 
 number of shots had been fired, no one had touched the target^ 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 65 
 
 I was induced to draw my shot, and put a pair of balls in the 
 double gun, and, to the astonishment of the elegant company 
 by which I was surrounded, put the said pair of balls into the 
 target. I then left word that if I won the cheese, I would 
 give it to the old man again, and went away. But, unluckily, 
 about two hundred more shots were fired, and, of course, out 
 of that number, some nearer the bull's eye than mine, though 
 I heard none of them hit it. 
 
 Under a hope that all the shooting rabble would repair to 
 the alehouses about dusk, I went out flight shooting ; but it 
 appeared that those who had any powder left, still kept blazing 
 away. In short, I had no shots, and was very near getting 
 wrecked on my return, by being dashed by the current on the 
 rocks under Clyde bridge, where four of us in a little cock boat 
 were thumped like a shuttlecock, expecting every moment to 
 go to pieces. 
 
 2nd. — Returned to Glasgow. 
 
 N.B. — I must remark the cheapness of my bill at Dum- 
 barton. I had two excellent breakfasts ; two dinners, with 
 soup, fish, flesh, wild fowl, sweet things, wine, and a bowl of 
 punch each day. Soup in the middle of the day, board for a 
 servant and a dog, also a capital bed, with fire in my bed- 
 room, and the attendance of a waiter shooting, and m}' bill 
 for all only amounted to i/. a^s. 
 
 \tJL — 3 partridges and 12 snipes. I killed the 12 snipes 
 successively. This is great luck in a place where they 
 arc so scarce, as you generally have your sport interspersed 
 with random shots ; making allowance for these, however, 
 I may venture to say that I have killed 30 or 40 snipes in 
 succession. 
 
 6///. — Went with Mr. Macintosh to Dumbarton, and then 
 proceeded to Ardencaple inn, ten miles farther, where we 
 passed the night, with very good accommodation. 
 
 jtJi. — Bagged i sparrowhawk, i hare, and 5 woodcocks, 
 which, with the exception of one fine shot that I missed, b\' 
 VOL. L F 
 
C3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 getting a bough directly in my face, were all I fired at, and 
 either 7 or 8 were all we saw, which, for this place, is 
 reckoned a miserable scarcity. We then got a grouse, that, 
 by means of my previously striking with a long random shot, 
 sat till the dogs very near caught him. I also got a wild snap 
 shot at a grey hen, which I hit so hard that we were much dis- 
 appointed at not bagging her, and, by bad luck and our dogs 
 going down wind, we lost shots at some more grouse and 
 blackcock, which, to our astonishment, lay till the dogs were 
 within a short distance of them. And, but for some showers 
 which came on about twelve, we should have had some fair 
 partridge shooting ; as it was, I lost a brace by my barrels 
 hanging fire. Thus it may be seen with what a beautiful 
 variety of game Ardencaple abounds, and how decidedly this 
 place is the paradise of the country to a sportsman. 
 
 The little strip of wood in which I killed my first 3 
 cocks begins within a gunshot of the inn door. It was some- 
 what singular that Mr. Macintosh, although a good fag, an old 
 sportsman, and an excellent shot, only got two chances the 
 whole day, and only one of them at a cock which vvas out of 
 reach. After getting our dinner at two o'clock, we left this 
 beautiful place for Dumbarton, where we drank tea, as the 
 best refreshment after fagging, and we then returned to Glas- 
 gow. We having been obliged to post all the way, and enter- 
 tain some myrmidons, made our expenses for everything just 
 ten guineas. 
 
 \2th. — This evening I hired a buggy, and drove Mrs. 
 Hawker over to Ardencaple, which place we reached after 
 dining at Dumbarton. 
 
 13///. — We walked out shooting from about ten till one, 
 and, finding that not a single woodcock was to be seen, I 
 mounted the hills, and had the extraordinary luck to bag 4 
 grouse, as well as i hare and i partridge. Besides which I 
 knocked down another old cock grouse with my second barrel, 
 having secured one of the hens with my first, but he escaped 
 in the heather. 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL/\RY 67 
 
 I only discharged my gun eight times ; indeed, the 
 only shot I missed was at a grouse, quite out of fair dis- 
 tance. After getting a two o'clock dinner, we drove back to 
 Glasgow. 
 
 15//^.— In consequence of knowing that my recruiting 
 party would be recalled on the 24th, and having urgent busi- 
 ness, in which there was no time to be lost, I had applied for 
 leave to return to England, which was granted, and communi- 
 cated to me this day, when, after settling with the district pay- 
 master and my party up to the 24th, I prepared for my journey 
 to London, by way of Edinburgh, which road I chose both 
 for variety and comfort. 
 
 \6iJi. — Took leave of Glasgow at three this afternoon, and 
 arrived in Edinburgh a quarter before ten. 
 
 ijth. — Got into the mail a quarter before three, and (at a 
 quarter before six) on the morning of the 20th arrived in 
 London, after incessantly travelling in more than usual misery, 
 I having been very ill and sick the greater part of the way ; 
 the weather having been very bad, with first snow and then 
 rain, and the travelling companion who was bundled into the 
 mail with Mrs. Hawker and myself having a happy mixture 
 of the elephant, the bear, the hog, the ass, and the polecat. 
 
 20///.— -Dined at Blake's Hotel, St. James's, on grouse, 
 which I killed myself on the borders of the Highlands of 
 Scotland this very day week. 
 
 Febniary 6t/L — Left London and arrived at Longparish 
 on my way to the depot, where I had orders to be by the loth. 
 
 9///. — Left Longparish, and arrived at Radipole Barracks. 
 
 Game &c. bagged up to February 1813 : 1 19 partridges, 
 18 hares, 41 pheasants, i blackcock, 6 grouse, ii rabbits, 
 26 snipes, 8 woodcocks, 9 wild fowl, 5 plover. Total, 244, 
 besides wood pigeons, fieldfares, &c. 
 
 22nd. — A match being made between Captain Coles (of 
 the I2th) and Mr. Bacon (of the i6th'i, I hired a stage coach 
 and horses, with way bill and everything complete, and co- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Feb. 
 
 vcred the expenses by taking nearly all the officers of the 
 depot. Much as larking was in force, there had been no spree 
 to top this since the lads had been together. We (being taken 
 for ' the Union coach ') galloped past all the gatekeepers, had 
 repeated applications for a cast, and stopped to malt it at all 
 the hedge alehouses. We had some prime slang on the road, 
 and, of course, blew up every spoony fellow we could meet. 
 After seeing the race won easy by Captain Coles's brown 
 horse we repaired from Blandford race down to the ' Crown,' 
 where dinner was ordered for thirty at ys. a head, and \\"e 
 having nearly drunk the landlord out of both his English and 
 French wine, a grand attack was made on the Johnny raws 
 of Blandford, in which were said to be captured fifteen 
 knockers, three signs, and a barber's pole. The boys then 
 returned to their broth, and finished the evening with some 
 prime grub, swizzle, and singing. 
 
 On the morning of the 23rd, after my getting shaved by 
 the barber and sounding him about his pole, and making the 
 waiter fiddle country dances while we ate our breakfast, we 
 returned in triumph, with Captain Coles, the winner, on the 
 roof; and having larked all the way down the road, we took 
 a turn up and down Weymouth, with the royal accession of 
 two monkey-faced chimney sweepers that we had picked up 
 on the road and made stand on the coach, the one tuning up 
 with his brush and shovel, and the other bearing a huge Nelson 
 handkerchief from a pole twenty feet long. Our whole crew 
 then began cneering, screeching, and horn blowing, to the 
 irresistible laughter of even the gravest codgers in Weymouth, 
 and the delight of all the damsels, from those in the peerage 
 down to beggar wenches. All the windows were full, the 
 esplanade very gay, and what with bells ringing, children 
 squalling, misses giggling, and dogs barking, the fun was not 
 to be described. 
 
 Our career was finished by landing at the barracks, where 
 we had no sooner left the coach than it was mobbed by tag 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 69 
 
 rag, and bob-tail, and as quickly covered with children as a 
 piece of meat is with crabs when thrown in the sea. No lark 
 could possibly end with more good humour on all sides, or 
 more liberality ; as we even remunerated the fellows that we 
 blackguarded with beer, and left every place with the name of 
 ' nice gentlemen.' I had the honour of working the whole of 
 the ground, and drove to the satisfaction of all my passengers, 
 although every stage I was bothered with some proper rusty 
 ' divils.' 
 
 March jtJi. — I had agreed with Major Baker for the pur- 
 chase of his majority, but was refused the recommendation 
 for no other reason than because I had been unserviceable 
 from the wounds I received in the service, notwithstanding 
 I offered to go abroad forthwith, and to resign immediately if 
 I proved unequal to do my duty. In consequence of this 
 shameful injustice I was driven to send in my resignation, at ^ 
 the same time stating my reasons for so doing to the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, who (after a personal interview) most hand- 
 somely offered it back, in opposition to Lord Bridgewater. 
 But I, having pledged my word to Mr. Foster that in the 
 event of my not succeeding to the majority his son should 
 have my troop, and his memorials having reached the War 
 Office, and his money being lodged, as well as Major Baker 
 having then hesitated to risk his resignation, I felt it right, 
 under all circumstances, to decline his Royal Highness's kind 
 offer, and submitted to the mortification of retiring from the 
 regiment as eldest captain. 
 
 25///. — Received official information that I was gazetted 
 out (on Tuesday, the 23rd), and that Captain Foster's com- 
 mission bore date the i8th instant. 
 
 During the few months I had to remain in suspense 
 about the final arrangement of my business, I had (what with 
 having to go to Scotland and waiting on Lord Bridgewater &c.) 
 1,291 miles to travel. 
 
 Statement of the circumstances from which I left the 
 
70 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY March 
 
 army : The unfortunate circumstance by which 1 was so 
 unjustly driven out of the service was as follows. I (being 
 eldest captain) had agreed to give Major Baker 2,000 guineas 
 for his majorit}', and he had promised me his resignation the 
 moment I could be recommended. I wrote to Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Hervey (then in Spain) to ask his sanction ; and he 
 declared that he had nothing to do with any recommenda- 
 tions at home, and that they all went through Lord Bridge- 
 water, at the same time informing Major Baker, and (according 
 to Major Baker's letter to me) promising that I should have 
 his recommendation. I then applied to Lord Bridgewater, 
 who (though I transmitted him Colonel Hervey 's answer) said 
 that the business must be referred to Colonel Hervey. 
 Inimical, however, to this shuffling and evasive treatment 
 towards me. Colonel Hervey had occasion to come to England, 
 and I (who had taken a recruiting party in Scotland till I 
 heard of his arrival in London) lost no time in getting to 
 town, to learn the result of his interview with Lord Bridge- 
 water, being extremely anxious to secure my promotion and 
 join my regiment in the Peninsula. 1 should observe that 
 previously to my leaving Scotland, Major Baker wrote me 
 word that Lord Bridgewater had signified to him that ' he 
 would do nothing in the business till he had consulted the 
 Lieutenant-Colonel.' And subsequent to this Lord Bridge- 
 water refused to forward my memorial to the Commander-in- 
 Chief under the excuse that I had therein stated the pro- 
 bability of a vacancy, of which he not only declared himself 
 (both privately and officially) perfectly ignorant, but gave me 
 his word that he thought it highh* improbable, at the ver\' 
 time he was conferring with Major Baker on the subject. 
 
 On my arrival in London I wrote to Lord Bridgewater 
 (who was then at Ashridge) to ask if, in the event of a 
 vacancy, I might hope for the honour of his recommendation, 
 as I wished to join my regiment, which I, of course, would 
 not do as long as there existed an impediment to my pro- 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 71 
 
 motion, and saying that if a reply to such a question was the 
 least irregular, I should esteem it a favour if I might be 
 allowed to speak with him (Lord Bridgewater) on the subject. 
 And he returned an evasive answer, merely persisting that he 
 had heard nothing of Major Baker's intention to quit, and 
 neither giving me a word in answer to my letter, nor allowing 
 me to speak to him. I, about the same time, received 
 Colonel Hervey's determination (by letter), which was that if 
 Major Baker intended to quit (which at present he much 
 doubted), it was his determination to recommend Captain 
 Milles to succeed him. Captain Milles was then in England, 
 and, according to the report of his own friends, brought home 
 purposely to supersede me, who, when he was a young 
 cornet, was a captain in the regiment. I had, of course, 
 made up my mind to leave the service in the event of not 
 succeeding, and had pledged my honour to Lieutenant 
 Foster's father, that, if I could not be recommended to the 
 majority, he should have my troop for his son, and accordingly 
 agreed with him for the sale of it. I had, at last, no other 
 alternative than sending in my resignation, and previously 
 stating to the Commander-in-Chief my reasons for so doing. 
 Colonel Hervey (having no doubt heard of my agreement 
 with Mr. Foster) wrote to Major Baker to request he would 
 continue in the regiment ; at least I am justified in supposing 
 so by Major Baker's answer, which was : 
 
 'Dear Hervey, I will remain if you wish it' 
 Thus being foiled at all points in the majorit}', I fc!t 
 myself bound in honour to refuse my resignation (which his 
 Royal Highness most handsomely offered back to me, con- 
 trary to the entreaty of Lord Bridgewater), and was driven 
 out of the service by the Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel, for 
 no other reason than what ought to have been a recommenda- 
 tion — namely, the very severe wounds with which I had till 
 lately been deprived from doing my duty. For (as I stated 
 in writing to the Commander-in-Chief) ' I defied either 
 
72 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY AL\rch 
 
 Lord Bridgewatcr or Colonel Hcrvcy to give any other 
 reason.' 
 
 Annexed is a list of my losses by leaving the service, viz. : 
 
 Cr. Paid for Coniiuissions. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 In the 1st (or Royal Dragoons) Cornetcy . . . . 735 o o 
 „ Lieutenancy . . . 262 10 o 
 
 Being reduced, by the peace, in 1802, I had to pay (the 
 regulation) for exchange to full pay in the 14th Light 
 
 Dragoons 817100 
 
 (In a few months after the half-pay Lieutenants were 
 
 reinstated gratis.) 
 Besides my other commissions paid Major Browne for troop 3,990 o o 
 (Shortly after a troop went for little more than the regulation, 
 
 and another without purchase.) 
 Besides all this I had some heavy losses by a Quarter- 
 Master, who misapplied money while I was on leave. 
 
 Total . . ^5,805 o o 
 
 Dr. Received for Comniissions. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Troop 1 ,785 o o 
 
 Lieutenancy 262 10 o 
 
 Cornetcy, provided it is sold before there comes a peace 
 
 (otherwise I lose it) 735 o o 
 
 Privately promised by Mr. Foster 400 o o 
 
 Lost by my commissions 2,622 10 o 
 
 Total . . ^5,805 o o 
 
 N.B. — I was a Captain of Dragoons soon after I was 
 seventeen years old. but paid dearer for it than anyone in the 
 service. 
 
 April I'^th. — Went to London. 
 
 May i^th. — Instead of leaving town (as intended), I was 
 this day seized with another violent attack of my wound, 
 which obliged me to be put to bed. I there lay in torture 
 till the 24th, when I was greatly relieved b}' three small pieces 
 of bone being cut out of my thigh. Sir Everard Home, on 
 seeing this, considered that my life was saved by the circum- 
 stance of my being driven from the army ! 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 73 
 
 30///. — I left London and arrived this evening at Long- 
 parish. 
 
 My reason for being so anxious to leave town was, that 
 my little child had been at the point of death, and when 
 given over by Sir E. Home I sa\'ed his life by strong port 
 wine negus and nutmeg. 
 
 June gth. — Notwithstanding my little infant (Richard 
 Hawker) had completely recovered his health and appetite, 
 he was this evening suddenly seized with another relapse, 
 and died between nine and ten o'clock at night. 
 
 I2th. — Longparish House. My wound having got so 
 much better as to admit of my walking (with a stick) I went 
 fly fishing, and killed (yesterday and to-day) 14 trout. 
 
 i^th. — 10 trout (average weight i lb. each) in three- 
 quarters of an hour, and, had I not broke my fly rod (which 
 obliged me to leave off), should have had extraordinary sport. 
 
 i^th. — Having been informed that an outlying buck (for 
 which I and, I believe, several others had been above a fort- 
 night hunting) had been seen feeding near Budget Farm, 
 about ten o'clock the previous night, I this evening repaired 
 to the place, and after my lying in wait in a rickhouse, and 
 peeping through its crevices till daylight had almost dis- 
 appeared, the gentleman suddenly presented himself in a fine 
 attitude, at a gap in the bottom of Castle field ; but, instead 
 of advancing towards my entrenchment, he stole up very 
 cautiously, under the hedge, till he got to the top of the field 
 and left it again by an upper gap. From the approaching 
 darkness it became necessary that no time should be lost, and 
 following him (wild as he was) appeared my only chance. 
 About five minutes after I had reached the top of the hill, I 
 could just discern him, at a considerable distance (in our 
 standing corn), making off at a full gallop. On this I de- 
 spatched John to the farm, with directions to mount a horse, 
 and make an immense circle at full speed, in order to out- 
 flank him, while I lay in ambush at the last gap b}' which he 
 
74 COLONEL HAWKER'S UL\RY June 
 
 had passed. This plan succeeded so admirably well that, in 
 a few minutes, John turned him, and up he came, boundinc^ 
 like a kangaroo, directly towards me. I had my best duck 
 gun, loaded with swan shot, and an old army rifle, but being 
 loth to depend on either the latter or my own nerves, I deter- 
 mined on receiving him with a volley of swandrops. In a 
 few seconds he came up, and suddenly stopped at about fift\' 
 yards, in a place from which, had he turned either right or 
 left, he would have been lost to m}' view, so I opened mj' 
 fire — bang — directly in his face, but with so little good (well 
 as I had levelled the gun) that the shot had no other effect 
 than to drive him directly back again into the standing corn. 
 Here John played his part well. While I, with the rifle, was 
 following the deer, he outflanked him a second time, and 
 drove him back. He then came across me, within forty 
 }'ards, at full speed. I fired the ball directly through his 
 neck, and he never gave a struggle. Thus after an indefatig- 
 able pursuit (in spite of my ill health) had I the fortune to 
 bag the outlying buck. He was remarkably large and in very 
 fair condition. 
 
 N.B. — Having previously heard of this deer, I practised 
 with the rifle for the first time I ever fired with one, and in 
 eight shots at a hundred yards I put six balls (two of wh^'ch 
 were immediately in the centre) into a newspaper. This, 
 however, is but average shooting, unless it be considered that 
 my rifle is an old one that was cast from Hornpesch's corps 
 as being unserviceable, and given me by an officer. 
 
 27///. — Disastrous ill luck with two more deer. This 
 morning, about six o'clock, I was hurried out of bed by being 
 informed that two more deer were feeding in the next field but 
 one to our house. After running up, and placing myself in 
 a hedge, one of them was, after a little beating, started from 
 the peas, and, being turned at a favourite gap where I had 
 previousl}' placed a vedette for that purpose, galloped up to 
 within twent}- }'ards of me, and (as the devil would have it) 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 75 
 
 continued his pace inclining to the left, by which means I was 
 obliged to fire through a bough, which so intercepted the 
 sight of my rifle that I had the mortification to see him com- 
 pletely missed. He instantly bolted into an immense hedge- 
 row, which I got the other side of just in time to give him a 
 double shot with Joe Manton ; but my chance here was bad, 
 as I had loaded merely with two balls that were much too 
 small for the calibre, so that my double gun was of little 
 avail for any other purpose than to give a coup dc grace had I 
 stopped him with the other gun. 
 
 The other deer was seen following him, and after a long 
 hunt for the one at which I had fired, under an idea that, 
 from having seen one deer come out without the other, I 
 had wounded the former one, I returned to the pea field, 
 and (having got two dogs, and being joined by an immense 
 rabble that my firing had brought out) began to beat, but 
 all to no purpose. I had loaded my double gun, to be on 
 the safe side, should he have been found wounded. 
 
 On my purposing to return home, an old poacher ex- 
 pressed a wish to beat the peas again, for which everyone 
 laughed at him, knowing that both the deer were moved. His 
 request, however, was complied with, and, to our utter astonish- 
 ment, up sprang, in the middle of the mob, the other deer, 
 which trotted across mc, at about thirty yards. I fired both 
 barrels without being in the least nervous, and with the most 
 accurate aim, and (to add to my bad luck) never touched him. 
 
 Had I but loaded the rifle instead, or even had I common 
 shot in my double gun, nothing could possibly have saved 
 him. 
 
 Thus had I (who so seldom let anything escape within 
 fair distance) the mortification to miss one deer at twent\-, 
 and the other within thirty yards, and both from sheer ill luck 
 and misfortune. 
 
 The damage the three deer have done in the corn is cal- 
 culated at 40/. 
 
76 . COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY June 
 
 N.B. — This unlucky day ended with the followinf^ truly 
 afflicting circumstance. Poor Annesley Powell, after coming 
 here (unexpected), and dining with a quiet sober party, was 
 thrown from his horse, with his head on the point of a flint 
 stone, which so fractured his skull, and occasioned such a con- 
 cussion of the brain, that (melancholy to relate) he never spoke 
 a word afterwards, and expired the following morning, sin- 
 cerely regretted by the whole neighbourhood, and (what is 
 still more to his credit) by all the poor, to whom his charities 
 were unbounded. 
 
 July yd. — Attended the funeral of poor Powell, who was 
 this day buried in Wherwell church. 
 
 jtJi. — I stone curlew, which I killed (on my return from 
 waiting for the deer) late at night, by calling it close to me 
 with imitating its whistle. 
 
 9///. — Having been out most mornings at daybreak, and 
 regularly every evening, in search of the deer, I this day 
 scoured the country with old Siney and his host of terriers, 
 but to no purpose, notwithstanding we found several places 
 where the deer had been browsing. 
 
 2ist. — One of the deer, after a long armistice, having been 
 again seen, I this morning got up during a mizzling rain at 
 three o'clock, and, with my rifle, sat among the branches of 
 an oak till long after sunrise, but never saw him. What 
 induced me to persevere, was the deer having been seen near 
 this tree overnic[:ht bv a friend who, although within two 
 yards of him, was tantalised by hearing him eat without being 
 able to level his gun, in consequence of the wretched inter- 
 ference of a huge blackthorn hedge, which to such a nicety 
 protected the animal that m)^ friend could occasionally see 
 his ears, but nothing more ; had an}- person five inches taller 
 been there he might have blown his skull off. It was pro- 
 voking to me, who from my height could have seen his whole 
 head, that I should have cruised past the croft but a few 
 minutes before he came out. Such a chance may never 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 77 
 
 recur, as the shyness of these deer now exceeds all descrip- 
 tion, and Lord Portsmouth's keepers have been alwa}-s so 
 completely outmanoeuvred by them that they have given a 
 general leave for their destruction. 
 
 2yd. — Started with a party and a cartful of prog &c. to 
 amuse ourselves in Miller's pond and Netley Abbey ponds. 
 Although equipped with rods, snares, a casting net, and plenty 
 of cocculus indicus, we only got some small carp, an eel, and 
 some roach ; and the greater part of the carp I killed with a 
 worm, I having landed 3 brace. 
 
 August ^tJi. — Left Longparish for London, on way to 
 the moors in Yorkshire. 
 
 8//^. — Left London per mail, and after a journey with a 
 very pleasant set, and a profusion of noise, mirth, and fun on 
 the road, reached Ferrybridge at nine on the evening of the 
 9th, and then got to Methley Park, eight miles, in a chaise by 
 ten o'clock. 
 
 wtJi. — Went with a party, consisting of Lord Pollington, 
 Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. Chadwick, to Holmfirth, a wild 
 manufacturing town among small mountains, and about four 
 miles from the grouse moors. 
 
 \2tJ1. — We were all up at three o'clock and off by daylight, 
 but the birds were so extremely wald that it was almost 
 impossible to get near them, and our going quietly to work 
 was out of the question, as the moors were swarming with 
 disciples of General Ludd, who always allow themsehes a 
 holiday on the 12th of August purposely to see the sporting 
 on the moors. It was chiefly by firing snap shots that I got 
 any game, and I soon saw enough to convince me that the 
 grouse shooting in Yorkshire is now very poor ; add to this, 
 I had the disadvantage of being accommodated with two wild 
 unsteady dogs only nine months old, and they never had seen 
 a bird killed to them ; while Lord Pollington, with dogs which 
 he offers to challenge all England, and with two guns, was 
 working the finest part of the moor, which he had signified his 
 
'78 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Auf;. 
 
 positive intention of keeping quiet till after dinner, when we 
 were able to join him. 
 
 Notwithstanding all this advantage he took in order to 
 excel, and then I suppose to crow over, his party, he only 
 beat me by one bird, and that one of his followers told me 
 was a bird which some other person had wounded. I killed 
 lo grouse, including one which Mr. Hawkins had slightly 
 struck before me. I killed all I could have done till the 
 latter end of the day, when I was seized with a fit of sickness, 
 and was so ill that I lost three birds by missing fair shots, 
 and many others from being unable to walk up to the dogs 
 when they did point, which was very seldom the case. 
 
 I returned from the moors very faint, and, under all circum- 
 stances, thought proper to take my departure, and sent to 
 Huddersfield for a chaise which brought me to that place by 
 about eleven at night. 
 
 Number of birds killed : Lord Pollington, including a 
 doubtfully claimed bird, 5^ brace ; mysejf, including bird 
 hit by Mr. Hawkins, 5 brace ; Mr. Hawkins, 2 brace ; 
 Mr. Chadwick, i^ brace ; gamekeeper, i brace. Total, 
 I 5 brace. 
 
 13///. — Proceeded about twelve o'clock per heavy coach to 
 Wakefield, and, after there waiting an hour for the Sheffield 
 coach, I found it quite full ; but some bagsmen being also 
 disappointed, I joined in a chaise and proceeded with them to 
 Sheffield, where, after passing for a traveller, being treated as 
 such, and, luckily for the low estate of my purse, charged as 
 such, and buying some hardware as such, I went to bed. 
 
 I had nearly omitted to mention that on our way 
 from Huddersfield to Wakefield we passed the village of 
 Almondbury, noted for the following droll circumstance : A 
 chimney sweeper being wanted in a hurry to perform the 
 office of his profession, and at the moment unable to attend, 
 sent a stupid boy as his locum tencns to make the chimney 
 fit for use, and with a message that he would come himself on 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 79 
 
 the morrow and sweep it completely. The boy got up the 
 tunnel, and after giving the usual salute and flourish with his 
 brush on the outside, descended by a wrong tunnel, which 
 brought him directly into the office of a pettifogging attorney, 
 who was alone writing by the gloomy light of evening. The 
 quill driver had scarcely strength to support himself on seeing 
 this fiend, and while struggling with the guilty conscience of 
 a lawyer and this hellish appearance, the boy said in a low 
 sepulchral tone, ' I am come for you to-day, and my master 
 will attend you to-morrow.' Away ran the lawyer, and God 
 knows what became of him. 
 
 I got to bed at Sheffield, having retired from the bagman's 
 room, about eleven, and at three started by the ' Slope ' heavy 
 coach for Northampton, where, after travelling with sixteen 
 passengers, bad wheels, and restive horses, we arrived by 
 about ten at night. We stopped at Nottingham for break- 
 fast, and Leicester for dinner ; but neither of these meals 
 being provided, nor even a cloth laid, we got nothing till the 
 last moment, when bolting and pocketing were the order of 
 the day. 
 
 I was obliged to enliven myself this tedious journey by 
 passing for divers characters ; first, a fellow who had tipped 
 the double to some bailiffs on the York road, then for a naval 
 officer, &c. I had a fresh character to each fresh passenger, 
 as the travellers on this road onl}^ go a few stages, and then 
 stop to do business. 
 
 Number of miles travelled for one very bad day's shoot- 
 ing : Longparish to London, 6t ; to Ferrybridge, 172; 
 Methley Park, 8 ; to the moor town, 21 (Holmfirth) ; to the 
 ground and back, 8 (mountain travelling) ; back direct to 
 London, 206 ; through London and back, 6 (about) ; home 
 to Longparish, 61 ; in all, 543 miles ! 
 
80 COLONEL HAWKERS DL-\RY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 iSi-^ 
 
 September \st. — Longparish. 14 partridges. I never saw 
 the birds so wild the first day in my h'fe, and the scent was 
 so infamous!}' bad that the dogs could do nothing ; and we 
 had to shoot in a pour of rain almost all the afternoon. Lord 
 Hinton returned home to a seven o'clock dinner. I remained 
 out till near eight. 
 
 The bags were filled as follows : Lord Hinton, 3 brace and 
 
 I hare ; ]Mr. L , 2\ brace ; myself, 7 brace ; dogs caught i^ 
 
 brace. Total, 14 brace and i hare. 
 
 All the game we could bag the first week is as follows : 
 
 Lord Hinton, 12 brace of partridges and i hare ; Mr. L , 
 
 9 J brace of partridges, i hare and i rabbit; myself, 21^ brace 
 of partridges and 3 snipes ; divided birds 3, and dogs caught 
 3 ; in all, 46 brace of partridges, i brace of hares, 3 snipes, 
 and I rabbit. Total, 98 head. 
 
 15///. — Went out with Siney and his troop of terriers to 
 our home field, and killed (in six snap shots) 5 rabbits. Hin- 
 ton killed I rabbit and i partridge, and Mrs. Hawker shot I 
 cock pheasant out of a fir tree, for which I lent her my gun 
 with half a charge. 
 
 2yd. — 7 partridges, I hare, I snipe, and 2 wild ducks, the 
 latter of which I had killed right and left with No. 7 shot at im- 
 mense distances, after lying on my back for nearh' half an hour 
 before I could get them to pitch. I saw 10 in the air at first, 
 but they divided, and 5 went out of sight, and the other 5 kept 
 wheeling round till they fancied they might rest in securit}-. 
 
j8i3 colonel HAWKER'S DL\RY 81 
 
 25//^. — 4 partridges, i hare, and i snipe (which was the 
 last remaining bird of a wisp of eight that took up their abode 
 in our fen, I having killed every one of them), and coming 
 home I made a ver}- long shot at a sparrowhawk, which had 
 for some time annoyed us. 
 
 2'jth. — Went to see and made a drawing of Stonehenge, 
 the principal information about which we got from a poor old 
 man, aged 72, who, since losing his hand by a gun bursting 
 when firing at a bustard, has frequented this solitary spot for 
 the purpose of gathering mushrooms, and picking up what he 
 can from the company who come to visit it. The stones are 
 ninety-four in number, viz. ninety in the Druidical circle, 
 and four detached. The absurd stories about this place are 
 too ridiculous for remark ; suffice it to say, therefore, that 
 the stones are one mile and three-quarters from Amesbury, 
 and about a quarter of a mile beyond the hills where the 
 Deptford Inn and Heytesbury roads divide. They are formed 
 nearly in a circle, and are, I have no doubt, a composition, 
 as they will, immediately on their being broken, dissolve in 
 water like lump sugar. 
 
 Game bagged up to the end of September : 113 partridges, 
 7 hares, 5 rabbits, 12 snipes, 9 wild ducks. Total, 147 head. 
 
 '^QtJi. — Went to Mr. Chamberlain's farm, near Berc, in 
 Dorsetshire. 
 
 N.B. — Chamberlain (with whom and with whose one 
 excellent dog I shot) killed 9 pheasants, 5 partridges, i hare, 
 and 2 rabbits. I saw him miss but twice, and both times 
 much beyond fair distance. So he killed 17 out of 19, 
 making 55 pieces of game in 59 shots between us; two of the 
 misses quite out of reach ; a third secured with second barrel, 
 and a fourth a long shot at the hare that I cri])pled. 
 
 This would be mere average shooting were it not 
 
 that Chamberlain and I fired (and always do fire) long shots 
 
 instead of never shooting beyond 40 yards, as so many 
 
 do who have a wish never to miss, and therefore con- 
 
 VOL. L G 
 
82 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 tent themselves with firing only one barrel at a covey, merely 
 from this mistaken idea of real good shooting. 
 
 October 2nd. — 3 pheasants, 7 partridges, by the road on 
 my way to Hyde, whither I went to see and pass a day or two 
 with Mr. Knight. The only shot that I did not kill was at a 
 hare, a long way off, which I struck so hard that she never 
 would have escaped had not she run into forbidden ground. 
 
 In these two days, without picking my shots (which I 
 never do), I killed 38 head of game and wounded I out of 
 forty times firing, and almost everything ' died in the air.' 
 
 6tJi. — 5 partridges and one lost, i jack snipe, and i 
 pheasant. Went back to Hyde, saw a brace of birds, marked 
 them down, and bagged i with each barrel, viz. 2 partridges. On 
 getting near Hyde we had a narrow escape from an accident. 
 My leader took fright, and with one prodigious spring, in spite 
 of both rein and whip applied in due time, jumped off a terrace 
 road into a bog, out of which I flogged him up again, and he 
 made a second bolt into the bog, where he became restive ; 
 but luckily I kept my wheeler in, so as to hold him till the 
 leader was taken off, and everything ended well. 
 
 Since being in Dorsetshire, I had (including a few birds 
 lost) killed 82 head of game before I missed a fair shot. 
 
 wtJi. — 4 rabbits; and lost a fine old cock pheasant, at 
 which I made a very long shot. 
 
 \2th. — After having spent our time very pleasantly with 
 the Knights, Mrs. Hawker and I took our leave, and left 
 Hyde on our way home to Longparish, by way of Wareham, 
 by which road I travelled for the purpose of reconnoitring 
 the country, and finding out the best coast for wild fowl, 
 should I be disposed for an excursion in the winter. While 
 the tandem horses were baiting I hired a post horse and 
 surveyed the Isle of Purbeck, and went to the village of Arne, 
 which is well situated, but so destitute of even the roughest 
 accommodation, that I could find no plan better than resolving 
 either to put up at Poole, or one of the passage houses, in 
 
i8i3 
 
 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 
 
 83 
 
 case I should take this coast in winter. After two or three 
 hours' hard riding on a bad day, I started with Mrs. Hawker 
 and passed through Wimborne to Cranborne, where we put 
 up for the night at the ' Fleur de Lis/ alias ' Flower de Luce/ 
 a most desirable public-house, celebrated for civility and 
 comfort, as well as good living and reasonable charges. 
 
 lyJi. — Returned to Longparish, and on my road bagged 
 r pheasant and i partridge. I had the bad luck to shoot 3 
 more cock pheasants, and lose them all in the furze ; owing to 
 having lost my dogs at the time, these birds, being all long shots, 
 were only winged. 
 
 Memorandum of my skootmg in Dorsetshire^ 
 with exact account of shots fired, 
 
 HITS. 
 
 (Wounded birds not included.) 
 
 Pheasants : bagged 29 ; lost 4 . . . . . -^-i) 
 
 Partridges : bagged 20 ; lost 3 23 
 
 Hares (except the one wounded ; all I shot at) . .1 
 
 Rabbits 16 
 
 Snipes • . . 
 
 In all 
 
 85 
 
 MISSES. 
 (Of every kind.) 
 
 Fair shots (within distance) 6 
 
 Namely : i pheasant, which turned at the moment I 
 fired, and which I secured with second barrel. 
 I hare, which I so crippled that nothing but her 
 crawling into forbidden ground could have saved 
 her. I partridge, by my foot slipping at the moment 
 I fired. An unpardonable miss at a jack snipe. 
 Two equally shameful misses at partridges. 
 
 In all ~6 
 
 20tJL. — This morning I was routed out of bed by a cry of 
 ' The buck under the windows, and Farmer Smith's dog at 
 his heels ! ' We turned out cavalry and]|infantry, but it was 
 impossible to overtake him, otherwise nothing could have 
 saved him, as Smith's dog, which must have killed him with 
 
84 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 the least assistance, literally held and struggled with him for 
 several minutes at nearly a mile away from the inclosed 
 country. This cursed nine-lived buck then escaped, after- 
 wards evaded Twynam's pack of harriers, and then was seen, 
 quite lame, going off towards Frecfolk Woods. 
 
 I had given up all idea of this buck, having laid out for him 
 since about August 30, when it was reported that he had 
 returned to the park and been there shot, and up to which 
 period I had been days and nights slaving after him. 
 
 4 o'clock P.M. The buck was seen close to the park 
 near Whitchurch. 
 
 November ZtJi. — Posted up to London purposely to attend 
 Joe INIanton while altering and repairing three of my guns, by 
 which means I got them in five days done right, instead of 
 five months done wrong. 
 
 gtJi. — Was nearly tortured to death by a relay of three 
 dentists, who failed in drawing a tremendous tooth, and 
 finished with breaking my jawbone, and complimenting me 
 for the sang-froid with, which I braved their infernal operations. 
 
 13//^. — Having secured my guns and bound up my head, 
 I left London ' in the pains of the damned,' and, to mend the 
 speed of my journey, got horses that had just returned from 
 previous jobs at every stage, and was nearly eleven hours 
 getting down. 
 
 On my arrival, had the great satisfaction to find a letter 
 from the Secretary at War, saying that ' his Royal Highness 
 the Prince Regent had been graciously pleased to order me 
 the pension of one hundred a year, commencing from 
 December 25, 181 1, in consideration for the wounds which I 
 had received in his Majesty's service.' 
 
 i^th. — Lord Hinton came to us, and left us on the 19th, 
 and during his stay he had some excellent sport ; for, what 
 with the fall of the leaf having driven out Lord Portsmouth's 
 hares and pheasants, and a good flight of snipes having come, 
 the shooting was far better than it usualh' is here in November. 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 85 
 
 I crawled out on the 15th, and killed i pheasant ; then came 
 home and went to bed, and here I have been laid up in 
 torture with m}' jaw, with scarcely a moment's intermission 
 from pain, and with occasional spasms that have almost taken 
 away my senses, and my only ease has been when dozing 
 under the influence of laudanum ; my unmercifully handled 
 jaw having defied blisters, leeches, and every other remedy 
 that could be devised. 
 
 20tJi. — Was for a few hours this evening nearly free from 
 pain ; this is literally the first time I have been free from 
 severe pain for these twelve days and twelve nights. 
 
 2\st. — My pains having returned, I became again almost 
 distracted, when, by my own wish, a leech was applied to the 
 very nerve of my gum ; it kept me for twenty minutes in 
 great misery and continual pain, but the permanent relief I 
 got is almost incredible. 
 
 25///. — Was well enough to walk out ; so I took my gun, 
 and killed i rabbit and i partridge. 
 
 29///. — Was able to renew my shooting, for which I 
 believe I have to thank the leech that was applied to my gum. 
 Killed 3 hares, 2 partridges, 2 snipes, and i jack snipe. 
 
 December 2nd. — 3 snipes, 3 jack snipes, 2 teal, and 2 wood- 
 cocks. 
 
 I had seen some teal the previous day, when, being 
 unable to mark them down, I was forced to give them up ; 
 and I was out all the evening, and up an hour before daylight 
 in search of them this morning, but to no purpose ; and, 
 having returned to breakfast, I left my duck gun and went to 
 Whitchurch, and then beat the whole river down with my 
 double gun and snipe shot, with which I killed the above two 
 teal (all I saw) ; and, coming home, I put up a couple of cocks 
 and killed them both, after having just made a capital right 
 and left at two jack snipes in a gale of wind. I never missed 
 all day, and never was 1 better pleased with any shooting at 
 Longparish. 
 
86 COLONEL HAWKER'S UL\RY Dec. 
 
 4///. — 4 pheasants and 4 snipes. All I fired at, except a 
 long shot at a partridge that I wounded and lost, and another 
 snipe which I ought to have killed. 
 
 N.B. — Since December began, I have had 34 shots, out of 
 which I killed 31, wounded i, and missed 2. 
 
 6tJi. — Left Longparish on a reconnoitre of the Dorsetshire 
 coast, and, with a tired horse, reached Cranborne, where, in 
 consequence of the fair, the inn was in one general scene of 
 riot and drunkenness, and I had a thin partition only between 
 me and rooms filled with fellows who were drumming, fifing, 
 fiddling, dancing and screeching, till six in the morning, when 
 nothing but threatening to shoot them prevented them from 
 breaking into my room. 
 
 ytJi. — Reached Poole, and proceeded to the ' Haven Pass- 
 age House,' where rooms were prepared for me, and round 
 which the wild fowl were flying in hundreds, though too far for 
 a shot. I could plainly see that if hard weather comes, this 
 place will be a paradise to a shooter. I killed on the road 
 I pheasant and i partridge. 
 
 8//?. — I took the morning flight an hour before dawn, and, 
 of course, the evening flight, but although the geese, dunbirds 
 and wigeons were in myriads, yet none flew low enough even 
 for swan shot. I this day surveyed every creek and corner, 
 and although getting any good shots at fowl proved almost 
 impossible, yet in order to be ready to receive them on the 
 approach of proper weather (which should be either very 
 rough or very severe), 1 decided on remaining here, and 
 accordingly sent John away with my dog cart, and to return 
 here with Mrs. Hawker ; I also hired an old fisherman, with 
 his boat and a canoe, to attend me on all occasions and go 
 water errands, catch fish for me, &c. ; and I adopted the hours 
 of six for breakfast, two for dinner, six for tea (or pipe and 
 grog), and nine for bed, by which means I avoid going with an 
 empty stomach to the cold creeks and sandbanks, morning, 
 c\-ening and night. 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 87 
 
 gtJi. — Killed 3 brent geese at one shot. 
 
 N.B. — While Caleb Sturney (the old fisherman) and I 
 were endeavouring to launch a boat, 6 geese came over at 
 about seventy yards, and with No. 2 shot I brought do\\n 
 the above 3 ; one of them, however, floated away before my 
 face, quite dead, and the current was so strong I dare not 
 go in, and I had no dog. I afterwards got a shot at about 
 100, no farther off, and the gun missed fire. 
 
 \otJi. — The only shot I got was at a flock of curres an 
 immense way off. I knocked one down and crippled some 
 more, but they were carried off by the tide, and I had not 
 even the luck to bag one. 
 
 I defy any wild fowl (were they in great numbers) 
 to escape the various means which I could devise to get at 
 them in the night ; but, unfortunately, so many scores of 
 people are every night either laid up, buried in casks, or 
 floating in canoes, that the birds literally go out to sea at 
 night and come in to feed in the morning, instead of vice versa, 
 and they generally fly above lOO yards high, very much 
 scattered. General frost, however, it is to be hoped, will, 
 as in the Russian campaign, do more than all our modern 
 manoeuvres. 
 
 Saw a very fair show of birds, but, as yet, no good 
 shooting to be got. The novelties of the place, however, and 
 the delightful sailing every day, make amends for the present 
 impossibility of getting wild fowl within reach. 
 
 The harbour and coast of Poole &c. has never, since 
 the memory of the oldest person, been so bereft of wild 
 fowl any previous winter as it has this. 
 
 i^tJi. — Finding I could get no birds to fly low enough in 
 the harbour, I tried a large pond, inland, where the wigeon 
 had been seen. I got up about four in the morning, and after 
 some trouble in getting across the heath, I found the pond ; and 
 after creeping round by moonlight, I espied these 3 wigeon 
 on the water, but dare not wait to get them together, as several 
 
88 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 other shooters were round the pond. I therefore got 2 in a 
 line, knocked them both over, but lost i ; so bagged but i 
 wigeon. Went out all day shooting. Killed a jack snipe, all I 
 shot at, and, at night, lay up at the pond and killed 2 divers. 
 
 i^tJi. — Attended the ponds an hour before daylight, as 
 well as (in an incessant pour of rain) the whole afternoon, but 
 saw no living creature except four other shooters, and, in 
 short, never fired a gun all day. 
 
 I////. — Except at a large diver which I knocked down and 
 could not catch, and a gull which I discharged my gun at and 
 killed, I never fired a shot ; in the afternoon the pilot and I 
 were overtaken by a gale of wind while paddling in a canoe, 
 and was too happy to escape with merely getting well ducked. 
 
 2QtJi. — Went in a small boat to Christchurch haven, about 
 fourteen miles. Saw thousands of wild fowl, chiefly ducks and 
 mallards, under the cliffs at Bourne-bottom, though never got a 
 shot, except at a large diver, which I killed. After surveying 
 the harbour, and finding it far inferior to our own head quarters, 
 I tramped in water boots to the town of Christchurch, and 
 having seen all there, I took a chaise to the public-house, 
 commonly called ' Kay-pond,' in hopes of a flight of ducks, as 
 this place lies directly off Bourne-bottom bay, but the swarms 
 of birds which were there at midday never appeared, and I 
 walked home to the ' Haven,' having left my boat at Christ- 
 church haven to come off by the tide next morning. 
 
 2\st. — After killing 2 partridges, i pheasant, i jack snipe, 
 and 5 ox-birds, I was taken very ill, and obliged to return to 
 the haven. It was obvious that what I suffered was from 
 dining on cold boiled beef at Christchurch, as I ne\cr partook 
 of this refreshment at inns, where boiled beef is generally ill 
 cured, half done and stale. My case therefore required tartar 
 emetic, and the difficulty of getting a boat against tide to Poole, 
 and the distance there by land being above five miles, I was 
 almost in torture till I luckily thought of sending to Brownsea 
 Castle, where Mr. Sturt, who was fortunately at home and had 
 
i8i3 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 89 
 
 some of the medicine, very kindly sent it, and, I am sure, saved 
 me from a very serious illness. 
 
 So enthusiastic is my mania of waiting for an evening 
 shot at wild fowl, that while under the influence of the medi- 
 cine 1 leant on a bank by the seaside with one duck gun in 
 my hand, and another read}' loaded. Nothing, however, came 
 within reach, and I was soon too ill to support m}'self, and 
 then went to bed. 
 
 22nd and 2^rd. — Having considerably recovered was out 
 again, but, as usual, never fired a shot, and the latter day was 
 chiefly emplo}'ed in recovering my Newfoundland dog, which 
 had decamped after a quarrel with m)' pointer. 
 
 2^th. — Completed the twenty-seventh year of my age. 
 This day was spent in a very pleasant sail to the two pyra- 
 mids called ' Old Harry and his Wife,' of which, as well as the 
 rocks and other curious places, I had a regular survey. I, of 
 course, took my gun, and, among these clift's, made an im- 
 mensely long flying shot at a goshawk. I also knocked down 
 several ox-birds, but got no shots at wild fowl except one 
 out of reach, but the evening flight was like the roar of the sea, 
 though not one string of birds came low enough to be fired at, 
 
 2gt/L — This and the two previous days I passed in sailing, 
 shooting gulls, ox-birds, divers, &c., which were neither killed 
 for practice nor wanton cruelty, but as tit-bits for Caleb Stur- 
 ney, my fisherman and pilot, who regularly feasted on them 
 and swore that they were * as good as " backside fowls." ' i 
 killed, among other rubbish, a speckled diver, \\hich I note 
 down, being the first I have been able to secure. In the 
 evening I buried myself in the sand, near where I observed 
 the fowl generally flew ; but owing to the unparalleled mild 
 weather, they came over too high ; m}' plan, however, so far 
 succeeded, that I got a diving duck, and should have had more 
 shots had there been cold weather, or wind, to lower the flight 
 of the birds. 
 
 list. — For the first day, Sundays excepted, I gave up the 
 
90 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 morning flight, and lay in bed till da}'light. We were out 
 from ten till three after the geese, but never got a shot. I 
 was also from five till nine at the pond without firing, and 
 having been equally unsuccessful in a canoe from nine till 
 twelve, we returned home to oysters, and, with a good bowl of 
 punch, drowned the execrably bad sport of 1813, and drank 
 in the year 18 14, surrounded by a crashing chorus of jolly 
 smugglers. This grand crew was within a thin partition of us, 
 so I ordered them a huge bowl of punch, and had then an op- 
 portunity of partaking of their mirth without being bored by 
 their company, and edified by a breeze from the north-east 
 and a hope of proper weather. 
 
 Got all the guns, fired in 18 14, and went to bed. 
 
 1814 
 
 Jamcajy ist. — Buried myself in an old sugar cask in the 
 mud, where I remained from ten till two, reading, and waiting 
 for the geese, which were coming in immense force preciseh- 
 where I wished them, till some scoundrel in a canoe rowed 
 after them to no purpose, and spoiled me a shot, which I 
 certainly should have had with my largest 2 5 -lb. shoulder 
 gun. In the evening I went by moonlight to my pond, 
 which was infested by a multitude of ' gunners.' I killed a 
 single dunbird, and missed a heron, which is the first time I 
 have failed killing within distance since my arrival at the 
 haven. 
 
 3;y/. — A pour of rain which turned to snow, and with a 
 tremendous gale of wind and hard frost, continued without 
 intermission till the night of the 5th. 
 
 6t/L — Was out with every hope of sport, but literally saw 
 no wild fowl, except one small flock of curres at an immense 
 distance ; I winged one, and after a long chase he beat the 
 boat and escaped. 
 
 The weather was this day so severe that the small birds 
 pitched on the boat in full sail ; and when we went on shore 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 91 
 
 the fieldfares were hopping under my feet. This proves that 
 our wretched sport is not so much to be imputed to the 
 weather, as the unparalleled scarcity of wild fowl on every part 
 of this coast. The head shooter, in the harbour, has this 
 year killed only three couple of fowl, and two men near here, 
 who at 2 shillings a couple cleared 50 guineas by birds last 
 year, have this season, with the same perseverance, got but a 
 few couple. 
 
 8///. — The weather became so intensely severe, that the 
 people of the house were busily employed in preparing 
 puddings of the larks and other birds, which flocked into the 
 house and sheds, and were not only there, but even in the 
 furze and on the shore, easily taken with the hand. I fired 
 at 5 geese out of reach and shot a plover, which I lost (at 
 night). Out sailing the whole day with a strong N.E. wind, 
 and the severest cold 1 ever felt, and literally never saw a 
 flock of wild fowl. Was all over Poole harbour, and very 
 near Wareham, where, according to report of punters from that 
 place, the same unheard-of scarcity prevailed. Such was the 
 intensity of the cold that I picked op pocketfuls of larks that 
 had perished and fallen in the water, and on our return old 
 Sturney and I had a hairbreadth escape of sharing the same 
 fate, by getting driven on a mud bank 2 miles from land ; 
 luckily, however, by throwing our ballast overboard &c. we 
 got afloat just in time to save the tide. 
 
 There were this day, at least, 20 canoes paddling in the 
 creeks, but no birds killed, and very few seen. 
 
 9///. — Went to Wareham. 
 
 \Oth. — Proceeded to Hyde, to try for snipes, and returned 
 on the morning of the 12th, with i mallard, 2 wild ducks, 
 3 teal, I woodcock, i wood pigeon, 28 snipes, 2 jack snipes, 
 and I water rail, besides some moorhens, and my pockets full 
 of larks, &c. 
 
 ilth. — The wild fowl at last came into the haven by 
 thousands, in one continued succession of swarms, and in a 
 
92 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 few hours, notwithstanding this was a day appointed for a 
 general thanksgiving, an immense levy en masse of shooters 
 was assembled at all points, and there was not a neck of land, 
 bank, or standing place of any kind but what was crowded 
 with blackguards of every description, firing at all distances, 
 and completely annihilating the brilliant prospects of sport. 
 
 14//2. — It blew such a tremendous hurricane that com- 
 paratively few birds would fly, as they could remain unmo- 
 lested in the harbour from the impossibility of the numerous 
 host of boats and canoes being able to follow them. Some, 
 however, came out and would have afforded charming sport, 
 but after I had been at the trouble and expense of making 
 proper masked entrenchments of every kind, I had in all 
 quarters the mortification to find myself closely surrounded 
 by vagabonds of every description, who were standing quite 
 exposed, firing at sea-gulls, ox-birds, and even small 
 birds, and repeatedly, as the geese were coming directly for 
 me, like a pack of hounds full cry, I had to endure the provo- 
 cation of seeing some dirty cabin boy spring up and drive 
 them away with the paltry discharge of an old rusty popgun. 
 Had it been possible for me to have lain peaceably in any 
 one place, I should have filled a sack ; as it was, however, I 
 had no further satisfaction than that of killing more than all 
 these ruffians put together. I got 3 wigeon, 2 grey plover, 
 2 cormorants, i ring dotterel, 18 ox-birds, and i dusky grebe. 
 Had the coast been quiet, I should, of course, have only fired 
 at proper wild {o\\\. When the rabble could not see to shoot 
 they adjourned to the ' Haven ' to drink, and when the liquor 
 gave them fresh courage the guns were again taken out, and 
 finding it too dark to see to fire at an}-thing thc}' began to 
 amuse themselves with shooting in the air, till I was obliged 
 to put a stop to it. 
 
 Thus do these gunners, in large bodies, from places 5, 6, and 
 even 10 miles off, make a point of assembling for the whole 
 time the hard weather lasts, and literalh' make a merit of 
 their wasteful expenditure in ammunition. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY 93 
 
 I this day, by firing at random, contrived, as usual, to beat 
 the sum-total of the shooters here, with 2 wigeon, and 2 curres, 
 and John shot another wigeon, which a rabble wanted to 
 claim, till I soon stopped their impertinence. 
 
 17///. — Finding it impossible to get within even bullet 
 shot of the fowls, I amused myself with sailing about and 
 shooting grebes, gulls, redshanks, ox-birds &c. and a snipe. 
 
 i^th. — I fell dead lame with my right foot, from having 
 some days ago had some boiling water thrown over my 
 instep. I, however, hobbled to the shore, got carried over 
 the creeks, and la}^ up in a barrel in an incessant pour of 
 rain, for it this day began to thaw. The flight, as usual, 
 was dreadfully slack : killed all the fair chances I got, 
 I golden-eye and i curlew. 
 
 19^/^.— My foot became so bad that I was obliged to be 
 carried again to my ambush, where I sat in the rain all 
 day and got 2 brent geese. 
 
 20th. — Was called before daylight, but was in such pain 
 with my foot that I was obliged to send John out and remain 
 in bed. He began by getting half killed by the recoil of 
 my large gun, and while he and the gun were lying together 
 in the snow the geese came close over him in one grand 
 army ; this gave him fresh spirits, and he put in half a charge 
 and knocked down four of them. I contrived to crawl out 
 for evening flight, but the geese then took another route,^ and 
 I only killed a wigeon. 
 
 Birds bagged while at Haven : 6 brent geese, 3 ducks and 
 mallards, 3 teal, 17 wigeon, dunbirds, and curres, 2 curlews, 
 3 plover, 31 snipes (all the latter but 3 at Hyde). 
 
 X.B. — On our leaving the haven the geese were in tens of 
 thousands before the windows. 
 
 26th. — It began to thaw, and the weather became very 
 mild. I this evening bagged a wild goose. 
 
 ' A man may remain fifty nights in waiting and not have the luck to get 
 under the grand army of geese, as their course is so \exy uncertain. John, it 
 appears, this morning had that luck, and no doubt would have killed a large 
 number but for the severe check he got at starting. 
 
1)4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan 
 
 Eight of the fine large grey geese pitched in front of the 
 house, and I had to hobble a long distance round before 
 I could get within lOO yards from them. I therefore made an 
 immensely long shot at this one, as well as wounding another 
 which (after being knocked over) recovered and flew away. 
 
 April 2nd. — Returned to Longparish. 
 
 12///. — Went out fly fishing, and, notwithstanding a bright 
 sun the whole time, I in a few hours killed 36 trout. 
 
 N.B. — My flies were (what I always use) the yellow dun 
 at bottom, and red palmer bob. 
 
 15///. — 28 trout. 
 
 \6th. — 24 trout (average weight above i lb. each, and 
 many of them weighed \\ lb.). Also a great many fair-sized 
 ones which I threw in. 
 
 I had all this admirable sport in less than two hours and 
 a half, and the weight of these fish was so much that they 
 were quite a burthen to carry home. 
 
 In the evening I was ludicrously amused with throwing a 
 fly on horseback, which answers as well as on foot ; though 
 I then caught no fish large enough to save, owing to the 
 wind having shifted to a cold quarter. 
 
 18///. — 15 trout. 
 
 2\st. — 4 trout, after killing which and throwing in many 
 small ones, was driven in by an incessant pour of rain. 
 
 23;y/. — 21 trout. 
 
 2tth. — 16 trout. 
 
 2Jth. — 12 trout. 
 
 28///. — 13 trout, average weight \\ lb. each fish. 
 
 29///. — 14 trout. 
 
 30M. — 17 trout, which make up in eleven days' angling 
 100 brace. 
 
 N.B. — I, of course, have reckoned only those fish which 
 I killed ; namely, such as were \ lb. and upwards. But 
 had I killed all the small ones and added them to my 
 number, it would have amounted to between 400 and 500 fish. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 95 
 
 May 2nd. — lO trout. 
 
 Jime wth. — Left Longparish for London. 
 
 \6tJi. — I decided on remaining in town for this month to 
 see the alHed sovereigns and their suites. The influx to the 
 metropohs for this purpose was calculated at 100,000 souls. 
 
 ^otJi. — We have seen one continued series of state 
 processions, been at most of the public places where the illus- 
 trious visitors were, and seen them repeatedly. We saw the 
 Emperor (Alexander I.) of all the Russias ; his brother, Prince 
 Constantine ; and his sister, the Duchess of Oldenburgh ; the 
 King and three Princes of Prussia ; Marshal Blucher, Prince 
 of Walstadt ; Platoff, the ' hetman of all the Cossacks ; ' and 
 Barclay de ToUe, with other great men and foreign princes 
 out of number ; which, added to our own royal family, formed an 
 assembl}' of more blood royal than had perhaps ever before 
 been in the metropolis of Great Britain. We returned to 
 Longparish this day ; and, after viewing the immense im- 
 provements which had been made in our absence, I walked 
 out in search of the buck. Found him in some corn, out 
 of which he sprang up, and so crippled him with two barrels 
 of swan shot that he could only reach the third field, where 
 Tiger pinned him in the hedgerow. He proved to be one of 
 the finest and fattest deer we had seen for a long time. 
 
 The horse and cart (when coming up for him) were 
 precipitated down a chalk pit, and, strange to say, no damage 
 whatever was done. 
 
 July yd. — Tried two duck guns, namely — the last new 
 one by Egg, to give strength to the shooting of which I was 
 obliged to have it fresh bored and breeched by Joe Manton. 
 This made it almost as good as one of his ; as it shot much 
 stronger and so close that, at 30 yards, it put in 360 grains out 
 of 3 oz. of No. 3. The other duck gun was made (entirely 
 under my own directions and daily inspection) by Joe 
 Manton, No. 6364. Nothing could surpass the excellent 
 shooting of this gun ; and, although 19 lb. weight and 
 
96 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY July 
 
 loaded with .- lb. of shot, it was made to shoot so pleasant,, 
 and set up so manageable, that I killed with it 2 peewits and 
 2 swifts out of 5 single shots, flying. 
 
 AftJi. — Killed 8 trout, i leveret, and 2 peewits. 
 
 YOtJi. — Mr. and Mrs. Joe Hawker, Lord Hinton, and 
 Mr. Cudmorc came to us. 
 
 wtJi. — 9 trout, and in the evening killed a full-grown 
 young wild duck at flight. 
 
 14///.— Mr. Cudmore never having seen a bird killed 
 flying, I took him out to see me fire 10 shots at swifts and 
 swallows, 2 at moorhens, 2 at sparrows, and i at a half- 
 penny thrown up. I killed every bird and handsomely 
 marked the halfpenny. 
 
 2^th. — Mr. and Mrs. J. Hawker and Mr. Cudmore left us,, 
 after our having spent a fortnight most agreeably. Music was 
 the order of the day, and never were Mozart's works more 
 delightfully enjoyed. Mr. Cudmore petrified the whole 
 neighbourhood with his astonishing pianoforte playing, and 
 convinced even the bigots of Cramer that, although perfect 
 master of three other instruments, no man now in England 
 could play the piano with so much taste, fire, and execution 
 as himself. 
 
 2gtJL. — Left Longparish, and arrived at our old winter 
 quarters, the ' South Haven Passage House,' Poole Harbour. 
 Arrived about dusk, and immediately went out and killed a 
 wild duck. 
 
 lOtJi. — Took a cruise out in harbour and killed 4 young 
 sheldrakes and 9 ox-birds. 
 
 These sheldrakes (burrough ducks or barganders) take 
 their young ones out to sea as soon as they are hatched, and 
 being in this month nearly as large as the old ones, they are 
 much followed, as (while young) sheldrakes are very good 
 eating. The shooting, however, is tame ; the flocks disperse 
 so much on your getting near them, that you can seldom bag 
 more than one at a shot, and that oftener swimming than 
 flying. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 97 
 
 August yd. — After having some capital sport netting and 
 spearing large flounders, and bringing in as many as 1 could 
 possibly carry, we sailed over to Poole and brought back 
 L , who arrived there per coach. 
 
 4///. — Inspected the castle and the whole of the island of 
 Brownsea. 
 
 ^tJi. — This evening anchored off the haven the ' Lord 
 Nelson,' pilot vessel, for which I agreed to give 15/. for a 
 run over to France. An incessant gale of wind, however, and 
 that unfavourable, detained us from sailing 
 
 6th. — Got under way for France at half-past six in the 
 evening, and, after having encountered a very heavy sea, 
 dropped anchor in Cherbourg Roads at half-past seven on the 
 morning of the 7th. The tide not serving sufficiently to 
 bring our little vessel into harbour, we came ashore in a boat^ 
 by doing which we reached the quay no further observed than 
 by the custom-house officers, who did their duty in a 
 gentlemanlike manner. 
 
 This proved a fortunate circumstance, particularly for Mrs. 
 Hawker, as our crew, on sailing under the quay, were attacked 
 b}' the whole canaille of the place, and so pelted with large 
 quarry stones that Mr. Wills, the master, who bravely stood 
 to his helm, was severely wounded, and afterwards confined 
 under a surgeon. This outrageous conduct originated from 
 the determination of the French to suppress, by mutiny, the 
 exportation of corn and cattle, for which purpose they sup- 
 posed that our little party of pleasure had entered their port. 
 The military were called out, and a mob of about two thousand 
 were soon dispersed ; and this was more done by the resolu- 
 tion of the colonel than any disposition for quietude on the 
 part of the soldiers, for they are most enthusiastically devoted 
 to Buonaparte, and their daily prayers are to have him again 
 at their head. They abuse poor Louis to absolute treason. 
 
 Here are thousands of idlers (now unemployed) who are 
 ripe for murder and insurrection, and the farmers are almost 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Aug. 
 
 starved, wheat being about 61. a load, and they having on 
 hand more than enough for two years' consumption. 
 
 After having made ourselves as comfortable as being in a 
 dirty French seaport would admit of, we lost no time to in- 
 spect the town and environs, of which I may give a brief 
 account by the following memorandums. 
 
 Entrance of Cherbourg a very fine and formidably strong 
 situation. On the right a dockyard for first-rate ships of war, 
 entrenched all round. On the left in entering are two forts 
 (La Libcrte and Imp;^rial) which were made by Buonaparte 
 in the middle of the sea, one on a rock and the other entirely 
 built on an artificial foundation of stone. Near these are 
 floating buoys for the as^:istance of shipwrecked mariners. 
 The town lies under an immense rocky height, which has on 
 it a few fortifications, and which commands the town, with a 
 fine basin or second harbour for large ships. A 74 (the 
 ' Duquesne') is stationed to take down the names of all, who 
 must lie to under her stem for this purpose, for which the 
 captain goes on board her. Went to mass. Church built by 
 English ; nothing particularly fine, except that, as far as I 
 could judge in a bad light and during service, the statuary 
 at the altar appeared to be good. 
 
 Town much like Lisbon, with the addition of chimneys. 
 Lamps suspended by a rope from each house to the middle of 
 the street and about 150 yards apart. Houses built of small 
 stone and badly slated. Three thousand infantry here, with a 
 general noise and inclination for disturbance. Police (as in 
 all France) remarkably good. Extensive barracks and military 
 works on a grand scale. Town coarsely paved ; views round 
 it fine and extensive. We put up at the Hotel de France no 
 less from a wish to enter into the French language and cus- 
 toms than to avoid the risk of being insulted by the mob at 
 the British Hotel, which wc probably should have been ; as, 
 in consequence of the landlord (Mr. Robbins) having specu- 
 lated in the cxportations, his house was attacked, and he dare 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 99 
 
 not stir out for fear of getting his head broken, as well as his 
 windows, which were stoned to pieces. The best subject in 
 the place is a Mr. Touchard, a merchant who was the first to 
 mount the white cockade, and who is celebrated for his civility 
 and attention to the English. He is on the point of removing 
 to Havre de Grace. Wines excellent ; even in the worst inns 
 you seldom get a bad bottle. The vin de uiusquer is more 
 delicious than an\-thing 1 ever tasted ; this is six francs (that 
 is five shillings English) a bottle, and champagne from four to 
 five francs ; but the vin du pays, claret or bordeaux &c. are 
 most excellent at about from fifteen pence to two shillings the 
 bottle. These, however, are dear prices, and only countenanced 
 as tavern charges. Soldiers who have distinguished them- 
 selves are allowed to wear a stripe near the cuff, and many 
 other honours ; but all these are so lavishly bestowed that 
 their value is quite depreciated. Dangerous to touch on 
 politics or converse on anything further than commonplace 
 subjects. I was deterred from taking sketches (for which I 
 had prepared myself) by being told that it was dangerous to 
 be seen thus emplo}-ed. 
 
 Beds in the French fashion ; people here sit in their bed- 
 rooms, and either dine privately, or at the table d'hote, where 
 the landlady serves out every dish to all society, from a field 
 marshal to a beggar, and where there is an abundant 
 variety for 2 francs a head. Although this was Sunday the 
 shops were open, the people at work, and the billiard tables, 
 as well as a variety of other gambling places, completely 
 crowded. 
 
 Stage coaches here enormously large and clumsy, and 
 drawn slowly by six horses in rope harness. \\q had hired 
 a carriage to spend Monday at Valognes (15 miles), but 
 were advised to compromise the engagement, and decline our 
 excursion, in consequence of the disturbed state of the 
 country ; while in hesitation on the matter, our determina- 
 tion not to go was fixed by the badness of the weather. 
 
100 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY AuG. 
 
 After having kept up our inspection of all that could be 
 seen till dark night, we supped pleasantly at the table d'hote 
 and went to our beds, which, although in filthy rooms, were in 
 themselves clean and comfortable. 
 
 jtJi. — Went out shopping. No stamps for receipts used 
 here. All articles about one-third the price of what they 
 are in England. The only taxes are on houses and windows, 
 the latter levied by Buonaparte. Thirty francs arc paid for 
 a shooting licence ; game is private property, and killed 
 at any time that the cutting corn will admit of, but one 
 must have a regular permission to carry firearms, which 
 of course is granted to all respectable persons. Great 
 civility to be met with from the police and custom-house 
 departments ; but the port charges may be avoided by 
 anchoring out of harbour, where there are very good 
 moorings. 
 
 This evening I was sent for by the prefect, who had re- 
 ported twelve ringleaders of the mob. He was very polite 
 to me. 
 
 9///. — Repassed the guardship and the 74 at six this morn- 
 ing ; but, not being able to lay our course for England, 
 were obliged to make for an eastern port, not choosing to en- 
 counter a second entry into Cherbourg. After being properly 
 tossed off Barfleur, we put into that port, a small fishing town, 
 where we were most hospitably taken compassion on by M. 
 Delamare, commissaire de marine, who insisted on our being 
 his visitors till we could put to sea, and soon after we became 
 acquainted used every endeavour to get our promise of 
 spending a week with his family. Barfleur and La Hogue 
 are a few miles separate, and celebrated for the most danger- 
 ous coast in the whole Channel, and are places which are 
 characteristic for shipwrecks. On entering Barfleur you 
 have literally to wind between hidden rocks. You pass 
 a superb lighthouse and the village of Gattevillc. 
 
 After a dinner, at two, our good host did everything in 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY 101 
 
 his power to amuse us, and took us in every direction to 
 gratify our curiosity. 
 
 We went over his farm, gardens, and estate, and then 
 walked to see the environs called Monfarelle. Here is a large 
 church built of the same granite that composes the destructive 
 rocks of Barfleur, and upwards of 6oo years old. Carving ex- 
 tremely good, and the ceiling one well-turned arch. Near 
 here the guns were firing for a wedding ; a custom in this 
 country, where there is also a peal of bells on such occasions. 
 Reverting to the farm, I should observe that the land is most 
 excellent, but the farming very bad indeed. The farmers 
 here are poor men, who hold from 4 to lO acres at about 4I. a 
 year per acre, extremely cheap for such land, and work hard 
 themselves, assisted only by two or three servants, and all 
 they look to is mere existence. They carry everything here 
 on small horses, and only thresh their corn with common 
 sticks as fast as they want it. 
 
 lot/i. — Sailed at six, and after losing sight of land were 
 taken in a dreadful gale of wind, and driven again into 
 Barfleur, in sight of another vessel which went to pieces on the 
 rocks. Our crew were all seriously alarmed. 
 
 Again we took up our excellent quarters, and in the even- 
 ing directed our attention to other sights. Being then low 
 water we first surveyed the rocks, from which we had so pro- 
 videntially escaped, and where so many have perished, and 
 then went over the lighthouse, which is one of the best I 
 ever saw. It has an excellent safeguard from lightning, 
 which is a conductor from the very summit into a well at the 
 bottom. 
 
 We then visited Gatteville, where the people are all red 
 hot for Buonaparte in consequence of his having found them 
 plenty of lucrative employment. It was from this place that 
 he took all the stone to build the Place des Victoires at 
 Paris. 
 
 I it/i. — Windbound again. Walked nine miles and through 
 
102 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug. 
 
 two small \-illag"cs to inspect the chateau of St. Pierre, and 
 the park of a French nobleman, at which we arrived after 
 having taken some luxurious refreshment at the house of a 
 French officer. House very large, paintings in one room by 
 Rubens and other fine masters ; the others not very good : 
 tapestry, fine : an extraordinary mixture of splendour and 
 beggary ; common deal dining tables in a room magnificently 
 decorated. Floors set in squares and polished ; grounds 
 laid out formally ; trees in avenues, &c. 
 
 Dined at the hotel, where we had an immense choice. 
 
 The town of St. Pierre is only of note for a great market, 
 on which the conscription has made such an impression that 
 )'OU see about twenty women to one man, and the same pro- 
 portion of mares to one horse. 
 
 We, having walked about twenty miles, got back to Barfleur 
 by night, when the Cherbourg exportations had been heard 
 of, and in consequence much disturbance had taken place. 
 Here the women were the champions, and in a mob assailed 
 our crew, and searched the vessel ; but finding no corn they 
 directed their attacks on another, being then assisted b}- 
 some men, who were assembled from all parts. M. Delamare, 
 however, soon restored order b}' his prompt and well-con- 
 ducted interference. 
 
 I2/Z;. — A fair wind. Sailed at six in the morning, and 
 reached Poole harbour after a delightful passage of eleven 
 hours. 
 
 The custom-house officers here are the most savage set 
 of blackguards that ever were heard of ; they kept my propert}' 
 all night, so that I was deprived even of the comfort of 
 cleaning myself, and this because they chose to gi\e them- 
 selves a holiday at the office. My servant was detained 
 in close arrest so long, that in coming home he was cast 
 away, and left on the mud all night. 
 
 13//A — After getting my trunks &c. free from these 
 infernal sharks, we set off a little before two o'clock in my 
 
1 8 14 COLONEL HAWKER\S DL\RY 103 
 
 carriage with four posthorses, and reached Longparish by 
 eight o'clock, where we, thank God, found our dear child, 
 and all, well. 
 
 2^tJL — Surveyed different improvements on the banks of 
 the Southampton river ; and, among others, a place belonging 
 to Mr. Chamberlain, which has the appearance of being 
 never used, and kept only for himself to look at. 
 
 26tJi. — Left Hamble and breakfasted at Lyndhurst, i8 
 miles, and then drove to Lymington, Z\ miles. Here my 
 carriage and horses remained, while I walked 4 miles to Ke)- 
 haven, with which being delighted as a wild-fowd place, I there 
 made some provisional arrangements for a future winter. I 
 then returned to Lyndhurst, and passed the evening and 
 night at Shrubb's Hill, the seat of Mr. Mathew, a quarter 
 of a mile from that place. 
 
 2'jth. — Started for home, by way of Romsey, 10 miles, 
 Stockbridge, 10 miles, and from the latter place, round the 
 good road, 12 miles. Reached Longparish to dinner. 
 
 N.B. — I made my excursion, in the landaulet, with my 
 own two horses, which always, without whip and with perfect 
 ease to themselves, travelled from 8 to 9 miles an hour. 
 
104 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 1814 
 
 September. — The partridge shooting here deferred till 
 the 14th inst. by mutual agreement, in consequence of the 
 late harvest. 
 
 lA^tJi. — 22 partridges. Birds nearly as wild as in 
 November. All full grown, and the young as strong on 
 wing as the old ones. Scent very bad ; I could only fill my 
 bag by firing at all distances. 
 
 Game bagged from 14th to 30th September: 100 partridges, 
 3 hares, 3 snipes, and i rabbit. Total, 107 head. 
 
 October \st. — Lord Hinton left us. I walked out alone 
 and killed 16 pheasants, 5 hares, i partridge, and i rabbit. 
 Among the former was the celebrated white pheasant, which 
 had been so long heard of in Wherwell great wood, and had 
 escaped all the sportsmen ; the bagging of this bird raised a 
 general rejoicing, and I fortunately killed him very clean for 
 stuffing. Although I have often brought home much more 
 than 23 head of game, yet I estimate this as the best day's 
 sport I ever had at Longparish, when I consider the following 
 circumstances. Though it blew a tremendous gale of wind 
 the whole day, and I only saw 19 pheasants, yet I secured 
 16: I bagged everything I fired at, except two partridges, 
 one of which was quite out of reach, and the other a 
 long shot, which I wounded, though I ought to have killed 
 it. Except about two hours in Wherwell Wood, I beat over 
 a country where everyone goes, and indeed knew of no 
 
1^14 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 105 
 
 other place to try without begging a favour or giving offence. 
 I killed all my game to one steady pointer and a Newfound- 
 land dog, and got 1 1 cock pheasants to 5 hens. My having 
 found all this game where two brace is considered a very 
 good day's sport, I impute to the wind having carried the 
 pheasants from Lord Portsmouth's preserves, from which I 
 Avas a mile or two to leeward. I only saw 5 hares all day, 
 and 4 of them were long snap shots. 
 
 4///. — 4 pheasants, 2 partridges, I snipe, and I jack snipe. 
 Coming home with all I had fired at, I flushed a wood- 
 cock, and after working the cover till not a dog would stir 
 from m\- heels, I left it and returned with every man and 
 dog I could muster, and after a laborious task to find him 
 again I had the mortification to miss a fair shot at him ; I, 
 however, knocked him down with my second barrel, but never 
 could find him, though I worked till dark and half the next 
 day. 
 
 1 8///. — Got intelligence of another white pheasant, which, 
 after a hard fag in a pour of rain, I found and bagged ; I got 
 5 shots only, and brought home 2 pheasants, 2 hares, and 
 I rabbit. 
 
 20tJi. — I was under the painful necessity of ordering poor 
 Tiger, my favourite Newfoundland dog, to be shot, in con- 
 sequence of an unusually virulent distemper, which had defied 
 all the doctors and every prescription, and with which the 
 poor fellow was dying in agony. Never could there have 
 been a more faithful creature destro}'ed, or a more severe and 
 irreparable loss to a sportsman. This dog was of the real 
 St. John's breed, quite black, with a long head, very fine 
 action, and something of the otter skin, and not the curly- 
 haired heavy brute that so often and so commonly disgraces 
 the name of the Newfoundland dog. He was just in his 
 prime, three years old, and from his sagacity, attachment, 
 good temper, high courage, and a personal guard, as well as 
 his excellence in shootincr for the fields, for the cover, for the 
 
lOG COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 hedgerows, for the marshes, and above all for night work with 
 
 the wild fowl, I may not disgrace the lines of our immortal 
 
 poet by saying : 
 
 Take him for all in all, 
 We shall not look upon his like again. 
 
 24//^. — Left Longparish for Lymington, with the intention 
 of embarking immediately for France, having only been 
 waiting; for a fair wind to make a second excursion to that 
 country. On arriving at Lymington, however, I found that 
 the Order in CounciV from the Lords Commissioners of the 
 Treasury, had been sent to Southampton, and I was obliged 
 to send a man there and back, 36 miles, to request the favour 
 of getting permission to embark here, where I had been 
 informed m\' order was lying, and for which purpose I came 
 here, 39 miles, instead of to Southampton, which is only 24. 
 The loss of this night, however, proved an interference of 
 Providence, as, had we sailed, wc might have fallen victims to 
 a directly contrary gale of w^ind, in which our vessel might 
 have been lost off the Needles. 
 
 25^//. — In consequence of the tremendous hurricane which 
 blew last night, the mate of our vessel, whom I had sent to 
 Southampton, was unable to recross the passage to Hythe, 
 and therefore did not return till this afternoon, when the wind 
 and tide were fair for our getting under way ; but instead of 
 this I was directed to appear myself at Southampton. I then 
 hired a most extraordinary pony, that took me with the great- 
 est ease and without whip, stick, or spur, to Hythe, twelve 
 miles, in three-quarters of an hour, and I was at the custom 
 house, between three and four miles more by water, in a very 
 little more than an hour altogether. On just saving the hours 
 of business, I was informed that my being sent there was all 
 a mistake, as the only person whose presence was absolutely 
 necessary was the master of the vessel, who must appear a 
 
 ' Without which my guns and dogs could not be embarked, or, if they were, 
 they would be sul)jcct to very heavy duties on bringing them home. 
 
1 8 14 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 107 
 
 second time with the Lymington papers &c., which could not 
 have been made out before he had first been to Southampton, 
 and in default of going through all this process he would be 
 open to the penalty of lOo/. and endangered on entering an- 
 other port. I then returned, as much to the purpose as I had 
 been sent, and got to Lymington all in about three hours. 
 Hired a gig for the master to go over again in the morning, 
 and after some hard fagging and bustling about the town, went 
 to bed. 
 
 26th. — All difficulties being surmounted, we trudged to 
 Keyhaven with our provision at our backs ; there embarked 
 at 6 P.M., and after a rough and miserable passage, dropped 
 anchor at Barfleur about half-past nine on the morning of the 
 27th. Here I was rather in a trouble, and was therefore in- 
 debted to a great deal of my own management, and also the 
 great civility of the custom-house officers, for saving my vessel 
 from confiscation, being regularly laden with an immensity of 
 presents from England. The astonishment of the mob on 
 board was highly diverting at the opening of my Joe Manton 
 gun, cases, &c. All being well got over, we landed and break- 
 fasted, after fasting for twenty hours. 
 
 29///. — Went out to try the French shooting. Their game 
 in Normandy is precisely the same as ours, but so scarce that 
 I literally never saw a partridge the whole day, and only one 
 hare at a distance. I bagged 4 snipes, i jack snipe, and i 
 quail, the only one I saw ; and as the latter bird is seldom to be 
 met with after September, my finding this one was considered 
 accidental. I should have killed more snipes but was interrupted 
 by the attendance of all the idle boys of Gatteville, and annoyed 
 by the infamous behaviour of a brute which my servant had 
 bought by way of a Newfoundland dog. I then went to in- 
 spect a beautiful piece of water called Gattemare, where I was 
 led to expect nothing but a quantity of coots ; but, to my as- 
 tonishment, I found it literally black with every description of 
 wild fowl. While the washerwomen were beating the clothes 
 
108 COLONEL HAWKER'S ULA.RY Oct. 
 
 on the stones, according to French custom, che coots were in 
 thousands around them, but the wild fowl took care to keep 
 in the middle of the lake, and when I fired a shot they would 
 pitch again, and, in short, had the usual audacity peculiar to 
 their nation. I winged some wild-fowl and some coots at long 
 distances, but my soi-disant Newfoundland dog would not 
 venture his worthless carcase so far as they fell. The lake of 
 Gattemare ^ is half a mile broad and upwards of a mile long, 
 and for the multiplicity of coots and wild fowl, particularly of 
 dunbirds, it surpasses anything I ever saw. We adjourned 
 our shooting till a boat could be conveyed overland to this 
 place, as without it nothing can possibly be done, we having 
 tried all day, and nearly all night, on the banks. 
 
 30//!. — Went on some poor horses on a miserable road to 
 a miserable place called Reville, where we went to mass and 
 inspected the ruins of a chateau, and we finished the day with 
 other excursions and visits. 
 
 3 1 J/. — After a great deal of trouble, a boat was carried 
 overland to Gathemare lake, but on my arrival I found what 
 they here called ' a little shooting canoe ' was a yawl large 
 enough for twelve people, which, of course, sprung all the fowl 
 the moment we got to the middle of the lake. I then got 
 set ashore on a little bank of rushes, and had some excellent 
 diversion v/ith the coots, which I should not have thought 
 worth firing at singly, but to amuse the Frenchmen, whom I 
 astonished not a little with Manton's guns ; but the infamous 
 behaviour of my water dog spoiled all my amusement ; he was 
 too sulky to bring the birds, but chopped them, and not only 
 left them, but sulked on the islands and prevented others from 
 coming near me. Out of 12 coots and 10 wild fowl which I 
 brought down, I only bagged 7 coots, 2 scaup ducks, 2 wigeon, 
 and I snipe. 
 
 ' The only misery of shooting here, particularly at night, is that you have to 
 stumljle over rocks and wade through mud for three miles, and then to tramp 
 in deep sand for above a mile more. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HA\VKER"S DL\RY 109 
 
 X.B. — I finished m\' day with shooting the dog, at the ex- 
 press desire of ]\Irs. Hawker, and to the great satisfaction of 
 all who were with us. 
 
 November \st. — Went with the premier chasseur of Bar- 
 fleur and a large party to surround the pond, but the fowl 
 immediately left, owing to the noise that was made ; we then 
 went to the cJiasse with this gentleman's dogs, said to be two 
 first-rate animals. The one ran home, and the other was so 
 slow that I preferred beating for myself The party killed 
 nothing ; I bagged i hare, 2 partridges, and i snipe, which 
 was considered as wonderful, and was thought more of than 
 all the wild fowl. 
 
 2nd. — Went to Valcalville, where, as a great favour, I 
 had permission to shoot in what was there called a ' forest ; ' 
 my day, however, ended, as usual, with finding nothing 
 the whole day but one small covey of birds. I killed 
 2 partridges, which were considered a bonne chassc. We then 
 returned to a poor hovel, where I contrived to get some eggs 
 and the produce of an almost barren garden, with which I 
 knocked up a few dishes, and we contrived to dine most 
 heartily ; and I sent to the neighbouring priest to beg some 
 wine and coffee. 
 
 '^I'd. — To-day I proceeded to the village of Neville, where 
 I met a large dinner party and passed the night at the house 
 of a jolly priest named Cruely. 
 
 6th. — After a miserable ride of about seven hours, on an 
 execrable road (and after losing Mrs. Hawker's horse for 
 some time in the forest), we reached the town of Valognes, 
 6 leagues from Barfleur, and once the winter residence of 
 many nobilit}-. 
 
 The following are the market pr'ces of Barfleur : 
 
 French. English, 
 
 sous s. d. 
 
 I lb. of butter 20 o 10 
 
 I lb. of veal 12 06 
 
 I lb. of mutton 8 04 
 
 I lb. of beef 8 04 
 
110 
 
 COLONEL HAWKER'S UL\RY 
 
 Nov. 
 
 I lb. of salt . 
 
 I lb. of common soap 
 
 I lb. of pepper . 
 
 1 dozen eggs 
 
 2 fowls 
 2 ducks 
 
 2 bushels of potatoes 
 I turkey 
 I lb. of bread 
 
 1 hare . 
 
 2 partridges 
 
 1 bushel of oats . 
 12 bottles of claret 
 
 6 bottles of brandy 
 
 2 bottles of old hollands 
 
 French. 
 
 English. 
 
 sous 
 
 s. d. 
 
 5 
 
 lh 
 
 24 
 
 I 
 
 64 
 
 2 8 
 
 10 1 
 
 5 
 
 24 
 
 I 
 
 30 
 
 I 3 
 
 15 
 
 7i 
 
 30 
 
 I 3 
 
 3 
 
 u 
 
 40 
 
 I 8 
 
 20 
 
 10 
 
 44' 
 
 I 10 
 
 264 
 
 II 
 
 180 
 
 7 6 
 
 70 
 
 2 II 
 
 7//;. — After the account we had heard of Valognes, and 
 knowing it to be one of the first towns in Normandy, we at 
 least expected to see something decent ; but of all the filthy, 
 ugly, dirty, imposing, miserable places I ever saw, I may 
 name this as one of the most abominable. After a tedious 
 crawl we got home to Barfleur by another route, which gave 
 us a fine and picturesque view of La Hogue. 
 
 TO//?. — Having some business at Valognes (from whence it 
 is seldom the custom to return the same day), I went there 
 and back within eight hours, notwithstanding I stopped half 
 an hour at the great cotton mill of Vast, which was established 
 under the directions of a Air. Orford, late of the 7th (English) 
 Light Dragoons. 
 
 \2tJ1. — This morning we left M. Delamare's and took 
 some excellent lodgings at the house of a Madame Apvrel, 
 viz. : 2 sitting rooms ; apartments for 3 servants and our- 
 selves ; a kitchen ; stabling, yard, the whole use of a well- 
 stocked kitchen garden ; the use of a horse, plate, linen &c. 
 for 100 francs per calendar month. 
 
 14//?.— 4 snipes and 5 dunbirds. I fired at 3 dunbirds 
 
 ' Very dear now. 
 
 ^ For a bushel of Enszlish oals \s. lod. ! 
 
iS[4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 111 
 
 flying high over my head, and killed them all 3 dead at one 
 shot. 
 
 18///. — Went to try the evening flight at the lake of 
 Rettaville (about half the size of Gattemare), but instead of 5 
 we found it nearer 8 miles distant ; being thus late, as well 
 as greatly out of luck, I bagged only i mallard. 
 
 When the tide is going out and it blows fresh, you can 
 seldom bag the half of what you kill ; and indeed I am 
 indebted to the purchase of a capital French poodle bitch for 
 what I have bagged ; I gave 14 francs for her. 
 
 Game &c. bagged at Barfleur : 6 partridges, i hare, i rab- 
 bit, 34 snipes, i mallard, 2 wigeon, 18 dunbirds, 13 curres, &c. 
 
 December 7///. — Having been almost poisoned with dirt (in 
 reality nearly poisoned by the earthenware, which is glazed 
 with white lead), and, in short, too happy to relinquish the few 
 remaining days of our month at Madame Apvrel's lodgings, 
 we, through the kind assistance of Mr. Orford, got a passage 
 in the cotton vessel, in which we sailed from Barfleur at a quar- 
 ter before three this morning, and dropped anchor in the basin 
 at Havre de Grace (20 leagues) at half-past four P.M. The 
 entrance to this place is beautiful , you sail under fine fortifi- 
 cations all the way in, and the perspective of the town presents 
 a really picturesque landscape. \\> entered the hotel of M. 
 Justin (the great house of Havre), and had to put up with the 
 usual dirt, misery, and confusion of a French inn ; but all 
 this, of course, is luxury compared to \\\\dX we had heretofore 
 been used to abroad. The cooking, however, was excellent. 
 
 Zth. — Was highly gratified with a general inspection of 
 the harbours, basins &c of this fine trading town, and passed 
 above two hours in the celebrated snuff manufactory (the 
 largest in France), where we had explained to us the whole 
 process, in which about 700 men were at work. There were 
 stacks of unprepared tobacco worth 120,000/., and the snuff in 
 much larger bins than I ever saw corn in. W^e took a com- 
 fortable dinner with Mr. Touchard, the merchant, and I then 
 
112 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec, 
 
 embarked my man and shooting apparatus in the Southampton 
 packet, having previously secured places for Mrs. Hawker^ 
 myself and maid, for Rouen, on our way for Paris. 
 
 gtJi. — Being called up soon after five, and having break- 
 fasted a little before six this morning, we tramped in the dark 
 and in the rain to the bureau des messageries, where our 
 voiture, the grande diligence, was prepared as follows : Two 
 horses at wheel, and three abreast leaders ; the driver, with a 
 smock frock, pigtail, powder, and a pair of water boots,' was 
 mounted on the near wheeler with strings (or small ropes) to 
 that, and the other four horses were harnessed in a sort of raw 
 hide leather fitted up with ropes. By the tremendous appear- 
 ance of this carriage and miserable-looking horses we were led 
 to expect that we should travel very slowly, and in constant 
 danger, with almost every misery that could be endured ; but, 
 to our agreeable surprise and astonishment, we found the 
 whole concern, in some respects, superior to even our own stage 
 coaches in England. Perfectly safe, very fast,^ very easy, very 
 commodious, and on most excellent turnpike roads. Every- 
 thing most carefully regulated, and, instead of being troubled 
 with repeated calls at public-houses, and interruptions of 
 guards and coachmen, you have only to settle, once for all, 
 on reaching your destination, where you pay the fare and, in 
 short, arrange the tout ciiseinblc. There is also no danger of 
 not being called in the morning, as there is a man regularly 
 appointed to wait on you an hour before the coach starts, and 
 should he neglect this, you can oblige him to pay your fare ! 
 
 We reached Rouen about 4 P.M. after an unusuall}' long 
 journey often hours. The distance is 22 post leagues, rather 
 under 66 English miles, which we should have performed in 
 eight hours but for the incessant rain, which had made the 
 roads particularly heavy and bad. 
 
 ' As we got farther up the road the drivers wore shoes, and then set their legs 
 into stupendous pairs of jack boots about the size, and more than the weight, of 
 common butter churns. 
 
 2 The only stoppages are for the change of horses, which is completed with 
 most wonderful expedition. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 113 
 
 The country which we passed was beautiful, and our 
 journey really comfortable in spite of the rainy weather. The 
 entrance to Rouen, where you descend a wooded hill and have 
 in constant view the Seine winding through the valley, is 
 really magnificent, but the town itself is more celebrated for 
 its almost unlimited commerce and grandeur than anything 
 to gratify the traveller. It has, however, a museum, a garden 
 of plants, an opera, and a theatre ; but our having engaged 
 places in the diligence to proceed to Paris the next morning 
 made it more prudent to relinquish anything beyond a view 
 of the town, get our suppers, and go quietly to bed. We put 
 up at the Hotel de Vatel, where we found perfect cleanliness, 
 good living, and civility, but, as is now the case at and every- 
 where near Paris, with an extravagant bill. 
 
 lotli. — Proceeded by the grande diligence on our wa}^ for 
 Paris, which is 28 leagues (about 84 English miles) from 
 Rouen. We started at five this morning, and at half-past 
 twelve reached Magny (within a league of halfway to Paris),, 
 where we stopped to dine. Instead of being served with a 
 dirty stage coach dinner, as in England, our table was spread 
 in a manner that would have done credit to a nobleman's 
 house, and with everything good clean, and comfortable, 
 silver forks, &c., for which (with wine, fruit, spirits, and ale) 
 we paid 3 francs a head. Having thus comfortabh* refreshed 
 ourselves, we proceeded on our road, which all the way from 
 Magny to Paris (about 44 miles) was well paved and we 
 travelled nearly as fast as a London mail coach, having entered 
 the gates of Paris by half-past six o'clock. After waiting to 
 sign our names at the coach office, and got our luggage, we 
 repaired to our hotel, but from thence were sent adrift in 
 consequence of it being full ; we then deposited ourselves, 
 goods, and chattels in the Hotel des Sept Freres Macons. 
 
 Paris. As the well-known ' spectacles ' of this place are 
 ably described and judgmatically criticised in almost every 
 newspaper at this present time, I shall merely note down a. 
 VOL. L I 
 
114 COLONEL HAWKER'S UL\RY Dec. 
 
 memorandum of what places I may see, and (instead of writing 
 even for the few minutes a day which I usually do) make use 
 of every moment to see all I can, and then get out of this 
 stinking, imposing place. 
 
 wth. — Finding that a passport was indispensabl}' neces- 
 sary, I was obliged to go to the Duke of Wellington's to 
 procure one. This being done, we sav\' the following places : 
 Tuileries and gardens with mythological statuary, &c., and 
 most of the magnificent edifices in that direction. Then 
 inspected and ascended the monument (Colonne de la Place 
 VendCme) which was erected by Buonaparte, and is built 
 with the cannon taken in the battle of Austerlitz, &c., and 
 from which you have a panorama of Paris and its environs 
 that surpasses any description. Indeed, the unbounded mag- 
 nificence of all the public buildings here is such, that one can 
 hardh' refrain from adding superfluous panegyrics to memo- 
 randums. Saw the greater part of the French cavalry (con- 
 sisting of hussars, cuirasseurs, dragoons, and lancers). The 
 cuirasseurs were infinitely the best appointed and finest 
 looking troops. Saw statuary of the best artists out of 
 number, and in every direction different edifices with the 
 grandest sculpture and carving ; walked in the Champs- 
 Elysees ; and after taking refreshment at a restmiratetir's, 
 promenaded the streets, saw the Fontaine des Innocents, 
 Palais Royal,' &c. ; and in the evening went to the Theatre 
 Comique, where we were much pleased with the opera of 
 * Joconde,' and in this the singing of Martin. 
 
 12///. — Hired a coach- and saw the Invalides ; containing 
 
 ' Famous for having a piazza (or cloisters) in which are all the first and (of 
 course) the most extravagant shops, rcstaurateiu's, &c. , and which may be termed 
 the Bond Street of Paris. 
 
 2 A private carriage is 25 francs per day ; a servant (out of livery) with it 
 4 francs, and whatever fee you choose to give the coachman. A sort of covered 
 one-horse chaise, 15 francs. A hackney coach (with footman) 30 sous per drive 
 (whether long or short 'tis all the same) ; and you generally give 4 sous more for 
 the men. The hackney coaches and public town voitures here are much better, 
 and infinitely faster, than in London, but the private equipages (like the private 
 houses) are very far inferior. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 115 
 
 depot, gardens, church, kitchen, messhouses, hbrary, &c., all 
 on a most stupendous scale — three thousand men now dine 
 there every day. 
 
 ' Museum Petit Augustin : ' containing all the sculpture of 
 the first masters (chiefly in monuments) from the thirteenth 
 to the seventeenth century inclusive. 
 
 ' Luxembourg.' Saw a whole room of enormous-sized 
 pictures all by Rubens (except two of David's, Titian's, 
 and another master's), another almost entirely filled with 
 Lesueur's progressive paintings of St. Brunot, and a detached 
 gallery with most extraordinary naval paintings by Vernet. 
 
 'Senate House.' Magnificent large frames containing paint- 
 ings of Buonaparte's victories, &c., which are (unfortunately 
 for the curious) covered over by green canvas, too fast nailed 
 over for even a peep. Flags and standards taken in Austria. 
 Spacious and elegant saloons and committee rooms, one of 
 which is decorated with paintings on cloth, and has some furni- 
 ture painted on velvet ; gardens arranged with fine statuary, 
 basins, &c., much in the superb style of those before the Tuileries. 
 ' Ecole de Medicine,' containing a museum of everything 
 that can possibly be selected for the amusement and instruc- 
 tion of surgeons, every preparation of anatomy, instruments, 
 surgical curiosities, &c. 
 
 ' Pantheon.' An immense hall of the most perfect archi- 
 tecture, and under which we were shown all the (locked up) 
 vaults containing the bodies or hearts of all the great men, 
 marshals, authors, &c. We here saw the tombs of Voltaire, 
 Rousseau, &c., but the kings are buried at St.-Louis. We 
 ascended the dome and enjoyed another panorama of Paris, 
 than which nothing can be more picturesque. 
 
 ' Eglise de Notre-Damc.' On one side the New, on the 
 other the Old Testament in tapestry : fine paintings, among 
 which is the ' Visitation ' (of St. Elizabeth) by Jouvenet, who 
 having, after beginning it, lost his right hand by palsy, finished 
 it with his left ; but, even putting this aside, the piece has 
 
116 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 sufficient merit to stand high in Paris ; wardrobes, from 
 which were shown us the robes, canopies &c. of all the high 
 priests, kings, &c. ; the Pope's chair, his robes, and all his 
 nonsensical apparatus ; Buonaparte's crown of laurels in 
 gold, his sceptre, and his hand of justice ; ditto of Charle- 
 magne ; Maria Louisa's crown &c. and the most magnificent 
 church plate (chiefly in massive gold set in brilliants, rubies, 
 and emeralds) ; among this there is a service given by Buona- 
 parte on his coronation ; church curiosities, such as crucifixes 
 in coral, goblets in crystal, &c. ; a fine piece of statuary of 
 our Saviour taken from the cross ; superior carving in oak ; 
 the finest marble candelabras given on the birth of the little 
 King of Rome ; fine painted glass, &c. 
 
 We had just time to partake of a sumptuous dinner at 
 the table d'hote of our house, and drive off to the Italian 
 Opera. We had here Paisello's delightful composition, ' II 
 Re Theodoro.' As far as the band was concerned, wc were 
 highly gratified, but it was vexatious to hear a cJief-d'cBuvre of 
 such acknowledged merit murdered by the most infamous set 
 of singers I ever heard. Excepting Crivclli and a passable 
 comic singer, there was not one fit to exhibit on a country 
 stage. Scenery very good ; house poor and shabby ; orches- 
 tra about fifty musicians. 
 
 \lth. — After inspecting the Halle au Ble (a grand and fine- 
 built rotunda for wheat and flour), we took breakfast and 
 proceeded with our carriage to the spectacles. Were disap- 
 pointed in being refused admission to the Gobelins tapestry, for 
 want of an order from some baron, so proceeded to the Bicetre, 
 or madhouse, containing one large factor};, where convales- 
 cents carry on different trades. An immense wall, where the 
 buckets &c. weighing 2,900 lb. are worked by about fifty 
 men to a wheel, and emptied by an iron catch as large as a 
 ship's anchor ; five minutes required for the drawing of a 
 bucket of water, and noise like thunder — great laundry, kit- 
 chen, and other offices for lunatics, whom we saw in all classes. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 117 
 
 ' Cabinet de I'Histoire Naturelle,' containing the greatest 
 collection in the world of beasts, birds and fish, every speci- 
 men in conchology ; fossils, precious stones &c. surpassing de- 
 scription ; a superior library of natural history, and, in short, 
 everything in that study that can possibly be imagined. Garden 
 of plants of all the rarest sorts. 
 
 Cabinet of Anatomy of the whole creation, and all valuable 
 kinds of animal curiosities preserved in spirits, wax specimens 
 for human anatomy, &c. Live wild beasts. Live birds of 
 all sorts, land and water. 
 
 ' Bureau d'Artillerie,' or ordnance, containing first all the 
 stores, cannon, &c. ; and secondly, a museum for every model 
 of arms and other implements used in war, with a most valu- 
 able collection of firearms of all countries, the armour of all 
 the great men, standards, sidearms, &c. 
 
 After hastily dressing,^ and dining, we re-entered our voi- 
 ture, and drove off to the celebrated Opera of Paris. Found 
 the house spacious and well built, though shabbily decorated 
 and fitted up. The band very fine, and immensely strong, 
 too much so for the choruses, it consisting of at least sixty 
 professors. The singing most disgracefully infamous, and the 
 acting nearly as bad, but the scenery, dresses, and decorations 
 far surpassed all our English theatres in every respect. The 
 opera was ' Les Abencerages ; ' in this was introduced a Mr. 
 Aubert, who danced and played on the guitar, and although 
 with the addition of having to execute considerably on this, 
 the only music to which he danced, he was decidedly superior 
 to any in the ballet, which was ' Telemaque.' Although they 
 could not complain for want of having a cJief-tVceuvre to per- 
 form in, yet the dancing was far short of what I had been led 
 to expect from the pompous account I had everywhere had of 
 the French opera dancing. The carriages, after the opera was 
 
 ' The French never dress for the opera, and have it, like their other public 
 places, poorly lit up, as if to hide their dirt and dishabille ; instead of fine chan- 
 deliers all round the house, they have only a cluster of lamps suspended from the 
 centre, and one row of stage lamps. 
 
118 COLONEL HAWKER'S I)L\RV Dec. 
 
 over, were well regulated by the horse and foot gendarmes, who 
 act as life and foot guards do in London ; and instead of allow- 
 ing Mrs. Such-a-one's carriage to stop the way,cvery voiture was 
 obliged to draw on as fast as it arrived, and therefore you must 
 be read}' to seize the opportunity of getting in \\'ithout delay. 
 
 lAftJi. — The Louvre, containing such a collection of the arts 
 as I never supposed it possible that an}- one place, or even 
 metropolis, could boast of. Fully prepared as we were to be 
 lost in astonishment, }-et the collection here far, ver}' far, sur- 
 passed all the descriptions we had heard from those who had 
 seen it. To inspect this grand depot of sculpture and painting ' 
 would require at least a month, and we were therefore obliged 
 to content ourselves with hurrying through it in five hours, in 
 order to see a little of the other inexhaustible sights of Paris. 
 Here are sculpture, mosaic &c. most superior of all the great 
 masters ; paintings of the French, German, Dutch, Flemish, 
 Italian, English, and. in short, the very best of every school in 
 Europe. One of the rooms here is above 1,300 feet, and con- 
 tains about 1,250 immense pictures of Raphael, Rubens, Titian, 
 Carracci, Albano, Domenichino, Vinci-Leonardo, and Guido, 
 added to many others of the first ancient and modern artists. 
 
 Inside of the Tuileries. In getting permission to enter 
 here while the King is in Paris, it requires some trouble and 
 interest, but we were fortunate in meeting with Colonel Athorpe, 
 of our Royal Horse Guards, who had a card for himself and 
 party, which he kindl}- invited us to join. After entering the 
 palace and passing through very strong guards, all in full dress 
 uniforms, and with a most stately appearance, we had some 
 trouble, even with our printed document, to get admission, 
 but all these difficulties were perhaps magnified b}' the royal 
 servants with a view of getting a little English money ; at 
 last we entered, and saw all the magnificent apartments in this 
 spacious and richly decorated palace, the saloons, halls, State 
 bedrooms, billiard room, chapel, theatre, &c. Here we had an 
 
 ' Here are three immense pieces of the finest mosaic I ever saw. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY 119 
 
 opportunit}- of seeing several fine paintings on the subject of 
 Buonaparte's achievenrients, in which he was himself con- 
 spicuously introduced ; but in the rooms which are open 
 publicly to the French, and to the mere passports of foreigners, 
 all paintings representing the ci-devant Emperor are either put 
 away or closely covered. It may be needless to add that, for 
 their own interest in his reign, no pains were spared by the 
 artists to render these subjects their masterpieces.^ We saw 
 also many valuables in the palace ; a very fine vase, an enor- 
 mous solid gold box (brought from Italy), some of the finest 
 carved, gilded, and painted ceilings in the world, &c. ; also 
 most superb tapestry by Gobelin. 
 
 1 5///. — Elysee des Bourbons, the ci-devmit Emperor's 
 chateau of repose for the months of ^larch and April ; here 
 he remained quite en retraite, and amused himself with his 
 family. Here we saw all the comfort, as well as luxury, that 
 could be imagined. Here too we saw his writing table, which 
 appeared to have been the only thing used in the place, and 
 to which there was a chair or a pivot, so that he had not even 
 the trouble of lifting his seat to write if, while sitting at the 
 fire, he was struck with an idea worth noting down. We also 
 saw the a'-^^Tw;// Empress's bedroom, dressing room, and every 
 little ornament that could be suggested, and among them 
 some fine mosaic, and other valuables from Italy ; we had 
 also a view of the billiard table,- and enjoyed the novelty of 
 playing with the Emperor's favourite cue and Maria Louisa's 
 mace. This palace, although on a smaller scale than the 
 others, and with scarcely any paintings, except Buonaparte's 
 family pictures, is, for taste and elegance in the fitting up, 
 before all the others ; and, in short, a perfect lesson for the 
 
 ' Here is one grand hall hung round with full length portraits of Buonaparte's 
 marshals, and his eagles, bees, and the letter N are so universally distributed, 
 that it will require some time and expense to erase them without considerable 
 damage to the rooms. 
 
 - Lit up with two groups of lamps, which are each suspended so as to represent 
 the scales of justice, an idea of the Emperor's, as an emblem of the desideratum 
 for general peace and happiness. 
 
120 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Dec. 
 
 man of taste in furnishing ; everyone should see it, as no one 
 can help being delighted with it. The Empress Josephine 
 was some time here, and this is the house which Alexander 
 chose for his residence during the two months the Russians 
 were here ; he, however, selected one of the worst rooms, 
 and preferred his camp bed on a sofa to the luxurious beds 
 and couches of this palace of comfort. 
 
 In going to the Bourbon Elysee we saw the two ci-devant 
 palaces of the Bourbons, which are exactly alike, and are 
 now used, one for the bureau of the Minister of Marine, and 
 the other as the residence of dragoon officers of rank. Passed 
 Talleyrand's house, and the Corps Legislatif, &c. 
 
 Boulevards or immense streets round the town, with foot- 
 paths, and double rows of trees on each side. 
 
 National Library of Paris : contents, above 400,000 valuable 
 books.' This library is formed in three-fourths of a long 
 quadrangle ; the partitions average about 100 yards long 
 each, by a very considerable breadth.- Here is also another 
 fine room, in which two stupendous globes, celestial and 
 terrestrial, are sunk from within a large gallery that surrounds 
 them, into a fine hall below. 
 
 In the first grand room there is a well-executed statue of 
 Voltaire, a group in brass and copper, and a correct model of 
 the Pyramids of Egypt. 
 
 We then descended to the hall and cloisters below, and 
 after passing a room hung with framed plates, we entered a 
 library of folio engravings. It may be needless to say they 
 are perhaps, most likely, the best in the world, and of every 
 nation where the arts are known. 
 
 Cafe Montacier. Our hard morning's work and glut of 
 more novelties obliged us to finish with walking over this 
 place, which was a large and handsome theatre, and is now 
 
 ' This immense repository of literature is all in one room, and open to the 
 public, who may read there, or look over folios of engravings, at six sous per day. 
 ''■ Length 544 English feet, and breadth 128 feet. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 121 
 
 (stage, boxes, pit, and all) converted into a magnificent coffee 
 room, where is the grand resort in the evening of all classes 
 of Parisian loungers. 
 
 I omitted to mention to-day my having passed nearly an 
 hour in the morning to inspect the shops and work of the first 
 gunmakers of Versailles and Paris, and in my life I never 
 saw such infamous concerns by way of fowling pieces ; the 
 springs of the locks were worse than any musket I ever 
 handled ; their breechings a most bungling imitation of our 
 old discarded patent ; their touch-holes three times as thick 
 as they had need to be, and the locks literally ready to scratch 
 your hands for want of being let into the stock. While all 
 these matters, which really contribute to the intrinsic value ot 
 a gun, are thus neglected, the whole study of the workman 
 appears to be directed to the exterior ornament of the gun, 
 and thus you see a machine worth about two guineas fitted up 
 with lOO/. worth of gold, silver, and even carving. In this they 
 appear to think solely consists the perfection of a gun, and 
 on my endeavouring to suggest (most civilly, and for their 
 information) a few of our unquestionable improvements, their 
 utter ignorance in argument and obstinacy were, although 
 disgusting, really laughable. 
 
 Finding we had a few minutes before dinner would be ready, 
 we took a sight of the baths, which are arranged on an extensive 
 scale, one side for men, the other for women, and well built. 
 
 The moment we had dined we started off to Franconie's 
 Olympic Theatre, which is the Astley's of Paris, and in 
 every respect precisely on the same plan. The horsemanship 
 was good, but, on the whole, rather inferior to England ; a 
 horse there was brought forward, who was taught to fetch 
 and carry like a dog, and finished his exploits by marching 
 off with an old woman's cap from the boxes. The panto- 
 mime, a sort of romance, was very well got up, and we gave 
 it the preference to the average of those in England. The 
 acting was good, the scenery well managed, and, on the 
 
122 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 whole, did credit to the theatre. The house is shabby for 
 want of new doing up only, but it was better lit than the other 
 theatres, or even their opera houses. 
 
 1 6///. — Breakfasted ' by candlelight, and started in our 
 voiture for Versailles, 4 leagues from Paris, but about 5 (15 
 miles) from our hotel. On getting out of the suburbs we drove 
 for a very long time by the banks of the Seine, on a road which 
 is the whole way most excellent, and nearly all on pavement. 
 
 Just beyond the 'bridge of Vienna ' we had a full view of 
 the Ecole Militaire and Champ de Mars : a place extending 
 in a circle of 6 miles, and formed in various sorts of ground 
 for every kind of artificial warfare. On the right, opposite, 
 is the beginning of a palace which was intended for the little 
 King of Rome. 
 
 ' Saint-Cloud and the Palais.' A lovely place overlooking 
 all Paris from a commanding and cheerful situation, and 
 where the royal residence is, if possible, more grand than the 
 others : it is, like the rest, one blaze of magnificence, with 
 every luxury that can be devised, and the marble and man}' 
 other ornaments are most valuable and exquisitely fine. 
 
 ' Royal Manufactory of Porcelain.' A place as large as a 
 palace, where there is made the most elegant china that can 
 be conceived, and where almost everything is manufactured 
 equal to fine sculpture ; for instance, flowers, &c., and lace so 
 
 ' If you breakfast at a coffee house you can seldom get served before nine, 
 whereas to save our time I always get my breakfast before eight, and the difference 
 not only in comfort, but expense, was considerable, had the value of a breakfast 
 been my object ; for instance : 
 
 Cqfee house : A miserable small pot of indifferent coffee, a roll, and a little pat 
 of butter, served without a cloth on a marble slab, cost me 36 sous. 
 
 At my otun room : Two large hot French rolls, 2 sous ; proportionable quantity 
 of superior butter, 2 sous ; new milk, I sou ; as much delicious collared boar's 
 head as I could eat, 8 sous. Total, 13 sous. 
 
 Thus, by buying your tea and coffee, you may breakfast luxuriously by your 
 own fireside for half the price that half a breakfast would cost you at a * cafe.' 
 
 N.B. — The hotels do not find breakfast, and most of them find nothing but 
 wines and liqueurs, in which case you dine at, or have your dinner from, a rcstaura- 
 teii7-''s. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 123 
 
 well imitated round a figure that I, at first, would not belie\e 
 it was anything but real. 
 
 ' Sceaux.' Stopped here for a few minutes to refresh our- 
 selves with a slice of collared boar's head, and some cakes for 
 which a coffee house in this place is well known. 
 
 ' Versailles.' On entering the place we were soon struck 
 with its appearance, as being cleaner, having better looking 
 private houses and more spacious streets than any place we 
 had seen in France. We were a little annoyed, however, at 
 the governor, who was absent, having left a peremptory 
 order that no one should see the palais, as the workmen 
 were repairing it, and all the ornaments in confusion ; this 
 we would not so much have regretted, but for the loss of 
 seeing the opera house therein, which is said to be the finest 
 in the world : after tormenting officers, architects, and work- 
 men with my persevering though useless entreaties, I gave 
 up all attempts to get even a look in here, and proceeded to 
 see everything else (which required nothing further than a 
 good supply of francs for the gardeners and doorkeepers), 
 viz. : Les Affaires Etrangeres, library, and antiquities. 
 
 ' Orangery.' One of the finest, as a greenhouse, in Europe, 
 containing trees planted from the year 142 1 to the present 
 day. 
 
 Gardens are laid out before the palais, standing on a 
 commanding height and overlooking the royal woods and 
 park of chasse, which latter are 60 miles round. These 
 gardens are the most perfect paradise I ever saw ; filled with 
 every sort of sculpture ; fountains, basins,^ canals, &c. ; and 
 on one are many fine gondola boats ; the avenues are 
 most tastefully arranged, and made beautiful by every 
 corresponding ornament that can be devised. 
 
 The Bas d'ApoUon, an artificial rock, with statuary, 
 where is introduced Louis XIV., is a wild and beautiful orna- 
 ment to the retired shades in which it stands. From the 
 • Every one of the many basins played 104 fountains at a time. 
 
124 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec 
 
 centre of the gardens the groves lead off to all points, and 
 you can see nowhere without a displa}^ of fountains before you. 
 
 Colonnade. A rotunda of 32 marble columns, and 25 
 fountains, with fine statuary in the centre. 
 
 Great basin with fountains, representing the chariot of 
 Phaeton, which throw the water 55 feet high. 
 
 ' Palais du Grand Trianon.' Another immense and magni- 
 ficent residence of the ci-devant Emperor ; everything here 
 again is perfected for grandeur and luxury, and yet with 
 comfort in no wise forgotten : this palais is entirely on a 
 ground floor, and therefore the site is considerable. Another 
 large collection of the finest paintings in the world, and in 
 which Claude Lorrain, Poussin, and Vernet stand conspicuous. 
 An immensely long gallery is here, richly fitted up ; the 
 walls hung with pictures of the best masters, and the opposite 
 sides (from the best light for the paintings) are decorated 
 with large and valuable models of the different ships of war. 
 
 Here are a variety of slabs, fonts &c. made from solid 
 pieces of the production of copper mines (a sort of green 
 like marble, I forget the name), said to be the largest speci- 
 mens in existence.^ A small piece of carving in agate of very 
 great value. Many valuable things, nearly of the same de- 
 scription as those in the other palaces, or, to speak more 
 to the purpose, of every description. 
 
 A whispering room, which has the effect of the gallery at 
 St. Paul's, but is quite square, instead of being formed in a 
 circle, like the latter. 
 
 ' Petit Trianon.' An elegant little palace, which was 
 occupied by the infant King of Rome and his attendants ; 
 it is very near the Grand Trianon, and is, perhaps, of all 
 others, the situation which a private individual would prefer 
 to live in. 
 
 Manufactory of arms on a large scale ; but no good 
 
 ' The greater part, if not all, of these were presented to Buonaparte by the 
 Emperor Alexander. 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 125 
 
 work, except, as I before remarked, in carving and inlaying ; 
 the manufacturer was civil, and I therefore pretended to 
 admire. 
 
 We got back to Paris by five, bolted our dinners and flew 
 to another theatre. 
 
 * Le Theatre du Vaudeville.' A house of comedy &c. 
 much the same as our little theatre in the Hay market ; after 
 seeing a little of this we found it so crowded as to be hot and 
 uncomfortable ; and having a wish to see the 
 
 Cafe Montacier lit up, we proceeded there and took some 
 ice and cakes. Nothing could be more gay than the illu- 
 minated coup dceil of this Bacchanalian ^ temple. The order 
 of the day seemed to be burnt brandy and sweet cakes ; but 
 tea, coffee, and about twenty different kinds of refreshment 
 were passing among the immense concourse here assembled. 
 The ci-devant stage was filled up with groves of trees and 
 flowers ; and, on the whole, this appeared to be a perfect 
 temple of gaiety. 
 
 We then started on foot, and took a view of the dissipa- 
 tions in the Palais Royal, which was crowded to excess ; and 
 notwithstanding we saw about 200 ladies of the demi-monde, 
 there was literally not one but was worthy of being remarked 
 for extreme ugliness. Here were coffee houses, all thronged 
 from the garrets down to subterraneous vaults ; and where, 
 had we thought it prudent to come a little later, we might 
 have seen the very essence of dissipation. 
 
 ijtli. — Having to arrange some money matters, and 
 letters to write &c., I lost a part of this morning ; we saw, 
 however, enough to say that our time was well bestowed. 
 
 After inspecting the triumphal arch of Buonaparte and 
 the gate of St.- Denis, both of which we had before passed, we 
 proceeded to the Boulevard du Temple. First we saw here a 
 fine fountain, to which the water is conveyed from the distance 
 
 * I may be wrong in using this term, as I believe, being a coffee house, no wine 
 is allowed, but everything else is in abundance. 
 
126 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 of 25 leagues, and which spouts from the mouths of eight 
 Hons, placed two and two octagonally. 
 
 ' L'Abbaye St-Martin,' a ci-devant convent which is now 
 converted into a repository for models of almost every sort of 
 manufacture, and where in one spacious range of apartments 
 you see the process of almost every work. This is highly 
 gratif}'ing to a mechanic, and somewhat interesting to every 
 one ; we really found relief in seeing things of a sober colour, 
 after being day after day so dazzled with the splendid blaze 
 of magnificent palaces. 
 
 ' Cafe d'Apollon.' A really good theatre, fitted up with 
 chairs and tables instead of benches, and where, by calling for 
 even a glass of spirits and water, you may every night see a 
 comedy and a pantomime, with a passable orchestra. I am told 
 they are worth seeing, but the cheapness and freedom of 
 eating brings that sort of company which makes this place 
 exceptionable in the evening. 
 
 We saw some inferior waxwork and many other trifling 
 things in these Boulevards, which are entirely full of all sorts 
 of little ' spectacles ; ' small theatres, temples and coffee 
 gardens out of number, which are ever\^ night thronged with 
 idle people of pleasure, 
 
 18///. — Went to the ' Tuileries ' to see the Royal Family go 
 in state to prayers ; being English we were readily admitted 
 into the saloon, through which they passed as follows : Due 
 de Bern, Duke of Angouleme, Monsieur Comte d'Artois, 
 Louis XVIIL, Duchesse d' Angouleme, marshals, attendants, 
 t^'c. The affability and good-natured look of his Majest}' could 
 not but be admired by every honest man. 
 
 After leaving the Palais we drove through the Champs- 
 Elysees, and passed the Barriere de Neuilly, a stately lodge 
 with the finest avenue we had seen, and near which there is, 
 half finished, another of the Corsican's triumphal arches, to 
 his own memory, as usual. Then the Bois de Boulogne, a 
 royal hunting wood, at the beginning of which are places of 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 127 
 
 recreation, and for refreshment, as the avenues to and in this 
 wood are in fine weather the Hyde Park of Paris. Here is 
 the httle Palais de Muet, once a ro}'al villa, now a place for 
 public amusement ; also the country house of Talleyrand. 
 
 We then crossed over to the Champs de Mars for a review^ 
 which, to our disappointmient, had just been countermanded ; 
 from there we drove to LTnstitution des Sourds et Aluets ; but 
 the deaf and dumb of the establishment being out, we had 
 only a view of the buildings. 
 
 ' Corps Legislatif,' or Parliament House, which, instead 
 of being, as ours, like a lawyer's dirty chambers, is truly mag- 
 nificent. It is fitted up with every sort of comfort and 
 ornament. The Salle where are assembled the members is, 
 like the Luxembourg Senate Room, a half-circle, and the 
 gallery supported by fine architecture of marble pillars ; on 
 the right of the President, or Speaker, are figures of Lycurgus, 
 Solon, Demosthenes, and on the left, Cato, Brutus, and 
 Cicero, all in the finest sculpture. 
 
 Among other grand saloons there is that which was the 
 Emperor's, and still remains with decorations emblematical of 
 his victories, and the insignia ot all the different kingdoms 
 of Europe. In the Corps Legislatif are some good sculpture, 
 paintings, tapestry, &c. 
 
 ' L'Eglise de St. Sulpice.' Went here during mass, and 
 were much more gratified by the superb architecture than 
 the ranting of the preacher. 
 
 ' Theatre Francois.' Wx had delayed visiting this theatre 
 till the celebrated Talma was announced to perform, and then 
 we were obliged to conform to the French custom of profan- 
 ing the Sabbath, or we should have left Paris without seeing 
 him. He played Coriolanus, but with much more the deport- 
 ment of a Whitechapel butcher than a dignified Roman ; and 
 his acting was such that we were sadly disappointed. The 
 Roman matron was performed by a Madlle. George, a ranting 
 woman, who is here considered a fine actress. 
 
128 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec, 
 
 19/'/'.— Cabinet of Mineralogy and Medals, and after this, 
 having got an order from Baron Monier, we proceeded to 
 the Gobelins tapestry, celebrated for being unquestionably the 
 best in the world ; we here saw many fine paintings which 
 were left at this manufactory to be worked, and after being 
 astonished with some of the finest tapestry that could be 
 described, going through the whole process of making, we 
 were shown a finished piece which represented the death of 
 General Dessaix, and which astonished us (even though we 
 supposed it v/as a painting) for its admirably fine colouring 
 and spirit. 
 
 ' Observatoire Royal,' a sort of obelisk from which you 
 have a panorama of Paris, but by no means a better one than 
 from many other edifices which we had mounted. 
 
 Dined at M. Very's Restaurant. To have dined here is 
 to have seen one of the ' lions ' of Paris ; and we therefore 
 directed our steps to the Palais Royal for this purpose. The 
 printed bill of fare was about the size of a newspaper, and 
 the whole place seemed to be a temple of unbounded luxury. 
 We dined on as many of the best dishes as we could possibly 
 get through, and had afterwards ices, liqueurs, &c., the 
 whole bill for which cost exactly an English guinea for Mrs. 
 Hawker and myself; everything served up in silver, and, in 
 short, this place is so noted for good living that the Emperor 
 Alexander and the King of Prussia made a point of dining at 
 Very's while the Allies were in Paris, and since which the 
 highly illuminated room (where we dined this day) is called 
 the Alexandre. 
 
 20tJi. — ' Catacombs,' subterraneous passages which extend 
 for nine miles under the streets and boulevards, and from 
 which the stone was taken (600 years ago) to build Paris. 
 Here are two millions of skulls arranged with bones (like wine 
 in a cellar), a spring of water with gold and silver fish, and an 
 altar where mass is said once a year ; several tombs &c. all 
 nearly thirty yards below the surface of the earth, and where, 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 129 
 
 had we extinguished our two glimmering candles, we should 
 have lost our places in the coach for Calais. It luckily, how- 
 ever, happened that only one light went out at a time, and 
 we got to our hotel just with time to partake of a scrambling 
 dinner. 
 
 Paris, for public edifices, museums, and in short for 
 splendid palaces and as a grand emporium for science and 
 literature, may be termed the capital of the world ; but so 
 truly filthy are the streets, houses, and inhabitants, and so 
 poor and vulgar are the almost numberless places of enter- 
 tainment, that it was to us astonishing how any of the English 
 could remain there a prey to imposition a day longer than 
 was absolutely required to see the principal spectacles. 
 
 At two o'clock, having on a former excursion had enough 
 of French posting (for instance, waiting while horses were 
 taken from a plough or caught from a field a league distant), 
 and having been much pleased with the diligence from Havre, 
 we had taken our places at the ' Grande Messagerie ' for 
 Calais. 
 
 At twelve a dear and bad supper at Beauvais, i8 leagues 
 from Paris. 
 
 2ist. — At half-past eight breakfast at Amiens, 30 leagues 
 from Paris ; ran to look into the magnificent cathedral, than 
 which nothing can be finer in the architecture. 
 
 At half-past five, found a most excellent dinner, with 
 good wine, great civility and very reasonable charges, at 
 Abbeville, 40 leagues from Paris. 
 
 22nd. — At a quarter before eight, a pretty good breakfast 
 and things comfortable at Boulogne, 62 leagues from Paris. 
 
 Arrived by two in Calais, 70 leagues from Paris. Total, 
 I93i English miles. 
 
 N.B. — Tronchet in his guide book says 186^, but he is 
 wrong, as in many other statements. 
 
 Thus we crawled for forty-eight hours at a trifle more 
 than four miles per hour, notwithstanding the roads were 
 
 VOL. L K 
 
130 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 in the best condition from the hard frost ; add to which we 
 were repeatedly annoyed by trifling accidents on the way. 
 We were, however, induced to bear all with patience and even 
 good humour, from the great civility and attention of 
 M. Massin, the conducteur. 
 
 On our arrival we found Calais a perfect scene of con- 
 fusion ; the hotels were all crowded, and, in preference to 
 starvation and sitting in the yard, we joined the table d'hote, 
 which I could compare to nothing but an ill-regulated kennel 
 of foxhounds. The imposition, the misery, and the aping of 
 the English, was at this place truly laughable. 
 
 At eight this evening went on board to sail, but it came 
 on to blow so fresh that we all had to march back again. 
 Being an old campaigner I took care to get a bed out of the 
 hotel, and to offer a prem.ium to an old woman, for which a 
 good breakfast and hot rolls were prepared ready for us the 
 next morning. 
 
 23r^. — Sailed at nine, and at half-past one reached Dover. 
 We came in a French packet, the ' Parfaite Union,' Captain 
 ]\I ascot, who, I suppose in consequence of his having piloted 
 his Majesty on a day when the cabin boy might have brought 
 in the vessel, thought his passengers (about sixty, instead of 
 twenty which he ought to have taken) unworthy of the least 
 civility or attention, further than to secure their money before 
 they were fairly in sight of Dover. We had, most fortunately, 
 an English sailor who was a passenger on board, and showed 
 the crew how to manage the vessel. 
 
 The whole of the luggage was carelessly thrown together, 
 and among which were the poor suffering passengers, many 
 of them ladies, rolling in sickness and everything that was 
 filthy, with the risk of having their brains beat out. Our 
 getting into the boat which came alongside was so far bad 
 that we thought it miraculous that only two passengers fell 
 overboard. All our campaigning was a joke, for the time it 
 lasted, to these four hours and a half We had several women 
 
i8i4 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 131 
 
 on board who suffered dreadfully, though not enough to move 
 the assistance of Captain Mascot. 
 
 Soon after our arrival the very vessel into which we had 
 the nearest possible escape from embarking was wrecked on 
 the pier, the ' Henri Ouatre,' Captain Benois, who refused a 
 pilot to save expense, and whom they say was drinking with 
 liis crew instead of minding his vessel. Let these and the 
 many late accidents be warnings to our countrymen never to 
 trust themselves in a French packet ; and let me observe that 
 since the Peace every one has turned packet master, as 
 money is such an object in France that every fellow will risk 
 the life of himself and passengers to clear a few guineas ; and 
 therefore it is at all ports the order of the day to keep an ill- 
 manned vessel.^ 
 
 24t/i. — After being most strictly overhauled at the custom- 
 house, we got off from Dover at eleven, and reached London 
 in twelve hours by the Paris light coach. 
 
 2^t/L — After having been two hours only in bed, we pro- 
 ceeded for home, and at five o'clock we, thank God, ar- 
 rived safe and found all well at Longparish, where we most 
 heartily enjoyed our Christmas dinner. 
 
 Distance which we travelled, exclusive of excursions in 
 and round Paris, and from Barfleur during our stay in those 
 places, 719 miles. 
 
 The whole of this excursion, for exactly two calendar 
 months, cost me about 120/. (exclusive of powder, shot, tea 
 &c. taken out, and about 30/. laid out in little purchases). 
 
 2jt/L — I wigeon, i heron, i jack snipe. 
 
 1815 
 
 January 2nd. — Left Longparish and arrived at Ke\^haven, 
 near Lymington. 
 
 yd. — Keyhaven. i wigeon, the only one I fired at, but 
 
 the flights we saw were prodigious. 
 
 * It was really afflicting to hear of the number of wrecks that had taken place 
 ^vithin these ten clays. 
 
132 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 6tJi. — 2 snipes, i jack snipe, and i partridge. In the even- 
 ing, as usual, lay up in m}' canoe on the mud, where there 
 were thousands of wigeon ; but owing to the Christmas 
 shooters, I never got a flock near enough to fire at. 
 
 ytJi. — The army of shooters had driven every fowl from 
 the mud, except a few coots, at which I fired my capital Joe 
 Mauton duck gun with common shot and stopped 6, at 
 the enormous distance of 132 yards, which we accurately 
 measured with a 9-foot punt pole. Indeed, this extraordinary 
 gun has scarcely ever failed, in a flock, at that distance. 
 
 14///. — Made a regular surve}- of the coast and places, as 
 per annexed memorandum. The infamousl}^ bad sport pre- 
 vailed everywhere this season. 
 
 Hasty sketch of sJiooting places. — ' Pitt's Deep,' good creeks 
 for canoe. ' Park,' not so many creeks, but better for the 
 flights. \"\^arren Farm has excellent flighting when the wind 
 is from S. to W., as the Duke of Buccleuch stops the shore 
 gunners ; it is about a mile from Needs'oar Point, 2 from 
 Bucklershard, and seven from Lymington. Bucklershard,. 
 eight miles from Lymington Road, good. 
 
 N.B. — All the mud is good, but everywhere equally 
 disurbed by shooting punts and boats. 
 
 25//?. — After being out all night, in a bitter cold north- 
 east wind, with sleet, and waiting for three hours without 
 stirring for water sufficient to approach the wigeon, which 
 were unluckily disturbed, I was obliged to content myself 
 with a random chance fl}'ing, and bagged onl}^ two. Last 
 night our chance was again spoiled by fools trying to walk 
 to the birds. 
 
 26tJi and 27///. — It blew and snowed so hard that going 
 after wild fowl was impossible, and the le\-y e7i masse of 
 blackguards as usual destroyed all chances for the shore ; 
 I therefore walked out inland, and killed 2 rabbits and i 
 snipe, all that could be found. 
 
 28///. — A brent goose, the longest single shot I ever saw ; 
 

 1l>-IU4X^-iv 
 
 
 i 
 
i8i5 COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 133 
 
 a keeper, who was present, supposed it to be 120 yards. 
 This was with Joe Manton's famous 19-lb. gun, and the 
 only shot I got. 
 
 I had afterwards to ride from Warren Farm (Mr. Richard 
 Warne's) to Keyhaven, about 14 miles, and among unfre- 
 quented marshes and bogs, where I had never been before, in 
 the most miserable night I ever weathered ; it was so dark, I 
 literally could not see my hand before me ; and my eyes were 
 almost blinded by hail, which was, the whole time, driven full 
 in my face by a tremendous hurricane. I had my 19-lb. gun 
 and an immense quantity of ammunition to carry ; and as my 
 old blind mare would hang back when I tried to lead her, I 
 was obliged to tie the gun to her bridle while I waded the 
 dykes, then mount and force her through them, and after- 
 wards anchor her with the shot belt, while I went back and 
 groped up my gun. I had twice made up my mind to pass 
 the night under a bank, and should have been too happy 
 to have thus avoided the danger of being bogged or 
 drowned, had I not been wet to the skin, and benumbed 
 with cold. 
 
 30//?. — Mrs. Hawker and I left Keyhaven, and luckily 
 without having lost the use of our limbs, as Mrs. Benche's 
 house was as damp as a church, and scarcely fit to shelter 
 a Newfoundland dog. Mrs. Hawker went to Longparish ; and 
 I proceeded for wild fowl shooting to Bucklershard, and got 
 a very comfortable little lodging at the house of Joseph 
 Beale. 
 
 February ist. — ' Bucklershard.' Prevented from going out 
 till this evening by the rain, and found an immense company 
 of wigeon, and put into a small creek at about eleven o'clock, 
 and there lay in wait till half-past five in the morning ; we then 
 got water, and were sitting up, with the almost certainty of 
 half a boatful of birds, when an infernal rascal ojDcnly ap- 
 proached some of the straggling birds, and with the very worst 
 management and a miserable old gun killed seven ! 
 
134 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Feb, 
 
 2nd. — More wet weather. I attempted the evening flighty 
 but could get no chance ; and the wind and tide having 
 dela}'ed the canoe coming for me, I had to wander over the 
 marshes in utter darkness with wind and rain, and fell 
 about a dozen times from the tops of the banks down into 
 broad ditches full of water. I was almost borne down every 
 step by the weight of my gun and ammunition. I then 
 wandered all over the inclosures for several miles, and once 
 lay down where some sheep had been penned, to pass the 
 night ; but the violence of the rain having somewhat abated, 
 I made a second attempt, and after wandering in the fields 
 for several miles more, and tearing through every hedge to 
 keep a straight line, I found a road, which I followed till I 
 came to a light. This luckily proved to be the house of a 
 farmer, who gave me some beer, and put me in the road 
 home. He said it was no wonder that I was lost, as even 
 those who knew all the country rarely ever ventured on these 
 marshes at night. 
 
 A^tJi. — Rowed our canoe into a hole in the mud, where after 
 the water had run off we remained invisible, and no sooner 
 were the geese beginning to fly in swarms than a host of 
 blackguards surrounded us on every side, and kept up such a 
 fire with bullets that our prospect of sport was again annihi- 
 lated ; we had to remain in this hole from two in the morning 
 till five in the evening ; we got home about nine at night 
 without having had a single chance. 
 
 5///. — Finding the sport so inferior to what it had been in 
 other seasons, that even men who last year supported their 
 families by'wild fowl have this winter only killed two or three 
 couple, and the weather having become quite mild and wet, I 
 this day left Bucklershard and returned home to Longparish. 
 
 15///. — Being selected by Mr. Joseph Manton as one of the 
 sportsmen to be examined on the advantages of his patents, 
 I this day received a subpoena to attend his trial {versus his 
 brother and others) for infringements on them. 
 
i8i5 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 135 
 
 1 6//^.— Went to London. By the unexpected delay of 
 other trials, the one of Mr. Manton could not be brought on, 
 and was therefore deferred till the ensuing term. 
 
 i(^tii. — I returned to Longparish. 
 
 The worst wild-fowl year ever known. 
 
 April 6th. — Having purchased Mr. Lee's cottage at Key- 
 haven, I this day went to Lymington to arrange for the rebuild- 
 ing of the house. 
 
 July 1st. — 'Longparish.' Went minnow fishing in the dusk 
 of the evening, and lost all the best time by having to send 
 home for some fresh tackle, and on its arrival the first and 
 only fish I caught with it was the very one which had just 
 broken my line before, and from whose mouth I pulled out my 
 former hooks, gut, swivels, &c. 
 
 The angling this year has been so execrably bad, that, 
 during the whole season, I have killed but 62 brace of trout. 
 
 I have in former years done nearly that in one day. 
 
186 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 1815 
 
 September \st. — 34 partridges, besides 2 brace lost, 4 hares, 
 and 2 quails. Every covey we found were as large as the old 
 ones, but so unaccountably wild that I was obliged to take 
 both single and double shots at all distances, notwith- 
 standing which I may safely say that I only lost two head 
 of game by bad shooting. 
 
 6tJi. — 16 partridges and i hare. I also lost 2 birds, and 
 except wounding one which I ought to have killed, and firing 
 a random shot off my horse, I never missed. My double shots 
 were three, and all killed. 
 
 jtJi. — 8 partridges and i hare. My sport this day would 
 have been as good as or better than yesterday, but I had only 
 some young dogs, one of which spoiled all my best shooting by 
 running in and chasing. This morning, an hour or two be- 
 fore I was prepared to start, I was called to go down to the 
 river for two ' curious birds.' I loaded my double gun, and 
 crawled under cover of a heap of stones near enough to 
 bring down one sitting and the other flying with the second 
 barrel. They proved to be a godwit and a spotted redshank, 
 birds which I had often killed on the coast, but never before 
 heard of in this part of the country. 
 
 I was, of course, obliged to fire kneeling, having crawled 
 up to the birds, which, although one was a sitting shot, made 
 the killing with the second barrel somewhat difficult, par- 
 ticularly as I had not an instant to spare. 
 
 Game bagged the first week : 90 partridges, 1 1 hares, 
 2 quails, i snipe (all I saw), i rabbit. Total, 105 head. 
 
i8i5 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 137 
 
 N.B. — Scarcely anyone else in this country has had good 
 sport, by reason that the birds have been so unusually wild 
 nothing could be done without the knack of killing them as 
 soon as they topped the stubble. Including my 2 seabirds this 
 morning, I have bagged every brace I fired at in my last ten 
 double shots. 
 
 1 6///. — Till this day I have been laid up with an inflamed 
 sore throat, and finding I could get but little better, I went 
 out on my old mare, armed with gargle and hartshorn, to 
 try for a few birds, as the coveys were so wild that almost 
 all the shooters had given up doing anything. I bagged 
 lo partridges, lost 2 more, and missed but twice, one shot 
 a long way off, and another in the sun. 
 
 20///. — From incessant dry weather, the scent became so 
 bad that the birds were always on the run. I went out for a 
 little airing on horseback, and killed all I could have killed, 
 which were i partridge and r hare. 
 
 2^rd. — 5 partridges and i snipe. I this day, on a covey 
 rising unawares, and in the sun, missed a first-barrel shot ; at 
 least, I only feathered the bird and killed him with the second 
 barrel. Previous to this I had killed and bagged with both 
 barrels fourteen times successively, without once taking down 
 my gun from the shoulder between the two shots. 
 
 I have now completed 29 birds out of fifteen double 
 shots. I did this with my old 22-gauge gun ; last year I killed 
 2^ birds out of fourteen double shots with a 14-gaugegun ; but 
 this last is far better, as the birds required such quick shooting. 
 
 As far as I could learn at Manton's and Egg's &c. my 
 having this wild season bagged fourteen double shots succes- 
 sively is the best shooting that has been accomplished in 
 England. 
 
 October 2nd. — Having without the slightest provoca- 
 tion (except being a friend of Mr. Fellowes, his brother) 
 been uncivilly encroached on by the keeper of Lord Ports- 
 mouth, and having heard that his gang of myrmidons, who 
 
138 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 had previously been sent to annoy Mr. Fellovves through a 
 whole day's sport, were watching to warn me off Lord Ports- 
 mouth's land, and to follow me wherever they dared, I got 
 some men with guns and pistols to draw their attention to 
 different parts while we attacked their grand preserve : every- 
 thing was arranged agreeably to a military plan, which 1 regu- 
 larly drew and coloured beforehand, and which answered so 
 well that we got two hours' glut at their pheasants before the 
 gang came up to warn us off; to my own share I bagged 28 
 pheasants (including 2 white ones), 3 partridges and i hare. 
 
 Notwithstanding we had rain for the first hour, I killed 
 in two hours 24 pheasants in 24 shots, bagging every bird. I 
 was determined not to fire out of distance ; but among my 
 shots were many very difficult ones and four double ones. We 
 were taken after my 24th shot, when we finished our day on 
 some neutral ground, to which we took care to drive a fine 
 sprinkling of game, and where we defeated the gangs by being 
 well mounted. We began at half-past nine in the morning, 
 on the moderating of a heavy fall of rain, and came home to 
 a comfortable dinner at four o'clock. We each shot with one 
 old dog, which is always best where game is very plentiful. 
 
 ytJi. — Till this day I had uniformly shot, ever since the 
 1st of September, as well as it was possible to shoot ; to-day 
 I missed both barrels twice at partridges, which lay like 
 stones : afterwards, however, I finished without missing, and 
 bagged 5 partridges, 3 pheasants, and i hare. 
 
 8//;. — I this day drove to Freefolk, where my tandem had 
 a most extraordinary and providential escape. Wliile I was 
 in the house, my servant not being so attentive as he ought to 
 have been to the horses, they suddenly galloped off, knocked 
 him down, and drew the wheel over his arm, body and shoul- 
 der ; they then charged a fastened-up gate with such violence 
 that they broke it and burst it open, in doing which they com- 
 pletely bent the top bar, which was of wrought iron, thick as 
 my wrist ; tearing the dog cart after them, they flew all up 
 
i8i5 COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 139 
 
 the most dangerous cross road in the place, and after reaching 
 the sun:imit of one hill, had to go down another, which was 
 frightfully steep, full of loose stones, and with a gate at the 
 bottom, where this road ended with others going short to the 
 right and left : strange to say, they cleared the turn most 
 dexterously, and the wheeler and buggy were found overturned 
 about a mile and a half from Freefolk House, and the leader, 
 who had broken loose from his reins and traces, was brought 
 back by a countryman. 
 
 Instead of finding James half killed, the road strewed 
 with the wreck, and the horses blemished, we had the good 
 fortune to find that the extent of all the damage done was the 
 breaking off at the two extreme holes of the leader's traces, 
 which we only had to buckle to the next two holes and the 
 leading reins at the buckle which couples them. In short, 
 all was so well got over that I afterwards proceeded ten 
 miles, and paid two other visits. 
 
 \2th. — Having late last evening killed some game, amidst 
 the annoyance of Lord Portsmouth's banditti, who could not 
 then catch the tenant to warn me off, I (knowing that a notice 
 would be sent for my breakfast) attacked the place again this 
 morning at sunrise, while my men diverted the gang with a 
 little random shooting in another direction. I got 4 hares and 3 
 pheasants, and made a long shot flying over my head at a teal. 
 
 14///. — Worked Wherwell Wood all day, and got but one 
 shot, which was at a single partridge, and that I lost in the 
 high wood. 
 
 20th. — Went out while it blew a hurricane, and in eight 
 shots killed, including a pheasant lost out of bounds, 8 
 head of game. 
 
 Game &c. bagged up to November i : 149 partridges, 
 2 quails, 23 hares, 7 rabbits, 80 pheasants, 9 ducks and 
 mallards, i teal, and 6 snipes. Total, 277 head. 
 
 November 26. — Proceeded from London to Inspect the 
 Fens ; went in chaise as follows : Waltham Cross, 1 3 miles ; 
 
140 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Nov. 
 
 Wade's Mill, 1 1 miles ; Royston, 15 miles ; Caxton, 12 miles ; 
 Huntingdon, 9 miles ; Ramsay, 12 miles. Total, 72 miles. 
 Put up at Mrs. Belshaw's ' Crown ' inn, Ramsay. 
 
 2jtJL — Walked nearly thirty miles in surveying the Fens, 
 and could soon perceive that they would not answer for wild- 
 fowl shooting : if a frost, the birds are gone ; if a thaw, the 
 greater part of them remain in the deco\-s ; so that the 
 breeding season (when the ague is predominant) is the only 
 time for this infernal country. 
 
 28///. — Took a hack buggy, by way of Whittlesea, to 
 Peterborough, 15 miles, and then a chaise to Oundle, 13 miles. 
 
 After having spent the day with Mr. Sherrard, I returned 
 to town on the 29th per coach by Kimbolton, St. Neots, &c. 
 As my presence in town was not required again till the 
 morning of the 30th, I enjoyed a pleasant and cheap tour 
 for these few spare days instead of remaining idle in London. 
 
 30//^. — Having Finished my business, I left town this 
 afternoon, and reached Longparish soon after midnight per 
 Weymouth coach. Total travelled from Thursday to Thurs- 
 day, 309 miles. Killed on the road 2 partridges. 
 
 December lyJi. — Left Longparish for Keyhaven, where 
 we took Aubrey House from the nth. I had some days 
 before sent off my baggage, &c., but was detained by having 
 been taken suddenly and severely ill. 
 
 15///. — Went down to Poole (21 miles) relative to build- 
 ing a new canoe and stanchion gun on a plan of my own 
 invention. 
 
 \6th. — Returned to Keyhaven. 
 
 \<^th.- — I wild duck and I mallard. So scarce and bad 
 has the coast shooting yet been, that the only two shots I 
 fired all yesterday and this evening were one at a single 
 wigeon, and another at 4 ducks, of which I knocked down 
 3, though only bagged the above 2. 
 
 28//^. — My gun having been loaded ever since I killed the 
 2 ducks (eight days), I at last got a flying shot, and killed i 
 
i8i5 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY 141 
 
 wigeon, and afterwards a second shot, with which I knocked 
 down 2 more that I lost on the tide. There has scarcely 
 been a bird killed by any one of the constant followers of 
 wild fowl since we came here, so mild, wet, and unfavourable 
 has been the weather. 
 
 29///. — Went to Poole to pay for and send off my new 
 canoe boat, and bring away the stanchion gun &c. to be 
 finished under my own direction. 
 
 1816 
 
 January 6th. — ' Keyhaven.' After having waited In a 
 creek for water to float from half-past eleven at night till four 
 this morning, Tom Fowler got me in the canoe to within 40 
 yards of above 1,000 wigeon, just half an hour before which 
 the morning came on suddenly so dark and wet that we could 
 not see fifteen yards before us, and were obliged to go home. 
 Before the next tide the birds were found out, and routed by 
 two fellows who had heard of them ; othervv^se, we should with 
 two guns have had every chance of killing fifty at one volley. 
 
 gth. — Took a drive to Warren Farm and Need'soar Point, 
 where I heard the same complaint as here prevails among all 
 the punters, on the almost impossibility of getting a shot at 
 any wild fowl. 
 
 nth. — Launched my new canoe and stanchion gun, and 
 in the evening went out, but there was not a bird to be heard 
 or seen in the harbour, and I could only remain afloat a few 
 hours in consequence of a tremendous gale of wind. 
 
 12///. — Killed only 3 birds ; but so bereft of wild fowl is 
 this coast now, that I never could get a chance for the long 
 gun, and in the evening it came on a gale of wind with a pour 
 of rain. 
 
 lyth. — I proceeded to Poole on business, and slept two 
 nights over at Studland, in the Isle of Purbeck. I took 
 my gun, though could kill nothing but a few coots, as the 
 
142 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 general scarcity prevailed here like everywhere else, and 
 I consequently got home to Longparish on the night of 
 the 19th. 
 
 I was amply repaid for my five weeks on the coast by the 
 benefit derived by the change, but so mild was the weather 
 that to get any shooting was out of the question. 
 
 February ^th. — Frost and snow ; out from seven in the 
 morning till dinner, and then out all night, and so destitute 
 was the country (like all others this year) that I never saw but 
 two ducks and one wild wisp of snipes ; and, in short, got 
 no shooting except a roast of fieldfares, redwings, and larks. 
 
 loth. — A wild duck with green feet. 
 
 I2th. — Proceeded to London on business. 
 
 i^th. — Returned to Longparish in my carriage, with three 
 people and luggage, in eight hours ; notwithstanding we 
 stopped three-quarters of an hour to breakfast at Staines, and 
 a quarter of an hour at Kensington, where a posthorse threw 
 his shoe. We had only pairs of horses all the way, and the 
 last 15 miles my horses brought us in an hour and a half. 
 From being constantly in the habit of guessing and calcula- 
 ting time on a journey, I foretold the hour of arrival within 
 three-quarters of a minute. 
 
 Game &c. bagged up to March ist : 164 partridges, 
 106 pheasants, 30 hares, 15 rabbits, 2 quails, 36 snipes, 19 wild 
 ducks, 4 wigeon, 2 teal. Total, 378 head. 
 
 April \jtli. — Till this day it w^as so cold, that we had 
 constant frost and occasional snow storms ; the weather now 
 having become suddenly warm, I tried fly fishing for the first 
 time this season, and killed 10 trout, besides a great many 
 small ones thrown in. 
 
 May 2gth. — London. Was presented by the Duke of 
 Clarence on my appointment as Major of the North Hants 
 Regiment. 
 
 June gth. — Published my second edition of ' Instructions 
 to Young Sportsmen ' previously to leaving town. 
 
i8i6 COLONEL HAWKER\S DL\RY 143 
 
 15//^. — 10 trout. Fishing very indifferent, owing to the 
 trout being glutted with the mayfly and small gnats. 
 
 i^th. — Went over to fish at Stockbridge ; but so innu- 
 merable was the mayfly that our sport was wretched. I 
 killed only one large trout ; we never could get a rise, or a 
 run, the whole day. 
 
 Jtily \tJi. — Left Longparish on a visit to the marshes, in 
 the east of Norfolk. 
 
 5///. — Proceeded from London by the mail to Norwich, 
 where we arrived on the evening of the 6th, and proceeded in 
 a chaise to Mr. Rising's at Horsey, 130 miles from London. 
 
 \2tJ1. — Went to stay with Mr. Huntingdon. 
 
 \Afth. — Went to Norwich. 
 
 15///. — Came up from Norwich, by way of Newmarket, 
 no miles within thirteen hours, by the 'Light Telegraph' 
 morning coach, which beat the mail by nearly five hours. 
 
 YjtJi. — Returned from London to Longparish. 
 
 My object in going to Norfolk was to shoot young wild 
 fowl, and catch pike, perch, tench, bream, &c. ; but as the 
 custom of that country is to sport in large battue parties I at 
 last gave up attempting to reckon what I killed myself, though 
 I had far more sport than the others. The fish were in size 
 greatly beyond any I had before seen, and the young wild fowl 
 shooting was most capital. We killed large numbers of almost 
 every kind of sea and marsh birds, interspersed with occa- 
 sional good shooting at leverets and rabbits, young snipes, 
 plovers, &c. The only birds, however, that I had not killed 
 before were the crested grebes and the shoveller ducks, with 
 which I had, one day in particular, most excellent sport. 
 The circumstance that makes the birds so plentiful here 
 cancels all the pleasure of the shooting, which is that the fear 
 of death deters strangers from hazarding their constitutions in 
 such a pestilential climate. I came home ill, but was happy 
 to escape as well as I did. 
 
 25//^. — Some wild ducks having flown, I went up the 
 
144 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY July 
 
 river and had a most excellent shot at five all close together ; 
 but unluckily my stool upset while I was in the act of firing. 
 Afterwards I got a wild duck, and shot another, and a heron, 
 which fell in Lord Portsmouth's grounds, where I would not 
 go after them. 
 
 ;^ist. — Went over to Ponton's at Stockbridge. Found the 
 fl}^ fishing, as it almost always is at this celebrated though in- 
 famously bad place, not worth a penny. The cockney-like 
 amusement of bobbing with a live mayfly is all that this 
 miserable river does for ; indeed, scarcely a fish ever moves 
 till about the last quarter of an hour that you can see to throw 
 a line. 
 
 August 28//J. — During the whole season I only killed 37 
 brace of trout with a fly, which number I have, before no\\', 
 exceeded in one day. The worst fishing season ever 
 known. 
 
i8i6 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 145 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 1816 
 
 September \st. — Longparish. Shooting the first week out 
 of the question. From the unprecedented lateness of the 
 harvest, owing to the incessant wet weather, the greater part 
 of the wheat was standing, and, in most places, the sport was 
 deferred by agreement till the i6th ; but as I could not succeed 
 in my attempt to get it postponed about here, I deferred even 
 taking out a dog till other people had begun shooting in 
 earnest, and then I began the second week by going round 
 what few stubbles there were cleared. The standing corn, 
 however, was so abundant, that sport could only be had for 
 an hour or two in the day. The weather having now favoured 
 fly fishing more than it had done before, I generally divided 
 the morning by first shooting and then getting a dish of trout 
 for dinner. My sport on the 14th was very great, and some- 
 thing rather novel, as I that day happened to be most lucky 
 in both diversions ; between the hours of eleven and one I 
 killed 9 brace of partridges, with only missing one bird, and 
 that was a long second-barrel shot, and feathered ; and by 
 three o'clock had brought home two brace of trout, besides 
 catching smaller ones, which I threw in. 
 
 14///. — Completed, and found most fully to answer, my 
 new invention of a portable ambush and artillery carriage 
 for firing my stanchion gun with perfect safety on shore, by 
 which I could get about and follow wild fowl with a gun 
 weighing 80 lb. as well, nearly, as with a shoulder gun. The 
 
 VOL. L L 
 
146 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 whole of the apparatus was built to my order, and admirably 
 executed, by the ingenious Mr. Fielder, wheelwright, of Long- 
 parish. 
 
 \6tJL — This I considered as my first day's shooting. I 
 went out at ten o'clock, and returned by five to dinner, having 
 with me the same two dogs the whole morning, Nero and 
 Comus. And, notwithstanding I have brought home more 
 at a time, yet I never in my life had such a satisfactory 
 day's shooting. Although the birds were rather wild than 
 otherwise for the time of the year, and the number of coveys 
 the Longparish fields contained were by no means con- 
 siderable, yet I had the good fortune to bag 36 partridges and 
 I hare, with literally never missing a single shot and without 
 losing one bird. I had 8 doublets and bagged both my birds 
 every time, and having once killed 2 at one shot with my 
 first barrel, I made ^J head of game in 36 shots. Had I at 
 all picked my shots, I should not have thought this any such 
 very extraordinary performance ; but so far from this a 
 great number of my birds were killed at long distances, and 
 with instantaneous rapidity of shooting. I had my favourite 
 14-gauge barrels of Joe Manton's, and Mr. Butts's cylinder 
 gunpowder. The same gun all day, which was neither 
 cleaned afresh nor even new flinted. This with Saturday 
 makes 54 partridges and i hare, with only i miss. This with 
 a single gun would not be worthy of much comment ; but 
 with a double gun, where I honestly and fairly worked both 
 barrels wherever it was possible, and all at large strong birds, 1 
 consider it the best performance I ever accomplished. I have 
 now killed 60 shots in succession and 93 birds, with only i 
 miss. 
 
 Game bagged up to October : 218 partridges, 6 hares. 
 Total, 224 head. 
 
 N.B. — Made scarcely any beginning till the i6th : had 
 only a brace of dogs, and only shot between a half-past nine 
 o'clock breakfast and a four o'clock dinner. Was out alto- 
 
i8i6 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 147 
 
 gether (including three wet days, when I was driven home) 
 but fifteen times. 
 
 Since the 14th inclusive I bagged 198 head of game, with 
 missing only 6 fair shots. Though I never failed to use both 
 barrels where fair opportunity offered and did not at all pick 
 my shots, as such double-gun ^ shooting is rare, and I may 
 not perform it again, I have noted a faithful statement of the 
 particulars. 
 
 October ist. — Shot in the unpreserved part of Wherwell 
 Wood, a place free for every vagabond ; and notwithstanding it 
 blew a continued hurricane, with an almost incessant pour of 
 rain, I killed and bagged every bird I shot at, viz. 1 2 pheasants, 
 all full-grown birds, and 9 of them cocks. 
 
 Had much fun to-day in manoeuvring against, and beating, 
 other shooting parties. 
 
 2nd. — A gale of wind all day, with a drizzling rain and 
 sometimes a heavy pour. Up at five, and, as I said would 
 be the case, found no pheasants where I was the day before, 
 as they seldom return the next day. Came home wet 
 to the skin at eleven. Out again at one : went fly fishing ; 
 bagged at the same time i jack snipe, I hare, i cock pheasant, 
 and 2 partridges, and had capital sport pulling out the trout. 
 Returned (wet through again) by four o'clock with fish, flesh, 
 and fowl in plenty. 
 
 ^th. — After killing 8 partridges, 2 snipes, and i pheasant, 
 which I wanted for London, and for which I had a hard fag 
 in a rainy mxorning, I w^ent fly fishing and caught 3 fine trout 
 just in time for a four o'clock dinner. 
 
 7///. — Rode off to another neutral beat, a rendezvous 
 for unqualified tradesmen, and bagged 8 pheasants and 4 
 partridges. 
 
 ^th. — Walked out with a young dog, got three shots to 
 him, and bagged three partridges. Weather fine, and birds 
 
 ' I say ' double gun,' because a man by taking only one bird at a time, and 
 selecting choice shots, might kill 100 times in succession wiih little merit. 
 
 L2 
 
148 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Oct. 
 
 lay well. Had I gone out in earnest, with double gun and 
 broken-in dogs, I should have had a good day. 
 
 Q)th. — Drove to where I had such sport on the 7th, and 
 never saw a pheasant. Weather rainy again, but it cleared 
 up, so I shot on my way home and bagged 1 2 partridges and 
 I rabbit by means of firing at all distances, and such long 
 shots as I (or rather my barrels, as the credit is theirs) made, 
 I never before saw. 
 
 19///. — Worked the river and common for miles in search 
 of a snipe for Mrs. Hawker, and only found i snipe, at which 
 I had a bad chance, though I contrived to kill it. This is the 
 fifth snipe only I have either killed, seen, or heard of this 
 season, which is very extraordinary, and particularly after a 
 wet summer. 
 
 Novembei' yth. — Went to Whitestaunton, beyond Chard in 
 Somerset, eighty-five miles from here, per ' Auxiliary ' mail. 
 
 8///. — Shot with Lord Hinton, and killed only 3 wood- 
 cocks, I hare, and 2 rabbits. 
 
 gth. — 3 hares, i pheasant, and 2 partridges ; so bad was 
 the sport, that Lord Hinton's share was even less than mine, 
 though there was nothing missed that offered a tolerable 
 chance. 
 
 10///. — Having had enough of shooting in the wet weather, 
 and not being very well, I returned again to Longparish per 
 mail. 
 
 i6th. — After a deep fall of snow in har\-est, and in a hard 
 frost, I went out shooting again. Bagged 6 snipes and 
 I teal. 
 
 26th. — Shot a sparrow-hawk when perched on the house. 
 In the evening killed a mallard, which I could not see, but 
 fired by guess as he pitched. This is the first shot I have 
 had at flight this winter, though I have waited out above a 
 dozen nights. 
 
 December i6th. — Went up to London. 
 
 20th. — Returned to Longparish, and drove my tandem 
 
i8i6 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 149 
 
 with an immensely heavy load, notwithstanding the roads 
 were very dead and bad, the last twelve miles in fifty-five 
 minutes. 
 
 2yth. — Went out (with Mr. Kalkbrenner, who came to me 
 for a few days on the 25th) and killed all that could have 
 been killed, viz. i partridge, 2 jack snipes, and i woodcock. 
 
 28//^. — Mr. Kalkbrenner and I literally fagged over 25 
 miles of country, in my attempt to show him some sport, and 
 he never got a fair shot, and I killed only 2 partridges. 
 
 1817 
 
 Jamiary %th. — 3 jack snipes and i snipe ; the only four 
 shots I got, though out all day, the wild fowl being so scarce 
 here now that none can be seen or heard. I drove my boat 
 on wheels 8 miles at nine o'clock this night, and stayed out till 
 four on the morning of the 9th, but never saw or heard but 
 one duck. I was, however, amply repaid for my trouble, as 
 the shaking of the boat cart effectually removed a pain in my 
 side with which I had been suffering for nearly a fortnight. 
 
 \dfth. — Left Longparish this morning, arrived at Poole in 
 the afternoon, and just saved my tide to Southhaven ; to do 
 which I was obliged to get on board in such a hurry, that I 
 had only time to scramble up (near the quay) some infamously 
 bad bread, a few red herrings, and a little paper of salt butter. 
 Even this was well worth exportation, as the family who 
 occupy the only hovel I could be sheltered in at Southhaven 
 almost entirely subsist on bad potatoes and sour beer. No 
 sooner had I reached my quarters than the frost, as if by magic, 
 was turned to an incessant pour of rain, which, with a foul gale 
 of wind, kept me (cut off from Poole) a close prisoner all the 
 1 5th and nearly all the i6th with the worst of campaigner's fare, 
 and without a book, newspaper, or anything to amuse me but 
 a pen and ink and my own thoughts. Thus in my prison 
 (which, by the way, was scarcely weather-tight) I sat alternately 
 
150 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 writing, thinking, and taking snuff, till a half-starved cow 
 deprived me of the former amusement, by thrusting her horns 
 through the window, and consequently obliging me to close 
 the board which, I suppose, is called a ' shutter.' I had then 
 no other resource than to brave the elements, which I did till 
 my gun was wet, and I killed, as they flew over, i wigeon and 
 2 brent geese, also some more of each sort, that fell out upon 
 the ebbing tide, where I dare not either send a dog or a boat. 
 Attempted to get out in the evening, but was again driven in 
 by rain, when I had just killed a heron, which I voted well worth 
 my charge, in order to make me a substitute for giblet soup. 
 
 Y'jtJi to igth. — Wet weather and gales. 
 
 20th. — A tremendous hurricane all day. The communi- 
 cation with Poole entirely cut off, it being impossible even to 
 cross the Channel (to get there by land) ; all our boats filled, 
 our oars washed away, and the house so full of water that I 
 was obliged to stand in water boots, and cook my dinner 
 where there was water enough to float a boat, the house, like 
 Noah's ark, being literally in the flood. A scarcity of pro- 
 vision, except red herrings and the few wild fowl we had shot. 
 Being on the weather shore, no birds would fly over the haven, 
 so that we had nothing to compensate for the most unmerciful 
 misery of the weather. More rain, of course. My pilot poorly 
 with the rheumatism, and my servant put to bed with a cold, 
 where he could only be approached by means of water boots 
 or a bridge of chairs. 
 
 2ist. — Most miserable weather. 
 
 22itd. — Worse and worse. Contrived to weather it across 
 to Poole in a gale of wind and pour of rain. 
 
 2'^rd. — Got on the * Lord Exmouth ' coach, and, having 
 left my man and shooting things at Southhaven, went home to 
 Longparish (of course, in a pour of rain) to wait till this 
 pretty little shower was over. 
 
 26t/i. — Wet. Many people ill and dying, and everything 
 nearly ruined by the unprecedented wetness of the season. 
 
i8i7 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 151 
 
 February ij-/.— -Went back again to Poole, and at night 
 crossed over to Southhaven. Having business there I was 
 obHged to go ; and the change of scene was, of all others, the 
 thing to do me the most good. Otherwise, even had the 
 weather been cold enough, I was scarcely in the humour even 
 for wild-fowl shooting after the sudden death of my little child. 
 Weather very fine, but as mild as April. 
 
 3/7/. — Real bad luck with the wild fowl. At half-past 
 one this morning I got close up to about 40 wigeon, and had 
 only to wait for about ten minutes' more tide to bring the 
 swivel gun to bear, when a rascal rowed by to windward and 
 put them all up. This was nothing to what happened an 
 hour afterwards, viz. I got about 1 50 wigeon, feeding under 
 the moon, all doubled together in a space scarcely the size of 
 a canoe, and literally not so much as thirty yards from me. 
 Such a chance had not been known or heard of in Poole 
 harbour for many years. Indeed, had I chosen my ground, 
 time, and place, and positioned the birds myself, I could not 
 have had a more glorious opportunity for aggregate slaughter^ 
 and my swivel gun was loaded with a pound of the choicest 
 sized shot. I levelled at the very bull's eye of the phalanx, 
 when, to my dire annoyance and mortification, instead of 
 seeing 50 or 60 dead and wounded, my priming, in spite of 
 the greatest care, had got damp, and the gun flashed. Up, of 
 course, flew the birds, like a roar of the sea, and the cursed 
 powder kept hissing away, so that they had all flown far above 
 the utmost level of the stanchion before the gun went off. 
 Having been out all night, I then came in, breakfasted, and 
 went out all day, but had no hope till the dusk of the evening, 
 when occurred my chance for an enormous swarm of geese. 
 Old Tom left the canoe for a few minutes, when she slipped 
 her painter and drifted off to sea. Here I had to pay dearly 
 for a four-oar boat and crew to go out after her, as it ' came 
 on to blow ' very hard, and my guns and everything were in 
 her, and the whole concern was all but lost. Having luckily 
 
152 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Feb. 
 
 got her in, I went out all night again ; but the wind having 
 shifted to the unfortunate south-west, I never saw or heard a 
 single wild fowl, though incessantly working till five in the 
 morning. 
 
 A^tJi. — Out all day ; but could not, as yet, get a chance 
 even at inferior birds, except one shot with my smallest gun, 
 with which, at a very great distance, I got 2 grey plover and 
 I knot. Could not go out to-night, as it came on wet weather 
 again, with a strong gale of wind. Thank God that such 
 infamous luck has been only in trifling concerns, and not in 
 matters of consequence. 
 
 6tJL — Out all night, and never heard or saw but three 
 wigeon. 
 
 J ill. — 2 brent geese. 
 
 8///. — Out best part of the night, and never saw or heard 
 a single bird. 
 
 gtJi. — Crossed over to Poole on my way home, and this 
 night reached Salisbury by the conveyance of my boat on 
 wheels, in which I never travelled more pleasantly. 
 
 \oth. — Rode on from Salisbury, and arrived to dinner at 
 Longparish. 
 
 N.B. — The shooting at Poole this year is even worse than 
 that of the last year, or even the preceding one, and, indeed, 
 the sport has been worse this season than ever was remem- 
 bered by the oldest gunner. I never before, too, owing to the 
 gales of wind, lost so many wild fowl in proportion to the few 
 I bagged ; and although I was day and night at work for three 
 weeks, I got but one shot with my swivel gun, and that was 
 the famous one at which it missed fire. Previously to coming 
 home I had plenty of sport at birds not worth noting, such as 
 coots, divers, goosanders, grebes, &c. 
 
 1 8//?.— Shrove Tuesday. Began fly fishing, and with a 
 yellow dun and red palmer killed i6 brace of good trout 
 in two hours. 
 
 Not only most of those killed to-day, but some which 
 
i8i7 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 153 
 
 I caught a week ago, dressed quite red, and proved in excel- 
 lent season. This, of course, may be imputed to the extreme 
 mildness of the winter. 
 
 20th. — Walked all down the river, with a large duck gun. 
 Killed I snipe, which was all I saw, except 2 more snipes, 
 which flew off very wild. Wet weather as usual. 
 
 2\st. — Torrents of rain again. All of us being quite 
 bilious for want of being able to get exercise, the never- 
 ceasing wet weather obliged me to set up a full-sized billiard 
 table, on which we played the first match on the 20th. 
 
 March ist. — List of game &c. killed in the season : 
 308 partridges, 40 pheasants, i quail, 17 hares, 9 rabbits, 99 
 snipes, 6 ducks and mallards, 3 wigeon, i teal, 6 geese, 3 plover, 
 10 woodcocks. Total bagged, 503 head,^ exclusive of all 
 the young wild fowl and different birds with which I had ex- 
 cellent sport in the Norfolk Fens previously to September, 
 and also exclusive of a variety of other birds, such as herons, 
 coots, water rails, &c. The worst wild fowl season ever 
 heard of, and the quantity that I lost in proportion to the 
 very few I bagged, from having quartered on a weather 
 shore in the tremendous gales of wind, is beyond all pro- 
 portion. The wettest season since the memory of the oldest 
 man. 
 
 June nth. — Went over to Ponton's, where after two days' 
 fishing I caught but 4 brace of trout ; and so execrable is the 
 Stockbridge fishing that this was literally called good sport. 
 The fish are immensely large, but so flabby and soft as to be 
 scarcely worth eating. We worked the real mayfly as well 
 as the artificial. 
 
 25///. — Went to London for Norfolk. 
 
 2'ith. — Arrived with Mr. Rising at Horsey. 
 July 2nd. — Removed to Mr. Huntingdon's at Somerton 
 House. 
 
 5//j.— Left Norfolk. 
 
 ^ Gave away, as presents to my friends, 470 head. 
 
154 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-IRV July 
 
 GtJi. — Arrived at Longparish, 200 miles, without stopping, 
 except to breakfast in town. 
 
 N.B. — While in Norfolk I had some excellent sport with 
 perch, pike, and bream fishing ; and I had the best of 
 shooting at rabbits, flappers, shovellers, ruffs and reeves, and 
 every kind of marsh bird. The order of the day was to sally 
 forth with all sorts of netting, trolling, angling, and shooting 
 tackle, so as to attack all the marshes both by land and 
 water — as an invading enemy would march over a country — 
 and bring in our punts laden with fish, flesh, and fowl. 
 
 August 2^rd. — Longparish. The fishing has been so 
 inferior this year that I have seldom gone out for a whole 
 day ; and, at last, I gave up keeping an account of what I 
 caught, it being not worth it. In the whole season I killed 
 about 50 brace of trout, which I have, in former years, often 
 done in two days. 
 
;i7 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY 155 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 1817 
 
 September ist. — Longparish. Birds greatly destroyed by 
 an incessant rain, no barley cut, and even the greater part of 
 the wheat standing. I tried to get the shooting deferred, but 
 could not prevail on others to agree. 
 
 The few birds which were to be caught out of the corn 
 were as wild as in November. I, however, did vastly well, 
 considering all disadvantages, having bagged 20 partridges, 
 I hare, i quail, and i landrail. 
 
 ^th. — Mr. Sola came to us. 
 
 gth. — Killed 2 brace of trout with a fly for the amusemen 
 of Mr. Sola. 
 
 lOth. — Went out, with a double gun, which I had made 
 up myself (barrels by Manton), and in sixteen shots killed 
 1 5 partridges and one bird lost ; and Mr. Sola killed and 
 bagged i partridge. 
 
 i^th. — Out all day and got but seven shots. Killed 8 
 partridges — and another lost — and a rabbit. Mr. Sola left us 
 for Southampton. Bad luck on the 15th, as well as poor 
 sport. Had one of my only two dogs stuck with a scythe 
 and severely wounded, broke my ramrod, and sprained my 
 ankle. 
 
 20th. — My sprain being nearly well I went out on horse- 
 back, and after slaving from morning till evening I only 
 bagged 7 partridges. Never since the memory of the oldest 
 person here has there been such a deplorable scarcity of 
 birds ; for i partridge now we had 20 last year. 
 
156 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 Game bagged in September 1817: 108 partridges, 2 
 hares, 3 rabbits, 3 snipes, i quail and i landrail. Total, 
 118 head.i 
 
 October ist. — Had again to contend with many strong 
 parties in the lawless part of Wherwell Wood, and manoeuvred 
 so that I beat them all put together with only i brace of pointers. 
 Considering the very bad breed of pheasants, this was one 
 of the best days I ever enjoyed ; bagged 1 1 pheasants, 3 par- 
 tridges, and I hare. Adding what Signor Vercellini shot, and 
 two divided birds, we killed 16 pheasants, 6 partridges, and 
 
 2 hares, nearly all we saw. 
 
 N.B. — I could have killed more, but gave all the best 
 shots up to the Signor, as he never shot before in England. 
 
 ^rd. — Vercellini and I beat Wherwell Wood again, and 
 never found anything but I hare and i pheasant, both of 
 which we put in the bag. 
 
 20th. — 3 partridges, 2 hares, and i teal ; while a party 
 from my house, consisting of five crack double-barrel shots, 
 touched on Lord Portsmouth and bagged 1 1 brace of birds, 
 
 3 brace of hares, i pheasant, and i rabbit. 
 
 26th. — Received a detonating double gun (No. 81 11), 
 value 100 guineas, presented to me by Mr. Joseph Manton. 
 
 2yth. — Went out with this elegant gun, and, notwith- 
 standing an incessant pour of rain, I killed in fifteen shots : 
 9 snipes, 3 partridges, i spotted gallinule, and i water rail. 
 The one shot that I missed was far beyond a fair distance. 
 
 November /[th. — Drove to Andover, walked from the town, 
 down the river, and bagged 19 snipes ; besides 2 shot and 
 lost ; making loj couple, without having missed a shot. 
 
 6th. — 2 partridges and 4 snipes. Tried the effect of the 
 detonating gun at birds which ' duck the flash,' and found it 
 to answer admirably, by killing dabchicks swimming at a 
 considerable distance. 
 
 • N.B. — Although a very poor September's shooting, yet I have every reason 
 to be satisfied when I consider how extremely wild and scarce the game has been, 
 and what wretched sport all other people have had here this season. 
 
i8i7 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 157 
 
 20tJi. — In consequence of the death of our lamented 
 Princess Charlotte, I had laid aside my gun, and prohibited 
 every kind of sport, till this day. Her mortal remains having 
 been last night committed to the tomb, we may now, without 
 indecency, endeavour to divert our minds from the universal 
 affliction that has been produced by this severe calamity. 
 
 2(^th. — I have now killed 121 snipes, exclusive of those shot 
 in the summer in Norfolk. For our river this is unusual sport 
 before December. 
 
 December 2nd. — i snipe, i jack snipe, and 3 pheasants 
 (the first I had seen, or heard of, for a long time ; I caught 
 them feeding out of bounds, cut off their retreat, and put 
 them all 3 in the bag in about 10 minutes). 
 
 ^tJi. — Out all day, and bagged only i jack snipe. 
 
 lOtJi. — Beat Wherwell Wood the whole day with three 
 cries of dogs ; found the game nearly extirpated ; and never 
 saw but 3 woodcocks, which were the first I had seen this 
 season. Never saw i hare the whole day, and only moved 2 
 pheasants. I bagged 2 woodcocks. 
 
 22nd. — Beat the river for miles, to see if any snipes had 
 arrived in my absence ; only saw 3 snipes and 2 jack snipes^ 
 all of which I put in the bag on their first appearance. 
 
 29//?. — 2 jack snipes, i pheasant, and i mallard, the very 
 first I have fired at this year, although up the river by day 
 and night above thirty times. 
 
 ^Oth. — 2 hares, for which I paid pretty dearly. I went in 
 my tandem, with four people, and dogs, to drive 16 miles, 
 when the road was literally a sheet of ice, to one of the most 
 deplorable deserts that ever disgraced a Christian country. 
 I had to drive the tandem through the filthy village of 
 Tidworth, when the waters were out 3 feet deep ; and, with 
 a broken spring and the cart tied up with a stirrup leather, 
 had literally to traverse the ice, which was so thick that it 
 bore up my horses (which were of course rough-shod) before 
 it would burst to let them in. The rain came on the moment 
 
158 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Dec. 
 
 we began shooting, and I had to drive Mr. Kalkbrenner down 
 afterwards to Everley ; the buggy was broken a second time, 
 and in this state I had to proceed. The variety of our other 
 dangers and mishaps would fill a romance. 
 
 January \2tJL — 9 snipes, 2 jack snipes, and i bittern. I 
 have now killed 132 snipes and 74 jack snipes. Total, 206. 
 
 \\tJi. — I began fly fishing, and in about an hour caught 
 as many trout as I could well carry, exceeding generally a 
 pound each, and in such perfect season that most of them 
 dressed as firm, and as red, as a salmon, and had on them a 
 fine curd the same as in July. This may be perhaps 
 attributed to the mildness of the winter. 
 
 I jth. — Proceeded to Norwich. 
 
 \'$)th. — Went over to Mr. Rising's at Horsey. 
 
 20th. — Went to Mr. Huntingdon's, at Somerton Hall, to 
 stand godfather to his son and heir ; and partook of his 
 grand fete, at which I, as well as many others, played several 
 characters, in, and out of, the masquerade, and which was kept 
 up most brilliantly till the 
 
 22;^^. — Returned to Horsey. 
 
 ^oth. — Went to Yarmouth, and in the evening left that 
 place for London per mail. 
 
 N.B. — Although I took my guns for wild-fowl shooting, yet 
 I was so unlucky that I never got a chance all the time I 
 was in Norfolk, though out every day, and every evening, 
 while at Horsey. I literally never saw but one snipe during 
 the whole time, though a week only previous to my arrival 25 
 couple had been killed in a day, and the quantity of wild fowl 
 was so immense that every common fellow on the mere 
 boundary of where I, and only I, had the full liberty of shoot- 
 ing, was earning his pound a week by shooting. W^hat occa- 
 sioned my unprecedented essence oi bad luck was the incessant 
 
i8i8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 159 
 
 hurricane from the south-west, which blew e\'ery creature that 
 had wings across to the Dutch coast, and where, in such a 
 case, they usually stay till the pairing season. 
 
 I had some very fair game shooting, though with parties 
 (as is the unpleasant custom of this county and Suffolk), I 
 kept no account of what I killed, which I seldom do on such 
 days. Though I have never yet been beat by anyone in any 
 country that I have ever yet seen, still this style of shooting 
 leads to a jealousy that I detest ; and as I consider more 
 than two guns a party for fun and society, and not a party 
 for sport, I reckon all the game shot as much a general 
 concern as a fox w^hen killed by a pack of hounds, though I 
 certainly killed far more than anyone else. I, one day in 
 particular, got 4 brace of hares, 3 of partridges, wood pigeons, 
 rabbits &c. in about two hours, and among my hares was 
 a w^hite one, the first of the kind ever killed there, and which 
 had been before eagerly fired at and missed. 
 
 Among the trials of skill, I made some double shots at 
 halfpence thrown up together, and finished by throwing away 
 two halfpence with my right hand, and then shooting one 
 with each barrel before they fell to the ground. The half- 
 pence of my different double shots were kept as a curiosity. 
 
 February \st. — Returned home to Longparish. 
 
 ^tJi. — Worked the river all day, and saw but 2 jack snipes, 
 both of which I put in the bag. 
 
 12///. — Went to Keyhaven to see about my cottage ; drove 
 down in my canoe on wheels, with my large gun. Got no 
 chance there for w^ild fowl, the weather being far too mild, and 
 the season too far gone ; indeed, all I bagged was one brent 
 goose. I had, however, capital sport with the coots, having 
 got a great many almost every day. One night I killed 16 
 at a shot, at about 120 yards, with my stanchion gun. 
 
 19///. — When firing at some geese, my new stanchion gun, 
 of 96 lb. weight, was literally blown to atoms from the 
 breeching to near the end of the stock, and though the 
 
160 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb. 
 
 lock and other appendages were dealing destruction in every 
 quarter, and I was for a considerable time on fire (with 
 a pound of gunpowder in my pocket), thank God, I 
 sustained not the slightest injury further than the end 
 of one of the oars being blown off. Nothing but the kind 
 interference of Providence and my invention for fixing this 
 gun could possibly have saved my life. The barrel, a 
 Birmingham one, which was to all appearance clean, proved 
 to be scarcely better than unbeat ore or granite stone. Let 
 this be a caution to discard all barrels that are not twisted. 
 i\fter my happy escape I returned in a pour of rain. 
 
 2ist. — Drove home in a vile road, with one incessant 
 torrent of rain the whole way, and after the narrow escape 
 from being killed by the fore part of the carriage breaking 
 when going down a steep hill, I thank God arrived safe and 
 sound at Longparish House. 
 
 2'2)rd. — Having purchased the celebrated fishery of ]\Ir. 
 Widmore, I this day bought Mr. Sutton's lease, with which it 
 was encumbered, and became possessed in fee simple of one 
 ot the first trout rivers in the world. Shot i hare and 3 jack 
 snipes ; afterwards went fly fishing on my newly purchased 
 river, and when the snow was a foot deep, I caught a dish of 
 fish for dinner in about half an hour, which proved in capital 
 season. At night it thawed, and we had another attack from 
 torrents of rain. 
 
 2yth. — I jack snipe, and another shot and lost, being the 
 last two, to the best of my knowledge, left in the country. 
 Afterwards fly-fished for half an hour, and killed 10 ver}- 
 large and very welhseasoned trout. 
 
 List of game &c. bagged in the season to March i, 1818 : 
 178 partridges, 20 pheasants, 12 hares (nearly extirpated here), 
 8 rabbits, 7 woodcocks (all I saw), 230 snipes, i quail (all 
 seen), i landrail, 2 ducks, 2 teal, i goose (this }'ear even 
 worse than the last for fowl, which I had thought impos- 
 sible), I bittern. Total, 463 head, exclusive of coots, water 
 
i8i8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 161 
 
 rails, fieldfares &c. and also exclusive of what birds I shot 
 in the marshes in Norfolk in the summer, and also of the 
 game I killed there in the winter, which were not kept 
 account of 
 
 I gave away as presents to my friends 495 head. 
 
 March 2nd. — Went to London, and after studying har- 
 mony, musical composition &c. three months in the academy 
 of Mr. Logier, I completed other business in town, and 
 returned to Longparish on June 23. 
 
 June 2ZtJi. — M. and Madame Bertini came to us to study 
 the harp and piano with Mrs. Hawker and myself 
 
 July lOt/i. — In about an hour I killed with a fly before the 
 house three large baskets of trout, which averaged ij lb. each 
 fish. 
 
 N.B. — As the whole fishery which goes through our 
 premises was purchased by me of Mr. Widmore previous to 
 this season, I never made a regular day's fishing, but merely 
 went angling for a few hours before dinner, and seldom failed 
 to kill a large dish of trout whenever we wanted them. I there- 
 fore have this year kept no account, though, were I to include 
 nets and all, I should perhaps have to note down about a ton 
 weight of trout, &c. ; this is about the half of what the previous 
 occupier took in a season by dragging. 
 
 VOL. L M 
 
162 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept, 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 1818 
 
 September 1st. — Longparish. Our country has been entirely 
 clear of corn for nearly a fortnight, and never do we re- 
 member having been so long without rain ; not a turnip to be 
 seen ; everything completely burnt up, and the fields as bare 
 as in December, with the ground as hard as rocks. 
 
 Started about nine o'clock (a very stormy day, and the 
 birds as wild as hawks), and bagged 30 partridges (besides a 
 leash shot and lost), 3 hares, and I snipe, all to poor old 
 Nero, who behaved most admirably. The scent, however, 
 was so bad, that I owe a great deal to having markers. It 
 was impossible to make any succession of shots, for I had to 
 fire at random three times at least to every bird that I could 
 get within fair distance. 
 
 i/t/i. — I wild duck, by moonlight, a little before midnight. 
 
 Game &c. killed to September 30 : 112 partridges, 7 hares, 
 I rabbit, 2 landrails, 10 snipes, 14 ducks and mallards. Total, 
 146 head. 
 
 Birds scarcer and ^^•ilder than ever, and my sport has 
 been more than that of all the people round the country 
 put together, though I had no dog to shoot to that was of the 
 smallest assistance to me but poor old invaluable Xero. 
 
 October 1st. — The pheasants here being nearh^ extinct, I 
 started this morning before four o'clock, and threw off in the 
 great woods round Cold Henley, where the whole day I never 
 saw but 4 pheasants. I bagged 2 pheasants at very long 
 
i8i8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 163 
 
 distances, and both snap shots in the high covert, i hare, and 
 I partridge. Shot also 3 more partridges, and, most extra- 
 ordinary, lost them all, owing to their falling in high covert 
 while it poured with rain. Mr. Vercellini killed i pheasant 
 and the onl\' one that escaped the bag was one that was 
 travelling by as we passed a road. We drove home ducked 
 and drenched to the skin, and had the satisfaction to learn no 
 one had bagged a head of game but ourselves. 
 
 2nd. — Went fly fishing, and in a little more than half an 
 hour killed 5 brace of the finest trout I had seen this year, 
 highly in season, averaging \\ lb. each, and the largest of 
 them weighed 2 lb. ; besides this, I threw in several more 
 that were small. 
 
 \Zth. — Drove Mr. Sola (vv^ho came to us yesterday morn- 
 ing) in the tandem to Winchester. 
 
 N.B. — I left the parlour at twenty minutes before three, 
 and was in it again before the clock struck five, having trotted 
 the tandem to Winchester and back in two hours and twent}- 
 minutes, including nearly a quarter of an hour that I stopped 
 there, and I never had occasion to use my whip the whole 
 way, except once to punish the leader for vice. 
 
 20tJi. — Went to London to study music, &c. 
 
 November 28//?. — Returned to Longparish. 
 
 December 26t/i. — Tom Fowler, my sailor, arrived from his 
 mission to survey the wild-fowl shooting at St.-Valery, on the 
 coast of France, of which place he gave an excellent account ; 
 and on the 28th he went off to survey Keyhaven. 
 
 3 1 J-/. — Received my new stanchion gun, a first-rate high- 
 finished piece, of, as near as possible, i cwt., from Mr. D. Egg, 
 made on my own plan. 
 
 1819 
 
 January ttJi. — Went down to my cottage at Keyhaven, 
 having previously sent on my new stanchion gun &c. in order 
 to take the opportunity of trying it. 
 
164 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jax. 
 
 i^tJi. — At last I discharged my gun, a long shot at some 
 coots, two of which I got with the dog, but the cripples I 
 dare not follow, as it blew too fresh on the tide. Nothing 
 but a pour of rain, hurricanes, thunder, and lightning, ever 
 since our arrival at Keyhaven, and although I ' weathered it ' 
 for the whole of several nights, I have, as yet, scarcely heard 
 a wigeon, and not one to be seen in Lymington market for 
 some weeks. 
 
 1 8///. — x-\ wigeon at morning flight. The first that has 
 been killed here for some weeks. 
 
 \gtJi. — Tried my stanchion gun at two flying shots, in each 
 of which the birds were about 30 yards high, and at least 200 
 distant, and knocked down 2 geese with the second shot. 
 
 2\st. — Went to morning flight, the only chance ; got one 
 shot, knocked down 3 wigeon, and lost them all in the sea, 
 which ran mountains high. 
 
 22nd. — The rainy weather still continuing, I despaired of 
 getting fowl, so attacked the coots with my large gun ; they 
 Avere, however, so wild that I could only get 2 very long 
 random shots, the first of which stopped 5 and the second 11. 
 
 lOtJi. — Sent away my piano which I hired, and began to 
 prepare for leaving Keyhaven, as the scarcity and wildness of 
 the birds, together with the wildness and almost incessant 
 wetness of the weather, made it impossible for me or anyone 
 else to get sport. With the coots, however, such things as 
 they are, I had, most days, excellent diversion, by banging 
 into them with the stanchion gun at about lOO yards, and, 
 after setting ten or a dozen at a time sprawling on the mud, I 
 amused myself by chasing the cripples with two Newfound- 
 land dogs and a double gun. Save these, and a few wigeon 
 that I shot in the windy weather, and dare not face the sea for, 
 I had no sport or pleasure here of any description whatever. 
 Even my sport with the coots was, at first, annihilated by 
 fellows called * head gunners,' who come up from eight miles 
 off, and bully all the poor fellows here from getting a shot. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 165 
 
 These fellows I soon made sick of coming, by hiring sailors 
 with blank cartridges to drive them out of the harbour, and 
 if they offered to shoot at them, to return the attack by 
 coming to close quarters. 
 
 31^/.— No sooner had we prepared for starting for Long- 
 parish than a little frost came. 
 
 February \st. — Was induced to stay here for a day or two 
 longer, in hopes a little white frost, which was pretty hard last 
 night, might give me the chance of a shot this evening. 
 
 Towards night, we started with every prospect of a shot, 
 and before the time of tide arrived, the wind shifted into its 
 old eternal and infernal quarter, and we had to pull back 
 against tide in a drenching pour of rain. 
 
 yd. — Fired the great gun into the geese, with small balls, 
 at about 300 yards flying ; bagged I brent goose, and 2 
 more dropped out of the flock on the tide. At night fired a 
 broadside into the coots, and beat down a dozen of them. 
 
 /\th. — Left Keyhaven, and arrived at Longparish House. 
 
 March gth. — Tried my largest shoulder duck gun with a 
 detonating lock on the new plan ; and with this gun, which 
 weighs 17^ lb., I killed 2 snipes, 2 jack snipes, i rook, i moor- 
 hen, I dabchick, i fieldfare, i water-wagtail, and i pigeon, all 
 flying, never missed but once, and then I broke the legs of one 
 of these jack snipes, which I bagged the next shot. 
 
 List of game &c. killed in the season, to March 1819 : 
 125 partridges, 3 pheasants (all I shot at, and, except one, 
 all I saw the whole season), 2 landrails, 1 1 hares, 3 rabbits, 
 89 snipes, 16 ducks, i wigeon (but killed several more that 
 were either lost or not bagged by myself), i brent goose, 
 2 teal. Total, 253 head. 
 
 I was in London during the best part of this shooting 
 season, and the only good sport I had on the coast was with 
 the coots, of which I kept no account. 
 
 18//'. — After killing a wood pigeon out of a flock, I knocked 
 down an immense goshawk, which I killed by means of lying 
 
16G COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY March 
 
 down in the young wood over which he had been hovering 
 for several evenings. 
 
 24///. — Lord Poulett (who came to us yesterday) and I 
 went fishing, and, in about three hours, killed 12 brace of large 
 trout between us, besides catching a great many that we threw 
 in again. 
 
 25///. — 12 trout. 
 
 26tJi. — 12 trout. 
 
 2'jtJi. — 12 trout in about two hours, averaging i^ lb. each. 
 I this day, instead of fly fishing, trolled with a minnow, to try 
 Parson Hutchins's new ' poaching hook,' which beggars every 
 other tackle in existence. 
 
 2gtJL — Lord Poulett left us. Killed 12 trout. 
 
 April 26th. — Left Longparish to spend a week with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Chambers, in Stratford Place, London, on our way 
 for France. 
 
 May yd. — Left the 'White Bear,' Piccadilly, at half-past 
 seven this morning, and arrived at the ' London Hotel,' Dover, 
 about half-past six ; after getting an excellent dinner with a 
 very moderate charge at the ' King's Head,' Canterbury, and, 
 previously to going to bed, exchanged some bank notes for 
 napoleons with Mr. Moses, who, although a Jew, is a very fair, 
 honest-dealing man. 
 
 4///. — Embarked in the 'Lark' packet; and, after being 
 tossed without victuals, from morning till night, among a 
 mass of vomiting cockneys, was forced to return to Dover 
 and pass a second night among the myriads of sharpers by 
 whom you are every instant imposed on at that place. 
 
 ^tJi. — Reached Calais, till my going to bed in which place 
 I never ceased having to distribute money for one fellow or 
 other. Put up at the Hotel Dessein (M. Ouillac), which is 
 first-rate, clean, and superbly furnished. 
 
 6tJi. — Left Calais, per diligence, at ten A.M., and reached 
 Abbeville, 70 miles, about a quarter before twelve at night. 
 Went to the Hotel de I'Europe, a most capital house. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 167 
 
 ////. — Took General Hawker by surprise, having entered 
 his room while he was drawing, and tapped him on the 
 shoulder ; he was petrified with astonishment. Inspected the 
 church, the outside of which is magnificent 
 
 ^th. — Went with the General in a cabriolet (a machine only 
 fit for firewood) to Bouvancourt, a little hamlet on the banks 
 of a stream under the great forest, about 20 miles from 
 Abbeville. Here I was led to expect most extraordinary fly 
 fishing ; but a dead calm, with a burning sun from morning till 
 night, so ruined our chances of sport that I only killed 5 brace 
 of small trout, and the General never hooked a single fish. 
 Had the weather been even tolerable, we might have done 
 very well ; but, after all, the fishing at this celebrated place 
 appears far inferior to that of Longparish. 
 
 gth. — Went with the General to inspect St.-Valery, 4 
 leagues from Abbeville, at the mouth of the Somme. 
 
 lot/i. — Hired a coach and three horses, for 5 napoleons, 
 to take us to Paris. Were driven 6 leagues to breakfast, at 
 a small public-house, where we only stopped half an hour. 
 Proceeded 7 leagues farther to Granvilliers, where we dined 
 and put the horses up to be fed &c. for scarceh' more than an 
 hour ; and, at night, reached Beauvais, thus making up 56 miles 
 with only taking the horses once from the coach. And these 
 horses, which had performed what would have half killed 
 many English ones, were three poor miserable-looking animals 
 apparently worth about 12/. apiece. Previously to going to 
 bed we visited the magnificent church of Beauvais, which we 
 were prevented from doing when last in France. 
 
 iit/i. — Left Beauvais at half- past four this morning, and 
 with the same horses &c. continued our journey, and at 
 about six in the evening arrived at Paris to dinner. 
 
 N.B. — \\'hen we were in this country some time ago 
 (while Boney was in Elba) everything was considerabh' 
 cheaper than in England, even on the great roads, where 
 imposition is always practised on strangers. But now, since 
 
1G8 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY >L\Y 
 
 the English have been in the habit of frequenting this part of 
 the world, the charges are become so exorbitant that the 
 travelling is scarcely to be endured ; }-our hand nowadays in 
 France is never out of your pocket, and you are, at almost 
 every place, obliged to have a complete battle with the 
 aubergiste to resist being literally cheated. We several 
 times had charges in our bills so exorbitant as to provoke 
 our remonstrance, on the making of which the people of the 
 inn pretended that such charges were ' mistakes,' and had even 
 the duplicity to assume an air of anger ' that the persons who 
 were deputed to write the bill should have been so stupid/ 
 The various attempts that were made to impose on us in the 
 most shameful manner are too numerous, and too much 
 beneath my notice, to be worth keeping a memorandum of ; 
 suffice it to say that from the instant you enter Dover 
 till you have got safely clear of your hotel in Paris, you 
 have to guard against one incessant attack of the grossest 
 imposition. A hotel in Paris (up God knows how many 
 flights of stairs) was always a misery ; but now it is become 
 so bad, that Newgate is a paradise when compared to it. 
 The charge to us for being consigned to this misery for one 
 short night is 15 francs, exclusive of everything except the 
 beds on which we are to sleep, as well as damp sheets, filth, 
 noise, and a concatenation of stinks will admiS; of. 
 
 On our way to the precious town of Paris we were diverted 
 with the attempts that are now made to drive four in hand in 
 the diligence. An idea of the French coachmanship ma}' be 
 sufficiently formed when I observe that they have literally no 
 reins at all for the wheel horses ; and that some of the 
 diligences in this state were driven curricle fashion by a 
 baboon-looking fellow, seated almost on the pole and with 
 two wheels only ; twelve persons inside and four outside 
 were driven full gallop down the steepest hills, and among 
 crowds of carriages and waggons. Nothing but the extreme 
 docility of the French horses could save the occurrence of 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 169 
 
 incessant accidents, which, to my utter astonishment, are here 
 less frequent than in England. 
 
 I'^th. — Engaged (for a month at 200 francs) and entered 
 a furnished lodging at No. 15 Rue de Provence. During 
 our stay I took lessons of Mr. A. Bertini on the piano. 
 
 Ju7te yth. — Having seen everything in Paris worth looking 
 at, which I had not seen four years ago when there in the 
 winter, such as Tivoli, some of the minor theatres, the combats 
 des a7iiinaux} the environs &c., I took the ' Malle Royale,' 
 and started from Paris this evening at a quarter past four, and 
 arrived at the Hotel d'Angleterre, in Abbeville, at half-past 
 eleven on the morning of the 8th. The conveyance by this 
 coach is decidedly the pleasantest and most respectable in 
 France ; and, for comfort and accommodation, greatly superior 
 to even the stage coaches in England. The price no more 
 than that of the diligence, and wath the tenfold advantage of 
 pursuing your journey and sleeping in a clean vehicle, instead 
 of stopping to go to a damp bed in a filthy French inn. 
 
 I had intended to proceed from Paris to Milan, by way 
 of Geneva, for which place my passport now stands good, 
 but the intolerable stink, filth, and extravagance of that 
 putrid furnace, Paris, in the summer, so injured my health, 
 and lowered my stock of cash, that I found it necessary to 
 fall back on Abbeville,- which is a cheap and healthy place, 
 and where I could enjoy tolerable sport, and Mrs. Hawker 
 
 ' Here I went out of curiosity, and with an idea of disgust ; but the hunting 
 of the wild boar, stag, deer, wolf &c, and the baiting of the bull and the bear 
 were the best amphitheatrical exhibitions I ever saw ; and without exception I 
 never met with anything so well calculated to raise convulsions of laughter as the 
 hunting the jackass with about a dozen dogs and with a monkey on his back. 
 The ass has so much the advantage that if there be cruelty in the sport it is 
 decidedly against the dogs. But the fun the most ridiculous is the incessant 
 screams of the affrighted monkey, who, although the greatest coward when 
 mounted, is obliged to keep his seat through fear of being thrown among the 
 dogs. 
 
 - The people in and round Abbeville are worth all the rest of the nation put 
 together ; they are civil, loyal, reasonable, and have no particular dislike to the 
 English, rather the reverse. 
 
170 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY June 
 
 could be near her father, add to which the heat of the 
 weather made it prudent for us to withhold going to Milan. 
 We have now, for the present, got into a tolerably good inn, 
 which is cheap and a model of cleanliness after the inde- 
 scribable filth of Paris. 
 
 ^th. — Llired a rotten chariot and rotten harness, and after 
 breaking down twice with each, arrived at Noyelle-sur-Mer, 
 8 leagues, and inspected the right bank of the Somme from 
 that place to St.-Crotoi, attended by the chief gunners of the 
 place, and directed by the mayor. Monsieur Meurice de Campy. 
 A man named Frizez showed me all the gunning huts and 
 straw decoy birds used on this coast, but their wild- fowl 
 shooting is a perfect farce, they know nothing about it. 
 
 On our way back we stopped at ' Port,' where one Picarde, 
 the ' innkeeper,' the landlord of a little cabaret, knew more 
 than all the others put together. We crossed the Somme in his 
 boat, about two leagues from Abbeville, and after gaining 
 every information relative to the winter's cJiasse, returned to 
 Abbeville just in time to save having the barriers shut against 
 us, about half-past nine o'clock, 
 
 12///. — Hired the berline and three horses of Dalgrange, 
 the man who drove us so well to Paris, and started this 
 morning for Dieppe, I finding it necessary to go to England^ 
 and preferring to be there now, instead of at a time when I 
 could perhaps have the wild-fowl shooting on the Somme. 
 I accordingly left my servant and what sporting things I had 
 with General Hawker, in the hope of being able to return in 
 September. We took an early dinner at La Ville d'Eu, a little 
 beyond halfway to Dieppe, where we inspected a fine church 
 that was built by the English, amused ourselves on the organ, 
 went all over the chateau of the Duchesse d'OrltSans, which is 
 close to the church, and then proceeded to Dieppe, where we 
 arrived by five o'clock, and had the whole evening to inspect 
 the town, &c. 
 
 The drivers call it fifteen leagues from Abbeville to 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY . 171 
 
 Dieppe, but the distance is, as near as possible, 39 English 
 miles. 
 
 The road from Abbeville to Dieppe is most capital, and 
 the inns here, not having been used by the English, are by 
 no means expensive. 
 
 iltJi. — Embarked on board the ' Lord Wellington ' packet, 
 one of the finest sailing schooners I ever set eyes on (Captain 
 Cheesman, master) at two o'clock. We were becalmed till 
 near seven, and then it came to blow pretty fresh all night, 
 and all the next morning directly in our teeth ; but, notwith- 
 standing, this excellent vessel lay so ' close to the wind,' 
 that she ' fetched ' but very little to leeward of her course ; 
 and at three o'clock on the afternoon of the 14th we landed,^ 
 in a gale of wind, after being well drenched by the breakers, 
 and having literally fought with winds and tides all the 
 way from Dieppe. The usual miseries and messes of sick- 
 ness among our younger travellers were tenfold increased 
 here by our having to lie so close to the wind, and by the 
 length and roughness of the passage ; but we were induced 
 to be content, notwithstanding, because on this voyage and 
 journey there are not those attempts at constant imposition as 
 at Dover and Calais, and everything on both sides of the water 
 is more reasonable, and, with a few exceptions, the civility 
 much greater. After getting 'cleared off' at the custom house, 
 where the duty is done in the most gentlemanly manner, 
 and dining at the ' New Ship ' inn, we took a chaise for 
 Chichester at seven, and got there, to sleep, at eleven. 
 
 15///.— Left Chichester at half-past eight this morning, 
 arrived safely at Longparish House just in time to sit down 
 to dinner, and, thank God, found all well. 
 
 2A^tJi. — 24 trout. 
 
 The fishing is now become very dull, owing to the trout 
 being glutted with the mayfly. 
 
 ' At Brighton, to which place the passage direct is 75 English miles ; but the 
 log generally runs to about 80. 
 
172 
 
 COLONEL HAWKER'S UIARY 
 
 July 
 
 July 1st. — Having received my new stanchion gun (after 
 having it sent to Mr. Egg again, to be highly finished, after a 
 winter's trial and approval of it in the rough state), I this day 
 tried it again, at boards covered with paper, in the river. 
 After thus trying it in the canoe, I then took the artillery 
 carriage and mounted it on land, where I fired : ist shot at a 
 few straggling pigeons, and killed i at 120 yards ; 2nd, at 12 
 swallows on a tree, and killed 8 of them ; 3rd, at single swal- 
 lows flying, and killed 2 out of 3, so nicely have I brought this 
 machine to bear, though 88^ lb. in weight. 
 
 lOth. — Paid the bill for my stanchion gun, as follows : 
 
 Gun .... 
 
 Cases 
 
 2 ramrods . 
 
 2 wadding punches . 
 
 Shot pouch to fit gun 
 
 Carriage and packing 
 
 £ 
 
 J. 
 
 d. 
 
 115 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 ^125 18 6 
 
 August 1st. — Mr. and Mrs. Logier with Mr. Donaldson 
 and two of the pupils came to us this day, preparative to the 
 exhibition of Messrs. Langstaff and D'Aubertin's academies,, 
 on the Logerian system of musical education, at Andover and 
 Southampton. On the 3rd we drove to Andover, and on the 
 4th took a chariot and four freighted with young ladies to 
 Southampton, at both of which places the public examinations 
 went off admirably well. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 173 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 1819 
 
 September \st. — I have now to record one of the most 
 brilliant day's shooting I ever made in my life, when I con- 
 sider the many disadvantages I had to encounter. I had but 
 three dogs : poor old Nero, who was lame when he started ; 
 Red Hector, who was so fat and out of wind that he would 
 scarcely hunt ; and }'oung Blucher, a puppy that never was 
 in a field but three times before, and who till this day had 
 never seen a shot fired. The country had been for some 
 time clear of all corn, and the stubbles in general afforded 
 but thin cover. The scent was so infamously bad, that at 
 least two-thirds of the birds I killed were sprung without the 
 dogs finding them. The wind blew quite fresh the whole 
 day, and the coveys were wilder than ever I yet saw them in 
 the first part of the season ; and, what Vv^as unusual, in windy 
 weather, I could scarcely get a bird into the hedges. I had 
 four shooting parties round me, and the best half of my 
 ground was beaten before I took the field, which I never do 
 till after eight o'clock, because I have found, by experience, 
 that dew is death to the dogs, and that a covey, if disturbed 
 on the feed, is much more difficult to disperse than when left 
 till the dew is off the ground. My list of killed and wounded 
 was fairly and precisely as follows : 
 
 Misses : 4 very long shots, 2 of which were struck and 
 feathered. 
 
 Kills : 45 partridges and I hare, bagged. 
 
174 COLONEL HAWKER-.S DIARY Sept, 
 
 The constant succession of long shots that my favourite 
 old Joe ]\Ianton barrels continued bringing down, surpassed 
 anything I had before done, or seen, in my whole career of 
 shooting. 
 
 3r^. — 26 partridges and i hare. 
 
 AftJi. — Went out after dinner, and in three hours bagged 
 14 partridges, all I fired at. I made one extraordinary shot, 
 viz. : a very wild pack (2 coveys) of strong birds got up and 
 came towards me. I killed 2 at a shot with the first barrel, 
 and 4 at a shot with the second, and among them were the 
 4 old birds. 
 
 ytJi. — Having bagged loi birds in my first four days* 
 shooting, to poor old Nero, who had been incurably lame in 
 the shoulder for these ten months, I would not take him out 
 to-day ; and as I had no dog that would stir from my heel 
 besides, I took two men with a rope about thirty yards long, 
 and dragged the ground, being in want of birds, and I bagged 
 13 partridges, besides shooting 2 more which I lost. 
 
 28///. — One shot that I made to-day I cannot account for, 
 except by the shot having adhered together. I blew a bird's 
 head from his body (so that I could never find the head) at 
 seventy-two paces distant. 
 
 30///. — Started, agreeably to a pressing invitation, to m}^ 
 friend Jack Ponton, at Upton (22 miles), preparative, as I 
 expected, to taking the first day's pheasant shooting ; but he, 
 despairing of my coming, and my letter having reached him 
 a few hours too late, had gone off into Kent ; and, not thinking 
 it handsome to shoot in his absence, I returned home again b}' 
 way of Southampton (28 miles), which I was obliged to do in 
 order to avoid going a vile bad road by night, and I had thus 
 50 miles to drive bag and baggage for nothing ; which, to me, 
 was a less disappointment than if 1 had missed two fair shots. 
 
 Game &c. bagged by September 28th : 204 partridges, 
 9 hares, i rabbit, 4 landrails, 18 snipes, 7 wild ducks. Total, 
 243 head. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 175 
 
 Though the country was barren and the weather almost 
 ahvays stormy, yet (with the exception of a young dog that 
 did more harm than good) I hterally killed all to poor old 
 Nero, who was lame from the very first day till now. In- 
 cluding some days in which I was driven home by rain, I only 
 took the field seventeen days during the month of September. 
 
 October \st. — One of the finest mornings I ever saw for 
 covert shooting ; but my disappointment in having gone to 
 Upton made it too late for me to accept many other invitations 
 for the first day ; and, literally, not having a single pheasant on 
 my whole estate, I was obliged, of course, to give up the idea 
 of getting one, consequently did not go out shooting. 
 
 JtJi, — Heard of a cock pheasant, which nowadays is like 
 a wild beast on my property, and in half an hour came home 
 with 2 fine old cock pheasants, I having found another with 
 the one reported, and bagged them both. 
 
 11///. — Was called up this morning with information 
 that my man, who had gone off with my duck punt on 
 wheels, containing all my baggage, for Brighton, I having 
 engaged his passage for France to-morrow night, had met 
 with a severe accident the other side of Winchester. The 
 horse took fright going down Movestead Hill, three miles from 
 the town, ran away, broke the carriage and wheels to pieces, 
 and most severely wounded the man. I had therefore, ill as 
 I was, to drive off, to put several coachmaker's workmen to 
 replace the wreck, get a cart to convey the wounded man to 
 the count}^ hospital, and make arrangements for hiring other 
 horses in order that my sailor and my things might not lose 
 their passage to France. 
 
 \2th. — Left Longparish for London, on our way to France. 
 
 lA^tJi. — Submitted to and had accepted by Mr. Chappell 
 my new-invented apparatus for running over the keys of a 
 pianoforte in a mathematically true position. 
 
 i^tJi. — Got to Dover. 
 
 \6tJi. — Had so good a passage to Calais that we set foot 
 
17G COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Oct. 
 
 on both English and French ground within three hours and 
 five minutes. After being, as usual, fleeced by innumerable 
 scoundrels, we proceeded post (the most expensive, yet by 
 far the worst mode of conveyance in France) and stopped for 
 the night at Boulogne. Here, as a matter of course, we had 
 to sit up till one in the morning airing wet sheets by a fire 
 made of green wood. 
 
 17///. — I was to be called at six this morning ; but at 
 near seven no one was up, and I had to alarm the whole 
 house before I could get a soul to move ; when, at last, half 
 a dozen fellows ran out, all inquiring what was the matter. 
 In short, after crawling like a road waggon the whole day in 
 a pour of rain, and in a machine that was worse than open, 
 we reached Abbeville, where, to my great mystification, I 
 found that my man, punt, guns &c. had been neither seen 
 nor heard of, though I could see nothing to prevent their 
 arrival five days ago. By way of comfort, too, I learnt that 
 the river was full of wild fowl. 
 
 i^th. — This day, I, in constant anxiet}' about my man, 
 property, and the whole of m.y shooting apparatus, on which 
 the winter's pleasure depended, offered a premium to the first 
 beggar (Abbeville swarms with these poor wretches) who should 
 announce the arrival of my flotilla &c., and at four this after- 
 noon, to my great joy, an old woman in wooden shoes came, in 
 as much ecstasy at receiving the money as I was in at finding 
 my things (which it would take years to replace) had arrived, 
 and very narrowly escaped shipwreck, which two other vessels 
 had lately encountered, of which I had heard, and on one of 
 which I had reason to fear all my things were on board. I 
 then proceeded to my little villa at ' Port ' on the banks of the 
 Somme, where I was received in procession by the populace of 
 the village, and presented with bouquets, as is the custom for 
 what they call the ' grand seigneur ' in this country. 
 
 igth. — After arranging all my things &c. I went to survey 
 the water, and although it was so hot that the air swarmed 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 177 
 
 with butterflies, yet the wigeon, teal, and ducks were by 
 hundreds and thousands on the Somme, but in some degree 
 protected by the dreadfully dangerous currents that now run 
 like a mill tail in spring tides all over this place ; and in the 
 evening ' I went out for fowl (the birds, it appears, are only 
 here by day till hard weather), but not a fowl remained in the 
 river, for all the ducks &c. had dispersed to feed inland. I shot 
 at some birds in the dark and stopped 9 or 10, and on send- 
 ing out the dog he brought me 4 large curlews. I am de- 
 lighted with my house and everything about the place, except 
 the trouble of having always to guard against thieves. 
 
 2.otJi. — A gale of wind from the south, and the Somme so 
 frightfully dangerous with the spring tides that going out 
 was impossible, and the birds were some leagues off on the 
 opposite shore. 
 
 25///.— Mrs. Hawker and L this day started from 
 
 Abbeville for Paris. From the 20th to this day no one could 
 be more unpleasantly situated than I have been. Poor 
 
 L , was so ill that I expected every night he would 
 
 breathe his last, and here was I, for five whole days, pacing 
 the room with that anxiety of mind that I could enjoy, or 
 apply to, nothing ; while an incessant deluge of rain, with 
 howling winds, was without intermission rattling against the 
 windows of our cottage. The bad weather still continued, 
 
 but, thank God, L was a little better, and therefore 
 
 prudently struggled into a change of air, as the best possible 
 remedy for his extreme illness. The Somme continued 
 frightfully dangerous, and of this river some idea may 
 be formed if I remark that when in calm weather you put 
 your punt pole in the water, it is wrenched from your hand 
 as if thrust into the wheel of a carriage when drawn full 
 
 ' I never like to disturb fowl by clay lest they should forsake the place ; but 
 here I suspect I shall be obliged to do so, as the river is dangerous and the fowl 
 leave it to feed in peace and comfort. 
 
 VOL. L N 
 
178 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 gallop. Only at very few periods, therefore, dare we venture 
 afloat. 
 
 2GtJL — After walking out with a French chasseur, and 
 killing for him i snipe, 3 jack snipes, some water rails &c. 
 I this night went off in a ship's boat belonging to a merchant. 
 We were obliged to put into Crotoi very late at night, and 
 then sleep in our clothes on some miserable straw and on a 
 miserable floor, which would have been all delightful if we 
 could have had sport ; but owing to this gentleman, contrary 
 to my advice, not taking my punt in tow, we could get at 
 nothing to shoot, and, instead of having good sport the follow- 
 ing day, we were imprisoned till the evening tide for want of 
 water, while the weather and the birds were quite in favour 
 of good sport with a proper outfit. The excursion ended, as 
 I said it must, in getting little or nothing ; and we were out 
 six-and-twenty hours all to no purpose. We got home tc) 
 ' Port ' on the night of the 27th. 
 
 2gth. — Being very uneasy about L , I was resolved to 
 
 follow him to Paris ; and after going to Abbeville, and there 
 waiting till two this morning, I entered a vehicle called the 
 * Swallow,' a hideous machine that carries tons of luggage and 
 stows sixteen people like a freight of hogs, and goes on two 
 wheels, in which, after being tortured worse than if in the 
 stocks, I was dragged into Paris at ten on the night of the 
 
 30th, when, I thank God, I found L much recovered. I 
 
 then, the next day, presented my pianoforte hand-moulds to 
 Messrs. Ignace & Camille Pleyel, which they approved and 
 accepted for their manufactory. 
 
 Noveviber 2nd. — L was taken very ill again. 
 
 6///. — We have once before taken, paid for, and forfeited 
 the whole of the mail to Boulogne, and we even now again 
 
 desired to suffer the same loss to-day ; but poor L , ill as 
 
 he lay, was so crazy to escape the chance of dying in this 
 detestable country, that he would insist on our all leaving 
 Paris this evening, and, by the mercy of God, we brought 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 179 
 
 him to Abbeville, where we arrived about midday on the 
 7th, but such was his disgust at the smoky stye of starvation 
 into which we were ushered that he implored us to let him be 
 dragged on till he should either die or reach home in time to 
 recover ; and, what distracted me, he would not permit me 
 to accompany him, and I had even to use persuasion to make 
 him take a servant. Mrs. Hawker and I then left Abbeville 
 and proceeded, just before dusk, in tears of anxiety and in 
 torture of conveyance, to ' Port,' while the rain poured down 
 ready to break the vile tumbeil in which we were dragged ; 
 here we remained in a state of agitation enough to destroy the 
 nerves of a Hercules or to melt the heart of a savage, while 
 praying to God that L may, by the extraordinary inter- 
 ference of Providence, be able to reach home in time to recover. 
 
 gtJi. — Went over to xAbbeville, with my clothes and some 
 
 money, determined to follow L if I heard nothing further 
 
 to my satisfaction. On reaching the town I met my servant 
 
 Charles, whom he had sent back, L having got rather better 
 
 and embarked last evening on board the Dover packet ; con- 
 sequently I returned to ' Port ' trusting to God that he would 
 reach home in safety. 
 
 X.B. — Yesterday and to-day there were such chances 
 for sport as I may not have again, without hard weather ; the 
 ducks and teal were close to ' Port,' but I was so uneasy about 
 
 L that I could not have the heart to load my gun or launch 
 
 my punt, and felt indifferent to everything but tidings from 
 him. 
 
 I'^th. — After waiting for six days in such a miserable state 
 
 of suspense about L , that I was almost distracted, I this day 
 
 had the consolation to receive a letter from him, dated the 
 loth inst., saying that he was rather better, and purposed 
 starting from London for home the next day. ^I}' mind being 
 
 now at ease in some degree, trusting to God that L was at 
 
 home and in comfort, I could have wished to take out ni}- gun 
 
180 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Oct. 
 
 and boat, but, as ill luck would have it, my sailor was taken ill, 
 and consequently I was still prevented from tr\-ing my sport. 
 
 ijth. — Being half dead from anxiety and want of amuse- 
 ment, I this day crossed the Somme, and rode down to St- 
 Valery. 
 
 1 8///. — I rode over to Rue, where I inspected the beautiful 
 ruins of a small church, and afterwards walked in the marshes, 
 and killed 6 snipes, 6 jack snipes, and i teal, all I fired at. 
 What with family sufferings, added to innumerable little 
 grievances of a minor consideration, we never in our lives 
 were so unlucky ; but God send us a turn of fortune and 
 a little comfort, after all we have endured in this abomin- 
 able country. On the evening of the 19th we received a 
 
 letter from L announcing his safe arrival at Longparish, 
 
 and his amendment of health, as well as good accounts from 
 our dear children, which gave us more ease of mind than we 
 have for a long time experienced. 
 
 22nd. — Mrs. Hawker taken very seriously ill, and as the 
 dirty scoundrel of whom I had hired a horse had just been 
 here and taken him away, because I had then settled with 
 him, and some one else had offered him a few pence more, I 
 was obliged (late enough for the various gates to be open) to 
 tramp through six miles of filthy mud on foot, and then hunt 
 the town of Abbeville for the doctor. Luckily my old friend 
 Dr. Radford (once of my regiment) was a practitioner there, 
 otherwise God alone could have helped us. Not a horse to 
 be got to-day in all Abbeville, and while Mrs. Hawker was 
 suffering dreadfully for want of port wine and assistance, the 
 doctor and I had to tramp through the mud on foot. 
 
 2yd. — Mrs. Hawker being still extremely unwell, I 
 wished to get a little bird of some kind for her dinner ; and 
 after going a league, to Noilette, and there slaving in the 
 marshes till my heels bled, I got one shot, and killed i snipe ; 
 a pretty specimen of the fine shooting in France ! 
 
 25///. — While I was out to-da}', Mrs. Hawker became so 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY isi 
 
 dangerously ill that the servants were in the greatest alarm, 
 thinking she could not live till I got home. Happily, how- 
 ever, she got better again by the evening ; and we had also 
 
 further satisfaction, viz. a letter from L saying he was so 
 
 much recovered as to be able to walk, and that my dear chil- 
 dren and all our friends at home were well. 
 
 26th. — Finding it prudent that Mrs. Hawker, who still was 
 very ill, having again had a severe relapse, should leave ' Port,' 
 I this day hired a coach, and removed her to the Hotel de 
 I'Europe, in Abbeville, for change of air. 
 
 2'jtJL — Was taken very ill myself, but, with the assistance of 
 Dr. Radford, I got much better by the morning of the 28th, 
 when Mrs. Hawker and I hired the coach again, and drove to 
 St.-Valery for an airing ; and after I got back to Abbeville, I 
 left Mrs. Hawker there, and returned once more to 'Port,' where 
 all my shooting things were left in confusion. Charles, too, 
 having been attacked a few days ago, and I yesterday, our 
 whole family, dogs, cat and all (the cat died, and three of our 
 family were in imminent danger), have been ill ; and on inquiry 
 we find that the country we are in, notwithstanding its healthy 
 appearance, is in one of the most pestilential climates of France. 
 Never since I was born have I been so fleeced of my money, 
 and so bereft of all my comforts and happiness. 
 
 29///. — Still very unwell. I this day left ' Port ' for the 
 Hotel de I'Europe at Abbeville, to escape the infernal conta- 
 gion that was rapidly spreading throughout this filthy village. 
 
 30//^. — Mrs. Hawker and I were both confined to our 
 room, which, although one of the best in the very first hotel 
 in France, is colder and more full of draughts than any 
 English barn, a pretty situation for me with a dose of calomel 
 in my inside ; and during our illness we had to battle against 
 the most villanous attempts at imposition relative to the 
 disposal of our property, and settling for the occupation of 
 the unlucky hovel at ' Port' to which we had most unfortu- 
 nately transported ourselves for shooting. 
 
182 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 Decenibcr \st. — Having found myself extremely unwell all 
 yesterday with a kind of shivering sensation and burning 
 heats, which the French in Abbeville consider as their preva- 
 lent disease all round there, and call ' the fever,' I thought it 
 madness to remain any longer in their vile department, and 
 finding myself infinitely better last night, I decided on quitting 
 this place for Boulogne ; but, hearing that Peronne was a place 
 better suited to me than any I could find, and being most 
 anxious at all events to avoid repeatedly travelling the same 
 road, I changed my route, and at six this morning drove off with 
 a voititrin for the latter place, which is about sixty English 
 miles from Abbeville, and which lies on the road from Paris 
 to Brussels. We breakfasted at a village called Flixecourt, 
 and were particularly well served for France. This place is 
 halfway to Amiens. In order to arrive early at Peronne, we 
 could only stop to bait at Amiens, and proceed four leagues 
 beyond there to dine and sleep. We were told that at Vilaire 
 we could be tolerably accommodated. The road after leaving 
 Amiens became so vilely bad and in so miserable a wilder- 
 ness that we could scarcely go a league an hour, and we 
 reached Vilaire about six o'clock. I had then become so ill 
 and exhausted I was determined to get to bed, and on the 
 comforts I should receive depended whether the change of air 
 should rid me of the illness, or whether I should get w^orse for 
 want of the necessaries of life ; but miserable, most miserable, 
 was the vile hornet's nest into which we were ushered, and 
 here I met the greatest scoundrel that I ever before encoun- 
 tered. I was thrown, trembling with cold, on a miserable 
 dirty bed, while laughed at and insulted the whole night by a 
 set of waggoners and assassin-looking fellows who called 
 themselves officers, but who were dressed a la bourgeois ; one 
 in particular tried to pick a quarrel with me, and while eyeing 
 me as I lay on the bed, put his hand on his sword, and looked at 
 me with a most malicious grin, while the others kept laughing 
 and quizzing. I left the bed, and lay for a time in the car- 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 183 
 
 riage, but was there so cold that I was forced to return to this 
 damnable situation. Mrs. Hawker and her maid sat all the 
 time (too frightened to sleep) in this berline. We would have 
 given twenty guineas to have gone on, but our horses were 
 dead tired, and the coachman was fearful of passing through 
 the forest at night, as he could only go two miles an hour on 
 the heavy road, and he said that, rare as it was in France, yet 
 he suspected there were some mauvais gens (bad people) in the 
 forest. This I did not mind, so as soon as the horses could 
 slowly proceed we put them to, and called for the bill, which 
 ought not to have exceeded ten sous, because all that we 
 had, or could have, was literally one cup of bread and milk. 
 The daughters of the house told me that for the bread and 
 milk and for lying down I must pay ten francs, and at last 
 they said they would take eight. I of course refused, and this 
 alarmed the house ; the father locked his doors on me, and 
 swore I should not move till I had paid ten francs. I had, 
 therefore, to unpack my trunk among all these villains to 
 get more money, and let him take his demand. I then, 
 ready to die, had to search for the mayor, but at last 
 found a gendarme ; and in short I could get no redress, 
 because unless you make a bargain with a Frenchman he may 
 charge you as he pleases. This was about two o'clock in the 
 morning. We at six reached the village of Foufoucourt, 
 where, at the sign of the ' Violin,' we met some very civil 
 peasants, who kept this cabaret, and who gave us a very 
 nice breakfast for fivepence each, and to whom I gave double 
 for their honesty ; at half-past ten we reached Peronne, and 
 got such good beds at the ' Stag ' inn that on the morning 
 of the 3rd I was tolerably well. About twelve o'clock I 
 wrapped myself up and went to inspect the lakes, but more 
 like an old woman than a gunner, as I was stuck up in a chair 
 instead of being seated down on straw, and equipped with an 
 umbrella instead of a gun. The lakes of Peronne are certainly 
 more calculated for a lover of comfort to shoot at his ease 
 
184 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Nov. 
 
 than any place I ever saw ; the water is ahnost stagnant, and 
 in every part about four or five feet deep, surrounded and 
 intersected by innumerable islands and walls of rushes ; the 
 places to keep your boat are all at the back of little cottages, 
 and therefore under private protection ; and as for safety, I 
 never saw a place more secure from dangers, even if it blew a 
 hurricane, or came on the thickest fog ; certainl}-, therefore, 
 the place itself is well calculated for my shooting, but un- 
 fortunately it happens to be rented in lots b}' about fifty 
 watermen, who get their livelihood by the few wild fowl they 
 kill, and who have innumerable shooting huts all over the lakes, 
 so that if I went afloat I should have to pass the muzzles of 
 perhaps a dozen guns every quarter of a mile, and if I spoiled 
 the sport of these fellows, which I should in all probability do 
 most effectually, I should stand a chance of getting accident- 
 ally wounded by some jealous fellow or other. The man who 
 escorted me was one of the chief proprietors, and his huts 
 were the very best I ever saw ; they were made, as the French 
 huts usually are, ten times warmer than their houses, but much 
 better concealed, and more commodious than any I had seen 
 before. The hut (Ja Jnitte) is precisely like a tilted waggon 
 inside, viz. hooped and covered ; at the back of it there is a 
 hole to creep in at, and in front are from two to four loop- 
 holes to fire through. In this country they use 12 tame 
 ducks for decoy birds, 4 drakes in the centre and 4 ducks at 
 each side, tied in lines to pegs at about fifteen yards distance 
 from their masked popgunnery (I will not say battery) ; but 
 in other countries the French huttiers (hut shooters) gene- 
 rally use but 3 decoy ducks, i male and 2 females, and place 
 them not more than seven or eight yards from the muzzles of 
 their miserable guns. The quantity of fowl here is nothing 
 equal to that in the English fens, and by day }'ou seldom 
 see a duck, although the French coast is more plentiful 1}' 
 supplied with wild fowl than the coast of England. 
 
 By means of swallowing plenty of Madeira and tincture 
 
^ 
 
 ^ ,1 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLARY 185 
 
 of bark I contrived to quack myself sufficiently to try for 
 the ducks this evening ; and accordingly was conducted by 
 Monsieur Desabes (a very civil and obliging man, the pro- 
 prietor of the huts I saw to-day) to his best entrenchment, 
 where he had twelve decoy ducks all in battle array, under 
 the light of a most beautiful moon, and v/ithin the quarter of 
 an English gunshot of a hut that was uncomfortably warm. 
 Here I remained, more likely to be suffocated than chilled, 
 with the patience of Job for goodness knows how many hours, 
 but not a wild duck ever came, though the decoy birds kept 
 chattering like the other bipeds of the French nation ; and 
 although the place, for a league, was resounding with the 
 quacking of tame ducks in strings, and defended by the 
 masters of them, yet I could not have the honour to sa}' 
 I had seen or heard the firing of a single shot. 
 
 A^tJi. — Being anxious to lose no more time at Peronne 
 I agreed with a fellow to take me across to Arras, where 
 I could find conveyances to any part of the north-eastern 
 coast. He was to bring a commodious voiture, and arrived 
 by half-past ten at the door, in order that we might reach 
 Arras before the barrier gates would be shut, which would be 
 at six in the evening. The fellow never came till near 
 twelve, and then he hurried us into the most abominable two- 
 wheeled machine that ever I saw even in France, and in 
 which we were literally crushed by each other and our 
 baggage ; he then shut the front part with the rudeness of 
 a bear, and accidentally struck Mrs. Hawker, when she fell 
 into hysterics, fainted away, and was carried back to the inn 
 and put to bed. I had then of course to unload again, to get 
 at the medicines necessary for her, but the scoundrel would 
 not let me have any of my baggage till I paid him the whole 
 fare to Arras, the same as if I had gone ; nor did he even offer 
 to change the day, though I voluntarily offered him a crown 
 to get rid of him. Instead of being able to assist Mrs. Hawker, 
 therefore, I was obliged to leave her with the maid, while I 
 
186 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 took the villain before a justice of peace. Here he told a 
 thousand lies as fast as he could chatter ; but fortunately I 
 met with a respectable gentleman, who, to the villain's dire 
 mortification, awarded that I should pay 5 francs and the 
 4 francs duty for the posting, and be set at liberty with my 
 baggage. I remained the rest of the day a prisoner in this 
 town, with Mrs. Hawker of course very unwell. 
 
 5///. — We were obliged to get up an hour before daybreak 
 in order to reach Arras (only 30 miles) before six o'clock in the 
 evening, when the barriers are shut. We got under way about 
 seven in a thing called a voiture, which was near tumbling to 
 pieces and full of cobwebs, and driven by the master of it, who 
 was the most lazy, sulky, stupid hound I ever saw. He did 
 nothing but smoke and stuff himself the whole way, and 
 when I begged of him to go in the light road instead of the 
 heavy, he literally said that he preferred walking his horses 
 through the mud, because there was ' a track, and he could 
 enjoy his pipe and his victuals without the trouble of holding 
 his reins ; ' and the villain being the only coachmaster in the 
 place, except the scoundrel who tried to swindle us yesterday, 
 I was forced to pay him 2)^ francs. We entered the barrier 
 of Arras just in time to escape being shut out for the night, 
 having gone 30 miles in eleven hours. 
 
 6//a— After having been well and reasonably served at 
 the Hotel de Messagerle in Arras, we at six o'clock this 
 morning proceeded by the diligence for St.-Omer, and 
 arrived there at seven in the evening, which, although but 
 50 miles in thirteen hours, was comparative flying after the 
 torments of crawling that we had to endure yesterday. After 
 we got clear of Peronne, and got Into what is commonly 
 called the Netherlands, we found oursehes less Imposed 
 upon In the bills, and more free from filth and humbug. 
 
 7///. — Proceeded at eight this morning by the relay 
 diligence, and at three reached Calais, 30 miles. We here 
 found out a place called the Brussels Hotel, where at last we 
 
1 8 19 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 187 
 
 found some comfort, as nought but an English person or an 
 Encrhsh thin"; was in the house. We therefore decided on 
 remaining a few days, on a kind of forlorn hope that a little 
 sport might be found before I decided on ordering my men 
 home again with the shooting apparatus and heavy baggage. 
 
 8//;.- -Went in every direction to survey the environs of 
 Calais, with one of the hardest frosts that ever was remembered 
 here. The shore being one flat sand (as it is all the way to 
 the Netherlands on the one side, and to Boulogne on the 
 other) was quite out of the question for shooting otherwise 
 than at flight time, and particularly as the birds do not rest 
 there at night. Their feeding places are in the marshes, which 
 at this moment are in one region of ice. The few birds that 
 are now^ killed here are shot by the ' butters,' who break an 
 open place in the frozen ponds, and there keep their decoy 
 birds, to w^hich the wild ones are called down from about three 
 till eight in the morning. I remained a long time in a hut this 
 night, but not a bird ever came, and I never fired a shot the 
 whole day, except killing i jack snipe while reconnoitring in 
 the morning, when I counted about 35 shooters out besides 
 myself 
 
 gtJi. — Hired a cabriolet and went to Guines (6 miles 
 inland from Calais), where in like manner I found the whole 
 country frozen, and where in a space of a mile the boy who 
 conducted me said there were about 180 huts belonging to 
 the night shooters, who among them all had killed but 2 
 ducks the whole of last night. The moment I got home 
 and swallowed a hasty dinner, I drove off for the flight 
 3 miles from here, and never saw or heard but 3 birds. 
 
 \otJi. — Mrs. Hawker and I were laid up with illness, 
 evidently owing to the everlasting thorough draughts we sit 
 in, and the w^ant of good nourishing food during this unpre- 
 cedentedly severe weather. The snow is now two feet deep in 
 the streets, and we are dying to get to our own countr}% but 
 not a packet has been able to reach the harbour here for these 
 
188 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY Dec. 
 
 ten days. Here we are again in sickness, miser}', and 
 expense ; for all the comforts of English things will not stop 
 the thorough draughts that for ever blow through every creek 
 and corner of a French house. God send us and our property 
 once more in safety on the other side of the Channel. 
 
 This afternoon I was so ill that I was every moment near 
 fainting from pain. Here am I laid on the bed, with the very 
 frost and snow that I had been longing and watching after 
 for these six years, in a place where not a warm corner is to 
 be found, without medical assistance, and with a gale of wind 
 directly foul for my emancipation from France ; and, to vex 
 me still more, I have an invitation from an English gentleman — 
 Mr.Penton — to partakeof his Jiuttc2.ndi rented decoy to-morrow 
 morning, where the flight is expected to be something very 
 extraordinary. Mrs. Hawker, too, still very unwell ; again 
 and again do vre pray that we could even be removed to the 
 very worst house on the other side of the Channel. 
 
 11///. — Mrs. Hawker was taken so ill that we were forced 
 to refuse our passage in the packet with a very fine wind, and 
 poor I was in such pain as scarcely to be able to support my- 
 self The hopes of a recovery to-morrow, and a second chance 
 of a passage, somewhat cheered me up. But alas ! what was 
 my vexation to receive a letter from General Hawker to say 
 that if I did not instantly return, through all the snow, to 
 Abbeville, that all my property, guns and boats, was to be 
 sold by auction to-morrow, by order of the police, because Mr. 
 Terrier, the villain, the scoundrel, had entered a process against 
 me ' for leaving his house at " Port " without paying the trifling 
 remainder of the rent,' which I had by his own consent before 
 a witness deputed General Hawker to do, and whose re- 
 sponsibility he accepted, and even shook hands with me on the 
 occasion. I had, therefore, to crawl to the office, and book a 
 place for Abbeville in to-night's mail. May the Lord support 
 me and defend me through such cruel oppression, during my 
 bodily afflictions and the distress I am in about my poor wife. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 189 
 
 To add to this undeserved oppression and insult, I am under 
 orders here to be detained from embarking by the poHce, had 
 I chosen so to do. 
 
 At four o'clock Mrs. Hawker was almost lifeless from weak- 
 ness and agitation about the cruel and unjust process against 
 me, which, by getting the letter while I was seeing to her gruel 
 below, she unfortunately heard of first. Instead of being able 
 to attend her, I was forced to enter the mail at six o'clock, 
 and be dragged through the deep snow at a foot pace to Abbe- 
 ville. We did not reach Boulogne till near one, and here my 
 poor aching stomach required something warm to relieve me 
 from excruciating pain, for, in truth, I was so distracted that 
 I took no thought about provision. A surl}' brute of a 
 woman refused to warm me a little water, and I fainted on 
 the earthen floor, at which all were callous and even laughed 
 at me till I had just strength enough to offer a reward for 
 something warm, and then the postillion was all mercy, and 
 by means of procuring some coffee which literally stank, beat 
 up with a stale egg and bad brandy, I was enabled to re-enter 
 the mail. By this time, I had picked up a woman, and then 
 a man, as fellow-travellers, and if ever there were brutes on 
 earth here I met with them. They saw me trembling — ready 
 to die — in the coldest snowy night that ever came from the 
 heavens, and the brutes would have the windows open, and 
 felt amused at my annoyance. I expected every moment to 
 be frost bitten, and had no strength to rub my limbs. How- 
 ever, God protected me through all, and, after being in sheer 
 starvation and torture for twenty hours, I reached Abbeville 
 at two o'clock on the afternoon of the i2Lh, and got to bed at 
 the Hotel de I'Europe. I had scarcely got to bed, and found 
 benefit from the medicine that Dr. Radford gave me, when I was 
 obliged to receive my counsel for the trial to-morrow ; and, 
 after earncstl}' having to explain everything in i/ij French, I 
 was, of course, in more fever than ever. However, I got a 
 tolerable night, and had sufficient strength to appear in court 
 
190 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 on the morning of the 13th, when, after the usual anxieties 
 and trouble that attend a trial, I had the fortune to get a ver- 
 dict in my favour, with double costs &c. The whole of the 
 14th I was employed in being obliged to face that contagious 
 place ' Port ' once more ; and, what with taking inventories, 
 battling about broken things, disposing separately of every 
 article I had in store &c. without a soul to assist me, I was 
 driven about like a mad dog, and in such pain that I could 
 hardly draw my breath. 
 
 15//!.— Got up two hours before daylight, and left Abbe- 
 ville in a berliiie, followed by my punt, servants, and all my 
 rescued property, and travelled over a sheet of ice, with hail, 
 snow, and rain for the whole day. After having occasional 
 stoppages as usual to mend, patch up, and rectify the little 
 accidents that commonly attend French travelling, and repeated 
 falls of the horses on the ice &c. we reached Dieppe at night, 
 where we supped and went to bed. 
 
 \6tJi. — Embarked my things on board the ' Independence ' 
 packet, which was to sail to-night ; but at present the terrific 
 state of the lee shore here renders it very improbable w^e 
 shall start. This afternoon the wind changed directly in our 
 favour, and a most delightful evening it was : we accordingly 
 prepared to sail at night, but, as if the devil always got in the 
 way of all my movements on this most infernal trip to France, 
 the vessel in which my property and baggage had been em- 
 barked was seized and detained in consequence of some 
 smuggling transaction of the captain, and in spite of me and 
 others battling like barristers till our mouths were parched 
 with anxiety, and 1 was fit to burst with rage, we were obliged 
 to return to our hotels, and hope that we might have liberty 
 to be wafted from these most diabolical, detestable shores 
 to-morrow. 
 
 lytJi. — A most tremendous hurricane all day, in which, 
 although fair for us, it would be madness to venture out with 
 a lee shore before us at night. 
 
i8i9 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 191 
 
 i^th. — Though the gale was still continuing, and the sea 
 running mountains high, our captain was determined to sail 
 to-night, and in a pour of rain, with the night as dark as pitch. 
 we got under way about eleven o'clock. The case was that 
 our captain had got into a serious scrape, and while he spread 
 a report that he was in England, he was concealed in his ship, 
 and quite mad to be off, through fear of being taken to prison. 
 My friend, Mr. Parrot, too, being so situated that he had diffi- 
 culty in leaving the country, I had him under the disguise of 
 my servant ; and therefore what with having to humbug the 
 police while they boarded us &c. I was in rather a nervous 
 situation till clear of the bar. The sea was so tremendous 
 and the night so awfully dark, that we dare only move under 
 close-reefed sails. The sailors were but a sorry crew, and 
 everything contributed to a rough and most violent passage. 
 The captain miscalculated his distance, and the heavy and 
 thick rain had so obscured the atmosphere that when morning 
 came we were lost for several hours ; at last, we found our- 
 selves off Brighton, but not a vessel or boat dare venture from 
 land to us, and therefore we were forced to beat up for Shore- 
 ham, where the captain had intended to go at first, but lost 
 his course. We were now in a very serious difficulty, for if too 
 late to have water over the bar into Shoreham harbour, nothing 
 remained for us but to ride upon the billows for twenty-three 
 hours longer, till the next day's tide should serve, at the risk 
 of being wrecked on a lee shore, which we must have been 
 before morning had the gale come on as strong as it regularly 
 has done every night. At last we fetched the harbour, when 
 to our disappointment the flags, which are always flying while 
 there is ten foot of water, were no longer up, and besides a 
 hot tide was running out against us ; we had then to choose 
 whether, or not, we would make all sail, and literally charge at 
 the bar, while the pilots, who dare not come to our assistance, 
 were anxiously holloaing and making signals from the pier ; at 
 last came the awful moment, when, after being bumped several 
 
192 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec. 
 
 times with violence against the bar, we forced our way against 
 the surge and sand, and in a few minutes set foot on our own 
 dear Enghsh ground again. Everyone said that the chances 
 were five to one against us, and that we must have all perished 
 but for the mercy of God giving us the only spot where we 
 could have forced our vessel through. All was for the best. 
 The wind soon after became tremendous, and the shore was 
 strewed with a wreck that had just taken place. After most 
 extraordinary trouble with our things, owing to the custom 
 house being four miles off, we could not get our clothes &c. 
 to change till seven at night ; we landed about two, and we 
 were racing up and down the shingles in a pour of rain about 
 our things, and without a morsel to eat till just before bedtime, 
 when we got to the ' Ship ' inn at Brighton. 
 
 19///. — Having been so short of money that I was yesterday 
 forced to take tea instead of dinner, and also to book a place 
 outside the coach in very wet weather, I this morning got up 
 to start, and was in great alarm about my friend, who had 
 gone out, and, according to French custom, locked his door. 
 The waiters all declared the street door had not been opened, 
 and as all the noise we raised would not make him answer, the 
 people of the house swore he must have either died or cut his 
 throat, and when the blacksmith was just coming up to pick 
 the lock and enter the room, my friend Mr. Parrot came up- 
 stairs, having gone off and let himself out to see the pavilion 
 of Brighton before breakfast. We had just time left to 
 swallow one cup of tea, and went up to town in a pour of 
 rain. 
 
 2ist. — After another wet journey on the rostrum of the 
 Salisbury coach I once more arrived safe, and, thank God, 
 found all well at Longparish House, after ha\-ing passed 
 seventy-one of the most unlucky, miserable, and expensive 
 days in France I ever passed in my life, deprived of every 
 comfort, and with the expenditure, in sheer waste, of 335/. 
 
 The Lord deliver me from such another excursion. 
 
iSrc; COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 193 
 
 22nd. — My sailor Williams arrived on a horse to say that, 
 after all my things had been ducked in the harbour b\- the 
 ship's boat capsizing on coming ashore the other day, he was 
 yet again in trouble, as the cart had broken down near 
 Winchester. I had, therefore, to go off and bring home the 
 wreck of my rescued property before another night should 
 elapse without my having it safely housed'; and at seven this 
 evening the team drove up with the wreck and the remainder 
 of all my property, and this night, therefore, we got clear of 
 all difficulties attending this most detestable expedition, and 
 I fully hope that here will end all our almost incredible coinci- 
 dence of misfortunes. 
 
 29///. — Till this day I have been too ill, owing to the 
 effects of my abominable trip to France, to get out with my 
 gun. We have now a severe frost, with a moon, and gladly 
 would I be strong enough for the coast at this moment. I 
 killed to-day, just walking out, 3 snipes, 3 jack snipes, and 
 I hare, and in the evening i wild duck. 
 
 N.B. — I had made a French hut, on our river, with six 
 call birds. This was the only duck that I saw or heard, and 
 he pitched down with them directly, so that had we fowl at 
 Longparish this system would no doubt answer here. 
 
 1820 
 
 Janiiary i^tJi. — The coldest day in the memor}- of any 
 person I had met with. I got up this morning at three, 
 crawled over a sheet of frozen snow to the turnpike in my 
 cart with lamps, there got into the mail, and then proceeded 
 from Salisbury, by coach, to Poole. The harbour was one 
 solid plain of frozen snow, and the place so cold that my 
 man Williams, the whale fisher, said it was quite equal to 
 Greenland. Never was there here known so severe a frost ; 
 the birds v/ere half starved. The gunners could scarcely ven- 
 ture out, and two men were this night frozen to death in their 
 
 VOL. L O 
 
194 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 punts. Dead rooks, small birds &c. were lying about in 
 every direction, starved to death. 
 
 \6tJL — Having left my things at my old quarters at 
 Southhaven, near Poole, ready to use ^\•hen a thaw should 
 come, I this day went over to Wareham with my double 
 gun and one duck gun, in order to shoot at Hyde, where 
 Mr. Knight has kindly given me leave to sport in his absence, 
 and where I can walk out, which better suits my very poor 
 state of health, than venturing just yet afloat in the night. 
 
 19///. — When I got up this morning the whole valley was 
 inundated ; almost every bridge and weir was washed away, 
 and the valley was more like sea than land ; all shooting was 
 consequently put an end to. I went out with my favourite 
 i8-lb. gun (old Joe), killed i hare and 2 rabbits, all I shot at, 
 having no chance for fowl. About eleven o'clock the waters 
 lowered a little, and on sallying forth for a few ducks that 
 appeared, away went the great weir at the moment that my 
 boy Joe was carrying my gun Joe across it. The boy was 
 all but drowned, but at last I saved him and brought him to 
 life. The whole day, to no effect, was absorbed in trying to 
 recover m}' gun, which was washed away in the flood, twelve 
 feet deep at least, and with more rapidity than any mill tail. 
 Nets, weights, grapples, and the Lord knows v/hat, were lost 
 in the attempt to fish it up by their adhering to the part of 
 the broken weir under water. Towards evening, however, my 
 old friend Benjamin, the ci-devant keeper, arrived with a 
 dung prong tied to a very long pole, and, by the most 
 extraordinary luck, hooked the gun by the scroll guard and 
 brought it up, to my greatest delight. I gave him a guinea 
 in presence of the other lazy brute of a keeper, who never 
 exerted himself in the least, and as the thaw now will make 
 Poole harbour passable, I had no time to lose in repairing to 
 Southhaven. 
 
 20tJL — Left Hyde at daylight this morning, and, after 
 stocking myself with provisions, I arrived at Southhaven, the 
 
t820 colonel HAWKER'S DL\RY 195 
 
 tide having sen-ed just in time for me to leave Poole when I 
 was prepared to start ; but on my arrival I found that the 
 late thaw had inundated the place, and that the lower part of 
 the house had been for two days six inches deep in water. 
 This I could have easily encountered, as I did there the last 
 flood, when I cooked my dinner in the parlour in water boots 
 in a foot deep of water, but unfortunately half the chimneys 
 w^ere so damaged by the wind and weather, that there was 
 not one room in the house but what smoked to that degree 
 that, in five minutes after a fire was lighted, you could neither 
 see nor breathe. I tried with bricks, baskets, and everything, 
 on a ladder, to quack up one of them, but, all being of no avail, 
 I was forced to return to Poole. In the meantime there came 
 on a torrent of snow and sleet and a gale of wind, and I had 
 a most deplorable passage across ; but after getting a good 
 dinner and a good fire at the ' Antelope ' inn I got dry and 
 warm. Here is the luxury of England over France ; for 
 without such comforts I might have caught my death. 
 
 2 1 St. — After searching the town the whole day no one could 
 find the landlord of Southhaven, and I was therefore obliged to 
 send bricklayers over to attempt making his hole of a house 
 habitable, while I this day remained a prisoner at the inn in 
 Poole, the boat and bricklayer being this evening driven 
 on the mud in a gale of wind, and from other detentions 
 and troubles I could not reach Southhaven till the evening of 
 the 22nd, where (in a quarter where no common sailor would 
 stay if he possibly could avoid it) I began, a la bivoiiac^ to 
 make myself as comfortable as possible, under an idea that if 
 under a hedge in a campaign I might be worse off for board 
 and lodging. Here I had to weather the 23rd, being Sunda}-, 
 when 1 walked over Studland heath, and went to an apology 
 for a church. 
 
 24///. — It poured with rain so that I could do nothing all 
 day except killing a cormorant ; and I had no other amuse- 
 ment left than to remain within the walls of my hovel, which 
 
 o 2 
 
196 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RV Jan, 
 
 the wind blew through so hard that the chair fell in the fire and 
 burned my best shooting dress to pieces. Went out, with wind 
 and occasional rain from seven this evening till three o'clock the 
 next morning, with James Reade, whom I with great difficulty 
 hired, and who kills more than all the gunners in the harbour 
 put together. No man could work more beautifully than he 
 did, but not a wigeon did w^e see the whole night, though he 
 tried every inch of the harbour. Tow^ards morning I killed 
 on the mud a sheldrake ; we saw a small lot of these under 
 the moon, and fired by word of command (in a low^ voice, the 
 Poole custom) each man at his bird, Reade's brother and we. 
 The guns went all together, and the 3 sheldrakes were killed. 
 25//?. — Another wet day; made attempts to get about^ 
 and only got wet for our pains. 
 
 26tJi. — Cruel weather again. Imprisoned by wind and 
 rain, and half starved owing to mishaps in getting provisions 
 from Poole. 
 
 2'jt]L — Wind and rain again ; no attempting anything. 
 28///. — Better weather ; out from seven at night till seven 
 the next morning (with Reade, who worked like a slave), but 
 owing to the swarm of gunners, it w^as impossible to get 
 a shot, and not one of them killed a bird the whole night. 
 Never was I out in a more miserable trip, a keen northerly 
 wind with a nipping white frost. A few more such nights, 
 debarred as I was from the exercise of rowing or even moving^ 
 would knock me up. 
 
 February 1st. — Having at last got a fine night I went out 
 at two this morning, and, after remaining afloat till daylight 
 with a full moon, I never saw nor even heard a single 
 wigeon, which is easily accounted for, as about fifteen 
 fellows, who are just thrown out of employ in the clay trade^ 
 have all turned floating gunners, so that not a bird can enter 
 this part of the harbour without being frightened aw^ay. 
 Reade was obliged to leave me in consequence of having to 
 attend his brother, who was this morning severely wounded 
 
i82o COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 197 
 
 through carelessness with his gun, so that I decided on leav- 
 ing Southhaven, and trying a day or two hard by at Poole, 
 where, although near the town, the harbour is less infested 
 with gunners than here. On my way there to-day I killed 
 7 coots under sail in the passage boat. 
 
 2nd. — Quitted the execrable hovel of Southhaven, and 
 removed my things to a small lodging on the quay at Poole. 
 Went out for the whole night with Richard Lock, the ' head 
 gunner ' of Poole, and never heard a bird. 
 
 ^rd. — After lying down a few hours, was at it again all 
 day, from dawn till eight at night, with no refreshment but a 
 morsel of bread and cheese, and never got a shot. Not 
 a gunner here has killed a bird for this week past ; everything 
 appears to be extirpated. 
 
 ^tJi. — At it again, from before daylight till bedtime, with 
 an infernal run of ill luck. Owing to the delay of my man, 
 I was a few minutes too late where the most enormous 
 swarm of geese I ever set eyes on came to feed every 
 morning ; but, as my usual bad luck would have it, though 
 no gunner w^as out, yet a horrid fellow, on his way from 
 Ham to Poole market, saw the birds, and went with his boat 
 to them just as we were going up ; he got within 60 yards of 
 them longways, fired a popgun and never touched a feather. 
 After slaving the whole day we fell in with this enormous 
 phalanx again, but then another gunner got the start of us, 
 and fired before us. I took a random shot, flying, at about 
 300 yards, with a pound of pistol balls in my stanchion, 
 and knocked down i brent goose. 
 
 5///. — Was in full preparation to attack the geese again 
 to-day, but it blew a hurricane and poured with rain from 
 morning till night. 
 
 6th. — My sailor, Williams, whom I sent for a day to 
 reconnoitre Keyhaven, returned this afternoon bringing me 
 word that not a chance of sport remained there now, but that 
 the shooting had been so good there this season that even 
 
198 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLVRY Feb. 
 
 the Frenchman to whom my house was unfortunately let for 
 the winter had killed a great deal of wild fowl with his popgun,, 
 and that had I been there this season I might have done 
 wonders. How extraordinary is, invariably, my escape from 
 all good luck in wild-fowl shooting ! Williams was this night 
 put to bed very ill. The wigeon have totally quitted Poole 
 harbour, but the geese still remain though very wild. 
 
 J til. — I brent goose ; was tripped up by the dog and fell 
 overboard 5 miles from home, ducked to the skin — gun 
 and all. 
 
 %tJi. — Wind and rain again ; went out in a yawl boat and 
 towed the punt astern. Got 2 brent geese, and shot and lost 
 2 more, as well as some wounded ones. It blows so fresh 
 that you lose half your birds, as they are now so wild that 
 nothing but pistol balls will reach them, and the winged birds 
 are off at sea before you can row out to catch them. 
 
 gth. — The shooting having been so bad that I was lite- 
 rally the only person who killed a fowl in the whole town of 
 Poole during the week I was there, I gave it up for this season, 
 and returned this day to Longparish, after the worst winter's 
 sport I ever had in my life. 
 
 ii//j.— 3 snipes and i jack snipe. 
 
 N.B. — A man getting watercresses told me of these 4 
 snipes, and in half an hour I had them all in the bag. I 
 then beat the rest of the day, but found nothing more what- 
 ever. 
 
 26th. — 5 snipes. This evening poor old Xero died, having 
 never recovered the French illness, with which we were all 
 such sufferers. He was the best dog I ever had, ever saw,. 
 or ever heard of.' 
 
 ' I killed during this extraordinary dog's service, and almost entirely to him,, 
 game &c. as follows : 
 
 Up to 1812, 356; 1813, 244; 1814, 402; 1815, 320; 1816, 378; 1817, 
 503 ; 1818, 463 ; 1819, 253 ; 1820, 344 ; to the day of hi.s illness. Total, 3,263 
 head. 
 
 I almost always used him single-handed for every purpose, as he would of his 
 
i82o COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY 199 
 
 2'^th. — I drove to Keyhaven, to arrange about my cottage 
 &c., and having a strong easterly wind took my gun ; but in 
 six hours after I left home a westerly wind came and made 
 this unnecessary. My presence, as if like a charm, changed 
 from good to bad the shooting. 
 
 March ist. — Having finished my business at Keyhaven 
 and Lymington, and as nothing remained for me to shoot but 
 a quantity of geese which were too wild for the only gun I 
 had, I got to Southampton this evening, and on the 2nd drove 
 home to Longparish. 
 
 List of game &c. killed in the season, to IMarch 1820 : 
 216 partridges, 10 hares, 2 pheasants, 3 rabbits, 4 landrails, 
 88 snipes, 15 wild ducks, 7 geese, i wigeon, 3 teal, i shel- 
 drake. Total, 350 head. 
 
 N.B. — I lost one of the finest winters we have had for 
 years, by my unfortunate excursion to, and illness in, France. 
 
 April 1st. — Killed 5 brace of trout. This is the first 
 tolerable day I have had, though I have killed a few for 
 dinner most days for some time ; but now, as the river is my 
 own, I never care about taking any but the best fish, which I 
 kill only when I wai.t them, and therefore do not take the 
 trouble to keep any account of the great number that I 
 catch. 
 
 June JtJi. — Went up to London and was presented to the 
 King at his Levee. 
 
 i^tJi. — Mrs. Hawker remained in town, and I went to 
 Manchester by the mail, which left the Post Office at eight 
 
 own accord ' down charge ' and bring the game when told. At a hedge he 
 would stand till I came, and then, if ordered, go all the way round and drive the 
 game to my side ; for a river, for a boat, for everything, he was a perfect wild- 
 fowl dog, although a high-bred pointer, with a cross of foxhound. The game 
 that I calculate has been killed to this dog, including that shot by my friends as 
 well as myself, I estimate at about 5,000 head, but to be widely under the mark, I 
 wall say 4,000 ; supposing then we take each head of game one with another at 
 two shillings apiece, which would be a low price among those who deal in such 
 thngs, I may say that the poor old dog has earned me 400/. besides trifling 
 wagers &c. 
 
200 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY June 
 
 o'clock, and arrived in Manchester by half-past seven (i86 
 miles in 23J hours) on the evening of the 14th. A trans- 
 portation to this place I can compare to nothing but a man 
 going to sleep, never to wake again, and finding himself in 
 the very Billingsgate or St. Giles's of the infernal regions. I 
 went on a musical excursion, which, except a wild-fowl ex- 
 pedition, is the only event that would have brought me here. 
 
 My object in going to Manchester was to see Mr. Cudmore 
 (my first master in music), and if the place agreed with me, to 
 avail myself of his offer to spend the holidays with him at 
 his house and study the whole time ; and, if not, to leave the 
 place after seeing it, and then make a little tour, which I had 
 long wished, through Birmingham and Oxford. I had very 
 soon such a sickening of this most brutal town that my deci- 
 sion for leaving it was almost immediate. The ver}- evening 
 that I arrived I was made so ill by the suffocating fumes of 
 stench and smoke which I inhaled, that I was violently sick 
 the whole night, and it was with the greatest difficulty that I 
 could pass the day of the 15th here, to inspect the manu- 
 factories and what few things were worth seeing in the town. 
 At six o'clock on the morning of the i6th I left Manchester 
 by the ' Eclipse ' coach, and within 12 hours arrived at Bir- 
 mingham, 86 miles, including the stoppage of half an hour to 
 dine at Wolverhampton. 
 
 ijtJi. — Ever since my arrival last evening, and the whole 
 of this morning, I was busily employed by inspecting the 
 beautiful and various manufactories of Birmingham, and to 
 even the most superficial admirer of mechanics nothing could 
 be a more deHghtful treat. The steam engines, the gun 
 manufactories, the making of all hardwares &c. would require 
 a volume to describe ; and the extensive assortments of all 
 sporting apparatus, at one-fourth the price charged b}- the 
 shops, would really make it worth the while of a shooter or 
 fisherman to come here on speculation. This afternoon I left 
 Birmingham for Oxford. While the coach stayed to change 
 
i82o COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 201 
 
 horses at Stratford-on-Avon, I had plenty of time to visit the 
 house which gave birth to our immortal Shakespeare, as luckily 
 it was within a gunshot of the public-house at which we 
 halted. I was shown the chair in which he sat (and of course 
 sat myself in it), his sword, the box which contained his will, 
 and many other trifles that are exhibited and declared to have 
 been in his possession. The place which was once the resi- 
 dence of this illustrious dramatist was never better than a 
 poor man's house, and is now occupied by a butcher, and, in 
 part, fitted up for his shop and slaughter house. About eleven 
 at night we reached Oxford. 
 
 i^th. — Was occupied from the time I got up this morning 
 till three o'clock this afternoon, with visiting the University of 
 Oxford and inspecting the different colleges. Of all the 
 libraries, as a building and for architecture, I preferred the 
 Ratcliffe Library, and of all the chapels, that of ' New Col- 
 lege.' The theatre fell far short of what I had been led to 
 expect, but the tout ensemble of the colleges far exceeded my 
 expectations, and the town is by odds the most beautiful and 
 the neatest I ever saw. As to the libraries I had not time, 
 nor do I profess to have learning enough, to appreciate their 
 value. At three this afternoon I hired a gig and retraced the 
 steps which I had last night travelled in darkness, back again 
 to Woodstock, 8 miles, in order to pass the rest of the day at 
 Blenheim, the Duke of Marlborough's. Little did I think 
 there was such a palace in England. Were it in France, Italy, 
 or even as far as Greece, everyone would be going to see it. 
 The house, the park, the grounds, the everything, bids defi- 
 ance to all the gentlemen's and noblemen's seats I have ever 
 seen either at home or abroad. The park is 13 miles round, 
 and all within a stone wall ; the house is i mile round. 
 Among the venerable and stately avenues of timber, we here 
 see a whole army of trees planted in the exact positions of 
 the armies of and against the great Duke of Marlborough, 
 and, amonc: them, a monument erected to his illustrious 
 
202 COLONEL HAWKER'S IMARY June 
 
 memory, which in its style is little inferior to the Colonne 
 de Vendome at Paris. The only disappointment I met with 
 was not being able to sec the valuable paintings, in conse- 
 quence of the present degenerated duke being at home and 
 at an early dinner with company. I this evening, after return- 
 ing to Oxford, prepared for going home by the Southampton 
 coach to-morrow. 
 
 N.B. — With the exceptions of Herefordshire and Shrop- 
 shire, I have now been in every county in England. 
 
 \gth. — Arrived again at Longparish House. 
 
 August. — Was detained in London this month on account 
 of my new invention for pla}dng the scales of a pianoforte b\- 
 mechanical means. 
 
i820 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 203 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 1820 
 
 September. — I had agreed, for the purpose of attending to 
 my musical invention and other more rational pursuits, to 
 give up my shooting this year ; but, unfortunately, from the 
 unsettled state of the country, owing to the Queen's trial &c., 
 I felt bound in honour to decline my leave from the militia in 
 August, though I had even procured my passport for Brussels ; 
 and finding it unlikely that I could proceed just yet, I there- 
 fore, to avoid the expense and misery of being now in 
 London, returned to Longparish House on September 3, but 
 with little inclination for shooting, having prepared nothing, 
 and having no dogs but two wild puppies. My 1st of 
 September was rather a novelty for me, who for many seasons 
 had been the champion ; I broiling in the streets of London, 
 and my poor old dog in his grave. 
 
 4///. — Went out, with two puppies, and bagged 24 part- 
 ridges and I hare, without ever missing a shot, and having 
 made six double shots. Notwithstanding I had resigned all 
 pretensions to shooting this year, I have this day done the 
 most that has been yet heard of in our line of country, although 
 I was out only from ten till four, and surrounded by other 
 shooters. 
 
 Game bagged in September : 94 partridges, 3 hares, 
 3 snipes. Total, 100 head. 
 
 Business and my intended absence abroad prevented me 
 from being prepared for shooting this year. Except a quail. 
 
204 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 the only one I saw, I killed this lOO head of game without 
 missing one fair shot. 
 
 Octobei' 2^th. — Went to remain at Winchester, to command 
 the North Hants Regiment, and previously to the 30th, when 
 we were again disembodied, the regiment, which on the day 
 of assembling consisted almost wholly of lads from the plough, 
 was able to manoeuvre as well as the line, and march with its 
 band almost equal to the Guards. So admirable was the con- 
 duct of officers and men that I made reports in their favour 
 to the Secretary of State, Lord Lieutenant, and Colonel, and 
 came home on the night of the 30th. 
 
 November Zth. — Rode over to Winchester, to finally settle 
 all the pay lists of my regiment, and with the chestnut 
 horse returned to Longparish in forty minutes, I galloped 
 nine miles on the downs in twenty-seven minutes. 
 
 wtJi. — 7 snipes and 5 jack snipes (all I shot at), making 
 in these last few days 20 snipes without missing a shot. 
 
 182I 
 
 Jamiary ZtJi. — Reached Southampton this evening, and 
 arrived at Keyhaven on the afternoon of the 9th. 
 
 N.B. — The weather till the very day I had despatched my 
 punts for the coast was unprecedented)}; severe, but it then 
 became as mild as April ; my injured finger prevented me 
 from being here during the most extraordinary week's 
 shooting ever known ! But nil desperandinn ! Let me hope 
 some fowl may still be got. Out all the night of the 9th, 
 but owing to fog and rain could not see 20 yards ; fired the 
 swivel gun by guess, and heard several birds beating on the 
 sand, but before we could find them the tide flowed, and the 
 fog defeated us. 
 
 nth. — Contrived this afternoon to get out in the rain ; 
 fired a shot with the stanchion gun at between 200 and 300 
 yards ; bagged 3 brent geese (flying) and knocked down 2 
 more, which I dare not follow. Out till two the next 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 205 
 
 morning, in a drizzling rain, very few wigeon, and too dark 
 and too wet to get a chance. 
 
 \2tJi. — Wet again ; out towards sunset, and was overtaken 
 in the most tremendous gale of wind, and the most furious 
 pour of rain I ever yet witnessed ; we set in the midst of it 
 to a flock of geese ; but, to our astonishment, even this did 
 not prevent their rising at 200 yards. I knocked down 6. 
 
 i-^th. — Killed 3 coots, before daylight, which I mistook 
 for wigeon : got a flying shot with stanchion gun, and bagged 
 2 wigeon. Afterwards 6 brent geese at a shot. 
 
 \6tJi. — I got but one shot all day and all night — I killed 
 an old cock wigeon, under the moon, out of a small trip at 
 which I fired the swivel gun, at about 120 yards. Mild 
 weather, and birds so scarce that no gunners but myself 
 would go out. 
 
 2yd. — At Lymington all day about my gun ; out all 
 night, found a large flock of wigeon about three in the morning, 
 and had not my boatman, over eager, prevailed on me to fire 
 before my gun was clear enough of the mud, I should have 
 made a great shot ; whereas I cut a lane of back feathers for 
 three yards long, without touching the body of the birds, which 
 were feeding (of course with their heads all down) in a hollow 
 place, that in one more hour I could have fired into point 
 blank. 
 
 2\th. — Up again to-night, but the fog and rain would not 
 let us get out, though we were on the watch all night. 
 Weather so calm and mild, that day shooting is at an end. 
 
 25///. — Out all night, but weathter so damp and thick we 
 could not get a clear interval to shoot ; came home at 
 daylight ; on 26th went sailing, and got a brent goose, all 
 I shot at. 
 
 27//^.— My man Charles, whom I sent to Poole for the 
 unrivalled James Reade, the Mozart of all the wild-fowl men,, 
 returned this evening with this illustrious gunner and his punt 
 in my boat cart. 
 
206 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 The 28th being Sunday, we started at three on the morn- 
 ing of the 29th, when, extraordinary as it may appear, the 
 wigeon, as if by instinct, had almost disappeared. The only 
 little trip we met we got at about daybreak and fired a long 
 shot at, but in so bad a light that we both missed. 
 
 30//'. — Two ducks, out of 4 knocked down. Afloat at 
 daybreak ; no wigeon. Out all night again in wet. 
 
 Sist. — Went out in a fresh wind and rain to attack a flock 
 of geese, which, in spite of the weather, would not let us come 
 nearer than 300 yards ; I got i brent goose by means of 
 blowing off a pound of small bullets in the stanchion gun. 
 Wet day and night. 
 
 February \st. — Out all night, but owing, no doubt, to the 
 mild weather and strong westerly wind, we literally never 
 found one trip of wigeon. 
 
 5///. — There not having been one single wigeon heard 
 along the coast for several nights, we planned an attack on a 
 swarm of coots near the town of Lymington, and had to row 
 six miles round ; we started at seven this evening, and about 
 two in the morning, when we were just looking forward to 
 bagging at least fifty, a rascal shoved over the mud and put 
 the birds so to the rout that we never could get two together 
 afterwards. My man lost himself, and we were forced to trust 
 to the mercy of the waves, by going all round the main 
 Channel, between the Hampshire coast and the Isle of Wight, 
 and got home about six in the morning, just in time to escape 
 a strong wind that might have been fatal to us. I was thus 
 eleven hours in a nipping white frost, w^ith a kind of raw 
 rime falling that kept gradually turning to rain. 
 
 8//^. — Left Keyhaven, or rather ' Wigeon Cottage,' which 
 I call my little gunning place, and arrived at Longparish 
 House. 
 
 N.B. — Since my arrival on the coast, which, owing to my 
 bad finger, was after all good shooting was at an end, I con- 
 trived to kill about 40 couple of birds, and to bring home 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 207 
 
 more than all the other gunners put together, little as the 
 quantity I killed was in proportion to what anyone mio-ht 
 have done during the frost. 
 
 So extremely wild were the birds, even by night, that, 
 except one very long shot, I never killed a bird but with my 
 swivel gun. 
 
 \2th. — Left Longparish for London. 
 
 13//^. — Proceeded to Norwich. 
 
 \^th. — Arrived, for a short visit, with my old friend Robert 
 Rising, Esq., of Horsey. 
 
 i^tJi. — Out all day in pursuit of 3 eagles, but never could 
 get them to pitch or fly where I had a chance. In the 
 evening killed at a shot 2 tufted ducks, the only 2 birds I 
 had seen in the marsh since my arrival, and which I got by 
 lying in ambush at dusk, while Rogers drove them to me 
 with his gunning punt. 
 
 \6tJi. — Out before daylight for the eagles, but only saw 
 them pass over half a mile high. 
 
 17///.— Went to Yarmouth. 
 
 18///. — Returned this evening, and went to Mr. Hunting- 
 don's at Somerton Hall. 
 
 2ist. — Despatched Rogers to inspect the celebrated salt 
 marshes at Blakeney and Salthouse, about 46 miles from 
 hence. 
 
 227^^. — Rogers was back this day by twelve o'clock, with 
 extraordinary expedition, and brought word that this place, 
 like all others on the public coast, was so infested with 
 gunners, that there was no inducement to try it, and conse- 
 quently I had the great satisfaction to prove that, in my own 
 place at Keyhaven, I was as well off as in any other gunning 
 port I could yet discover. 
 
 23r^. — Left Mr. Huntingdon's for Yarmouth, from whence 
 I had hoped to take a trip through Holland to Brussels ; but 
 as no conveyance was likely to offer for some time, I took my 
 place by the next morning's coach for London. 
 
208 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb, 
 
 While at Mr. Huntingdon's we had various sport — cours- 
 ing, fishing, &c. — but, except kiUing one day i hare and 
 
 1 rabbit, I made no attempt at shooting. 
 
 24//'. — Left the ' Bear ' (an excellent cheap inn), Yarmouth, 
 at five this morning by the ' Star,' an admirable coach, and 
 reached Mrs. Nelson's ' Bull ' inn, Aldgate, at nine, 124 miles 
 within sixteen hours, including ample stoppages for breakfast, 
 dinner, and tea. 
 
 2yt/L — ^Left London, after having exerted myself about 
 my new invention, and ordered some repairs to my guns, and 
 arrived again at Longparish House. 
 
 2St/L — My finger, which had precluded my practising 
 music for six months, being now so far better that I can 
 leave off the dressing, I this day was enabled to play a 
 little. 
 
 Game &c. killed in the season up to March ist, 1821, as 
 below given (the two first days, and many more, lost by my 
 absence in London, and all October cut up with my regiment 
 at Winchester, and afterwards laid up with my hand in a 
 sling, and during all the hard weather) : 
 
 103 partridges (only 9 since September), 7 hares, 3 rabbits,. 
 
 2 pheasants, and 69 snipes. Wild-fowl shooting : 5. Wild 
 ducks : 6 curre, 2 tufted, 2 of a curious large morillon species, 
 I teal, 6 wigeon, 26 brent geese. Total, 232 head. 
 
 Had my finger been well in the frost I should have had 
 grand sport on the coast, and my only satisfaction was that of 
 beating all the other gunners put together. 
 
 April ^.th. — Embarked on board the ' Lady Cockburn/ 
 Captain Blackmore (the best packet, and the most respectable 
 captain I ever met with), and, after being twelve hours on 
 board, we were landed at ten o'clock at night in a French 
 shore boat, and all but capsized coming over the bar, owing 
 to the dreadful awkwardness and incessant chattering of the 
 detestable French {soi-disanf) sailors, who, through greediness, 
 had loaded their rotten boat like a coal barge, with passengers 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 209 
 
 stowed like a freight of hogs. We could get no refreshment 
 ready till midnight, and consequently, save a small sandwich, 
 had fasted seventeen hours. 
 
 ^th. — Proceeded for Brussels, and left Calais at eleven 
 o'clock in the day per diligence, by which everyone but a 
 fool would travel in France for comfort,^ expedition, and 
 economy ; and, after stopping half an hour halfway at 
 Gravelines, reached Dunquerque at five. ]\Iy fasting so long 
 the previous day, and this day being served with some 
 French messes at the latter place, I was ill all night. 
 
 6///. — At four o'clock I was hastened into the diligence to 
 proceed. We stopped while I looked at, and the other 
 passengers ate, a breakfast at Mount Cassel, where, being too 
 sick to eat, I had the more time to admire the beauties 
 which the view from this most beautiful mountain presents, 
 and where you see about seven different provinces in a 
 complete panorama, at the head of which stands the chateau 
 of ^Marshal Kellerman. We arrived at Lille before one 
 o'clock, having gone 19 leagues within nine hours, which, for 
 France,^ is flying. In short, the diligence for this particular 
 division of the journey is the best I ever travelled in, and the 
 reason of this is because it takes the letters from all places 
 south of Dunquerque to Lille, and is tied to time. I had the 
 whole evening to inspect the tremendous fortifications and 
 pleasure grounds of this place, and with the advantage of a 
 most gentlemanly Flemish conipagnon die voyage, who ex- 
 plained to me everything which the place presented. At Lille 
 
 ' If I hereafter note miseries, I still repeat the word 'comfort' because the 
 provocation, imposition, insolence, and delay that I have always met with in 
 French posting are such that the miseries of a diligence when compared to them are 
 enormous. I believe most people will agree with me, except those who make a 
 merit of necessity and pretend to admire ever^'thing in France, because they are 
 obliged to admire it in order to avoid their debts and perhaps escape a gaol in 
 England. 
 
 - From Paris to Rouen, in Normandy, however, I have met with light dili- 
 gences that go almost as fast as our coaches, but these have occasionally accidents 
 which are never put in the papers like ours. 
 
 VOL. L P 
 
210 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY April 
 
 our accommodations were clicap, and so they ought to be, 
 for they were very bad, and the inn was very properly called 
 the Hotel of Portugal, as its filth was strictly in unison with 
 the country of which it bears the name. 
 
 jtJi. — Was bundled out, bag and baggage, at four this 
 morning, and after tramping down Lille like a gang of 
 gipsies, we waited in the rain till various conversations — of 
 course about nothing— were ended by the conductor and the 
 postillion. W^e got this machine, like a granary on old wheels 
 though most excellent inside, under way at a quarter past 
 four, and at seven reached the Flemish frontiers. Here my 
 heart was in my mouth, as I had three pair of my patent piano 
 hand-moulds to smuggle, and the very look of the douaniei'S 
 was enough to set an amateur smuggler into an ague, and I, ill 
 to boot, looked as if I had been buried for a week and dug up 
 again ; however, I did them, and all ended well. We breakfasted 
 at Tournay at eight o'clock, and at half-past eleven we were 
 halted for an hour to dine at the ' Swan ' inn at Ath. Never 
 was I more annoyed at having so ill-timed a division of meals. 
 I, of course, could not eat, and of all the dinners I ever yet 
 saw put on a table, here, to my fancy, was the very best ; and 
 the price, with a pint of excellent wine and beer enough to 
 swim in, was but half a crown a head. For want of appetite 
 there I was obliged to beg a quarter of an hour 4 leagues 
 farther, at Enghien, where we had some stinking water, that 
 onions had been boiled in, by way of broth, and a piece of cold 
 veal which was nearer black than white ; these we bolted with 
 pepper to disguise the taste of them, and washed them down 
 with beer like soap suds, and, by way of a wadding on the 
 same, had some barbarous brandy. On leaving Enghien we 
 passed a fine deer park belonging to the Due d'Arenburg, 
 and had a very gentlemanly French companion to explain 
 the same, who being, like myself, shooting mad and music 
 mad, suited me to a hair. In short, we, as usual, had a 
 combination of pleasure and misery, and reached Brussels 
 
tS2I colonel HAWKER'S DL\RY -ill 
 
 by a quarter past eight this evening, where we entered the 
 celebrated Hotel de Belle Vue,and under apprehension that the 
 Ligures in the bill might soon resemble a swarm of hornets, 
 decided that we would get into lodgings as soon as we could. 
 
 8///. — On getting up to look out of our excellent suite of 
 rooms, I found myself transplanted from a pigstye to a 
 paradise. I compare my situation to the rising of Lazarus. 
 Our view of the beautiful square at the back, and the delightful 
 park, palace &c. to our front, make this place agreeable in 
 the extreme, and far superior to any town I have been 
 in abroad, and I may almost say in England, for a cheerful 
 appearance. 
 
 gtJi. — Got a quarter in the most splendid part of Brussels, 
 not for gaiety, but for the sake of the air, within two doors of 
 the Royal Palace, and looking directly into the best part of 
 the park. For this I pay 200 francs a month, exclusive 
 of crockery &c., which in this place is usually hired. I this 
 day entered my new abode, hired a piano, &c. 
 
 lOtJi. — Got delightfully settled in our new abode, and had 
 my first lesson in music with Mr. Jerome Bertini, after having 
 lost above six months' practice, owing to the accident to my 
 finger. 
 
 wtJi. — Went shopping, saw the Brussels lace made, &c., 
 and was much delighted with the excellence and cheapness 
 of everything in this charming town. The shops are the best 
 on the Continent, and you may look into them while walking 
 on a kind of pavement without the risk of being run over as 
 in Paris. 
 
 i^tJi. — Went with Radcliffe, in his barouche and four, to 
 inspect the ever memorable field of Waterloo. After reaching 
 the village of this name, which is about ten miles from 
 Brussels, we proceeded in the carriage towards the farm of 
 Gomont, falsely called ' Hugomont' in the despatches, which 
 is about zL miles beyond Waterloo ; and, at a small hamlet, 
 halfway or thereabouts between the two places, we called on 
 
212 COLONEL HAWKER-S DIARY April 
 
 the celebrated peasant Jean Baptise de Coster, who was so 
 notorious for having been the personal guide of Buonaparte 
 during the whole of the battle. As I was coachman at the 
 time, De Coster was seated for some time with me on the box 
 of the barouche ; and here, of course, I entered as eagerly into 
 conversation concerning the ex-Emperor &c. as the incessant 
 plague of having four blood horses to drive on a bad road full 
 of Flemish coal carts would admit of At Gomont we left our 
 carriage and spent the morning in seeing and collecting all 
 we could, under the able explanation of this celebrated pilot. 
 Our carriage came for us in the afternoon at the farm of 
 La Haye Sainte, where we were hospitably received by a 
 worthy farmer during a heavy shower, after which we 
 returned to Brussels in time for a late dinner. 
 
 23^/. — Being Easter Monday, we this evening drove, in 
 one of the hackney coaches which in Brussels are most 
 magnificent, and 109 in number, to the Allee Verte, which is 
 a delightful drive between two double avenues of trees, and 
 by the side of a broad canal, extending for above a mile, and 
 at about half a mile from the lower town. This may be con- 
 sidered the Hyde Park of Brussels, and Easter Alonday being 
 a very grand day there, we met the Royal Family in three 
 carriages and six, and it is really a pleasure to see how happy 
 and affable they appear to be. The very countenances of 
 the King and Queen bespeak the excellent qualities for which 
 they deserve to be upheld as a pattern to other crowned 
 heads. Weather so sultry as to be quite oppressive, and so 
 hot that the water in our room was as warm as we usually 
 drink tea. 
 
 2^th. — Started for a tour through Holland. Mrs. Hawker 
 and I left Brussels at about eight o'clock this morning by the 
 ' malle-poste,' a machine drawn by three horses abreast, and 
 on grasshopper springs ; but it having the roof covered with 
 boards instead of leather, the noise of it is such as to distract 
 the head most unmercifully, particularly as every part of the 
 
t82i colonel HAWKER'S DL\RY 213 
 
 road to Amsterdam is on pavement. The civility of Mr. 
 Lefebre, the postmaster in chief, was excessive ; he offered 
 us coffee, and showed us his very handsome house &c. while 
 the horses were putting to. When we got to Anvers, or, in 
 the Dutch language, Antwerp, 8 leagues, Mrs. Hawker was 
 so overcome with the heat and the shaking, that she felt so 
 far faint as to have been running a risk of illness if she had 
 proceeded, and luckily, Mr. Lefebre's nephew being there, I 
 was enabled to send her back to Brussels under his care, 
 by means of posting. I, of course, wished to attend her home 
 myself, but she would insist on my proceeding. Our misery 
 at this horrid hole Antwerp may be easily conceived when I 
 state that Mrs. Hawker was ushered into a dirty long room, 
 where fifty fellows were smoking, and could get nothing warm, 
 except some pot liquor and chervil, which the people, or 
 rather the pigs, here eat by way of soup ; and then, again, 
 the unpacking of the luggage under the shade of a door porch, 
 while the conductor of the mail was every instant urging me 
 to make haste under pain of his being obliged to leave me 
 behind. After having gone i8 leagues from Antwerp, we 
 entered the kingdom of Holland by a little landmark on 
 the Belgian side of a toll turnpike gate. We arrived next at 
 a beautifully fortified town, called Breda. We were then 
 driven by a coachman instead of a postillion, and were no 
 onger tormented with the monkey-like absurdity of whip 
 cracking peculiar to France and Belgium, but had the way 
 cleared by a bugle horn, which, of course, was more effective 
 and by no means annoying to our ears. About eleven at 
 night we reached a miserable pothouse, where we unloaded 
 the mail, preparative to crossing the Waal, which here is 
 joined by the river Meuse and becomes unusually large, and 
 from about a quarter past eleven till a quarter past twelve wc 
 were on board a large boat making the passage, during which 
 it was novel to see the quantities of Dutch fishermen casting 
 their nets by the light of the half moon and lanthorns. We 
 
214 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY April 
 
 landed at a very outlandish-looking place, called Gorcum,. 
 where, it being necessary to look very sharp after our baggage, 
 we were, owing to the want of better light, in some confusion. 
 Having no servant, I had to scramble up the quay with 
 all my things at my back, and though laden like a jackass, 
 not a soul offered to assist me or any other passenger ; and,, 
 as not a word but of Dutch was spoken, I could not, at the 
 moment, request any help. After being detained about an 
 hour in a large melancholy room, where pipes were offered us,, 
 and where we got some excellent hollands, we proceeded in 
 a different kind of voiture, like an English Jarvey, on most 
 cruel grasshopper springs, and with our new conductor, who 
 had passed the river Waal with us, but who spoke nothing 
 but Dutch. In short, all was pantomime for me after landing 
 in this new world, and the only interpretation I could get was 
 from two of my fellow-passengers who spoke French, but so 
 ver}7 so-so, and who were by no means obliging with what 
 little they did know of that language. They both smoked, of 
 course, all the journey. This mail, I should observe, shook 
 so dreadfully that I was literally bruised all over, and the 
 noise of it was in my ears for two days after leaving it.^ The 
 horses, however, were good, fine, spanking animals, sixteen 
 hands high, and although we had only a pair, we went at the 
 rate of seven miles an hour. The roads in Holland are most 
 admirably good, being paved with hard white brickwork, and 
 as level as a billiard table. At break of day we reached Vianen, 
 where we were ferried over the Rhine, mail coach, horses, and 
 all, on huge masses of floating timber, very different from what 
 is commonly known as a ferry boat.- At daylight we got to 
 Utrecht, and here the extraordinary change in the style of 
 houses and country appeared as if we had awoke from a 
 dream ; and all the way from this place to within a short 
 
 ' By such a shaking a gummy fellow would have been laid up for six weeks ;. 
 but the foreigners invariably take a warm bath after it. 
 
 - In the course of the journey we passed in like manner all the large dykes, 
 which were too broad for the drawbridges. 
 
iS2i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 215 
 
 distance of Amsterdam was lined with gentlemen's country 
 seats, than which nothing could be more novel to an English- 
 man, or more beautiful to an admirer of nature and art. Here 
 every ditch was literally boiling and bubbling with the motion 
 of the finest fish, and, for twenty miles, the fields and marshes 
 were swarming with green plover and other marsh birds. 
 
 26tJL — About nine o'clock in the morning we arrived in 
 the most extraordinary-looking town of Amsterdam, where 
 the mail took me and my baggage from the post office to the 
 Doelen Inn, the best hotel in the place, kept by a Mr. Cottu, 
 a Frenchman. The moment you enter Amsterdam your 
 respiration is literally suppressed by the suffocating and putrid 
 smell arising from the large, black, stagnant ditches which run 
 through every street in the town, with trees on their banks. 
 The town of Amsterdam is built on piles in the midst of a 
 contagious morass, and is so unhealthy that, out of a popu- 
 lation of 200,000, the deaths average 9,000 a year. Not 
 wishing to have my carcase left here, I lost no time in seeing 
 the curiosities of the place, and, instead of going to bed, hired 
 a lacquey, who spoke good French, to whom I paid 2 florins 
 a day, and a curricle, for which I paid 2 florins an hour, as the 
 hackney coaches are, in the greater part, built like sledges 
 and go without wheels. First I saw the King's palace, a 
 magnificent building, though situated in the horrid town. The 
 most striking object here was the large ball room, which is 
 160 feet long, 100 feet wide, and about 80 feet high, and 
 which they told me was the ' largest salle in Europe.' This 
 may, or may not, be the case, but certainly I never saw any- 
 thing equal to it. 
 
 Next I saw the Felix Meritus, an institution to promote 
 all the arts, which here are very laudably encouraged, and 
 where there is a concert room considered the best in the 
 world, I suppose for sound, as it was nothing extraordinar}' 
 in size or splendour. 
 
 I then inspected the Nieuwe Kerk, where the cover or 
 
216 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY April 
 
 rather canopy over the pulpit is the most magnificent piece 
 of carving that can possibly be imagined ; and then the old 
 church, where there is some very fine glass painting, done in 
 the year 1555. 
 
 The Exchange was my next object, and a very curious 
 one ; it is spacious and good in the extreme, built on arches 
 over the bog and water, and of course well thronged, as there 
 are no less than 30,000 Jews in Amsterdam. Would that I 
 could have heard them in their synagogue, which a gentleman 
 told me was scarcely to be distinguished from 10,000 cats, 
 dogs and ducks in full concert. We then drove to the Pont 
 Amoureux, the ramparts, the Plantage and other places of 
 pleasure in this extraordinary place ; and by the way I omitted 
 to name the only spot in which I could find any comfort, or 
 even breathe, and that was the top of the Palace, from whence 
 I had, without exception, the most novel and the most beau- 
 tiful panoramic view that I ever beheld. 
 
 After having seen everything that was worth seeing, and 
 taken my dinner as I would a pinch of snuff, to save time, 
 I got home quite exhausted about dusk, and just as I had 
 got into a sweet sleep, I was obliged to get up to receive 
 Mr. Fodor, the Clementi of Holland, about my hand-moulds 
 for the piano. He was so delighted with them that his appro- 
 bation was worth the journey to me ; and ]\Ir. Steup, the 
 celebrated music seller, was to have seen them also, but was 
 prevented, though he took a copy of my book on music, with 
 a view, no doubt, of translating it into the Dutch language. 
 So much for Amsterdam, which, miserable as existence in this 
 town is, I would not have missed seeing for 100 guineas. 
 
 27//^. — Up at daybreak, and having taken plenty of 
 Madeira the previous night, and fortified m}'self with 
 Huxham's tincture of bark this morning, I took the first 
 packet for North Holland. We had a short passage across 
 an arm of the sea, and were then towed by a horse 
 and landed at the little village of Buiksloot. The first 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 217 
 
 thing when you arrive in Holland, you are offered a pipe 
 gratis, but they make you pay pretty dear ^ for what, from 
 necessity, you are obliged to drink with it : here, however, 
 I played the old soldier, being armed with a fine ham given 
 me by my friend Radcliffe at Brussels (and without which, by 
 the way, I should have starved when at Gorcum), and a cold 
 chicken. I instantly hired a curricle, for which the fixed 
 price is ten florins, and proceeded for Broek in this still more 
 extraordinary part of the world. The people here are the 
 m.ost cleanly known. (So neat was the inn at Broek 
 that, on cutting my pencil, I, to avoid giving offence, 
 carried the shavings out of doors to prevent dropping them 
 about.) I proceeded in a curious-looking curricle, drawn by 
 fine large high-spirited Gelderland horses, along a danger- 
 ously elevated bank by the side of dykes, and was requested 
 not to put up my umbrella, which I wanted to shade me from 
 the intense heat, being informed that I was ' liable to a 
 penalty,' I suppose through danger of frightening the horses 
 of the other vehicles. I inspected the noted village of Broek. 
 Here the carriage is left at an inn, as this place is only acces- 
 sible on foot. The village is built round the banks of a beau- 
 tiful little lake, and the streets are cleaner than any English 
 kitchen. The outsides of the houses are most of them orna- 
 mented with carving and gilding, and in short are as clean as 
 the inside of an English drawing room. No one dare enter the 
 inside of these houses. The inhabitants are a \'ery rich and 
 independent people, insomuch that I was informed, though I 
 believe it to be a lie, that the Emperor of Austria was made 
 to take off his boots before they would allow him to enter a 
 cottage at Broek. The houses are most charming ; never could 
 the hackneyed phrase of ' earthly paradise ' be better applied 
 than to this heavenly little place. To name all I could describe 
 
 ' Holland is by regulation the clearest country I ever was in next to England, 
 but the Dutch do not impose on you so much as the French and Belgian inn- 
 keepers and tradesmen. 
 
218 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY April 
 
 would take a quarto volume ; but, among other remarkable 
 things I noticed, the houses have one of their two doors which 
 is never opened except for a marriage or a funeral. Instead of 
 sparrows, the village is swarming with starlings, which, as the 
 houses are very low, might be killed with a whip from every 
 tree, every chimney, and every kind of perch that they can 
 crowd upon. The storks also are equally tame, and build 
 within a few yards of you on the low trees and chimneys. 
 These birds are the arms of the Hague ; and this is the reason 
 that there is a heavy penalty for killing them or taking their 
 eggs. Among the innumerable neat cuttings of box and 
 other evergreens, here is a whole menagerie of birds and 
 beasts with ships &c. ; in short, I may go on for ever about 
 Broek, but have no time : suffice it to say, that to see it is 
 even worth a voyage of sea sickness for two days. The 
 place is not the least like anything European, but more like 
 China. We then drove back to Buiksloot for the other 
 drive — to Saardam. Here the wall on which we drove was 
 made delightful by a refreshing breeze from the Het (or T'ye) 
 on the left, and on our right was an object not a little inte- 
 resting to Peter Hawker, the chasseur Anglais — a marsh 
 swarming with birds of every description : ducks, teal, curre, 
 shovellers, spoonbills, snipes, storks, great snipes, plovers &c. 
 within shot of the road and bidding defiance to me as I waved 
 my hat at them. How my fingers itched for my Joe Manton, 
 much more for my duck gun. At Saardam we could drive 
 about, as the town was all bricked like the floor of an English 
 kitchen. Here I entered the cottage inhabited by the great 
 Czar Peter of Russia while he worked in disguise as a ship 
 carpenter, and I also sat in his arm-chair. 
 
 At a quarter past one we reached L'huys, and crossed the 
 narrow part of the salt water in a boat. Thus, b}' bribing the 
 driver to go fast, and eating in the carriage, I was enabled to 
 make this usual tour in North Holland, and with strict obser- 
 vation, in an unusually short space of time. Here, by the 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 219 
 
 way, as well as in the other parts of Holland, the waggons are 
 curiously driven ; there are so few hills, and those so trifling 
 that they have neither pole nor shafts to the carriages, but the 
 driver, if descending, puts one foot to the horses' hind quarters, 
 in order to keep back the vehicle. 
 
 At half-past one I got back to Amsterdam, and at two 
 started in a curricle for Haarlem to hear and play on the 
 wonderful organ. By bribing the driver, I went the three 
 and a half Belgic leagues in a little m.ore than an hour ; and 
 hastened to the house of the organist, Mr. Schumann, who 
 luckily was at home, but who never plays under the regulated 
 price of twelve florins. He first played me the Hallelujah 
 Chorus, which had a tremendous effect ; next, an imitation of 
 the human voice, which was wonderful ; and last, an extempore 
 storm, in which I defy the strictest observer to distinguish the 
 thunder from that of nature, and in which the rain, and the 
 storm birds singing before the tempest, with the solemn echo 
 of the church, had an effect on the feelings which surpassed 
 any sermon that even Mr. Pitman, Mr. Penfold, or Dr. An- 
 drews could have preached. I then ascended the loft, and in- 
 spected the gigantic instrument, which the sexton told me has 
 5,300 pipes ; played on it, in my miserable way, for some time ; 
 took the organist to the church porch, delighted him much 
 with a sight of my hand-moulds for the piano, gave him a pro- 
 spectus of them, shook hands with him and galloped off to a 
 little Dutch house to save the Hague diligence. Here I was 
 somewhat adrift, as the dictionary which my friend the Baron 
 de Tuyll, Chamberlain to the King, had lent me, could not 
 conveniently be got at in this hurried moment. I said ' Tea,' 
 put my finger in my mouth, and showed the old woman of the 
 house some eggs : she brought two raw. I turned all into the 
 bowl together, bread, &c., swallowed my mess like a pig, held 
 out a dollar for her to take payment, and jumped into the 
 Hague diligence at half-past five. This machine (were it not 
 that the Dutchmen all smoke inside) would have beat an}' con- 
 
220 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY April 
 
 veyance in Europe for the combination of safety, comfort and 
 expedition ; it is like a parlour on wheels, though not very heavy 
 considering, and carries nine people ; the three centre scats are 
 fine leather arm-chairs, and there are two large windows on each 
 side, four spanking Gelderland horses, capitalcoachman, English 
 harness ; pace eight miles and a half an hour, roads all smooth 
 brickwork ; fare, five florins and fourteen francs. Coachman 
 allowed no fee for himself, but paid by his proprietor (a good 
 regulation). Reached the Hague, 30 miles, by nine o'clock, 
 and quartered at the ' Marechal de Turenne,' kept by Mr. 
 Handel, a very civil man, whose waiters were most pleasant, 
 civil fellows, and spoke French fluently, as well as himself 
 Here I was again cJiez inoi ; took a pill to set me at ease, and 
 went to bed. 
 
 28///. — Intense heat ; hard walking and pills being rather 
 derogatory to the safety of my health in a strange land, and 
 with not a soul who cared for anything belonging to Peter 
 Hawker but his money, I sported a phaeton and a valet de 
 place, and having cleaned and sweetened myself a little, I 
 drove off quite a dandy to see the lions in and round this 
 beautiful, lively and clean town. We proceeded for two 
 miles (on a fine brick road) through a heavenly wood and 
 double avenue of trees to Scheveningen, where the open sea 
 and sands burst upon your view, after clearing the village, 
 where the fishing boats were innumerable, and the Dutchmen 
 all in a bustle landing their fish for the market, this (Satur- 
 day) being the grand day. The fish is drawn to the Hague, 
 in small carts, by either two or three large dogs, and in many 
 of these droll machines a boy sits up and drives like a coach- 
 man. 
 
 On the shore I met with a very intelligent Dutch fisherman 
 named Maarten Vanzon, who had been in our navy for many 
 years, and who spoke English perfectly well. This was the 
 first time I had heard my own language since I left Brussels ; 
 and on no occasion could I have better had recourse to it. 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 221 
 
 as I was anxious to know about the wild-fowl shooting- on 
 
 o 
 
 rhe Dutch coast ; it proves to be as I always suspected, 
 that when the marshes are frozen the birds nearly all leave 
 Holland, because the coast rarely affords mud for them to feed 
 on, and consequently they all repair to England in quest of 
 food, save and except those birds which may be kept in the 
 private decoys. 
 
 The shooting in Holland is, in a word, then, magnificent in 
 the extreme during the open weather, when your life is in 
 constant danger of disease, and good for nothing in a hard 
 frost, when the climate may be encountered with safety. At 
 Scheveningen the fishing boys are a great plague, asking for 
 halfpence ; and when I gave a few to some of them, they had 
 a battle royal in the style of Crib and Belcher, the pugilists, 
 the sight of which was well worth what I had given. 
 
 After leaving this place, we drove to ' The Elouse in the 
 Wood,' the nominal residence of the King, who, by the way, 
 when in Holland, generally goes off to the Grandes-Eaux, a 
 place in Gelderland, I suppose to have good health. At the 
 House in the Wood I was much gratified by the Salle d Orange, 
 an octagon room in which there were some magnificent Van- 
 dycks, Rubens's, &c. ; but my pencil memorandums of the sub- 
 jects having dropped from the carriage, I must sa}' (like a 
 blockhead) that ' the pictures were very fine,' without giving an 
 artist-like description of them. There was a most elegant 
 Chinese room, with a vulgar, citizen-looking glass chandelier, 
 and a most inferior half-Chinese room with the handsomest 
 china chandelier I ever saw. Were I chamberlain, I would 
 advise the good King to change them. I recollect being very 
 much struck with a composition of Rubens, on the subject of 
 the assassination of William ; and also his picture of copper- 
 smiths at work. The triumph of the Prince of Orange, too (by 
 Jordaens) is a most colossal picture, as it covers a whole panel 
 of this splendid salle. We then went back to the Hague and 
 saw the King's cabinet, where I was ten times better pleased 
 
222 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY April 
 
 than in the Louvre at Paris, because all the pictures are good. 
 What a feast for an artist ! A man must be a brute who 
 could not enjoy this exhibition. Here is a cattle painting by- 
 Paul Potter, that cost 100,000 florins, and is the best of its kind 
 in the world ; and the inside of Delft Church in two views by 
 Hoeckgeest, that have an effect which beggars all the archi- 
 tectural pictures I ever set eyes on. 
 
 Next, the Palace. Here is all the comfort of old England 
 instead of the splendid misery of France. The Dutch are 
 proud to copy us in comfort, and therefore must become the 
 next greatest nation to us. The French are above it, and will 
 therefore stick in the mud all their lives through their cursed 
 pride. Here we see English grates, carpets, and everything 
 proper for a cold winter's day, and the rooms may be entitled 
 to a word of which there very properly is no French transla- 
 tion — ' comfortable.' The ballroom is chaste and grand, the 
 family portraits good ; and although a trifle, yet every man of 
 feeling must admire the nursery, where the good Queen has 
 taken such pains to place little objects for the amusement 
 of the little Princess Mary Anne, who sleeps close to her 
 bedroom. 
 
 Next, the bells at the Hague. I mounted the tower of St. 
 James and remained half stunned though much delighted 
 while they played ; examined the barrel and machinery of 
 wires by which they moved ; gave the tiger a florin, and after 
 viewing from on high Delft, Rotterdam, and all the other 
 places round this fine green country, descended and proceeded 
 to the fish market. Here four live storks are kept, as the 
 arms of the town ; and the stand of dog carts, and the stable 
 or mews of harnessed dogs, are drolly interesting. Hastened 
 home : exhibited, by appointment, my patent piano hand- 
 moulds to Madame Van den Bergh, the female Clementi of the 
 place. Left my sporting work, for the benefit of the Dutch, 
 with Mr. Vandef ; swallowed my dinner, and flew to the theatre. 
 Here they play French and Dutch alternately ; and, luckily 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 223 
 
 for me, French to-night, so that I could judge better of the 
 acting. Here was a comedy of which I forget the name, and 
 have not time to look for the bill ; but, in a word, their comic 
 acting is better than ours, though inferior to that of Paris ; 
 and, on the other hand, in serious strains they are superior to 
 the French and inferior to the English. Theatre small, toler- 
 ably neat ; two good pillars on each side of the stage ; house 
 badly lit up with eight pairs of poor oil lamps, suspended in 
 a circle from a plain white ceiling. Three tiers of seats ; pit 
 very respectable, and when the act scene dropped, the whole 
 of the people from thence adjourned to walk the streets and 
 groves of trees, having each received a card to return, with 
 merely the word ' sortie ' printed on it. Orchestra pretty 
 good and strong. People very well-behaved during the per- 
 formance, no whistling or blackguard cries from the gallery 
 hke England, but all quiet and attentive like Paris. People 
 extremely civil in directing one home at night, and, in short, 
 very well disposed towards an Englishman without any 
 flattery or humbug. 
 
 29///. — Sunday. Went to the Dutch church. Their cere- 
 mony, Protestant, is different from ours, as to the mere form. 
 They have no bishops, so much the better, but are governed 
 by a sort of commission appointed by the King. After the 
 First Lesson was read, we had a most powerful crash of 
 ill-tuned voices, with a very ve7y fine organ ; immediately 
 after which about 300 people adjourned and sat down to a 
 table, precisely like the one where the Eton boys sup at 
 Surley Hall on June 4. Here were all the way down the 
 table plates full of white bread, and in this form the Dutch, 
 it appears, receive their sacrament, while the clergyman, 
 who, by the way, has more energy than most of our sticks of 
 parsons, prays for them. The doors being closed for this 
 ceremony, I had a difficulty to make my escape, and the situa- 
 tion I was in would on any less solemn occasion have been 
 a good subject for mirth. 
 
224 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY April 
 
 lOtJi. — After discharging my bill, which for Holland was 
 very reasonable, at this comfortable inn, the ' Marechal du 
 Turenne,' I entered the mail curricle cart, a branch from the 
 Amsterdam mail, at eight o'clock this evening, and after going 
 through Delft, halting for some time at Rotterdam, and pass- 
 ing across the rivers Yssel and Leek, reached Gorcum, 14 
 leagues, at five o'clock on the morning of the 30th, and here 
 it is that the Hague mail and passengers are resigned to that 
 of Amsterdam. 
 
 N.B. — In driving out of the Hague we went at the rate of 
 near 14 miles an hour, with two fine spanking Gelderland 
 horses, which never once broke out of a trot, and although we 
 went to Delft at the average rate of 10 miles an hour, yet we 
 were three-quarters of an hour before we reached this place, 
 which, the courier of the mail informed me, was ' a league and 
 a half only,' not quite halfway to Rotterdam, which they call 
 4 leagues ; consequently I am convinced that the leagues in 
 this country, where they call them ' 3 miles English,' must be 
 very much underrated, particularly as I have been all my life 
 in the habit of making pretty accurate judgments with regard 
 to time in travelling. 
 
 We again, after waiting an hour to sort the letters &c., 
 passed the great river Waal in a kind of small craft with- 
 out a deck, and had an extraordinarily rapid passage of 
 ten minutes. The Waal, I should observe, is passed with 
 the baggage, mail bags and passengers, as follows : in a dead 
 calm, by a large rowboat ; in wind, by a kind of vessel ; 
 when half frozen, by a boat and people to beat away the ice ; 
 and when thoroughly frozen, so as to bear well, by a boat 
 with skates to the keel, and in full sail on ice instead of water, 
 provided there is wind enough to drive it over the ice. We 
 landed at the little public-house on the opposite bank called 
 ' Het Vecrhuis,' where we embarked last Wednesday in 
 the night, and here there was a great confusion owing to the 
 bustle of landing an immense train of caravans, carriages, 
 
1 82 1 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY 225 
 
 and horses, belonging to the celebrated rope dancer, IMadame 
 Sachi, who was proceeding for Amsterdam, and whose mother 
 interpreted to get some breakfast for the Spanish Consul (my 
 fellow-passenger) and myself My return from this tour was 
 just in time, as last night the fine weather changed to rain and 
 wind, which continued for the greater part of this day. The 
 mail, by the bye, goes without even letting out the passengers, 
 over every river and dyke except the Waal, which, having 
 a conflux of the Rhine and other rivers, would sometimes be 
 too dangerous. Madame Sachi's stupendous caravan, how- 
 ever, was this day shipped on it, horses and all, in a huge 
 ferry boat. 
 
 Having entered our Belgian mail coach, we got under way 
 in this part of Holland, and I was most fortunate in my 
 companion, a consul and a marshal in the Spanish army. 
 We fought over our battles in the Peninsula ; and he being 
 also so great an amateur musician as to have composed several 
 operas, was not a little agreeable to me as a companion ; and 
 from his mania for the pianoforte I was induced to open the 
 box, and explained to him my hand-moulds, with which he 
 was the most elated of anyone to whom I had shown them. 
 This most agreeable man and I were tcte-a-tctc to Antwerp, 
 where we exchanged cards, shook hands, and took leave. His 
 card was — 
 
 Le Chev*^^ de Beramendi, 
 
 Intendant des Armees d'Espagne ; 
 Consul-General de S.M.C. 
 
 Au Royaume des Pays-Bas. 
 
 Having regaled myself with the remains of my cold 
 ham and a chicken, with other refreshment, in the coach, 
 which I advise everyone to do on this road, and partaken of 
 some good things with my Spanish friend, I was, luckily, 
 enabled to enjoy the time allowed for dinner (a miserable 
 dinner) in Antwerp ; took a hasty inspection of the cathedral, 
 where there is some extremel}' fine carving, ancient architec- 
 
 VOL. L Q 
 
226 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY April 
 
 ture, &c., and, above all, two remarkably fine Rubens' pictures 
 of our Saviour on the cross ; on the left the elevation to, and 
 on the right the descent from, the cross ; and there is like- 
 wise an excellent ^Nlorillo of St. Francis. The statues of 
 St. Paul and St. Peter give a fine effect to the sortie from 
 the aisle of this church. 
 
 Just in time for the mail, which I had all to myself to 
 Brussels, where we arrived at the general post office at half- 
 past eight, and by nine I was in my house, where I found 
 Mrs. Hawker pretty well, and was not a little delighted at 
 what I had seen, and at having got so safely and rapidly 
 over.^ My expenses, in all, were about i8 napoleons. 
 
 Distance Leagues 
 
 From Brussels to Amsterdam . . . .44 
 
 Amsterdam, by Haarlem, to the Hague . . 9 
 
 From the Hague to Gorcum . . . . 14] ^ 
 And Gorcum to Brussels . . . . 25 ) '^ 
 Tour in North Holland, exclusive of water passages 8 
 
 100 
 In all, at least 400 English miles, and saw all in six days. 
 
 May yth. — Having a leisure evening, I went to inspect 
 the ancient cathedral of St. Gudule. It was not my intention 
 to waste my time in compiling memorandums of a city so 
 well known as Brussels, which, from its infinite superiority 
 over every town on the Continent, and over some towns in 
 England, for cleanliness, beauty, and I may also add the word 
 unknown on the Continent, comfort, is too well acquainted 
 Avith by all British travellers to require description. 
 
 The cathedral of St. Gudule, however, cannot be passed 
 over with impunity. The Gothic architecture of this superb 
 building is fine in the extreme. The old carving of the pulpit 
 by Henry Verbruggen, of Antwerp, is, perhaps, of the kind, 
 the finest in the world ; it represents Adam and Eve driven 
 
 ' Being thus safely lodged in my own house again, I, in order to counteract 
 all risk of disease, fever, or bile that may be brought on by fatigue, took the 
 doctor's curse, or, in other words, a dose of calomel, and went to bed, by which 
 means I never was better in my life than the third day after my return. 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 227 
 
 out of Paradise, and Death appearing to them. The globe of 
 the earth forn:is the body of the pulpit, and over the canopy 
 is the Virgin and the infant Jesus bruising with the cross the 
 head of a huge serpent, which curls round the tree that sup- 
 ports the pulpit, and raises its erected head to the canopy. 
 The carvings of Christ, the Virgin, and the Twelve Apostles, 
 are fine specimens of statuary, and the old painted glass is 
 no less worthy of observation. Here are sixteen chapels, 
 accessible from different parts of the aisle. In short, the 
 architecture, sculpture, and carving, both in wood and iron, 
 of this cathedral, are well worth a long journey, to any lover 
 of art or antiquity. 
 
 gtJi. — This was the birthday of the little princess, and 
 we had a grand parade of the 6th Hussars, a very prettily 
 appointed Dutch regiment, and the first regiment of infantry. 
 The trumpets of the former and the band of the latter were so 
 admirably fine, that this parade was to me quite a musical as 
 well as a martial treat. The cavalry were very steady while 
 they were inspected, and their horses were well drilled in 
 trotting past ; but, unfortunately, the officer of the right 
 division, being perhaps a better man for battle than for show, 
 destroyed the whole order of the column by trotting too fast, 
 and putting the rear in a gallop. The appointments of this 
 regiment were extremely good, and so were the horses. I 
 disliked the manner of carrying their swords, which, instead 
 of sloping with the hand advanced, they bore nearly erect 
 with the elbow squared. The infantry were not so steady 
 under arms as the cavalry, one fellow scratching his ear, 
 another putting his cap right, &c. They marched past much 
 quicker than we do, and their ordinary time was nearly equal 
 to our quick march ; and I was at a loss to guess how the 
 officers could salute in time with the foot. No one, however, 
 but the commanding officer, who was mounted, saluted the 
 general. The pioneers had saws as well as axes, and, on the 
 whole, had a look fierce enough to frighten away everything but 
 
228 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY May 
 
 an Englishman. I could not resist the foregoing trivial 
 remarks, having been myself so long a dragoon, and now a 
 jolly militiaman. In the evening I went to the Grand Theatre, 
 or Opera House. The salle is, on the whole, good, but, like all 
 others abroad, badly lit up, and the audience dressed more fit 
 for the diligence than the boxes. As, however, only fools 
 think about dress, I merely remark this because it detracts 
 from the good effect which is produced by the more graceful 
 appearance of a London audience. We had first a vile opera 
 called ' Le Tresor Suppose,' and then Voltaire's tragedy of 
 * Mahomet,' in which Talma, whom I had before seen in Paris, 
 performed. The plot of this tragedy is, to my mind, so horrid^ 
 and the ending so unsatisfactory,^ that I could scarcely help 
 reflecting that it was written by one who is probably gone to 
 the devil himself; and in Talma's acting, however fascinating 
 to Frenchmen, I could observe nothing particular, except that 
 at the end of almost every sentence he concluded with a sort 
 of twang not much unlike the bellowing of an old ram, and 
 shook both his hands in the air like a man struck with the 
 palsy.'^ There was, however, one scene really well acted, and 
 the first in my life played by Frenchmen that ever made me 
 shed a tear ; but here it so happened that Talma had nothing 
 to do."^ The Prince and Princess of Orange were near to the 
 
 ' Since making this remark, I have to apologise to Voltaire, having ascer- 
 tained that he had, in this tragedy, a particular view in making vice triumphant ; 
 namely, the Pope had prohibited his works, and, out of spite, he wrote the tragedy 
 of ' Mahomet,' as an indirect attack upon his Holiness, and thus he left Mahomet 
 in full possession of all his empire, after the most outrageous acts of villany. 
 
 - In making this remark I reflect more on the French taste than Talma's 
 acting, as I am informed that he is obliged to sacrifice his own talent to comply with 
 their ideas of tragedy, for which the generality of the French have about as much 
 natural disposition as they have for religion : none at all. Had Talma proper 
 judges, or rather men of feeling, to play to, we might be led to hope he would 
 perform very differently, 
 
 ^ The scene to which I allude was the one between Seide, played by Bouchez, 
 a Brussels man that I had never before heard of, and Palmire, by Madame 
 Petipa. The former was really good through the whole piece, but his acting in 
 this scene, just before he is compelled to murder his father, really does credit to 
 his talent. 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY 229 
 
 Ambassador's box, where Baron Tuyll's party and we sat ; 
 the audience, on the entrance of each of these personages, 
 rose, and gave a short round of applause. 
 
 \ltJi. — Hired an excellent coach (for 6\ francs), and went 
 with Mrs, Hawker to pay a visit, and pass the forenoon with 
 the Countess of Bentinc (the governess to the Princess Mary 
 Ann) at the heavenly palace of Laeken, which is about 4 
 miles from the suburbs of Brussels. Lady Antoinette (her 
 daughter) was so kind as to show us the beauties of this 
 charming place, among which we were most attracted by the 
 magnificent hall and dome. The views from the hill on 
 which Laeken stands are charming, as you look down on the 
 most delightful pleasure grounds, with a lake and a yacht 
 on it, and have the city of Brussels and other picturesque 
 objects in the background. The orangery here is particularly 
 fine, and has in its collection several trees that (Lady Ben- 
 tinc told me) have been there since the time of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella, which must be 200 years ago. When in Paris, 
 however, or rather at Versailles, I saw some orange trees 
 which, I think, were 300 years old. 
 
 \/\th. — Previously to this day, I had taken a place in the 
 mail to accompany Baron Tuyll to Namur, with a view of 
 proceeding from thence to Liege in a curricle. We were to 
 stop at his chateau on the banks of the Meuse (between these 
 two places, which is the most beautiful part of Belgium), and 
 then to go and see the famous Mr. Berleur's manufactor}- of 
 cheap guns &c. at Liege. After having done this I should 
 have gone on to Aix-la-Chapelle, to pass my hand-moulds 
 and publications into the Prussian frontier before returning to 
 England. I was so unwell all this morning, however, that I 
 felt but little disposed for a journey on bad roads of 230 
 miles, which this (going and returning) would have been. I 
 nevertheless rallied as well as I could, and at two got into the 
 mail ; but the shaking of the wooden roof made my head so 
 bad, that when we got to Waterloo, I found it would have 
 
230 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY May 
 
 been madness to proceed, and luckily there was at the inn 
 there a butter merchant for whom a very fair cabriolet was 
 waiting at the door. He readily agreed to give me a seat 
 back, but would accept of nothing till I insisted on his letting 
 me treat him to a bottle of hock (which was here very good 
 for 3 francs), and I of course had the consideration to remain 
 patiently in durance vile till he and his friend had finished it, 
 while I sipped at a glass and pretended to drink also. He 
 drove me home to my own door, and nothing could exceed 
 his good nature and civility. I was, how^ever, an hour and a 
 half remaining on the staircase of my hotel, as Mrs. Hawker, 
 w^ho (from illness) had gone out to take an airing, had taken 
 with her the keys of the rooms, as is always customary on 
 the Continent. 
 
 i^tJi. — Having last night taken a little magnesia and gone 
 to bed quietly, I was this day very w^ell ; whereas if I had 
 proceeded I might have been dragged in this constant wet 
 weather just far enough to be accommodated with a sick 
 bed, where I had no servant, and where, being in Prussia, I 
 might scarcely have made myself understood. 
 
 i8//j. — Having now most satisfactorily settled my busi- 
 ness abroad (with a view to circulating my patent, publica- 
 tions &c. at Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, &c.), I 
 have no longer any business on the Continent, and as Mrs. 
 Hawker has never been w^ell w^hile at Brussels, I, of course, 
 could not think of staying here for pleasure. I have there- 
 fore this day packed up everything preparative to quitting 
 to-morrow. 
 
 19//?. — Hired a pretty good chariot, and at eight o'clock 
 this morning started post from Brussels for Ghent, w^hich 
 is 7 postes (about 39 long English miles), and where we 
 arrived (by means of paying the postillions well) at two o'clock. 
 We put up at a magnificent house called Hotel de la Poste. 
 We had three horses ; the postillion rode on the near wheeler 
 and drove the others, and we went very fast. Here we could 
 
1 82 1 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 231 
 
 get on by means of paying well, but the few times that I 
 posted in France I found that nothing could put the brutal 
 baboons out of their jog-trot. If you have four people in the 
 carriage you pay for one horse more than is actually taken, 
 whether you have three or four. We paid 6 francs a post, 
 and 3 francs (double the regulation) to the drivers, and the 
 barriers or toll gates averaged one franc per post. In short, 
 to bring the matter to a calculation that may be easily 
 recollected, I should say that every ten miles (to do the 
 business handsomely and comfortably) cost a trifle within a 
 napoleon. 
 
 Having refreshed ourselves while in the carriage with cold 
 tongue, chicken and Madeira, we lost no time in seeing the chief 
 objects in this fine town, which is the capital of Flanders. 
 The first thing to which we directed our attention was a col- 
 lection of some of the finest original pictures in Europe, a 
 great part of which has been considerably more than a cen- 
 tury in the possession of the proprietor, who, as well as his 
 forefathers, has always been one of the greatest amateurs of 
 the age. The enjoyment of the treat which this admirable 
 cabinet affords can only be obtained by favour, as the collec- 
 tion is all the private property of this gentleman, whose name 
 is Schamp. The servant, however, on having it explained to 
 him that I was a British officer, made no hesitation in letting 
 me and Mrs. Hawker in, and as soon as he saw that I just 
 knew enough of pictures to be fond of looking at them, he 
 withdrew, and was joined by his master, who was most 
 kind in his attention and who seemed delighted with our 
 admiration. Instead of an hour we required at least a day ; 
 suffice it therefore to say that he has about eighteen very 
 fine Rubens' pictures, one of them in imitation of Teniers, 
 which being quite different from his usual style is deemed a 
 valuable relic. He has also a landscape by Rembrandt, 
 which is another novelty rarely, I believe, to be met with. 
 He has the best Teniers, and one of the best Ruysdaels I 
 
232 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY May 
 
 ever saw. Here is, in my humble opinion, the finest painting 
 of fruit that can possibly be conceived, which he told me was 
 done by Heem (Jean David). To speak of the Vandycks, 
 the Murillos, the Rembrandts &c. would absorb my whole 
 evening ; suffice it therefore to say that Mr. Schamp had in 
 his collection some of the best pictures of almost every master 
 I have ever heard of, and of many that were never before 
 named to me. Of course we here saw the Flemish school to 
 great advantage, and though I have no pretensions to judg- 
 ment, yet I was highly delighted. 
 
 We next explored the celebrated cathedral of St. Bavon. 
 The first grand object is the pulpit, which I have observed, 
 with scarcely any exception, are, in the churches throughout the 
 Netherlands and Holland, magnificent in the extreme, both for 
 excellence of design and superior carving. This one, done by 
 Laurens Delvaux, in 1745, is a combination of wood and the 
 finest marble, exquisitely carved, and represents an aged man, 
 to whom an angel, trampling on the globe of the earth, opens 
 the book of life. At the head of the church, or chief altar, we 
 have a splendid carving of St. Bavon, and the choir on each 
 side of the aisle is formed of pure marble with such matchless 
 carvings on the tombs of seventeen bishops, which have been 
 interred, that I am only surprised at not having heard them 
 more publicly spoken of Among the finest, I was particularly- 
 struck with that of the third bishop of Ghent, in alabaster ; 
 and the seventh bishop with a mosaic portrait over the tomb. 
 The choir of this cathedral is surrounded with numerous 
 chapels, which, of course, have each a fine altar, and old 
 paintings, among which is one very fine by Honthorst, done 
 in 1733 ; and another, which the Flemish sexton told me 
 was ' the very first picture that ever was painted in oils,' and 
 that it was above 400 years old. The correctness of this as 
 to dates and truth I leave to others to discover, as I merely 
 write at the moment from what local information I can collect. 
 The huge massive brass doors of the chapels are quite a 
 
1 82 1 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 233 
 
 novelty, no less for their stupendous weight than the pains it 
 must have cost to carve them. The two gigantic candlesticks, 
 sent from Charles the First of England, are moulded in enor- 
 mous masses of bronze, and I should guess about eight feet 
 high. I omitted, among the paintings, to name one of the 
 Paschal Lamb, by Van Eyck, done in the year 141 5, which 
 painting is in the Venetian school and still retains its brilliant 
 colour ; and also the Resurrection of Lazarus, by Van Veen, 
 the master of Rubens. The church of St. Michael, too, has 
 some paintings worthy of a short observation, and, of course, 
 a beautiful pulpit. 
 
 We then saw the botanic garden, the fine public library, 
 and the ancient building which is used as the Hotel de Ville. 
 We strolled afterwards about the town with our guide, who 
 spoke very good English, and had been in Spain in the same 
 action with myself and in our service. He showed us a piece 
 of lumber called a cannon, left ages ago by the Spaniards, 
 which was about two feet in calibre, and would have required 
 a small tea table for a wadding. We then listened to some 
 very fine bells at the town belfry, which is a tower adjoining 
 the prison, that is remarkable as having been the place of 
 confinement for starvation of the old man who was kept alive 
 by being suckled by his own daughter, and who was con- 
 sequently pardoned. I observed all the dogs were muzzled 
 in the town, and on inquiry I learnt that such is the dread of 
 mad dogs in Flemish towns, that the police have orders to 
 destroy every dog which they see loose without a muzzle. 
 For the purpose they are provided with balls of poison, and 
 there they lie about in every direction, as much for the sake 
 of getting the dogs' skins, as for any other reason. The 
 streets of Ghent are cleaner and superior to the old town of 
 Brussels ; but just after seeing the new and upper town of 
 Brussels, one views almost every place abroad with dis- 
 content. 
 
 20t]i. — x'\t half-past eight this morning we started for 
 
234 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY May 
 
 Bruges, in one of the celebrated Ghent barges, which in the 
 Dutch and Flemish languages is called a treckscJiuyt, and 
 which may be considered almost as a floating cook's shop. 
 During the whole passage nothing but eating and drinking was 
 the order of the day. We paid ^\ francs each for ourselves, 
 3i francs each for our servants, and i^ franc for our baggage, 
 and had a most sumptuous dinner into the bargain. At a 
 little before one o'clock we sat down to some of the best- 
 dressed dishes that I ever saw put on a table : two sorts of 
 fish, meat, poultry, made dishes, &c. We had two regular 
 courses, besides a third, which included the dessert. After 
 witnessing th^ superior performance of the cook in a Ghent 
 barge, I was not so much surprised to hear that gourmands 
 often make this excursion expressly to satisfy their gluttonous 
 appetites, and that one idle man whose chief resource was, like 
 many other foreigners, that of chattering and stuffing himself^ 
 actually lived in the Ghent barge for six of the sumimer 
 months, by way of a cheap residence, where he could gratify 
 the fancies of his little mind and great appetite. 
 
 At a quarter before three o'clock we stepped on shore at 
 the quay in Bruges, which from Ghent is 8 leagues by water, 
 and 9 by the paved coach road. After walking through the 
 streets, which were very clean though very dull, and taking a 
 hasty peep into a fine church, we went on board a barge, 
 which goes to Ostend, and to which all our things were 
 wheeled in a barrow for the regulated price of 1 5 pence. The 
 captain had collected about a hundred passengers, whose 
 chatter resembled a pack of hounds in full cr}', and to this he 
 added an obbligato accompaniment of a large hand bell, with 
 which he summoned them on board. We started at four, and 
 by half-past six got on shore at Ostend, having been towed 
 by four horses, with the aid of a sail, four leagues, in two hours 
 and a half Ostend from Bruges by the pave or coach road 
 is 6 leagues. On stepping ashore at Ostend, nearly all the 
 commissioners who were sent to beat up recruits for the inn- 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 235 
 
 keepers were Englishmen, which made the place appear to us 
 like the landing on a British shore ; and when we got to the 
 Hotel d'Angleterre, kept by a Mr. Nicholson, there was not a 
 foreign article or a foreign person to be seen about the 
 premises. It was literally an England in Belgium. I spent 
 the evening in viewing the very fine fortifications, the harbour, 
 and the beautiful sands which distinguish the shore at this 
 place, and then retired, much in want of rest, to a good honest 
 English four-post bed. 
 
 2ist. — Having now got safe to Ostend, we had to make 
 our choice of two inconveniences : either that of a long passage 
 to England, or to have another filthy French journey of 
 about 60 miles to Calais in order to shorten and have less 
 hazard in our passage. With a lady there would be no 
 hesitation in favour of the latter, particularly as we have no 
 reason to expect that any packet will sail before the day 
 after to-morrow (Wednesdays and Saturdays being the only 
 days), were it not for the following unpleasant circumstance, 
 viz. all those travellers who enter France from Belgium are 
 so tormented at the French frontier custom house, by Dun- 
 querque, that the conduct of these douaniers is the talk of 
 everyone. They have literally taken the handkerchiefs from 
 gentlemen's necks, and are so greedy to get possession of 
 everything which they can make an excuse to seize, that 
 they may rather be considered as a banditti than officers of 
 a lawful king ; and, according to report, they are insolent in 
 the extreme. Having at present excellent quarters, with 
 beautiful weather and a fair wind from Ostend, we therefore 
 decided that we would, at all events, wait here a day or two 
 longer. After taking a comfortable English breakfast, Mrs. 
 Hawker and I went out for the whole morning with an 
 English commissioner, who explained to us every trifle in the 
 town. The fortifications, the barracks, the sluices, the new 
 works &c. are worth a morning's inspection, and the breeze 
 from the sea is so delightful after the marshy air of Belgium 
 
236 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY May 
 
 that its salubrious effect on us was like magic. Having in 
 case of accidents provided myself with a letter from Mr. 
 Messel, the banker, of Brussels, to his correspondent, 
 Mr. Herrewyn, of Ostend, I called on this gentleman, who, 
 among other acts of the greatest politeness, took me up to 
 his observatory, from whence I had a fine view of the sea and 
 town. Ostend has so delightful a sea breeze, and the streets 
 are so free from the offensive smells with which you are an- 
 noyed in most foreign towns, that were I to be exiled through 
 disgrace, debt, poverty or extravagance, I should certainly 
 choose this as my head quarters, notwithstanding there is 
 here some trouble in getting supplied with good fresh water. 
 
 22nd. — Had I not been detained this day I should have 
 lost a sight of what I think the best worth looking at of any- 
 thing in Ostend, and which never was named to me — it is 
 the Fort Napoleon, a wooden lighthouse at the mouth of the 
 harbour, to which you have access by an immensely long 
 range of planks, and where the depth of water (which is from 
 14 to 20 feet) is ascertained in the night by a kind of sunk 
 pendulum that rings a little bell, and from this an old man, 
 who is appointed to the station, makes by different lights his 
 various signals to the captains of vessels who may wish to 
 enter. 
 
 With the hope of being able to start by the packet of to- 
 morrow, I this day discharged my bill at Mr. Nicholson's 
 hotel ; and it is but justice to observe that for comfort, 
 accommodation, civility and cheapness, I never in my life was 
 in such an admirable inn. We had everything in abundance 
 of the very best kind, and our expenses were literally cheaper 
 than if we had bought the articles in the market. Every 
 traveller is bound in justice to proclaim Mr. Nicholson and 
 the ' Rose ' inn or Hotel d'Angleterre of Ostend. 
 
 2ird. — Embarked this morning at five o'clock on board 
 the * Prince of Waterloo ' packet with Captain Page, a very 
 honest, obliging man. We got under way at a quarter past 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 237 
 
 five, and at half-past twelve dropped anchor alongside the 
 quay at Ramsgate, having sailed from harbour to harbour, 
 considerably above 60 miles, in about seven hours. We 
 might have eaten an eight o'clock dinner in London had it not 
 been for the custom-house officers, who at this port, although 
 civil, are more troublesome and more strict than at any place 
 I ever entered. We had a gale of wind with showers and 
 squalls for the last two-thirds of our passage. The pas- 
 sengers on landing at Ramsgate are summoned to the 
 custom house to be personally searched ; and but for a few 
 masterly manoeuvres I should have lost all my little bagatelles. 
 It is only by a miracle that I contrived to save anything I 
 had ; never did I meet such a set of devils to outwit as the 
 custom-house officers of Ramsgate. I believe I was the only 
 one but what had something taken away from his or her 
 effects. But reverting to the officers of Ostend, they are 
 altogether as lenient, and particularly in leaving the country ; 
 for here, instead of giving, as is usual, a search (though of 
 course less rigid than on landing), they gave no search at all, 
 but merely delivered a permit for the embarkation of our 
 baggage, by which we had not even to unstrap a single 
 portmanteau. After passing two hours at the office of these 
 infernal Ramsgate sharks, with my wits as much on the 
 stretch as if I had been pleading at the bar, I got into a 
 small inn (for the convenience of the morning coach) called 
 the Royal Oak, where I had good accommodation, with most 
 excellent fish, a very reasonable bill, and much more civility 
 than if I had gone, as a mere dirty traveller, to one of those 
 kinds of hornet's nests where you are fleeced with powdered 
 waiters and wax candles, such as Wright's Hotel at Dover 
 &c., and where you pay 50 per cent, extra. 
 
 24///. — Left Ramsgate at seven this morning, and at four 
 arrived at Hatchett's Hotel, where we were driven up to the 
 Dover Street door by a coachman who was not only civil but 
 who had more gentlemanly manners than half the people 
 
238 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY May 
 
 I have met at the Court of St. James's. I suspect this man 
 had seen better days. 
 
 26///. — On this day (by the way, it snowed and was as cold 
 as in January) I returned by the SaHsbury coach to Long- 
 parish, where I, thank God, found all my family well. During 
 all our travels we never lost or broke a single article, because 
 we had everything numbered and classed for its place, which 
 plan I should always recommend, and particularly to young 
 travellers. 
 
 The foregoing memorandums were hastily scribbled at 
 such hurried moments, and in such awkward places, that to 
 put them into language sufficiently good for a common letter 
 would require a revision of the whole ; but as I am now very 
 busy on concerns of more importance, and as they were com- 
 piled merely to amuse a few of my particular friends, who 
 would rather seek for my information than my faults, I shall 
 not waste my time on any corrections. If, therefore, this 
 elegant piece of syntax should fall into the hands of a word- 
 catcher, I can only say that I will correct literary errors as 
 fast as he may find them, conditionally that he gives me a 
 bottle of wine for each ; and if he meets with any such mis- 
 take subsequent to my revision, I will, as a punishment for 
 my ignorance, give him a dozen of wine, and if a dandy a new 
 pair of stays. By saying this, far be it from me to presume 
 where I have not the slightest pretensions, but merely act on 
 the defensive against some of those half-educated machines 
 who are so fond of saying, ' This fellow cannot write English,' 
 and who seek for the leaves on the tree rather than the effect 
 of the landscape ; in short, people who look at their words 
 as a lady would examine a piece of Brussels lace before they 
 either write or speak, and who, if probed, are generally found 
 to possess about as much genius as a donkey. 
 
 June 1st. — As of late years I have not fished regularly, but 
 merely taken my rod as a recreation, when friends were at 
 Longparish, or when I wanted trout, I have discontinued 
 
i82i COLOXEL HAWKER'S DIARY 239 
 
 keeping any account of my own performances ; but the number 
 of fish broucfht in to our house durinsr this month has been 
 exactly 212 brace, of which nine-tenths, of course, were given, 
 or sent, to our friends. 
 
 July \tJL. — Went to London, relative to my hand-moulds ; 
 transfer of some stock to the French funds ; to see about fresh 
 boring and breeching my swivel gun ; to try about getting 
 a patent for the cure of smoky chimneys ; and to hear the 
 celebrated pianoforte player Moscheles, &c. 
 
 ZtJi. — Having executed all business to my satisfaction, 
 and had the delightful treat of hearing Moscheles, I this day 
 returned to Longparish House. 
 
 August 6t/i. — Went to London concerning a purchase in 
 the French funds, my patent &c., and to inspect the new 
 breeching and boring of my single stanchion gun, of which I 
 saw the means of improving. The plague that I had to super- 
 intend this latter work, Mr. Joseph Manton being unfit for 
 business from an accident, was more troublesome than a suit 
 in Chancery. After journeys to Fullerd's, in Clerkenwell, con- 
 stant attendance at a forge during the hottest time I ever felt 
 in London, we got the gun so far forward that I was promised 
 it by Saturday morning, and took my place per coach for home. 
 Delays, however, occurred ; and I, determined to carry my 
 point, as it is my rule, waited at Manton's till near twelve 
 at night on the Friday ; when the huge furnace that was 
 required to harden the stupendous breeching, set Joe's chim- 
 ney on fire, and we had a grand uproar with a row, engines, 
 &c. : nevertheless, I carried my point ; for we got the fire 
 out, finished the gun, and I brought it off in triumph, per 
 Salisbur>^ coach, on Saturday, the iith inst., when I arrived 
 with it at Longparish House. 
 
 Weight of gun since reboring : Barrel and breech, 58 lb. ; 
 stock, lock &c. 20 lb. ; swivel, 5 lb. Total, d>2, lb. 
 
240 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 1821 
 
 September \st. — The corn being so much in the way this 
 season, I had made every attempt to postpone the shooting, 
 but to no effect ; and no sooner was it dayhght than old 
 Payne and his son, two vagabonds under the toleration of Mr. 
 Widmore, were popping away before my house. I, therefore, 
 turned savage and sallied forth to follow the birds, and I did 
 wonders considering the dreadfully bad behaviour of the young 
 dogs I had to shoot with. I bagged 38 partridges, and shot 
 and lost in the barley, while the dogs were running off wild, 
 8 partridges, and also 2 snipes, which these dogs mauled to 
 pieces in the reeds, but would not bring to me. Making in 
 all, knocked down, 23 brace of birds and 2 snipes. 
 
 ird. — 30 partridges and I wood pigeon, with only missing 
 one long shot, as I was, this day, not tormented with wild 
 young dogs. 
 
 ijth. — Had an extraordinary day, under all circumstances. 
 I went out at ten and was home by two. In consequence of 
 domestic misfortune I was so unwell as to be forced to take 
 bitters for the nervous state I was in. I had young dogs that 
 behaved most infamously, and literally obliged me to race, in 
 order to save the few shots they would let me get. The day 
 was windy, and the birds wild ; notwithstanding all, I bagged 
 20 partridges, besides 3 shot dead and lost, without missing a 
 single time, with killing 4 double shots, and making good 
 some very long snap shots. I made one singular shot with the 
 
821 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 241 
 
 rapidity of lightning, viz. 5 birds rose at about 40 yards ; I 
 cut down and bagged 4 (just as they were in Hne together) at 
 a shot with the first barrel, and knocked down the fifth bird 
 in most handsome style with the second barrel, making in all 
 23 birds in 20 shots. 
 
 Game killed in September 1821 : 152 partridges, i hare, 
 5 snipes. Total, 158 head. 
 
 October ist. — Lord and Lady Poulett left me, after our 
 passing together two most agreeable days and musical 
 evenings. Not a pheasant on my estate, so no more covert 
 shooting, unless I choose to go for it to the many friends who 
 have invited me, but whose invitations I am neither in health 
 nor spirits to accept. 
 
 ^rd. — Went to Sir Thomas Baring's at Stratton Park. 
 Killed, in about five hours, 12 partridges, 12 hares, and i 
 pheasant, the only one I shot at, besides 4 birds winged and 
 ■lost. This was merely my own share of the day's bag, though 
 it happened to be the best share. 
 
 4th. — Returned to Longparish. 
 
 6th. — Joined the North Hants Regiment, which this day 
 assembled at Winchester Barracks for twenty-one days' 
 training. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Colonel having resigned, I was strongly 
 recommended by Lord Rodney for the command, but the 
 Duke of Wellington, although he admitted I had the ' best 
 military claims in the county,' would not allow me the pro- 
 motion in the event of being able to find a man of higher 
 rank ; and, therefore, I have been in suspense ever since the 
 middle of August, for the mere hazard of this eligible step, 
 which always before was quite certain to be mine as soon as 
 the Colonel recommended. What with this and family mis- 
 fortunes, I could only support myself for duty and the mess 
 by constant stimuli, and the state I have been in would have 
 even gained me the pity of my greatest enemy. 
 
 26th. — The regiment was broken up again, and the flatter- 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 ing manner in which my brother officers, without one dissenting 
 voice, expressed a wish (and even wanted to memorial) for 
 my promotion, was most grateful to my feelings. 
 
 2JtJi. — Returned to Longparish, after a farewell dinner the 
 previous da}-. 
 
 November 2nd. — Went to Winchester, to wait in durance 
 vile while the Duke of Wellington was passing the final sen- 
 tence about my promotion, which, luckily, his Grace decided 
 in my favour ; and I then, with my mind greatly relieved on 
 this subject, proceeded to Lord Rodney's, at Alresford, where 
 I took my dinner and a bed. 
 
 'jtJi. — Went again to Lord Rodney's, for the express pur- 
 pose of showing his bailiff and keepers the proper plans for 
 getting the wild fowl on his most admirably fine pond (after 
 the plan of a decoy hut, as I had seen in France). 
 
 Waited at the pond from five this evening till seven the 
 next morning ; but the bailiff having persisted, contrary to 
 my advice, in choosing a very ill-judged position for the decoy 
 hut, we never got a shot all night ; whereas if he had complied 
 with my suggestions, we should have had most excellent 
 sport. 
 
 8///. — Killed 2 teal and i snipe, and at night waited about 
 six hours more in a new hut. Owing to the rough weather, 
 perhaps, the fowl would not leave the water meadows, and 
 only one duck came to the pond, and this immediately 
 pitched before the spot I had now chosen, and was killed by 
 the bailiff, who relieved me in the duty of sentry there, by 
 which he was convinced of the goodness of my plan, as well 
 as my choice of the place. 
 
 <^tJi. — Walked in the water meadows from half-past nine 
 till five, till my feet (with the water boots) were literally raw. 
 I killed 2 mallards, 2 wild ducks, 4 teal, 2 jack snipes, and I 
 snipe, with coots, moorhens, &c., in short, returned with a bag 
 ciiinium gatJiennn, besides having lost several excellent chances 
 hrough downright bad luck. Just before dusk I finished with 
 
1 82 1 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY ?.4S 
 
 storming the armies of starlings that roost every night in the 
 reeds on Alresford Pond. The first shot I fired nearly half a 
 pound of small shot with a shoulder duck gun into about an 
 acre square of these birds, and how many I killed I know not ; 
 but I can swear to having shot 105 at a shot, because we 
 picked up 96, and counted 9 lying on the pond ; and these, 
 I expect, were not near the half of what must have fallen 
 to the gun. We kept up the attack till above a bushel and a 
 half were bagged, and how many more may be found by 
 daylight will remain to be proved. 
 
 \otJi. — Having put Lord Rodney's people in the proper 
 method for everything concerning the management of his 
 pond and decoy hut, I this morning, after having passed my 
 time most agreeably, returned to Longparish House. 
 
 \\tJL — Having previously sent forward all my canoes, 
 punts, baggage &c. I this day left Longparish for Keyhaven 
 Cottage, where I was met by my gunner, James Reade, from 
 the Isle of Purbeck. 
 
 15///. — A very good show of wigeon, considering the 
 mild wet weather. The tremendous hurricane and rain 
 would only admit of my going afloat for a few hours this 
 evening. 
 
 \gtJi. — 16 wigeon. I got a shot at about 50, but the 
 night was so dark, and the tide falling so fast, that I got none 
 but what we killed quite dead. This is the first time I have 
 fired at birds with the stanchion since it was fresh bored and 
 breeched by Joe Manton. 
 
 2\st. — Went to Poole to superintend the building of my 
 large boat, and take out the licence for her under the name 
 of the ' Wellington.' 
 
 22nd. — Arrived back again at Keyhaven this evening. 
 
 2ird. — I brent goose, and another, that fell on the tide, 
 lost. The first geese seen off Keyhaven this year. I bore 
 down on them in a gale of wind, and fired the stanchion at 
 about 1 50 yards, flying. Owing to the bad weather, this is 
 
244 COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY Nov. 
 
 the first shot I have fired since killing the i6 wigeon on 
 the 19th. 
 
 24/// and 25///. — A constant series of wet, windy days, and 
 every bird driven away to the leeward part of the coast. 
 
 26///. — I this day received from the Duke of Wellington 
 my Lieutenant-Colonel's commission, which was dated the 
 1 5th instant. 
 
 2'jth to ^otJi. — Incessant hurricanes from the westward, 
 and not a bird left on this part of the coast, as nothing can 
 live to windward. 
 
 December ^tJi. — Availed myself of the still dreadful weather 
 to superintend the finishing of my boat, the * Wellington,' 
 and receive my licence for her from the London custom 
 house ; and accordingly this day went to Poole. 
 
 6tJi. — Had great plague with my gun and boat, in con- 
 sequence of the workmen having deviated from my plans. I 
 was obliged to remain all this day, all the 7th, and all the 8th 
 at the hotel in Poole, to be at the elbows of the boat builders. 
 I had everything pulled to pieces and changed to my own 
 plan, and then, as I expected, it answered admirably. The 
 uproar of about 100 men and boys dragging the boat to the 
 water, and the christening of her, was a laughable scene. I 
 returned to Keyhaven (in my punt on wheels) with post 
 horses, by moonlight, on the night of the 8th. 
 
 ZtJi. — On returning from Poole at night I heard of a few 
 fowl, and, instead of going to bed or sitting down to rest, I 
 drove my canoe to the shore, took her off the carriage, launched 
 her in the rain, and got (just before midnight) 3 wigeon. 
 
 N.B. — This chance at a few birds is the first that Key- 
 haven has afforded to anyone since my shot on the 19th 
 ultimo. 
 
 wth. — After a succession of 22 days' terrible weather, 
 we had this day the pleasure to have one fine morning, and 
 got 2 brent geese and 4 wigeon. 
 
 2\st. — After eight days more of the most dreadful weather 
 
i82i COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 245 
 
 that ever wind and torrents of rain could produce, I being 
 almost sick from confinement to the house, drove, for a 
 change of air, to pass a couple of days with Mr. Bertie 
 Mathew at Lyndhurst, and returned on the evening of the 
 23rd, when the whole county was inundated ; people in 
 many parts dying like rotten sheep ; doctors flying in all 
 directions ; and, in short, no enjoyment for any creature but 
 doctors, undertakers, and other human reptiles that fatten on 
 the misfortunes of others. Thank God, however, except a 
 slight sickness through the whole house from which scarcely 
 anyone has escaped, we have been, on the whole, as yet^ 
 extremely fortunate. 
 
 28/// — The weather, which has, day after day and week 
 after week, been most hideously abominable, this day came 
 to such a tremendous hurricane that the whole valley could 
 be compared to nothing but the very rage of battle. Key- 
 haven is no longer a village, but a sea. The tide is so tre- 
 mendous that the breakers literally rage and foam against the 
 houses, while the incessant rain is pouring in torrents, and the 
 whole population here are driven to their attics ; no communi- 
 cation from house to house except by boats, which can scarcely 
 live in the sea that washes our doors ; and the breakers which 
 are bursting at us, as if threatening to swallow our very 
 houses, present a scene most awfully grand. But the distress 
 of the poor people is more calculated to excite our feelings 
 than the inconvenience to ourselves. Thank God we are 
 somewhat less inundated than our neighbours, having as yet 
 saved all our boats and property. We have our punts 
 floating at our door in the street ready to rescue our family 
 in case of danger. What a scene ! Shutters, doors, and pails 
 afloat ; birds killed while diving and washed up by the tide ; 
 and, in short, the best representation I have yet seen of a 
 second deluge. My dear children, instead of being alarmed 
 or ill, were amused with the scramble ; and I by way of aping 
 Nero (who fiddled while Rome was burning) sat at my old 
 
24G COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 humstrum, and boggled through a given number of Bach's 
 fugues. 
 
 2C)th. — Before this evening the waters had entirely abated, 
 and we found that we had the good fortune not to have 
 sustained the slightest loss or damage in the deluge, though 
 some of our neighbours have suffered severely. No prospect 
 yet of weather in which we can even attempt to shoot. 
 
 30/// and 3ii"/. — Most deplorable wind and rain from the 
 westward. Never, never can we see a prospect of even 
 tolerable weather. The oldest inhabitants, and the greatest 
 judges here, consider this everlasting wet wind as a phe- 
 nomenon that baffles all their judgment. Let us hope, not 
 only for our sport, but for the farmers and the poor, and 
 reasons of more consequence, that 1822 will give us a more 
 cheerful prospect of weather. 
 
 1822 
 
 January gth. — Having taken calomel, and suffered severely 
 all yesterday, I was this day considerably better ; and we 
 have now the pleasure to see fine weather. 
 
 loth. — Got pretty well. Fine weather, but more like 
 May than January. At last had the pleasure of discharging 
 a gun again, and killed i brent goose. 
 
 nth and \2tJ1. — As hot as May-day, and not a bird to be 
 seen or heard either day or night. 
 
 February 8///.— It being now twenty-eight days since I 
 have heard, seen, or even heard of a wigeon, I this day had 
 my guns cleaned up, and discharged my account with Reade. 
 
 Game &c. killed up to nth of February, 1822: 164 
 partridges (shot but one day since September), 13 hares, 
 8 snipes, i pheasant, 4 wild ducks, 6 teal, 44 ^^■igeon, 9 brent 
 geese. Total, 249 head. 
 
 The worst wild-fowl year ever remembered by the oldest 
 man on our coast. The most unpleasant season I ever shot 
 
i822 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 247 
 
 in, and the most unhappy period of my Hfe and affairs in 
 general that ever I experienced. 
 
 March ^tJi. — Returned to Longparish from Keyhaven. 
 
 May gth. — Unwell as I was, I mustered resolution to go 
 to London to attend Cramer's concert, where I heard such 
 an exquisite duet as may rarely be given during a man's life, 
 between J. B. Cramer and Moscheles, on two pianofortes, 
 
 June 2nd. — Removed to Longparish, of course with con- 
 siderable pain from my late illness. Met Lord and Lady 
 Poulett, and their little son, Viscount Hinton, on my arrival. I 
 was all the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in torture day and night with 
 the gout, and on the latter day, while I had Colonel Hay and 
 other friends, besides Lord and Lady Poulett, with me. 
 
 August igth. — 2 teal and i wild duck, also another wild 
 duck that the dog let go from his mouth, that I never re- 
 covered. 
 
 Teal here, in summer, are very rare. I marked them 
 down while fishing ; there were 3 in number, and I bagged 
 2 at a shot, flying, although a long way off, and with a very 
 small gun. The ducks I killed in front of the house. Four 
 pitched down, and by means of going on my stomach, all the 
 way to them, I got so near that if they had sat one instant 
 longer, I must have stopped all four of them, notwithstanding 
 I had no ambush whatever but the mere ground that I crawled 
 on. 
 
 26th. — Started about five this morning, with my own 
 horses, and from Andover took four post horses, in order to 
 have the whole day's inspection of the hitherto inaccessible 
 mansion of Mr. Beckford at Fonthill, which is now open to 
 the public by guinea tickets, under the plea of an intended 
 sale by auction. The uproar which the admission to this 
 Abbey has made all over the country led me to expect more 
 than, perhaps, any place in existence could have afforded, and 
 consequently I was rather disappointed in finding that the 
 tout ensemble was by no means superior to some other places 
 
248 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug.. 
 
 that I had seen. To enter into particulars would be needless, 
 when I have Rutter's flowery description, and also a specific 
 catalogue of every article ; but I shall make a few remarks. 
 The western entrance to the Abbey, by the Gothic doors, 
 the baronial hall, and the library, with every costly cabinet 
 that unlimited expense and incessant research could pro- 
 duce, surpassed (as a coup d'ceil) for neatness, elegance, and 
 classical arrangement, all that I had ever seen. Nothing 
 could be more tastefully displayed than the various cabinets, 
 of the most ancient china, which were no less in variety than 
 the costly gems and exquisite workm.anship with which the 
 other innumerable ornaments were composed. 
 
 I found the view from the tower to be one of the finest 
 and most extensive panoramic views that I could conceive, and 
 the Gothic architecture of the building is exquisitely magnifi- 
 cent, but here must end all that need be especially remarked 
 in approbation of Fonthill, and on the whole I should say that 
 its chief ornaments were more calculated to adorn the boudoir, 
 or dressing-room, of a princess than to give imposing grandeur 
 to the mansion of a wealthy Englishman. The paintings were 
 very fine, but the collection did not appear to me to be so ' far 
 beyond comparison ' as was reported by the Gullivers and 
 Baron Munchausens for which the town of Andover is so cele- 
 brated. The most striking ones to me were, the ' Entombment 
 of a Cardinal,' by Van Eyck, and ' Christ in the Garden,' by 
 A. Mantegna ; the latter, particularly, is very justly styled in 
 the catalogue ' a very surprising and valuable early specimen.' 
 
 The grounds are most extensive, insomuch that the guide 
 informed me there was one walk of sixteen miles. Rutter, how- 
 ever, calls it the nine-mile walk, and I should rather trust to 
 his authority. But nothing can be more monotonous than the 
 objects which are here in view : one endless tract of neatly 
 mown grass walks, or rides, all thickly wooded and without 
 a single cascade, fountain, grotto, figure, or obelisk, and with 
 no other view of water than a long lake which is almost ob- 
 
i822 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 249 
 
 scured, instead of being heightened in beauty, by the seques- 
 tered valley in which it lies. 
 
 The gardens, and, in short, the whole domain, I presume, 
 remain unfinished, when I see the contrast between them and 
 the Abbey itself, which was well worth the drive, although the 
 distance altogether, including about ten miles that we drove 
 and walked in the grounds, was about ninety miles. I got 
 home to Longparish House by nine o'clock at night, having 
 travelled most furiously and made about seven hours' very 
 diligent inspection of the place. 
 
250 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 1822 
 
 September. — Having been for a long time so unwell with a 
 nervous complaint, that I have had neither strength nor spirits 
 to enjoy anything, I have made no provision for shooting, 
 having only two moderate dogs. Never did I look forward to 
 sport with so much indifference, and were it not for the pleasure 
 of supplying my friends with a little game, I would gladly 
 have laid aside my gun. 
 
 \st. — This being Sunday, shooting began next day. 
 
 2nd. — Never do I remember the first day of shooting so 
 very unfavourable for filling the bag. No turnips, no good 
 clover ; the stubbles as much beaten down and as thin as in 
 November. A strong wind all day with drizzling rain at inter- 
 vals. The very worst scenting day I ever was out in, and the 
 birds quite as wild as in December. Annoyed by greedy 
 shooters in every direction, who made the birds even wilder 
 than they otherwise would have been, by disturbing every 
 covey on the feed, blazing after them at random, and scouring 
 the whole country from daybreak, so that I, weak and unwell 
 as I was, had enough to do to bag even 24 partridges, which 
 is far more than were killed by the other parties. 
 
 '^rd. — 18 partridges by incessant perseverance, while so 
 unwell that I could scarcely hold my gun. Had I been 
 able to shoot as usual, I should have done about as well as 
 yesterday. 
 
 5///. — The country had been so driven by shooters, and the 
 
i822 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 251 
 
 wind was so high, that scarcely a bird was to be got at ; after 
 fagging all day and till I almost dropped down with weakness, 
 I at last got one shot and killed i partridge, and then being too 
 unwell to continue shooting I came home. 
 
 yth. — Having pretty well cleared the country of unquali- 
 fied pothunters, I got this day a quiet beat, and bagged i6 
 partridges and i snipe, without missing a single shot, and 
 making several very long shots. 
 
 wth. — It being folly to attempt shooting in such a time 
 of hurricanes, and the ground as dry as sand, I this day went 
 fishing, and had some good sport in a very short time ; my 
 largest trout was a very little under 2 lb. weight. 
 
 ijth. — I, seeing the impossibility of sport, did not go out, 
 but Captain Capel and Mr. Richards, with good dogs, and 
 both old sportsmen and steady shots, started, and, after 
 beating our very best country, never got but one random 
 shot, and they literally came home with an empty bag on a 
 fine sunshiny day. 
 
 iZtJi. — The difficulty of killing birds put me on my metal, 
 and my friends, defying me to get even 3 or 4 brace, made 
 me desperate. I therefore quacked myself up with tincture 
 of bark, sal volatile, and spirits of lavender, to give me artificial 
 strength for a grand field day, and, aided by markers of 
 cavalry and infantry, I attacked the birds in right earnest (and 
 when I do this I have never yet failed), and in spite of an 
 execrably bad scent, and a gale of wind from the east, I 
 bagged 15 partridges (and another shot dead and lost) and 
 I hare without missing a shot. Though I shook like an old 
 man of seventy, I never shot more brilliantly. I of course 
 suffered no other gun to interfere with me, and therefore went 
 alone, so that I could follow up the game at speed when the 
 markers gave the signal, and do as I please, whereas if I have 
 friends, I always lose two-thirds of my shooting by wishing 
 to accommodate them with the cream of the sport. 
 
 2\st. — Being sadly in want of game, and seeing everyone 
 
252 COLONEL HA\VKER\S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 beat by the birds, I quacked myself up again with sal volatile, 
 bark, and lavender, and, aided by the same good markers, I 
 bagged 12 partridges, 2 snipes, and i jack snipe, without 
 missing a shot. 
 
 In the last two days I shot with my beautiful new deto- 
 nating gun, and I have killed with it 28 partridges, 3 snipes, 
 and I hare, without missing a shot. 
 
 26///. — Was prevented going out or doing anything till 
 this day through illness in the house, and being also unwell 
 myself. I went out merely to try for a brace of birds for the 
 doctor, who had been a repeated attendant, and in an hour 
 and three-quarters brought home 6 partridges, 3 snipes, and 
 2 jack snipes. 
 
 Game &c. killed up to the end of September 1822 : 108 
 partridges, 3 hares, i rabbit, 1 1 snipes, 2 wild ducks, 2 teak 
 Total, 127 head. 
 
 October. — The pheasants here are annihilated ; conse- 
 quently I made no attempt at October shooting. 
 
 2ird. — Having heard that 3 pheasants had by the high 
 winds been blown on my estate, I assembled a levy en 
 masse, headed by the ratcatcher and some field-marshal 
 poachers, as if to attack a tiger, and before night I had all 
 three in the larder, after their giving me and my banditti a 
 chase that was far superior to an average fox hunt. 
 
 28///. — At night took some decoy birds and waited at the 
 river for some hours, and though a beautiful moonlight and a 
 white frost, I never saw or heard but one duck, which the call 
 birds brought round several times, but too high to shoot at. 
 Our duck shooting (like our pheasant shooting) is nearly anni- 
 hilated, owing to the breaking up for water meadows of Lord 
 Portsmouth's bogs, called the Parkses. 
 
 November 15///. — A grand bustle through the house in 
 consequence of a man having run in with information of a 
 woodcock. I marched against him, followed by a rabble, and 
 in a few minutes flushed him and bac^^ed him. 
 
i822 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 253 
 
 25///. — Having previously sent on my baggage &c. I this 
 day left Longparish for Keyhaven, but more with the view of 
 changing the air for my health than any prospect of sport, as 
 the westerly winds are, as usual at this season, annihilating 
 all chance of getting either fishing, fowling, or sailing. 
 
 December 2?^^.— After all shooting had been precluded by 
 several weeks' continual westerly winds and rain, we had this 
 day the pleasure to see better weather, and took a sail in the 
 * Wellington' with the stanchion gun and large mould shot, 
 and got I brent goose, I believe the first killed this season by 
 anyone in this country. Went afloat at night, and towards 
 morning bagged 2 v/igeon, 5 being all we saw, and the first 
 that I had seen or heard of since my arrival ; I killed them 
 under the moon with the stanchion gun, so we have now made 
 a little beginning. 
 
 3r^. — Out again the whole night and never saw a bird, 
 and the same complaint all along our coast. 
 
 6th. — Every day west winds, and no fowl. I had this day 
 the mortification to have blown off and then sunk in the creek 
 the most beautiful detonating lock, that I was so proud of 
 contriving, and such a long time getting Manton to make. I 
 used every kind of drag to no purpose, and the last hope will 
 be the next spring tide. 
 
 12th. — Having now an easterly wind, I, with my crew, 
 sailed In my large boat the ' W^ellington ' at five o'clock 
 in the morning, and beat all the way up to the mouth 
 of the Beaulicu river, having twice stood out to the Isle of 
 Wight in a heavy sea before we could fetch our point ; we 
 then sailed down, and saw an immense fiock of geese, but no 
 wigeon. 
 
 On our return about three in the afternoon we renewed by 
 every possible means and invention our search for the gun 
 lock, accompanied by a man named Thomas Mallard, who 
 said he dreamt last night that the lock was found about a 
 yard from the post, and in a line for the ' Duke's Head ' 
 
254 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Dec, 
 
 public-house, where he cagerl}' kept probing with a long eel 
 spear, to no purpose for some time ; and, as the tide fell a 
 little lower, we shovelled under the water as well as we could, 
 till all hope of finding it was at an end. Mallard then, still 
 inspired with a kind of presentiment by his dream, went to 
 his old spot again, although we felt confident the lock was far 
 above that place, and, most extraordinary, he suddenly struck 
 something hard ; down he ducked and up he brought the 
 lock, to my great satisfaction and still greater astonishment. 
 
 i^tli. — The weather has been variable till this day, when 
 it is again north-east but without cold or frost ; w^e have since 
 the 2nd got 5 wigeon, 5 curlews, 2 teal, and 3 godwits, 
 which, little as it is for our hard labour, is the best, by far, 
 that has been done here. In the evening, killed 2 godwits, 
 and at night tried the new system of shoving the swivel gun 
 and punt over the mud, and firing by guess. We had but a 
 poor chance, the birds were so thin and scattered, but we got 
 I wigeon, and, by the spattering on the mud, suppose I 
 must have stopped some more. 
 
 227zd. — Up to this day we have got but 5 more wigeon. 
 The weather is now frosty, and plenty of birds are, at last, to 
 be seen ; but, as we expect, about three gunners for every 
 flock of birds. The excellent shots that we have had spoiled 
 by vagabonds, who kill nothing themselves, is really pro- 
 voking. 
 
 28///. — To this day, 3 wigeon, 2 brent geese and i 
 mallard. A fair show of birds ; but at no one hour of the day 
 or night can we have time to paddle to a flock before some 
 infernal Christmas popgun is discharged, and the wigeon are 
 sprung by the flash on the shore. This night, we were within 
 half a minute of firing into about 200 wigeon, close to us, 
 when a rascal discharged some popgun on the shore, and 
 sprang them. 
 
 Up to the 31^-/. — 9 wigeon and i brent goose. 
 
i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 255 
 
 1823 
 
 January 1st. — Launched a little punt on my own plan,, 
 to carry nothing but the swivel gun, in order to shove it along 
 on the mud, and fire with a string to the trigger. While 
 chiselling down the bow to fit the gun, a golden plover 
 pitched on the mud, and, after shoving a little towards him, I 
 fired the gun, and killed him at exactly lOO yards ; got, with 
 my hand gun, also a mallard, after a race, as usual, against a 
 gang of shore shooters. 
 
 2nd. — 5 brent geese at one shot ; at night fired with my 
 little canoe by guess on the mud, heard several birds flutter, 
 but it being quite dark, and I having no dog, got none of 
 them at the time. 
 
 3r</. — Killed, at about 200 yards, 4 brent geese and 2 
 wigeon, besides a towered bird that fell at sea. 
 
 N.B. — The scoundrels, on the shore, make a practice of 
 discharging some powder and then claiming the dead birds 
 that float in to them from my shots, while I am getting the 
 outside ones. 
 
 6th. — 4 brent geese. 
 yth. — I brent goose. 
 2>th. — 4 brent geese. 
 
 N.B. — Was coming home from Lymington, in almost 
 a calm, with my children, on board the large yawl the 
 'Wellington,' saw 16 geese, and, to my astonishment, they 
 let us get within about 1 80 yards of them, while shoving with 
 the oars, and a boatful of people. As soon as I saw them 
 stretch their necks to fly, I drew the trigger of the swivel 
 gun, and, to my no less astonishment, down came 4 of them, 
 although they were so thin that I had scarcely the breadth of 
 more than 4 to shoot at. 
 
 gth. — 6 geese ^ and 3 wigeon, after, as usual, a proper 
 
 1 As brent geese are almost the only ones here, I shall, in future, put down 
 merely the word 'geese.' 
 
256 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 scramble against other boats, which we outmanoeuvred most 
 gloriously. 
 
 \otJi. — Killed, at a shot, with the stanchion gun, at 
 about 1 50 yards, 2 pintails and 3 wigeon, all dead ; also a 
 mallard of a singular plumage, which I believe to be a Dutch 
 fowl. 
 
 wtJi. — Had 3 beautiful shots spoiled by the other gun- 
 ners, and got only i wigeon. 
 
 13///. — II geese, killed 6 at the first shot, and 3 ducks, 
 and lost, of course, several more that were picked up by 
 the shore sharks, who lounge about with guns for that 
 purpose. 
 
 14///. — 7 geese and i wigeon. 
 
 15///. — 7 wigeon, 2 mallards and i duck. Killed one of 
 the mallards and the duck at the same shot with the wigeon, 
 and while paddling up to the fowl, two small birds pitched 
 on the barrel of my swivel gun. So severe was the frost and 
 snow that they were, I suppose, benumbed in crossing the 
 Channel. 
 
 \6th. — 14 wigeon and 18 geese, the latter in 3 shots, 8 
 the best shot. Gunners out of number afloat and ashore, and 
 only one bird killed among them except mine. 
 
 17///.— My sport yesterday made the people so shooting 
 mad that a flock of birds had hardly time to pitch before they 
 were popped at by some boat or other, and among them all 
 but one goose was killed. I therefore let them have their 
 frolic out, till the afternoon ; and when the water no longer 
 served, I made Reade shove the canoe over the mud, and by 
 our being dressed in white nightcaps and shirts, we suited the 
 snow so well that we, in a short time, came in with 10 more 
 geese.' 
 
 i8//^. — II geese, which, in proportion to the very few I saw, 
 
 ' N.B. —Killed this week : 57 geese, 25 wigeon, 4 ducks and mallards, and 2 
 curre ducks, making about 88 head, about ten times as much as has been killed 
 by all the Keyhaven harbour shooters put together. 
 
i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 257 
 
 was the best day's work I have made. Out all night again, 
 and my clothes stiff with frost, and when just going to bang 
 into a flock of wigeon, a jealous villain on shore fired in the 
 air purposely to spoil my shot. 
 
 20tJi. — We had only time to get i duck and 2 geese, as I 
 was all day in Lymington, getting my lock mended, the cock 
 of it being broken. 
 
 2\st. — 4 wigeon and 5 geese. 
 
 22nd. — 5 wigeon and 5 geese at the same shot. 
 
 2'^rd. — 8 geese, i wigeon, 2 mallards, 2 ducks, and i pin- 
 tail. (The latter I killed at the same shot with the ducks.) 
 
 2\tJi. — It blew such a tremendous hurricane all day that 
 no boat could have lived, and froze so hard that in one night 
 the whole harbour was like Greenland, and several wild swans 
 passed by. I found a duck frozen to death, and they could 
 not exist anywhere but in little ditches and other well-sheltered 
 places. Reade scrambled over the ice in my little gunning 
 punt, and had the great luck to succeed in shooting a wild 
 swan that flew over him, and we got also / geese, 3 mallards, 
 I duck, and 2 wigeon. 
 
 2'^tJi. — Everything frozen up, and I could not get out for 
 the snow. Reade contrived to scramble across the ice in my 
 little punt, and, by getting himself in a most miserable con- 
 dition, brought in 2 geese, 3 wigeon, and i duck. 
 
 2jtJi. — A sudden and general thaw, with a strong wind and 
 an incessant pour of heavy rain. Nothing could be more novel 
 or beautiful than the appearance of the harbour, which was one 
 solid region of ice, with pyramids formed by the drifted snow, 
 and frozen like glass ; and on the thaw setting in the whole 
 harbour appeared like a huge floating island as it was carried 
 off by the fall of a high spring tide ; and to see this huge 
 movable body in motion with 14 wild swans sitting upon it, 
 as it receded, and looking as if formed by nature for the only 
 inhabitants of such a wild region, gave one more the idea of a 
 voyage in the arctic circle than anything belonging to the shore 
 VOL. L S 
 
258 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 of a habitable country. Under an idea that every vagabond . 
 would eagerly seize the first day's shooting after the thaw, I, 
 to be well to windward of the butterfly shooters, weathered 
 the torrent of rain all day, and, by capital locks and good 
 management, contrived to keep my gun dry for the five shots 
 which I got. The geese were scattered in every direction, so 
 that I could not bag more than 5 at a shot, and so drenching 
 wet was the day that after the first half-hour not a dry stitch 
 could be found to wipe out the pan of my gun, except the 
 tail of my shirt, and while paddling to birds I had three 
 inches of water under my stomach. I fairly brought home 
 17 geese. I took one very long shot at 8 swans, heard the 
 shot strike them, and afterwards saw one leave the company 
 and drop on the sea, where I dare not venture (about two 
 miles to leeward), consequently had not the good fortune to 
 bring one home. Wet all the evening, a west wind, and as 
 mild as May. 
 
 28//J. — My swan that I shot yesterday having died and 
 been picked up, there remained 7 of these magnificent birds, 
 and they were seen off Keyhaven sitting among what little 
 ice was left, about nine o'clock in the morning, and every 
 corner of the creeks or on shore contained a gunner anxiously 
 hoping that they might possibly swim or fly near enough for 
 a random shot. Having to contend with all this impediment, 
 and the wildest birds in existence to cope with, I had recourse 
 to a manoeuvre which struck me as the only chance. I 
 dressed myself and Reade in a clean white shirt, white neck- 
 cloth, and clean white nightcap, and in my white punt went 
 all the way round to windward through a pretty heavy sea ; 
 and after getting to where the hill called ' Mount ' became a 
 background to the view, in which we appeared, we, dressed 
 thus in milk white with a very white punt, drifted among 
 the floating pieces of white ice till we got within about 180 
 yards of these monstrous fowls, when I let drive at their 
 necks and knocked down and brought home 2 wild swans or 
 
f2^-^Mlllllf 
 
 ill 
 
 
 
i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 259 
 
 hoopers. I had to finish one of them with an old musket, or 
 he might probably have escaped ; and I wounded a third 
 severely/ as three were fairly laid in the water, to the dis- 
 charge of my swivel gun. As this attack was in full view of 
 the village, I had several people anxiously looking on, and 
 among them my children and all the house with their hearts 
 in their mouths, and in a gale of wind and rain, eagerly 
 watching our proceedings. 
 
 Towards the afternoon I was not a little surprised to see 
 1 6 more swans. They were, however, very far off, and near 
 to a dangerous sea, and therefore, determined of course to run 
 no risk, I dare only venture to within 220 yards of them ; I 
 consequently fired at this distance, and fairly laid 5 of them 
 down on the water, till the others had flown above a gunshot ; 
 and notwithstanding this they all recovered, and, I suppose, 
 joined the company. 
 
 The 2 that I killed were of equal weight (18 lb. each), one 
 milk-white, the other of a dusky colour ; the latter the largest ; 
 got also this day 10 geese and 5 wigeon. 
 
 The birds here being so incessantly popped at, I am 
 always obliged to use large mould shot (called ' SSG ') by 
 day. Of this m}- gun carries i lb. with an equal measure of 
 treble strong, coarse-grained powder, made on purpose, as a 
 common gun or common shot afloat here would rarely if ever 
 hit a bird so as to kill him. 
 
 As usual, gunners afloat all day out of number, and nothing 
 done ; and, I dare to say, not a little jealous of our invariable 
 success. 
 
 29///. — A tremendous gale of wind all the morning, and 
 the whole country armed with popping vagrants, who kept 
 every flock of birds in constant jeopardy with their con- 
 temptible noise, and the whistling of slugs, which they kept 
 discharging at everything they saw. The reptiles spoiled me 
 
 ^ One was afterwards picked up in the direction he went, so I may safely say 
 I killed three swans at a shot. 
 
 s 2 
 
260 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Jan. 
 
 another magnificent shot at the remaining swans, one of 
 which, in spite of all, came over my head, and my hand gun, 
 that I was then obliged to use, missed fire. I got but one 
 poor shot, and killed 2 geese, and afterwards a dun-curre duck 
 from a flock of these birds, at which I before refused an 
 excellent shot, supposing from their white noses that they 
 were coots, and, having the sun on them, I could not see 
 clearly till too late ; at night 4 wigeon. 
 
 30///. — In Lymington about m}^ new punt ; out in the 
 evening ; got 3 geese, the finest I ever saw, and almost white 
 in the breast, the only shot I got, and that a random one 
 flying instead of a magnificent one sitting, owing to a stupid 
 ass trying to out-row me with a huge black boat. About 
 twelve at night got a beautiful shot at about 100 wigeon on 
 the water, but, owing to the experiment of a night sight 
 that was rather too thick, I shot infamously bad, and my 
 whole charge went among the first of the birds, and in 
 the water below them ; so that, instead of 20 or 30, I only 
 stopped 8. 
 
 ^ist. — A wet da}-, and as no jackanapes could get his gun 
 off in the rain it was my only chance ; I therefore sallied out for 
 one huge swan that had been the target of the coast, and had 
 become so wild that he could scarcely be looked at : on my 
 way out I fired a long shot and got 4 geese ; soon after, as 
 I expected, we saw this huge bird, floating about in a rough 
 sea, and in a pour of rain ; I had two punts to manoeuvre on one 
 side of him, while Reade and I drifted down on the other ; he 
 sprung at about four hundred \-ards, came luckily across my 
 punt at about 75 }'ards, and down I fetched him, like a cock 
 pheasant, with the swivel gun. His fall was more like the 
 parachute of an air balloon than a bird ; he was shot quite 
 dead ; he weighed 21 lb., and measured 7 feet 8 inches from 
 wing to wing, being the largest, by far, of any I had killed ; 
 therefore my misfortune of last night was balanced by getting 
 another wild swan. 
 
1 823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 261 
 
 February \st. — An incessant pour of rain from morning 
 till night ; and I therefore was at Lymington nearly all 
 day, superintending m)^ new punt. A few geese pitched off 
 near the quay in the evening, but rose an immense long shot. 
 I fired at random, killed i goose, and came in again, or I 
 should have been drenched to the skin. 
 
 yd. — It scarcely ceased raining for one half-hour ever 
 since the morning of the 31st ultimo. I went out in a pour 
 of rain, fired one long shot, got 3 geese, and then went, for 
 the day, to Lymington about my punt, and to get some little 
 repairs to m}- gun. 
 
 5///. — Took a sail, but there were no geese near the Chan- 
 nel's edge. Was out at night, but it was so dark that I could 
 not see my gun or the birds ; I fired to the sound of some 
 wigeon feeding, but made a wrong guess and missed. 
 
 GtJi. — A tremendous gale of wind, with snow, sleet, and 
 rain ; and not being able to exist afloat, I chose this as a 
 favourable opportunity to be again in Lymington, and direct 
 the workmen as to the completing of my new punt. 
 
 'jtJi. — Wind and rain nearly all day. Killed 2 geese. 
 Owing to the wet, mild weather, the geese were nearly as 
 wild as hoopers. 
 
 \otJi. — Incessant gales of wind and rain. Though I 
 weathered it all, I got but one shot and bagged 4 geese. 
 
 wth. — After having been out all night, and done nothing 
 with the wigeon, owing to the wet, dark weather, I was out 
 again all to-day, but never could get a chance to fire a gun. 
 Except the tremendous flood last year I never saw more sea 
 in the harbour, insomuch that we were occasionally obliged 
 to go ashore and empty out our punt, which was repeatedly 
 half filled ; it never ceased raining the whole day. \\'e should 
 have had a few tolerable shots at geese had they not been 
 spoiled by the detestable shore lubbers, who were, as usual, 
 in armies, and who, of course, never killed, or even wounded, 
 one bird among them all. 
 
2G2 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Feb. 
 
 12///. — 4 geese, by means of sailing in the 'Wellington,' 
 and firing a pound of balls as they crossed. 
 
 I had this day a providential escape from being shot by 
 Joe Wearns, the sailor. He had his gun on board, not having 
 time to take it home, before he came to help ' man ' my boat, 
 and in putting on an old stocking that he had for a lock cover, 
 he let the gun go off. The whole contents went within a few 
 inches of my right side, and, as God's mercy further prevailed, 
 instead of blowing a hole through the boat and sending us all 
 to the bottom, the charge was half lodged in the stem post, 
 and the other half stopped by the anchor, which happened to 
 be down in the bottom of the boat. No one has ever been 
 more careful of what persons and what guns they suffer to 
 come on board than myself ; and this shows what may happen 
 from the slightest neglect of such a necessary caution, 
 though, as it most mercifully happened, not one farthing's 
 worth of mischief was done to either ourselves or the boat. 
 
 13///. — Sailed to Lymington to bring home my new punt, 
 called the ' Fox,' and, on my way, fired off the swivel gun at 
 9 birds rapidly crossing, at about 120 yards, and knocked 
 down I. 
 
 The punt, built by a man of great celebrity, Mr. Thomas 
 Inman, appears to be the neatest and best I ever had. 
 It is somewhat singular that I was yesterday within two 
 inches of being shot by Wearns, and this day within half an 
 inch of having my right eye knocked out by Reade, with an 
 oar; but most fortunately the blow just passed the ball of 
 my eye, and took the upper lid, which, of course, is as black 
 as if I had been fighting. It was a miracle for Reade, as he is 
 the most active, the most careful, and the handiest man I 
 ever saw in a boat, without any single exception. 
 
 15///. — Went out for the first time in my new-planned 
 punt, the ' Fox,' and nothing could answer better than she, 
 as yet, proves to do in every respect. I may say she is the 
 first punt I e\'er yet saw that was really free from defect. I 
 
3 823 COLOXEL HAWKER'S DIARY 263 
 
 contrived to get 2 geese, which, with any boat that I before 
 had, would, to-day, have been impossible. 
 
 K^tJi. — Detained from going afloat all the morning by 
 having to stand over the blacksmith while I showed him how 
 to alter the swivel, which he had made wrong, though with a 
 pattern before his eyes. In the evening I got a goose, and 
 the musket missed fire at another that I had wounded so as 
 to get close to. This gun, with a detonating apparatus by 
 old Egg, served me this so many times, that I took off the 
 apparatus and threw it into the sea, in order never to be made 
 to swear any more. Out (as I almost always am) at night for 
 several hours, and though I crawled in my mud punt for 
 more than a mile, I could find but a few straggling wigeon, 
 not worth notice. 
 
 20tJi. — Fine weather, like spring ; but the late westerly 
 hurricanes have nearly finished the prospect of sport. Out 
 all day and saw but a few geese, flying in the air, at a dis- 
 tance. Out all night and never found a wigeon. 
 
 2ist. — A westerly hurricane with a pour of rain all day. 
 A few geese were off in the harbour ; weathered it to them, 
 and then dropped down towards them ; but, though almost 
 out of sight, could not get within 300 yards. Killed nothing. 
 At night the weather was beautiful. Out, of course, as usual ; 
 but not a living bird was to be heard, even in, or out of, the 
 harbour. 
 
 22nd. — Wet by day and fine by night. Out both ; not a 
 goose to be approached within bullet shot, nor a wigeon to 
 be seen or heard. All the sport here appears to be completely 
 over for this season. 
 
 Reade went, this day, to Poole, to see if there were any 
 birds there worth my going for. 
 
 2A,tJL — Reade having returned with a fair account of the 
 birds at Poole, I this evening sent on my punt for a few 
 finishing days at my old quarters at Southhavcn, as all sport 
 at Keyhaven is now decidedly at an end. 
 
2G4 COLONEL HAWKER^S DLARY Feb. 
 
 25///. — Got to Poole and then over to Southhaven, after a 
 most abominable journey both by sea and land, the rain 
 falling in torrents, and the wind blowing a perfect hurricane. 
 On arrival at the little hovel called Southhaven Inn, the place 
 was destitute of everything, owing to a dispute with the former 
 landlord, who would not give up the licence to the new one, 
 who had just arrived, but consequently would not unpack 
 his things. There were two rooms, the one solid blue with 
 smoke, and the other with the masons putting up a chimney. 
 This might have done quite well enough, as we meant 
 to be twenty hours out of the twenty-four afloat ; but as 
 luck would have it, the wind and rain made us prisoners 
 all the afternoon, all night, and part of the next day. At last 
 matters were settled, and the old landlord walked off, and the 
 other, with his family, began to make things look less miserable, 
 and no people could be more civil, more reasonable, or more 
 anxious to oblige. An immense number of geese in Poole 
 harbour, as well as burrough ducks, curre, &c. ; but the very 
 wind which we had to weather had fairly cleared the harbour 
 of v/igeon, so that we were out all three nights without hearing 
 a bird. Could get nothing but a few day shots, and conse- 
 quently killed but 7 geese and i curre duck, added to some 
 coots &c. that I shot, for mere pastime, with my shoulder gun. 
 
 MarcJi 1st. — Having done some business which I had at 
 Poole, I then drove back again to Keyhaven. 
 
 The enormous mob of gunners that crowded round to ex- 
 claim at my shooting apparatus on the quay at Poole, I could 
 compare to nothing but a Westminster election ; and, pre- 
 viously to leaving the town, I rowed over to Ham to see the 
 field marshal of the eastern gunners, \\ho had come there, to 
 the terror of all the Poole men. His name is Sam Singer ; I 
 was delighted with him, and we were two hours eagerly con- 
 versing with each other ; the pleasure of this interview well 
 repaid me for going to Poole, and reminded me of Wellington 
 and Blucher meeting after the battle of Waterloo ; and what 
 
1 823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 265 
 
 made the matter pleasanter still, I have killed more geese 
 than he has. 
 
 Afth. — Quitted the coast for the season, and returned with 
 my family to Longparish House. 
 
 Game and wild fowl up to March 1823 : 
 
 Popgun work inland — 132 partridges, i quail, 6 hares, 3 
 rabbits, 4 pheasants, 43 snipes. Total, 189. 
 
 Grand gunning work — 18 ducks and mallards, 5 curre 
 ducks, 5 teal, 3 pintails, 97 wigeon, 180 brent geese, 4 wild 
 swans or hoopers. Total, 312. Land sport, bagged, 189; 
 sea sport, 312. Grand total, 501 ; regular wild fowl, ex- 
 clusive of coots, curlews, godwits, plover, ox-birds, and 
 various other shore birds. 
 
 N.B. — The winter was most beautifully severe, but the 
 wind, tides, and moon, particularly unfavourable in their times 
 for serving us. The magnificent shots that I had spoiled by the 
 shore-popping rabble, I can scarcely reflect on with common 
 patience, and the wigeon shooting at Keyhaven was more dis- 
 turbed and injured by the beggarly army of flight poppers than 
 on any other part of our, or, I may safely say, any other, coast. 
 
 6th. — Longparish. Walked quietly out for the chance of 
 a few snipes, and killed 8 snipes, 10 jack snipes, and i teal, 
 without missing a single shot. Killed 2 jacks, a double shot ; 
 and at another time put up 3 snipes together ; bagged two 
 from the first barrel, and the third from the second ; had I 
 been prepared with two guns, and gone out in earnest, I 
 should, perhaps, have rivalled all my other days' sniping at 
 Longparish. I shot like a fiend, but the dogs behaved cruelly 
 bad, or I should have made up a dozen couple. 
 
 ZtJi. — Some snow and a little frost, consequently no snipe 
 shooting. I got, however, 2 snipes, 2 jack snipes, and i 
 woodcock (that had defied everyone here), after a hard chase 
 of nearly two hours, and I finished by making a double shot, 
 off my horse, with snipe shot, at 2 magpies. 
 
 wth. — Went to spend a few days with Lord Rodney at 
 
266 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY March 
 
 his delightful place near Alresford, and took over my punt 
 and swivel gun and other apparatus for shooting. 
 
 12///. — Up several hours before daylight, with the hope 
 that some few birds might yet be left on his famous pond ; 
 got a shot at a small flock, and picked up 3 tufted ducks, 2 
 golden-eyes, and 2 dunbirds, at a shot. Then walked in the 
 meadows after breakfast, and killed 10 snipes, i duck, i mal- 
 lard, and I teal, besides several coots. 
 
 13///. — A grand battue at the coots, with about twenty 
 guns ; 125 were bagged, my share of which was 43 ; by 
 means of having my punt I killed also 2 wild ducks and I 
 mallard at daylight. Had also some fishing with a casting 
 net and trimmers. 
 
 15///. — Returned home to Longparish. 
 
 N.B. — The sensation which my shooting punts and guns 
 made in the town of Alresford was not a little diverting ; and 
 the publican, at whose house it stood, never sold more beer 
 than on this occasion ; and my man, who acted as the show- 
 man, got more pots than his head could well stand, for the 
 trouble of explaining to the multitude the manner of using 
 my large gun and other apparatus. 
 
 29///. — 2 hares, and i woodcock (that weighed i lb.). I 
 had given up shooting for the season, but was told of this 
 cock, and after a grande cJiasse, with all the rabble I could 
 collect, I found and bagged him, a very long shot. 
 
 Appendix since March 6th : 2 hares, 2 woodcocks, 47 
 snipes, 8 ducks and mallards, 5 tufted ducks, 2 golden-eyes, 
 2 dunbirds, 2 teal, making 70 head, besides a quantity of 
 coots, 43 of which I killed one morning to my own share at 
 Lord Rodney's, where 125 were killed, making in all 571 
 head this season, or, including coots &c., about 700 head. 
 
 April igth. — Went to London for the Levee, and a 
 multiplicity of other business. 
 
 2\sf. — Was presented by my Colonel and Lord Rodney 
 
i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 267 
 
 on my promotion as Lieutenant-Colonel of the North Hants 
 Regiment. 
 
 May yth. — Went to Hamble from Southampton, sailed to 
 inspect Mr. Delme's duck marsh at Tichfield haven (Hill 
 Head), and returned. 
 
 28///. — Went to Cowes from Southampton and back in the 
 * Medina' steam packet, and nothing could be more delightful. 
 We went full ten miles an hour, and so free from any kind of 
 motion that, being on board, with the noise of the engine, 
 was precisely like being in a mill. 
 
 Jime 2%th. — Longparish. For these several years past I 
 have never cared about fishing further than to supply my 
 friends, and then lay aside my rod whenever I made up my 
 basket ; but finding that it now becomes a kind of trumpery 
 theme for reputation to kill so many fish, in order to chatter 
 about the performance, I availed myself of about five hours' 
 fine weather this day and honestly bagged 46 killable trout, 
 besides a great many thrown in; my first 35 were all par- 
 ticularly fine fish, the largest ij lb., which is the very best size 
 our river is now likely to produce. I suppose some of the 
 cockneys would have posted to York for such a day. 
 
 July 2nd. — Mr. and Mrs. Griesbach came to us, and left 
 on the 2 1 St. During the stay, I had some good sport trolling, 
 particularly one day when I caught 5 fish, about i lb. 
 each, in six throws, the largest about 2\ lb. Mr. Griesbach, 
 as a maiden trout fisher, killed 4 brace one day, and my 
 little son Peter, without anyone to attend or show him 
 the way, killed his 12 good trout, with a worm, in a few hours. 
 I made a ridiculously good double shot this evening at a 
 bat and a stag beetle. 
 
208 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 1823 
 
 September ist. — 41 partridges and i quail, which, consider- 
 ing the nervous state of myself from recent illness, the want 
 of good dogs and the annoyance of standing corn, is one of 
 the best days I ever made. I made 8 double shots and 
 missed nothing. 
 
 yd. — 30 partridges, and 6 more shot and lost. The only 
 beat I had \\'as where there were four other parties, and 
 although so weak I could hardly walk, I am quite sure that 
 I bagged twice as much as all of them put together. 
 
 6th. — 20 partridges and I hare, having made 8 double 
 shots ; 4 brace out of which were at pairs of old birds, such 
 has, this year, been the havoc among the nests, on our best 
 side of the country, owing to the earl\- mowing of the 
 clover. 
 
 20t/i. — 14 partridges and i snipe. Scent bad and birds 
 extremely wild, everyone complaining that not even a 
 brace could be got. I killed all my birds by means of 
 walking the ground with both barrels cocked, and blazing, 
 as quick as lightning, just as the birds topped the 
 stubble. 
 
 2yd. — While everyone was complaining that not a 
 bird could be got, I went out for scarcely more than two 
 hours previously to going to Andover, and brought home 
 10 partridges, with missing only one long second-barrel 
 shot. This shows what mana_^uvrin<^ will do. 
 
./ 
 
 i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY 269 
 
 29///. — A beautiful day, and the birds lay very fairly for 
 the time of year and for our light country. I bagged 16 
 partridges and i jack snipe, and missed nothing. 
 
 Game &c. killed up to September 30th, 1823: 206 par- 
 tridges, 2 hares, i quail, 2 snipes, 4 wild ducks. Except 
 killing 4 brace to try a duck gun, I took but twelve days' 
 shooting ; which, as I was in indifferent health, badly off for 
 dogs, and had such a multiplicity of business that interfered 
 with my shooting, I consider most admirable sport ; and I 
 have no doubt more than was killed b}^ all those put together 
 who were here at it every day. I shot with a detonating 
 gun which never missed fire but once, and made a great 
 many double shots almost every day I went out ; the most 
 in one day was eight. 
 
 October \st. — Out the whole morning in one incessant 
 pour of heavy rain with a continual hurricane, and only 
 discharged my gun three times, and all very long shots. I 
 bagged 2 hares, and shot and lost the only pheasant I sprung ; 
 he was a fine old cock, and fell in the most handsome manner. 
 A pheasant in my beat is a very rare bird to meet with, we 
 having had none for years. My detonator went as well, in 
 spite of all the rain, as if it had been used on a sunshiny day. 
 
 4///. — Slaved all day to no purpose trying to find a 
 pheasant, and came home with nothing but i partridge and 
 I jack snipe, all I shot at. 
 
 15///. — Got one long shot and at last bagged an old cock 
 pheasant, which is now become quite a ram avis in this 
 place. 
 
 2ird. — Left Longparish at two this morning; got into the 
 Isle of Purbeck about two in the afternoon. Brought Reade 
 over to Poole to have the bone of his bad finger (poisoned by 
 a fish) cut off by the surgeon, and took away my new bitch, 
 brought from Newfoundland. Slept at Poole. 
 
 24///. — Got to Keyhaven, and proceeded to Lymington to 
 inspect two new punts building for mc by Inman. 
 
270 COLONEL HAWKERS IMARV Oct. 
 
 2////. — Sent my boat cart to Southampton, and had over 
 the famous east countr\-man Elijah Buckle, with his celebrated 
 gun and punt, to try experiments, &c. 
 
 28///. — Had a grand trial of stanchion guns before a mob 
 of spectators, and found m}' gun as good as (if not superior 
 to) Buckle's. 
 
 November ;^n/. — Returned to Kc\-havcn to renew m}* 
 experiments and preparations. 
 
 X.B. — Scarcely an}- birds on the coast. I killed onh' 
 a wigeon. Among the few birds that I shot to tr\- m\- 
 gun, I got 2 knots and i turnstone. Buckle got a little 
 shot one wet day and picked up 4 wigeon, which with 
 mine were tlie only fowl killed on our coast while we were 
 there. 
 
 i5///.^Longparish. Had a grafide chasse, to scour the 
 whole countr}', wood, fields, and river ; and so destitute of sport 
 did we find all our beat, that I bagged only 3 rabbits, 2 snipes, 
 and I jack snipe, which were all I tired at. 
 
 \6tJi. — Received from France 15 decoy ducks of a wild 
 species trained for la chasse a la iiuttc. 
 
 \Zth. — Having this day completed the hut &c. after the 
 style I learnt in France, we tried our birds ; the\- behaved 
 magnificenth- and brought down the only two ducks that flew 
 close to me ; but my young dog spoiled the shot before I could 
 catch the wild birds clear of the others. 
 
 20th. — 2 jack snipes and i partridge, all I shot at. 
 
 First tried all my beat for snipes, then the uplands for 
 game ; and passed the night in my new hut for ducks ; but 
 no sport whatever to be got. This place seems at present to 
 be completely barren of all game whatever. 
 
 December \th. — I launched the new punt which I ordered 
 to be painted and * got ready ' for sea, and named her the 
 ' Owl,' being a white night bird and the emblem of sagacity 
 or wisdom, on the helmet of Minerva. 
 
 15///. — Having sent on my new punt, the 'Owl,' to be 
 
i823 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY 271 
 
 kept on the coast, I this day drove down to Keyhaven, to 
 see if there were any birds. 
 
 1 6///. — Scarcely anything to be seen this morning. I got 
 I brent goose and 2 grey plover, and was much pleased 
 in everj^ respect with the new punt. 
 
 \'jth. — Reade got 3 wigeon a little before daybreak, when 
 it came on an incessant pour of rain, and a tremendous gale 
 of wind, which lasted all day and all night. 
 
 \ZtJi. — Got I brent goose; and afterwards (owing to the 
 impossibility of managing my gun in so short and so rough a 
 sea) I overshot a trip of geese, that, had not the lop of the 
 sea canted my gun, I have no doubt I should have stopped 
 half a score of. 
 
 \gth. — Out all day and never saw but 5 geese; got 
 nothing but 2 coots, a long random shot ; out all night and 
 never heard nor saw a single wigeon. 
 
 2QtJi. — A most tremendous day again. Weathered, for a 
 few hours, expressly to try the new punt in a sea. She 
 answered beautifully ; but as for a shot, we did not get a 
 chance. 
 
 23;'^. — Having nothing but incessant wind and rain, I 
 this day drove over to Longparish, with a view of passing 
 Christmas, and with the hope that the weather might change 
 in the meantime. 
 
 30///. — I partridge, which I wanted and had some diffi- 
 culty to get. 
 
 1824 
 
 January 6th. — Returned to Ke}-haven for the pleasure of 
 a little seaside recreation, but, for want of hard weather, with 
 no prospect of good shooting. 
 
 yth. — Up by daylight ; out sailing and exploring till five 
 in the afternoon, having been nearly to Cowes, saw nothing 
 but a few \cry wild geese, and getting a shot was to-day out 
 of the question. Out for the night directly I had refreshed 
 
272 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 myself, and never heard but i wigeon, notwithstanding- the 
 wind had changed to the cast. I impute the destruction of 
 Keyhaven to those rascally launchers shoving their punts 
 over the mud every night before the birds have had any 
 feeding. 
 
 8//'. — At it all day and night : not a bird to be seen. 
 Wind in its old filthy quarter again, south-west. 
 
 11///. — As there is no shooting whatever here, I took a 
 drive to Poole in order to see Sam Singer's new 141 -lb. gun 
 and punt ; and in the afternoon drove to Uddens House, to 
 see my old friend Jack Ponton, but he was in town, so I drove 
 back and supped at Poole. 
 
 \2tJ1. — Drove back to Keyhaven. A little frost, but as 
 yet white and therefore uncertain. 
 
 \ltJi to i6th. — Not a wigeon to be seen in harbour, 
 either by day or night, though both Reade and I never 
 ceased to persevere. In spite of fair frosty weather and a full 
 moon, not one gunner have we even heard fire a shot, so 
 completely is this place clear of birds ; my whole week's 
 sport, and at it every day and all the nights, was 2 grey 
 plover. 
 
 lyth. — Reade went home, and on the i8th returned bring- 
 ing me word that the unprecedented bad sport with wild fowl 
 was, if possible, worse at Poole than at this place. 
 
 i^th to 2ird. — Not a w^igeon to be seen or heard. 
 
 2\t}i. — Gave up, and left Keyhaven. 
 
 N.B. — All the gunners are reduced to beggary by this 
 phenomenon of a scarcity. 
 
 26///. — Longparish. The whole country here I find has 
 been in arms after three Egyptian geese, w^hich I suppose must 
 have deserted from some gentleman's pond, or they never would 
 have stood the immense number of shots that a rabble of 
 bunglers have been popping at them ; one, by better luck than 
 skill, was stopped by the sixth round of Will Blake, my man, 
 and I have sent it to be stuffed. I rode out all the morninir ; 
 
i824 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 273 
 
 but the other two geese, no wonder, have not been seen since. 
 This evening my man Charles arrived with the two grand 
 potentates of all the gunners, Reade and Elijah Buckle, with 
 whom I am trying various experiments and still further im- 
 provements in my punts. 
 
 2'jtJi. — Was instructed by Buckle in the knack of firing 
 the large gun from the shoulder, instead of from a swivel, by 
 which a punt of one-third the usual weight is equally safe. I 
 had, of course, but a small charge, though I was astonished to 
 find how much less was the recoil than I expected. Powder is 
 tremendous for the first inch or two of recoil ; but afterwards 
 it is much less powerful than I could have supposed, if 
 received by anything the least elastic. 
 
 30///. — Reade and Buckle left me, after we had worked 
 hard every day at the punts and learned Buckle's system. 
 
 February gth. — Having received 10 more decoy ducks 
 and mallards from France, I tried them this evening, and the 
 only 2 birds that came near my hut they brought well in shot. 
 
 iit/i. — Went to Lord Rodney's to instruct his man in the 
 use of some French ducks, that I took him, &c. Even here 
 the scarcity of wild fowl has been such that not a bird had 
 been brought to table. I continued, however, to get a few 
 by means of getting up some hours before daylight, letting 
 myself out of the house and getting over the park pales to the 
 pond, where I had the luck to kill all I shot at. 
 
 March ist. — Left Longparish to look at a manor in 
 Norfolk and inspect the lakes and coast. 
 
 3r^. — Arrived at Yarmouth and received the greatest 
 civility and hospitality from C. Girdlestone, Esq., who, being 
 an excellent sportsman, proved to be a capital pilot and guide 
 for every information. 
 
 5//^.— Went to Horsey to stay a few days at my old 
 quarters with Mr. Rising, where I had a good day's fishing, 
 and in the course of one of my walks killed 2 teal and I snipe. 
 
 gt/i. — Left Horsey for Yarmouth early in the morning, 
 
 VOL. L T 
 
274 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY March 
 
 and made a thorough inspection of the Breyden flats, 
 which appeared in every respect to be the finest gunning 
 ground I ever saw. Having taken Buckle, the admiral of the 
 swivel gunners, by way of a servant, I had also an able 
 engineer to judge of the place. In short I found the impedi- 
 ment to shooting on the waters so little, and all the gunning 
 ground so good, that I proved it quite unnecessary to be 
 troubled with the care and expense of a manor, and left Yar- 
 mouth fully satisfied with my pleasant excursion and the 
 many little things I had seen and discovered. 
 
 N.B. — The gunners on this coast, although equipped with 
 huge guns, were about thirty years behindhand in their art ; 
 but so near is Yarmouth to Holland, that the people here have 
 the maiden shots at the fowl before they become wild, as 
 the}^ al\va}^s are before they reach our coast. Left by the 
 ' Dart ' coach at five in the evening, and slept at Norwich. 
 
 \otJi. — Left Norwich at a quarter past six, and at a quarter 
 past seven reached London by the ' Times ' coach. Had 
 a capital dejeuner a la fourcJiette at Bury St. Edmunds for two 
 shillings each passenger. And the same coachman drives 
 the whole 1 14 miles every day in the week, not even Sunday 
 does he rest ; and one of the coachmen, the famous Mr. 
 Thoroughgood, has in addition to this to walk about thirty 
 miles a week. 
 
 wtJi. — From morning till night with gunmakers, book 
 publishers and other people on various business, and got 
 through about thirty long commissions and a few calls. 
 
 \2tJL — Returned to Longparish, and found all well 
 
 Game &c. killed in the season : 
 
 Popgun work — 216 partridges, 7 hares, i quail, 3 rabbits, 
 
 2 pheasants, 46 snipes. 
 
 Duck gun work — 2 geese, 8 ducks and mallards, i wigeon 
 
 3 curres, 4 teal. In all but 293 head. 
 
 N.B. — The vilest wild-fowl season in the annals of history, 
 a summer instead of a winter, and half the gunners starving. 
 
i824 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 275 
 
 and on the parish books for relief. Universally bad all over 
 England, and even the decoy men in distress for subsistence. 
 
 April 1st. — Got up early, did business at — below Kensing- 
 ton, Hanover Square, Pall Mall, Thames Street, Ely Place, 
 Clerkenwell, Soho Square, Long Acre, Marlborough and Po- 
 land Streets, Princes Street, Dover Street, St James's Street, 
 Fleet Street, Regent Street, called on three friends, found 
 everybody at home, did several commissions to boot, and at 
 six o'clock on the morning of the 2nd left town, and got home 
 to Longparish about half-past twelve o'clock. 
 
 28///. — Killed 20 brace of trout, besides small ones thrown 
 in, in three hours and three-quarters. 
 
 N.B. — I name this merely as good sport ; though I have 
 long left off keeping accounts, because I have killed so much 
 in my life, that I now only take fish when wanted, and not for 
 amusement. 
 
 May 12th. — Went to town about my works, my large 
 double gun, and various other matters of business. Had, one 
 evening, an interview with Rossini, the god of Italian music ; 
 found him a very pleasant man, and was afterwards much 
 gratified by going to his concert, to which nothing but knowing 
 him could have got me admittance at so short a notice, not being 
 a subscriber. Saw the boat that performed 118 miles in fifteen 
 hours and three-quarters. She is of one-quarter inch oak 
 plank, forty feet long, very sharp forward, tolerable bearings, 
 and apparently crank. 
 
 28//^. — Went to town in order to bring out the third edition 
 of ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen.' In a few days after, 
 lodged at Mr. Currie's, 20 Regent Street, the best billet I ever 
 had in my life. 
 
 June 20th. — Superintended the rebuilding of the middle 
 part of Longparish House. 
 
 July I2th. — London. Saw the remains of our unrivalled 
 and immortal bard, Lord Byron, removed into the hearse, and 
 moved off in procession for interment. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY AuG. 
 
 August 'i^rd. — Brought out the third edition of my 'In- 
 structions to Young Sportsmen,' after two months' incessant 
 labour and anxiety with artists, printers, &c. I, of course, sent 
 copies to his Majesty, and other great persons, as well as to 
 some particular friends, and the artists who were engaged for 
 the work. 
 
 31^/. — After quite as much trouble with getting forward 
 my large double gun as I had in bringing out my book, I left 
 town this day, and arrived at Longparish House, which I found 
 still in such a miserable mess, with brick and mortar, that I 
 directly wished myself awa}' again. 
 
i824 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 277 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 1824 
 
 September \st. — Partridges all in the high standing corn 
 Weather so intensely hot and dry that scarcely a dog would 
 hunt, not a breath of scent, and the birds wild and running all 
 day, and, as far as I could judge, a bad breed of birds. In short, 
 the worst ist of September I ever was out in at Longparish, 
 for, though I shot as well as ever I have done, yet I could 
 only bag 20 partridges and i rabbit. 
 
 2nd. — So intensely hot that every person is complaining. 
 Went out between four and five this evening, and even then 
 was almost broiled. 
 
 yth. — I got 1 1 partridges. Missed a bird in shot, which 
 is the first time I have done so this season. I, however, 
 killed him with the second barrel, so I lost nothing by my 
 bungling. 
 
 14//^ — Out for four hours, and literally never discharged 
 my gun, except at a quail, which I killed. Finding shooting 
 out of the question to-day, I took half an hour's trolling, and 
 got 4 brace of very large trout. 
 
 \6tJL — 27 partridges, and, what is somewhat singular, I 
 lost 7 more than I shot. This is an extraordinary con- 
 trast with the day before yesterday, when I beat the same 
 ground, with very little in addition, and never got a shot at a 
 partridge. It shows the extreme difference between a good 
 and a bad scenting day. Although this is by far the greatest 
 day I have had this bad season, yet it was by no means a 
 
278 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 satisfactory one. First, I lost 7 birds that I shot in covert, 
 &c. ; second, I had six fair shots spoiled by my horses and 
 men being in the way ; and third, I missed three birds within 
 shot, which has been always a rare thing for me to do, and 
 was as sad a catastrophe as losing my purse or my watch ; 
 and fourthly, I burnt my fingers by once firing in haste with 
 my hand near the gas-hole of the detonator. 
 
 22nd. — 8 partridges and i hare, and 4 more birds lost. 
 Never did I lose so many birds as I have done since I used 
 detonating guns ; as they have always with me proved to hit 
 the birds so weak at long distances, that they get a field or 
 tv/o off and tower before they fall, instead of coming down 
 handsome as they usually did when I used a flint lock. 
 
 Game killed in September 1824 : 146 partridges, 4 hares, 
 I rabbit, i landrail, i quail, 2 snipes. Total, 155 head. 
 
 N.B. — A universal complaint everywhere that this has 
 been the worst and scarcest season ever known, insomuch 
 that I have beat everyone here, and even done wonders by 
 getting the little game above entered. 
 
 October A^th. — Decidedly proved that the flint gun shot 
 superior, both for strength and closeness, to the detonator. But, 
 on taking the flint into the field, I killed only i partridge and 
 I landrail, having from lately used a detonator fired behind 
 four other shots at birds that I ought to have killed. This is 
 a caution to those who have shot well with a flint to * leave well 
 enough alone.' 
 
 gth.--io partridges, 2 jack snipes, and i hare. Was un- 
 well, and nervous as a cat, or I should have killed a leash 
 more birds ; as it was, I lost a brace more that towered. Two 
 curious occurrences to-day : killed 2 birds at a shot, and 
 stepped over a hare sitting, when running to pick them up, 
 and then killed hare. Sprung an old cock bird out of Hunter's 
 pigstye in the village when riding home ; went in search of 
 him again ; found him in the plantation before the windows, 
 and bagged him a very long shot, which happened to be the 
 
i824 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 279 
 
 longest distance of any shot I ever recollect making with a 
 detonator. 
 
 \6tJi. — I pheasant. The first I have seen or heard of since 
 the season commenced. I was walking up our wood without 
 a gun ; sprung the bird, and then raced home ; raised a hue 
 and cry, and after a little search found the pheasant again 
 and put him in the bag. 
 
 November A^th. — London. Seriously ill. I crawled from 
 seeing Sir Everard Home to the chemist with the greatest 
 difficulty, and, while almost fainting in the shop, the first 
 salutation I had was that Chambers, my banker, had just failed 
 for 260,000/., and with all my money, 93 1/., in his hands. I was 
 ordered to go home and be put to bed, but this affair obliged 
 me to get driven to the City to be satisfied as to the safety 
 of my funded property ; but, after all, I was too late, and 
 Friday being a holiday, I had to wait, with Christian patience, 
 till Saturday. 
 
 ^. ^th. — Lay on my back with violent pain and inflammation 
 the whole day. I dare swallow nothing but tea and gruel, 
 and lost the means of getting fomented by my servant not 
 having arrived, agreeably to a letter despatched. This is like 
 a second edition of my suffering in Spain and Portugal, with 
 an attack on my finances as well as my health. 
 
 i^tJi. — 111 ever since, and ill still. More miseries. Pinnock 
 (the man who has my patent) smashed, and to avoid bank- 
 ruptcy, resigned, all in confusion, to trustees. 
 
 K^tJi to 2ist. — Worse again. Intermitting fever, gums 
 all in be ils, teeth loose; in the essence of misery. To-day 
 received information that my house at Keyhaven was in- 
 undated by another tremendous flood ; the chimney fallen 
 through the roof by the late tremendous gale ; the house and 
 everything round completely inundated and seriously damaged. 
 
 December gth. — After being bored to death with the con- 
 summate ignorance, impertinence, and obstinacy of old Egg, 
 who pretended to undertake my large double gun, and, after all, 
 
280 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 threw the whole burthen of directions on my shoulders, and 
 then wanted to take all the credit himself, I was this day well 
 enough to drive to below Vauxhall Bridge, where we tried the 
 gun ; and, in short, the two barrels together (on my plan) 
 answered even better than I expected, whereas if Egg had 
 done it his way, the whole concern would have been spoiled. 
 
 14th. — Returned to Longparish House, under the idea 
 that change of air would expedite my recovery. 
 
 i6th. — Buckle arrived, and we began building a punt. 
 227id. — What with the wet weather, abominable damp 
 mortar, and the sad state the house is now left in from the 
 alterations, almost everyone in the house has taken a cold. 
 I had a severe relapse yesterday and to-day, and my eyes 
 were so bad also that I could hardly see across the room. 
 
 24.1/1 to 28///. — A pretty Christmas. Myself mxuch worse, 
 a close prisoner, and till now, and now with great difficulty, 
 I could not see to write. Scarce touched a morsel for 
 three whole days, and as weak as a rat. The cook so bad 
 with the rheumatism she could not spit the meat or do any- 
 thing without help, and in great pain. The kitchen-maid 
 bled, and laid up in the drawing room among the lumber of 
 the mutilated centre of the house, which is deposited there. 
 Poor Charles, my right-hand man and useful attendant in all 
 my illness, was the worst of us all ; alarmingly ill, with two 
 doctors, and hourly apprehensions of t}'phus fever. Hornsby 
 touched sharply with ophthalmia, and bad in his stomach. 
 Kitt the carpenter so poorly he can hardly go on with his 
 work. The plasterer gone off, and laid up with his eyes 
 in a dangerous state, owing to an accident with the lime. 
 Long, the gunmaker, laid up in his bed at Andover and 
 unable to come to me, and the man he sent in his stead 
 very poorly. With the exception of Long, this is all a 
 house illness ; though such has been the wet weather that 
 it must be admitted there never was so much general 
 illness here before. This is a glorious salvo for the architect. 
 
i824 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 281 
 
 who will probably swear that his damp walls, wet mortar, and 
 thorough draughts have nothing to do with our invalided 
 family. 
 
 29//^. — Reade came up to see and trim the new punt &c. 
 
 30//^. — I was so far better as to be just able to crawl out 
 and see the punt afloat. x'\ll our household a little mended, 
 and Charles this night pronounced by the doctors as likely 
 to live. 
 
 1825 
 
 January i^tli. — Buckle, who came to me to assist in punt 
 building, went out after a large flock of teal that dropped in 
 our moors ; 15 came by him all in a cluster, and he knocked 
 down 6 at a shot, which, on my property here, is the best shot 
 I ever remember being made. I continued not well enough 
 to go out. 
 
 2^th and 26tJL — Myself still on the sick list, though con- 
 stantly employed in building my punt in the new drawing 
 room. 
 
 February i6th. — Had a grand trial of my new double 
 stanchion gun, assisted by Buckle (the king of the stanchion 
 gunners), and nothing could be more satisfactory than all my 
 inventions proved, insomuch that I may venture to pronounce 
 this gun the champion of England. We were from morning 
 till night firing, and half the night writing down the calcu- 
 lations and experiments. 
 
 I'jth. — Had not killed a bird since October i6th, owing to 
 long illness. This day discharged a duck gun at a jack snipe 
 and bagged him. 
 
 28///. — Although still an invalid, I went to stay a few days 
 with Lord Rodney, to try my new gun and punt on his lake 
 at Alresford ; though what few fowl had been there this year 
 had nearly all disappeared. 
 
 March 6t/i. — Longparish. Laid my boat up inshore, co- 
 vered her over with reeds, got the snipes driven to where they 
 
282 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY March 
 
 always were seen to pitch, raked the reeds with the bi^^ gun 
 at random, and bagged 12 snipes at one shot, all dead. I 
 waited half an hour for the flock to con:ie down again, which 
 they were in the act of doing, when my dog swam across to 
 me and drove them off. 
 
 Game &c. killed to March 5th, 1825: 160 partridges, 6 
 hares, i pheasant, i rabbit, 2 landrails, i quail, 38 snipes, 4 
 wild ducks, i tufted drake, 9 teal. Total, 224 head, exclusive, 
 of course, of coots, &c. 
 
 N.B. — Lost all the shooting in October, November, De- 
 cember, January, and February, owing to illness brought on 
 entirely by vexation and trouble. Luckily for me, however, 
 the season was the worst ever known both for game and fowl. 
 
 ijtJi. — London. Suffered much from illness, and was 
 dreadfully inconvenienced by having got into a house in 
 London without a warm corner in it. Had much vexation 
 again with that old rascal Egg ; and, after much trouble with 
 my solicitor, and Joe Manton for a mediator, got off for 200/. 
 for my gun, and it will take 20/. more to replace the bad work 
 therein. Old Egg made an indirect appeal for 300/. for the 
 gun, and 25/. for his time ; and then mitigated this into a 
 demand for immediate payment of 200/. for the gun, 10/. for 
 his time, and 4/. i \s. for a loading rod and a deal box. After 
 giving me immense trouble, he proposed to toss up for the 
 4/. I ij-.,and it was pretty evident he knew how to throw tails ; 
 so I cried ' Tails/ caught him in his own trap, got his receipt 
 in full of all demands, witnessed by Joe ]\Ianton,and on a lO-s-. 
 stamp, and at a great sacrifice washed my hands of one of 
 the most aggravating and ungrateful fellows that ever dis- 
 graced the name of a tradesman. 
 
 April nth. — After being four weeks in the very essence 
 of misery with being stewed in hot water, physicked, leeched, 
 and butchered, I, this day, went with Macilwain to consult the 
 most extraordinary old bear that ever appeared in a civilised 
 country, the celebrated Dr. Abernethy. 
 
i825 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 283 
 
 \2tJi. — Consulted, on my case, with Sir Henry Halford, 
 the prince and the Lord Chesterfield of all the medical prac- 
 titioners. 
 
 25//^ — After having undergone two more infernal opera- 
 tions, that did me more harm than good, I this day withdrew 
 myself from the attendance of Macilwain, and went again to 
 Sir Everard Home, having been now just six wxeks under 
 severe treatment to no purpose. Lord send me a speedy 
 delivery from illness and doctors. Here have I been a sufferer 
 more or less, without any one permanent step to amendment, 
 since the ist of November. 
 
 June 2ird. — Saw Graham ascend in his balloon, after first 
 having a long conversation with him. Favourable weather, 
 and the sight most beautiful. 
 
 30^//. — After being very busy, in order to leave the fourth 
 edition of ' Instructions to Young Sportsmen ' in the press, I 
 this day returned to Longparish. 
 
 July igth. — 4 snipes, and should have killed 4 more had 
 I not taken up an old flint gun, which put me out, after 
 the detonators. 
 
 N.B. — The hottest weather known since the memory of 
 the oldest man here, was this day, and several days previous 
 to it. It was for this novelty that I went after these snipes 
 that I had heard of 
 
 August loth. — Launched my fourth edition of the ' In- 
 structions to Sportsmen.' 
 
 I2th. — London. Met Tom Moore, the poet, and some 
 other scientific men at Longmans' dinner. 
 
 i^th. — Saw the living skeleton in Pall Mall. 
 
 2'^rd. — Left London for Longparish. 
 
 24//J. — Proceeded to Mr. Ponton's at Uddens House, 
 Dorset, for what little black-game shooting England affords. 
 
 Particulars of the greatest day's west country poult shooting 
 on record : 
 
 2Sth. — 9 heath poults or black game, having discharged 
 
284 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY AUG. 
 
 my gun but nine times ; and, on one occasion, as Ponton was 
 a long way behind me, we all felt confident that 2 birds fell 
 to one barrel of my gun ; if so, I bagged 5 brace ; but at all 
 events 4-^, which is, in this country, a miracle, being far more 
 than was ever done before, insomuch that 2 brace of black game 
 in a day is here considered most brilliant sport. I made two 
 doublets and five single shots, some very long ones. Ponton 
 also shot as well as possible, and, as almost a matter of course 
 with him, never missed. He killed 3 brace, exclusive of the 
 doubtful bird before named. In short, our day was 8 brace 
 of strong, full-grown black game, the greatest sport here on 
 record, the talk of all the country, and an article for the 
 public papers. This was my maiden day at English black- 
 game shooting, and a most glorious one it was. We found 
 but 1 1 brace the whole day, and this was considered a won- 
 derful show of these birds, except in winter, when they all 
 flock together, and can never be shot by fair means. In a 
 word, this was, taking it ' for all in all,' the most satisfactory 
 day's sport I ever had in my life. 
 
 28//^. — Sunday. Went to morning church at Ham Preston, 
 and to afternoon service at Stape Hill Convent, where, by a 
 lucky accident, I got a good view of all the nuns. This is a 
 poor though wild and romantic little place, established by 
 Lord Arundel, on the heath just outside of Ponton's Park. 
 
 lOtJi. — Left Uddens Park, and in the evening arrived 
 again at Longparish House. 
 
i825 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 285- 
 
 CHxAPTER XVIII 
 
 1825 
 
 September ist. — I never knew the scent so bad, or the 
 birds so wild, on the ist, as on this day ; notwithstanding 
 which I bagged, with only my two old bitches, neither of 
 which are extraordinary, 42 partridges, besides 6 more shot 
 dead and lost, 2 hares, 2 quails, all I saw, i landrail and 
 I wood pigeon. 
 
 2nd. — Rested, as I always do after the first day, for many 
 just reasons. 
 
 3r^. — 31 partridges, i hare, and i snipe, entirely through 
 having shot most brilliantly, as the birds were so ex- 
 tremely wild that many sportsmen could not even get a 
 brace. 
 
 ^th} — 40 partridges, making, exclusive of a wood pigeon 
 not game, 120 head of game in three days ; or, putting it on 
 the average, 20 brace a day for three successive days. Though 
 the ground is, notwithstanding the heavy rain in August, so- 
 dry, and the birds so wild, that everyone complains of getting 
 but little sport, yet by means of able manoeuvring, rapid 
 attacks, and rapid shooting, I have been doing wonders, con- 
 sidering the country I shot in. 
 
 yth. — 21 partridges, i landrail, and i wood pigeon, which^ 
 considering how very windy it was, and how very wild the 
 
 ' This is the first day in my life that I could in our wild lawless country 
 have what I call my ' butcher's halloo,' after the first day. This means the three 
 cheers that I and my army give whenever the number of twenty brace in one daj^ 
 is made up. 
 
286 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 birds were, is quite equal to the preceding day's sport. I 
 made seven doublets, and missed nothing in reach. Indeed, 
 I have not missed a fair shot this season. 
 
 \otJi. — -An incessant hurricane all day. After my bagging 
 8 partridges, besides 2 more killed and lost, and 2 snipes, 
 there came on such a thick, drizzling rain, that I gave up 
 shooting, galloped home, and sallied forth with my rod, 
 and had a most wonderful day's fishing. Colonel Halton 
 and I, including what we threw in, caught 40 brace of trout. 
 I remember at one time killing 5 good fish in seven throws 
 of the rod. 
 
 \2tJL — A wet, drizzling morning ; went with a casting net 
 to get bait ; then attended Mr. Painter to give him a few 
 finishing lessons in fishing, at which he had excellent sport. 
 Caught two very large trout myself, and several smaller ones ; 
 and, in short, was occupied till about twelve, when the rain 
 blew off. I then went home, took a snack, and gave the 
 birds another and a farewell attack for the present. I bagged 
 24 partridges, 2 hares, i landrail, and i snipe, by dint of good 
 generalship, with my army of markers, and shooting with a 
 rapidity and accuracy that after my long illness I despaired 
 of ever recovering. Long, the gunmaker, was among the 
 spectators ; and much pleased he was, as he had bored one of 
 the guns on which I played such a glorious concerto. Here 
 ends my shooting for this trip to the country. A most 
 glorious beginning, with a splendid finale. 
 
 Grand sport. I here give a list of game &c. killed up to 
 September 12th. 
 
 Out altogether but five whole mornings and two half morn- 
 ings. Some unprecedented sport trout fishing ; and 9 heath 
 poults (all in one day and in nine shots), to which add 166 
 partridges, 7 hares, 2 wood pigeons, 3 landrails, 2 quails, 
 8 snipes; besides 10 more partridges shot dead and lost, 
 which would bring the list to 207 ; reckoning fairly, however, 
 as to what I bagged, the total is 197 head. 
 
i825 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 287 
 
 i^tJi. — Drove over to Lord Rodney's to see him relative 
 to our regiment meeting, to play at soldiers and swallow 
 sloe juice on the 28th of this month. 
 
 26//^. — Having received orders for twenty-eight days' 
 training of the North Hants Regiment, I this day left town 
 and arrived at Longparish, in order to prepare for playing at 
 soldiers and swallowing sloe juice. 
 
 2'jtJi. — Went out to get some birds for the Duke of 
 Clarence, despairing of success as no one had been able to do 
 anything. I persevered, however, and killed 16 partridges; 
 and the next day, the 28th, I joined the regiment at 
 Winchester. 
 
 October \st. — Too busy soldiering to think of pheasant 
 shooting, though I had some very tempting invitations with 
 promises of extraordinary sport. 
 
 \2tJ1. — Having got a few days' emancipation from sloe 
 juice and pipe clay, I this morning mounted the rostrum of 
 the ' Telegraph,' and arrived, on some business, in the far 
 more agreeable town of London. 
 
 i^tJi. — Returned per mail [alias the paper cart) to our 
 Bacchanalian servitude in Winchester. 
 
 25///. — Our training, thanks to my stars, is this day at an 
 end ; and so should I have been also, had I been obliged to 
 weather another such a month. What with sitting till mid- 
 night over sloe juice, occasional suppers &c. (kept up till 
 morning), plays, balls, grand singing, dinners, &c., in short, 
 one incessant round of company, I was almost worn out, as 
 this to me is the very devil. The little duty which I had to 
 do was the only mental recreation which this sink of dissipa- 
 tion would afford. This evening we all went over to Alresford 
 House, where Lord Rodne}' gave a grand dinner, and beds 
 to the whole regiment ; and we sat up till two at music. 
 
 26tJi. — Tried some experiments on the lake (accompanied 
 by Reade, who came to me on purpose) for the amusement of 
 the officers and a large concourse of spectators assembled 
 
288 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Oct. 
 
 from all parts, and astonished my lookers-on by some ex- 
 cellent shots at coots, the only fowl then on the pond. 
 Previously to this, by the bye, I turned out at five in the 
 morning — after being up till near three — in order to storm 
 an enormous army of starlings, into which I blew off the 
 great double gun with 30 ounces of small shot, just before 
 sunrise. What I killed it is impossible to say, but, from the 
 appearance of the huge hole blown through the phalanx of 
 birds, my spectators guessed at least 500, though I could get 
 but a mere share of those which fell, as nearly all of them 
 dropped in the reeds and on quagmires. What I bagged at 
 the time, however, was 243 starlings at one shot.^ The 
 feathers which the wind blew towards and over us, after the 
 shot, I could compare to nothing but a heavy fall of black 
 snow. 
 
 2ZtJi. — The first quiet day I have passed for some wrecks. 
 The transition was like the stopping of a noisy mill. 
 
 December lyJi. — Returned to Longparish. 
 
 lytJi. — After passing the morning at Andover, I this day, 
 though suffering with a severe headache, went out at a quarter 
 past two, and was home again before four o'clock with 5 
 snipes, 5 jack snipes, and i teal, which I killed without 
 missing a bird. 
 
 19///. — I snipe and 2 jack snipes, and was then driven 
 home by rain, which was no loss, as, by what little I could 
 see, I had nearly cleared off all the snipes here on Saturday. 
 
 1826 
 
 January 2nd. — Sent Reade and Charles to remove my 
 new gunning flotilla, for a trial on the sea, to Keyhaven. 
 
 ' P.S. — December 2'jth. My man Charles came home from a mission to 
 Alresford, and brought back word that, since I was there, the reeds were cut, and 
 the workmen found between 200 and 300 more starlings. If so I was right in 
 guessing that I killed 500 at a shot, and they say that all this army of starlings 
 evacuated their garrison the day after I besieged them. 
 
i826 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 289 
 
 yd, — They and I arrived safe at Keyhaven. 
 
 A^tJi. — Emplo}'ed all da}- in getting our apparatus in order. 
 
 ^th. — Though it blew a tremendous gale, from east by 
 scuth, my sailors and I were anxious to try our new punt, 
 the ' Lion ' to-day, it being Thursday, which we supersti- 
 tiously fancy a lucky day. We began working up to v/indward, 
 at daylight, in order to drop down on what few geese were 
 arrived. But it so happened that the first birds we fell in 
 with were about 60 wigeon. My punt was so invisible, 
 that we got well in shot of them ; but, being loaded only with 
 mould shot, and having to fire through a tremendous surf, 
 which took the charge from the object, I got but one old 
 cock wigeon, though we had the satisfaction to find that ever}'- 
 thing answered remarkably well. All sport at an end by ten 
 o'clock A.M., as the water had then left the mud ; and nothing; 
 could live outside, as it poured with hail, sleet, snow, and 
 rain, and blew ready to tear the very trees up. 
 
 6tJi. — A gale of wind all night and all day, with a tremen- 
 dous pour of rain ; fired one shot, a long one, and got but 
 I wigeon : and was then, as yesterday, imprisoned b\' the 
 weather from ten in the morning till night. 
 
 9///. — A frost and fine weather. Reade went out to recon- 
 noitre the creeks in my old Poole punt, and merely took my 
 old forty-shilling shoulder gun a few hours before daylight. 
 He happened to fall in with a newly migrated bunch of fowl, 
 all in a heap, and got close to them, and at one shot with this 
 gun killed and got 5 ducks and mallards, 12 wigeon, 2 pintails^ 
 and I grey plover. 
 
 \OtJi. — Calm weather, scarcely a bird in harbour ; did 
 fairly, for the little chance there was. Got i pintail, I scaui> 
 drake, i wigeon, and 3 grey plover. 
 
 \2tJL — A butterfly day; every jackass afloat with a 
 blunderbuss or a swivel gun ; all the fowl driven out to sea, 
 and there enjoying a dead calm. I killed 4 coots, and then 
 came in, and went to bed after dinner. Turned out again at 
 
 VOL. L U 
 
290 COLONEL HAWKER'S DLA.RY Jan. 
 
 midnight, and on the morning of the 13th, about half-past 
 two, got 13 ^^•igeon, by starlight. Every one quite dead. 
 
 14//?. — Out from, after midnight till seven this morning. 
 Foggy weather, and wigeon, as they always are then, too 
 restless to be done anything with. Out from two till night ; 
 not a bird in harbour, and I killed nothing all day, except a 
 jack snipe, that I discharged my musket at. I this day 
 heard that, notwithstanding the very cold weather and hard 
 frost, there was scarcely a bird to be seen in Lymington 
 market, or even to be got from any of the gunners, so unac- 
 countably scarce have they as yet been. Not a goose to be 
 seen or heard of ; a bird that this coast has generally afforded 
 in all weathers. Sent Reade to crawl in the mud sledge about 
 eight, I being afraid, after my late illness, to crawl on the 
 mud this season. He got 4 wigeon, but found the birds very 
 ' ticklish.' 
 
 i6t/i. — Out at four ; few birds, and no tide to eet at them : 
 got but I wigeon and 2 coots. I then went to Longparish, and 
 providentially arrived just before a dreadful fire took place in 
 the village ; by which means I had the pleasure of being some- 
 what useful to the poor sufferers, by starting a subscription &c. 
 on the morning of the 17th, just before the engines had sub- 
 dued the flames. Three houses, Morrant's, Mersham's, and 
 Siney's, were burnt to the ground, and not a vestige of pro- 
 perty was saved. 
 
 18///. — Alresford (Lord Rodney's). 9 dunbirds, 7 tufted 
 ducks, T golden-eye, i morillon, I teal, 4 snipes, 8 jack 
 snipes, and several coots, that got shot with the other birds. 
 I missed only one shot, and that at a snipe, far out of reach. 
 My best shot, with the duck gun, was 9 mixed fowl. But 
 the whole country was, and is now for ever likely to be, ruined 
 by the preserve of Mr. Alexander Baring, of the Grange Park, 
 who feeds and monopolises, merely to ornament his water, 
 and tickle his fancy, half the fowl in Hampshire. I drove 
 there, expressly to see his collection, and I am confident 
 
iS26 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 291 
 
 I saw not less than 8,000 fowl on the water before his 
 house. 
 
 2ist.—A mild, foggy day, and no chance for sport. Took 
 a cruise all the way down Channel, as far as off Newtown in 
 the Isle of Wight, in the gunning punt, and though out from 
 five in the morning till two in the afternoon, never got a shot. 
 
 Out again at night from seven till eleven ; heard a few 
 wigeon, but the tide was not high enough to get at them. 
 
 2'^rd. — No chance by day, and the only one we had, at 
 night, spoiled by some rascally shore popper. 
 
 24///. — Out by day and night again. Very foggy, and 
 consequently no chance with the wigeon. 
 
 25///. — 4 wigeon. Out all day and all night, with but very 
 poor chances. 
 
 26th. — Out all day and all night ; no chance till about one 
 in the morning. 
 
 27///. — Got 9 wigeon ; only found one little trip of about 
 16, and caught them under the moon. Some more were 
 picked up, so I guess I did vastly well with them. In the 
 evening was unlucky, at the only shot at geese I have had this 
 year. I got within 150 yards of about 300, and owing to a tri- 
 fling derangement of my swivel gun, I shot a yard under them. 
 Again, after midnight, I was unlucky. I had been lying for 
 three hours alongside a fine trip of wigeon ; at last I got close 
 in to them, and when in the very act of raising my gun to blow 
 a double lane through them, at about two in the morning, 
 an infernal custom-house boat opened the point, and put 
 them up. 
 
 30///. — II wigeon and i brent goose. Nothing but a few 
 small trips were in at night. About three I shot at 6, and 
 stopped them all. A gale of wind and rain in the afternoon, but 
 I hurried back from Lymington, where I went on some law 
 business, and saved my tide for the geese. I knocked down 
 3, but I was forced to come home, owing to the heavy sea. 
 This was the only shot I got after working hard till dusk. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 3ii-/. — Took our tide at half-past two this morning; out 
 till daylight ; tremendous rough weather, and not above 20 
 wigeon in harbour, and we came in with a wet gun without 
 having fired a shot. Took the evening tide, but never found 
 a bird. Westerly gales and all appearance of what little sport 
 there is being nearly at an end for the season. 
 
 February \st. — Out three hours before daylight ; no wigeon 
 in harbour ; got a wild duck and a godwit while sailing in to 
 breakfast. It then set in a warm wet day ; out from two in 
 the afternoon till seven ; no birds on the tide, and a fog at 
 night. 
 
 2nd. — Out before five this morning, being determined to 
 persevere ; no chance for a shot, and there was too much 
 wind and hazy weather to attempt anything in the evening ; 
 consequently, the lot of every gunner was a blank day. 
 
 4///. — Arrived in London. 
 
 Nothing particular occurred in town, except the bankruptcy 
 of Joe Manton and the sale of his effects. 
 
 13//?. — Keyhaven. We were prepared to turn out at half- 
 past one this morning, but it came on hazy and wet, with a 
 westerly wind ; so all chance was at an end, though when I 
 left London only the day before yesterday we had a fine 
 east wind with a pretty hard frost. Thus we were, as usual, 
 made 'gaol birds' of again. In the afternoon wc took a 
 sail and landed on the shingles of the Needles, where 
 all the dunlins and curlews go at high water, and defy the 
 gunners. I popped away at the dunlins, and knocked down a 
 couple of dozen, and also shot a cormorant, or, to use the slang 
 term, ' lowered a parson,' but we should have buried a cask, 
 and tied a cat to a peg, to have done well. Then we might 
 have had good sport. We went out, four hands on board, 
 or this expedition might have been dangerous, as we had 
 quite as much sea * as we knew what to do with.' On our 
 return, about six in the evening, Buckle had arrived to pass the 
 evening here, and try some experiments with me to-morrow. 
 
i826 COLONEL HAWKER^S DL\RY 293 
 
 15///. — Wind and rain morning, noon, and night, and not 
 a bird to be seen or heard. Keyhaven more Hke a cell in 
 Newgate than a place for recreation, during such cruel weather 
 as we have hitherto had to undergo. 
 
 \6tJi. — Wind and rain all night till daylight this morning, 
 when at last it was tolerably dry overhead, though a strong 
 westerly wind. We were this day very anxious to try the 
 new elevation of the gun, as we had evidently been shooting 
 under before. The only shot I got was at dunbirds, into 
 which I fired both barrels, and a most satisfactory little shot 
 I made. I picked up 58, nearly all dead, which was two- 
 thirds of what I had to shoot through. Thus far, everything 
 appears to answer extremely well. No fowl about to-day ; 
 out again about sunset ; wind very fresh, but no water over 
 the mud. 
 
 N.B. — The discovery of this improved elevation for the gun 
 has tenfold repaid me for running down here again. Had it 
 not been for this, I should have repented my journey, as the 
 wild fowl have now almost all disappeared, and I dare say 
 may have already migrated to their breeding country. 
 
 lyth. — Wind from the westward ready to blow the house 
 about our ears, and a deluge of rain ; not a bird to be seen 
 or heard, and the whole country apparently cleared off by 
 this unfavourable wind. Not the most distant prospect of 
 having anything more to shoot at. 
 
 Reade ran out in the rain and ' lowered a parson ' (shot 
 a cormorant). This bird made some fun for us. He had 
 thirty shot through his skin ; three flat fish and an eel were 
 taken out of him, and three shot through the flat fish, also 
 through undigested stuff like meat. So that Reade had shot 
 fish, flesh, and fowl flying ; and in spite of this blow the nine- 
 lived glutton led us a chase for twenty minutes before he got 
 sick enough to be caught, although shot at, within 40 yards, 
 by a shoulder duck gun. He was disposed of as follows : 
 the skin to make a dandy collar for a coat ; the feathers to 
 
294 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb. 
 
 make me drawing pens ; and his carcase begged by my boat- 
 man Williams, who engaged two friends to partake of him 
 for a deHcate Sunday's dinner. Employed all hands the 
 whole of this afternoon in packing up and putting away our 
 coasting paraphernalia, preparative to leaving Keyhaven 
 to-morrow. 
 
 I St/i. — Left Keyhaven. 
 
 Fowl killed to February 22nd, 1826: 46 snipes, 2 geese 
 only (scarcity this year unprecedented), 7 ducks, 64 wigeon, 
 2 teal, 3 pintails, 19 dunbirds, 4 grey plover, 2 godwits. 
 Total, 149 head of fowl. 
 
 My new shooting outfit in every single item proved to 
 answer inimitably, so that all we wanted was a more plentiful 
 season, as this one at Keyhaven proved to be the worst ever 
 known. All I could boast of, therefore, was having killed 
 more than all the other people put together. 
 
 March 18///. — London. I was till now an invalid, but 
 being this day a little better, I went (wrapped up) in the even- 
 ing to Covent Garden Theatre in order to hear my favourite 
 overture of ' Der Freischiitz ' conducted by the immortal com- 
 poser himself, Carl Maria Von Weber. Nothing could be 
 more sublimely beautiful, and the applause that was drawn 
 forth by the appearance of this great composer was no less 
 flattering than just. 
 
 19///. — Sunday. The best rermon (for explanation of the 
 Scripture, analogy, metaphor, language, logic, and energetic 
 delivery) that I have ever yet heard, was this day preached at 
 St Mary's, Bryanstone Square, by the rector, the Rev. Mr. 
 Dibdin, on the subject of St. Paul's shipwreck. 
 
 May 2nd. — Left town, meaning to pass the night at 
 Virginia Water provided I could be admitted to see the 
 King's Park, the boundary of which is close to a little inn 
 called the ' Wheatsheaf at that place. On my arrival I 
 was informed that no one could be admitted after two 
 o'clock ; and that even before was a particular favour. I went 
 
i826 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 295 
 
 to Mr. Turner, the head ranger, and on making known 
 to him who I was, he very poHtely sent a keeper with me, 
 who showed me all the" King's fishing boats, aviaries, Green- 
 land canoe, and, in short, everything that could possibly be 
 inspected except the interior of the King's cottage, which no 
 one is allowed to see ; and after walking several miles on 
 the borders of the lake, surrounded with some of the finest 
 forest scenery I ever beheld, and twice crossing it in one of 
 his Majesty's punts, I returned, highly delighted and quite 
 tired, to the inn. 
 
 Mr. Turner was a scientific wild-fowl shooter, which, of 
 course, formed an immediate kind of masonry between us ; 
 and I have perhaps in part to attribute to this his very great 
 civility. 
 
 ijtJi. — Took a run in the ' Eclipse ' steam packet to Mar- 
 gate. 
 
 1 8///. — Saw and went to church at Margate. Took a row 
 out and bathed, went to Broadstairs &c. and saw all worth 
 seeing ; and, on the 19th, left by the 'Dart' steam packet at 
 eight in the morning, and landed on the Tower stairs at half- 
 past two, making the passage of about 84 miles besides 
 offing &c. in six hours and a half Nothing can surpass, in 
 every respect, the perfection of these packets. Every accom- 
 modation, good living, reasonable charges, music on board, 
 and, in short, every inducement to make it pleasant. 
 
 20tJi. — I remained in London to bring out the fifth edition 
 of my sporting book ; the third having been sold in ten, and 
 the fourth in nine, months. 
 
 July \otJi. — Longparish. Left for Keyhavcn to see a few 
 days' work done to my boats, to arrange about my new pur- 
 chase of Coombs's little place, &c., but was detained some 
 hours at Winchester, in consequence of a sad accident with 
 my fine favourite brown horse. On going, very slowly, down 
 the hill about three-quarters of a mile from that vile town, he 
 fell with such violence as to pull me out of the gig ; and. 
 
296 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY July 
 
 most unfortunately, a large flint took his knee directly across 
 the sinew and divided it like the pinion of a fowl. In spite 
 of all the farrier's hopes and consolations, I made up my mind 
 to the loss of this valuable horse, that I could have had 130 
 guineas for, and proceeded, as well as I could, with the chest- 
 nut horse, to Keyhaven. 
 
 i^th. — After having several annoyances with this chestnut 
 horse, rearing up like a goat and then lying down like a pig, 
 &c., I this evening drove as far as Southampton on my way 
 back to Longparish. 
 
 igth. — Returned to Longparish, and, on my way through 
 Winchester, found my horse, as I expected, in a dreadful 
 state ; but the farrier, Mr. Dixon, a clever man, still wished me 
 to try him another week. But on the 21st a note was brought 
 me over from Winchester, saying it would be charity to kill 
 the poor beast. Thus was there an end of the finest gig horse 
 that I ever was master of 
 
 August 1st. — London. Word brought to me that my 
 other horse, the chestnut, had been thrown down and broke 
 his knees. The accidents are now out of number, everywhere, 
 owing to the roads having been without rain for so many 
 weeks. I had also a letter with the particulars of the death 
 of one of the oldest and best friends I had in the world, poor 
 Jack Ponton, my old brother sportsman, and one of the best 
 shots ; and, what is far better, one of the best men that ever 
 lived. Thus have been cut off, in the prime of life, our two 
 greatest shots in the district, if not in the kingdom ; poor 
 Wardell last summer, and poor Ponton this summer. 
 
i826 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 291 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 1826 
 
 September ist. — Friday. In London, being as yet too 
 unwell to venture away for shooting. 
 
 27td. — Finding myself, however, rather better, I went quietly 
 out of town by the ten o'clock coach this day, and got to Long- 
 parish for a six o'clock dinner. The report as to birds was 
 favourable, except that they were so extremely wild that not 
 even the best shots had done anything worthy of mention. As 
 for me, I never voted shooting so great a bore as just at this 
 moment ; and, were it not for my wish to supply a few friends 
 and the farmers, which I could not trust to the bunglers 
 here to do, I would gladly have left my guns in their cases, 
 and gone somewhere for a healthy excursion and change of 
 scene. 
 
 4///. — My first day. The weather mended considerably ; 
 but the country was so extremely barren as scarcely to afford 
 a vestige of covert for the birds. The stubbles were all trod 
 down by sheep and ' leasers,' and, owing to the previous dry 
 weather, there were no turnips large enough to shelter the 
 game. The birds were plentiful, but much wilder than ever I 
 knew them in September ; insomuch that scarcely one covey 
 in ten would allow even the dogs to come within gunshot. I, 
 however, by means of mustering a good army of markers, and 
 harassingthe birds by repeated charges of cavalry, so completely 
 tired them down at last, that I performed this day the most 
 that ever w^as done by me or anyone in the annals of Long- 
 
298 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 parish sporting. I bagged 56 partridges and (for our country 
 in one day, a miracle) 7 hares in nine hours : never lost a 
 bird the whole day. Owing to the extreme wildness of the 
 birds, I was, of course, obliged to fire many random shots ; 
 but notwithstanding I was so weak from having been unwell^ 
 I may safely say I did not lose a bird by bad shooting the 
 whole day, as the only two fair shots I missed were at single 
 birds, both of which I secured with my second barrel. Taking 
 everything into consideration, this is the greatest day I ever 
 had in my life. 
 
 5///. — Had a general day's rest for men, horses, and dogs, 
 and everything except the birds, which were, of course, a 
 little popped at by other parties. The bad weather came on 
 again this afternoon. 
 
 6///. — A hurricane of wind and a deluge of rain. N'iinporte. 
 
 1 have had sport enough to last me a week. 
 
 lA^tJi. — A wild windy day, and the stubbles as bare as the 
 meadow. I could only get 1 5 partridges, i hare, and i snipe ; 
 though, in spite of being very unwell, I shot famously. Such 
 is the state of the country now that a good bag would require 
 more exertion than I am equal to at this moment. 
 
 i^th. — 15 partridges. 
 
 As the strong, dry, easterly wind appears to be now set 
 in, and good sport at an end for the present, I worked 
 hard (though I shot well) to get the above 1 5 birds, which 
 will just complete my promises to friends, and make up an 
 even 50 brace in the one grand day and three quiet mornings' 
 shooting. On completing the 100 partridges I left the field,. 
 truly happy to get rid of the trouble of such unpleasant 
 shooting. 
 
 Game killed in September 1826 : 122 partridges, 8 hares, 
 
 2 snipes. Total, 132 head. 
 
 What with being unwell myself, and absent in London, 
 I was only out 5 days. My first day was on the 4th, when I 
 bagged 61 head, and, I believe, beat all England. This was 
 
i826 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 299 
 
 posted, as a miracle, in all the papers, because the birds were 
 never known to be so wild ; considering all things, I shot 
 famously. 
 
 October gth. — Another of my best and oldest friends dead, 
 Mr. Bertie Mathew, whose funeral I attend to-day, unfit as I 
 am for anything, from my serious illness, much less for a 
 melancholy undertaking like the present. 
 
 November ist. — London. Having got well enough to limp 
 about, I this day went down to Fullerd's, at Clerkenwell, in 
 order to fire my old swivel gun, which I had altered to my 
 new spring plan, and it gave me great satisfaction. 
 
 \\th. — Longparish. Up to the eyes in experiments and 
 preparations. Captain Ward — my new pupil, whom I set up 
 with a man, a gun, and all my wrinkles — arrived this day, pre- 
 parative to a grand trial of our two unrivalled gigantic guns. 
 
 2yd. — Busy jobbing, and did not pull a trigger till to- 
 day, when I just walked out and got i miserable snipe, 
 Reade being gone to Purbeck for his family, and I am now- 
 waiting for him. 
 
 25//^.^Reade, with his wife and two children, took up 
 their quarters (which I lent them for six months) in my 
 cottage at Keyhaven that I lately purchased of Mr. Beck, after 
 some delay In my being able to remove the previous tenant. 
 This chiefly detained me here, as there is not a bird on the 
 coast. 
 
 December 2nd. — Keyhaven. Detained by bad weather 
 and illness — said by Doctors Badger and Nyke to be gout, and 
 by Sir E. Home not to be gout — till this day, when I started 
 for Longparish. After being dragged about Southampton to do 
 my commissions in a ' donkey fly,' I proceeded on my journey 
 home. I took a shot out of the gig and killed 2 partridges 
 belonging to some squire or other just to try how the new 
 musket would reach them, and how old Lazarus (my grey 
 horse) would stand fire. Both the gun and the horse pleased 
 me much better than I should have done the squire had he 
 
300 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Dec. 
 
 seen the shot. While last in Southampton a rogue charged 
 me ^s. 6d. for a ' fly ' for about twenty minutes. I swore I 
 would never give 3^-. 6d. for a fly again, so I got the donkey 
 one at is. 6d. the hour. But c/ie sard sard, the vehicle was 
 so small that I thrust my elbow through the glass, for which 
 I had to pay 2s. ; so, after all, it was to be that I must pay 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 1827 
 
 January ^tJi. — Being much better and we having now had 
 several days' frost and snow, I this day started for Keyhaven. 
 Just after I left the yard at Longparish I was called off after a 
 particularly large woodcock, which, after several hours' search 
 and a hard fag, I contrived to pocket the first shot. A great 
 victory over the usual bad luck of Friday, and a magnificent 
 bird to begin the new year with. 
 
 6th. — Arrived at Keyhaven this night, and (strange that 
 it should almost always happen so) brought a change of wind 
 to the filthy south-west, and a wet evening. Not a bird has 
 been killed yet, and scarcely any birds have been seen here, 
 though the weather was, till this day, so favourable for sport. 
 
 ZtJi to loth. — Wind, rain, and every other kind of miser- 
 able weather that, as if by magic, I always contrive to conjure 
 up on my arrival at Keyhaven. Reade, after working four 
 whole nights, got 2 wigeon, which are perhaps, at this moment, 
 the only 2 in our district. Thank God, however, I am better, 
 so I pocket the affront of having nothing to shoot at, so long 
 as I derive benefit from the sea air. 
 
 igth. — This evening the weather set in fine with a beauti- 
 ful easterly wind ; but, till now, we have had nothing but 
 wind and rain from the miserable west ; and, except killing 
 a cormorant, I have never pulled a trigger, though I perse- 
 vered regularly throughout every night and always came 
 home with an empty bag. 
 
 22nd. — At last we have the blessing to enjoy severe 
 
1 827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 301 
 
 weather : frost, snow, and a tremendous gale from the east- 
 ward all day ; we could hardly live in it, but of course 
 persevered. I got two shots : first bagged lo, and second 
 6 wigeon ; we came in as wet as shags with i6 wigeon. 
 
 2yd. — 29 wigeon, i teal, i dunbird, 11 godwits, i plover, 
 and I knot, making 44 head, besides 4 dozen of dunlins and 
 many wigeon of mine that other people got. My best shot 
 was just before daylight. I picked up 15 wigeon and i teal 
 on the spot ; and, had not the left barrel of my gun missed 
 fire, I should have doubled this shot. The only time both 
 barrels went was at 12 wigeon on the edge of the creek by 
 daylight ; I killed them every one, and bagged 10 of them. 
 No one else in and around Keyhaven has yet done anything, 
 so I have every reason to be content. 
 
 24//^. — Wind dropped westerly after a beastly white frost ; 
 birds suddenly disappeared again. 
 
 I had been up since three this morning for a grand 
 daybreak shot, which I was within two minutes of firing 
 when all was ruined by a jackass with a blunderbuss in a 
 washing tub. 
 
 25//^. — 6 wigeon ; the right barrel missed fire, or should^ 
 of course, have doubled the number. 
 
 This night the brutal west wind shifted, and things look 
 better again. 
 
 28///. — Sunday. An abominable westerly wind again 
 and cold miserably stormy weather, as bad for birds as for 
 oneself 
 
 29//^. — Out in the morning, and had no chance for a shot. 
 Out in the evening, and it was too dark for flight. Reade 
 out till ten at night ; and it was too dark and thick to do 
 anything \\ith what few birds were in harbour. 
 
 ^oth. — Beastly rotten cut-throat weather, enough to suffo- 
 cate you all day, and at night as thick as mustard. Several 
 wigeon still remain ; but we must have starlight, or moon, 
 before we can attempt getting another shot. We could shoot 
 
302 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 without seeing, but then the wigeon will never keep together 
 in thick nights. 
 
 February \st. — Finding that the vagabond mud launchers 
 made a point of working over the mud every night, before the 
 tide flowed, I this day purchased of Lieutenant Harnett, R.N., 
 the prettiest mud punt and mud gun in all this country. 
 So now Reade and I can cope with the mud-crawling reptiles 
 * at all tacks.' 
 
 Wet weather all this afternoon, and then a wet night. 
 Reade went out after midnight to try Harnett's new set- 
 out ; he got 2 wigeon towards the morning, at which he made 
 such a shot as to be, beyond anything, pleased with the 
 bargain I had made for the mud gun and punt. 
 
 2nd. — Was not out to-day, and merely fired a shot with 
 the musket, with which I killed an old cock wigeon from the 
 quay. The wind changed this evening to north-east, and 
 things look better again. 
 
 yd. — The wind got well away from the old miserable 
 quarter, west, and stood north-east with clear frosty air. 
 Reade came in with 3 wigeon about three this morning. A 
 gale of wind all day, and consequently no living outside ; 
 and, being the 'dead of the nip,' we had no water inside 
 harbour ; we had therefore no chance even to see birds this 
 day. About midnight Reade got 3 more wigeon with the 
 new launching punt, which, at this time of tide, is the only 
 possible means of getting a bird. 
 
 5///. — Out the whole day sailing at sea (the only thing we 
 could do), and brought home but i wigeon. 
 
 J til. — Reade came in this morning with 12 wigeon (by 
 launching, which is the only remedy for this detestable, ever- 
 dry harbour). 
 
 jtJi. — Harbour dry, and a tremendous sea outside ; I got 
 but one little shot all day, when I killed 2 coots. No 
 flight at night, nothing but mud work. I launched about for 
 two hours with the new mud punt after a few straggling birds. 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 303 
 
 and came in at nine without shooting. Reade went off again 
 before midnight, and came in at daybreak with deHghtfut'- 
 success ; he brought in 21 wigeon, 18 of which he killed at 
 one shot. 
 
 What a country ! that an old rattle-trap mud punt should 
 be the only way of going after fowl, and that all the other 
 guns and punts would, nineteen days out of twenty, be com- 
 paratively mere lumber. 
 
 8///. — Tantalised again with a fine easterly wind, a dry 
 harbour and a hurricane outside — and, notwithstanding the 
 wind, there was no evening flight. Reade went off for the 
 night about six o'clock in the only effective craft — the mud 
 punt — intending to crawl in the slush through the whole of 
 the blessed night. 
 
 (^tJi. — Reade had got but 2 wigeon the whole of the past 
 night. It was so cold the birds would not sit on the mud. 
 A tremendous gale all day ; the harbour as dry as a ploughed 
 field, and no boat could live outside. Every floating gunner 
 a prisoner ; and I, for exercise, took a walk and killed a roost 
 of small birds, the only game on the manors of this desert. 
 Reade went off mud crawling at night, but never heard a 
 single fowl ; I went to flight, saw nothing but a wild duck 
 and a coot, both of which I knocked down and brought 
 home. 
 
 lOtJi. — Dry harbour and a gale outside ; made an attempt 
 to get out, but was forced to put back ; and on coming home 
 (within a quarter of a mile from the quay) I was very near 
 doing wonders, though (as the devil would have it) I did 
 nothing through unfortunately having small shot in my gun. 
 Reade paddled me up to within 130 yards of a huge sea eagle. 
 I let fly, beat him down, and then up he got, and went away 
 out of sight. I had scarcely done watching for him when 
 five hoopers came directly towards me, and then hove up at 
 about 1 20 yards ; I let fly the other barrel, but, for want of 
 being loaded with mould shot, I lost both my grand prizes. 
 
304 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb. 
 
 12///. — Reade, wlio had wallowed in the mud since mid- 
 night (directly Sunday was over), came in this morning with 
 1 1 wigeon, which he got at one shot about two o'clock from my 
 new mud sledge. Nothing in harbour to-day, though a pretty 
 fair tide. I was out from nine at night till two ; got a shot 
 at about 14 wigeon and bagged 9. Reade went on at half-past 
 two mud launching ; he brought in about daylight 2 wigeon, 
 and would have had about 6 more had not his gun flashed in 
 the pan. 
 
 13///. — No birds about, though cold frosty weather, so I 
 took this day for doing some jobs to my punts. Out 
 all night ; a cold, white frost ; slack tide in spite of the full 
 moon, and not a bird in harbour, or even outside. Sorry 
 Keyhaven for a gunning place ! Reade relieved me soon 
 after two, when the water fell ; and, after crav/ling on the 
 mud till half dead, and till daylight appeared, he never saw, 
 nor even heard, a single fowl. 
 
 \^tJi. — There being nothing else to do, I turned my wits 
 to a few miserable geese that had, ever since October, been 
 the public target of every shooter, from the launcher to the 
 armed cobbler, and never had one reduced from their com- 
 pany. By way of a valentine, I mixed them up some boluses 
 (like blue grapes) sealed in a sort of shell cartridge. We had 
 the excellent fortune to get within about 300 yards of them, 
 when I let fly and bagged one brent goose, and another fell 
 dead on the breakers, where I dare not follow. This is poor 
 sport, that it should now be working a miracle to get one 
 goose, when, a few years ago, I have knocked down ever 
 100 in a season. Tempora uiutantiir. 
 
 I'^tJi. — Reade came in at daylight this morning, after a 
 whole night's crawl in the mud sledge, with 19 wigeon, which 
 he killed at one shot about five o'clock. Nothing does in 
 this country but mud crawling, as when we have a wind for 
 birds we have no water, and when we have a wind for good 
 tides we have no birds. 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 305 
 
 After going to Lymington on business I renewed my 
 game with these gun -defying geese ; they started up as usual 
 at 300 yards, where my boluses floored 5 of them, with the 
 two barrels, each loaded with 20 ounces. A Yarmouth boat 
 took off 2 before our faces before we could get the punt 
 afloat, after running aground to shoot ; all that I bagged of 
 them, therefore, was 3 brent geese. Had we not made haste 
 to get within hails and damns of these chaps, they would 
 have got all our birds ; but on our coming up they sheered 
 off, and left us the three which I got. There being no tide 
 for night shooting, I trudged off (among divers journeymen 
 and rag-tag fellows) to the flight. All I saw to fire at was 
 I mallard, which I bagged, and this was the only one killed 
 among the whole army of shooters that lined the marsh and 
 the shore. 
 
 iGtJi. — Rcade, having had bad luck with his gun flashing 
 In the pan during the night, came in this morning with 
 only I wigeon. No tide for me so I was again a gaol bird 
 for the day, in spite of a frost. O Keyhaven, Ke}'haven ! 
 not even a wherry could have lived outside, so what was I 
 to do? 
 
 ijtJi. — Reade came in this morning, after mud creeping all 
 night, with only i wigeon. A calm sea at last after a \\'hite 
 frost. Went ofl* on tide in the gunning punt ; and, after 
 crossing the Channel close into the Isle of Wight, almost to 
 Newtown, we fell in with a trip of wigeon, of which I got 6. 
 
 \%tJi. — Sunday. Was packed up last night in order to 
 start to-morrow morning for Alresford, w^hen there set in 
 suddenly the most tremendous gale of wind from the east, 
 and the severest frosts that we have had for the last three 
 seasons. I, of course, countermanded the march, to sec what 
 would be the issue of such delightful gunning weather. 
 
 19//?. — A gale of wind all day ; the harbour half frozen, 
 and all the vagrant gunners racing up and down the shore 
 like Bedlam broke loose. We, with great difficulty, got 
 
 VOL. L X 
 
306 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb. 
 
 through the ice and weathered the wind in the creeks, but out- 
 side not even a vessel could have lived. I got a beautiful shot 
 at 8 ducks, and the gun flashed ; and these birds sat till I 
 primed and flashed again ; but, on retreating to rectify the 
 gun, they flew up. I got another (indifferent) shot after- 
 wards, and bagged 2 ducks and i mallard, and with the 
 hand gun killed a fine old cock pintail and a golden-eye. 
 Plenty of wigeon, but all where we dare not go. 
 
 20tJi. — 2 mallards and i duck on the mud at 8i yards 
 (measured) with a shoulder gun (old Fullerd). 
 
 2\st. — 4 wigeon and i brent goose ; a fine show of birds, 
 but the poppers so innumerable that they could have no rest 
 day or night, and so bad were the chances that, I believe, 
 1 was the only gunner who got a bird to-day. 
 
 22;/^/. — Weather rather more calm ; wigeon all to the 
 eastward at sea ; worked with my shell shot and got 3 brent 
 geese and i burrough duck, all at enormous distances ; not 
 another soul could get near enough even to tickle one, so un- 
 usually wild were the birds. 
 
 2y'd. — Reade, after the sovereign remedy (for this beastly 
 country) cf mud creeping all night, came in with 12 wigeon 
 this morning. The only time that a punt could get water 
 was from eight till twelve. A fine day, and every dandy 
 turned gunner. Not a chance for a fowl, and I believe I was 
 
 the only one who fired a shot. 
 
 24///. — Reade came in, after a blank night at mud crawling, 
 
 and I was out all day and got but i wigeon. A tide at last, so 
 
 went out at night ; a fair show of birds, but as dark as the 
 
 grave. Fired twice, by the sound : got 6 wigeon the first 
 
 shot, nothing the next. 
 
 25///. — Sunday. A thaw after a white frost ; and wigeon 
 
 triumphing in the air all day, as if they knew it was a day 
 
 of rest. 
 
 26///. — A gale of wind from the west, with thick drizzling 
 
 weather and all the wigeon disappeared ; everything indicating 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKERS DL\RY 307 
 
 that the sport for the season, at all events on this coast, is 
 nearly at an end. 
 
 2'jth. — Packed up all our traps, preparative to evacuating 
 Keyhaven to-morrow by daylight. 
 
 A singular coincidence — the last shot I fired or required 
 to fire I broke the lock of my great gun. 
 
 Last season, the last shot I required to fire I broke the 
 swivel. How very kind of the traps never to give way till 
 on the very point of being laid up for the summer ! Our 
 smallest great gun is luckily quite right ; and this is all I 
 want for a few little shots at Lord Rodney's, as I have an old 
 punt, the ' Fox,' there in waiting. 
 
 2%th. — Left Keyhaven, and after travelling at the rate of 
 four miles an hour, in one incessant pour of rain, with a heavy 
 load, the old horse and I arrived at Alresford House just in 
 time for a six o'clock dinner, and after just twelve hours 
 drenching. 
 
 MarcJi 1st. — Alresford. A hurricane of wind all day ; and, 
 at last, such a tremendous fall of rain, that I got wet through, 
 and came home, after getting 4 tufted ducks, 3 dunbirds and I 
 teal. The birds were so scattered that making a shot was 
 impossible ; and I should not have fired once the whole day 
 had it not been to avoid the disgrace of an empty bag. 
 
 I was at the taking up of three cwt. of eels, at the weir, 
 this morning. 
 
 ^t/t. — Got up at three ; climbed over the park paling, 
 and was entrenched by a quarter before four. Got one shot 
 only at i duck and i mallard, both of which I killed ; dis- 
 charged my gun after at 2 coots and killed them, and 
 here ended my morning's work. So completely is the season 
 over now. 
 
 6th. — Left Lord Rodney's for Longparish, and precious 
 gales of wind and pelting storm I had to encounter for the 
 last two hours of my drive, with a very heavy load, and the 
 roads like a quagmire. 
 
808 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY March 
 
 Game and wild fowl &c. killed in the season up to March 
 5th, 1827: 
 
 Game — 122 partridges (all in four days except i brace), 
 8 hares, i pheasant, i woodcock (all I saw), 3 rabbits, 8 snipes 
 (all I shot at). Game, 143 head. 
 
 Fowl — 8 geese (the most killed by anyone on our coast) 
 209 wigeon, 12 ducks and mallards, i burrough duck, 11 
 curres, i pintail, 3 teal. Fowl, 245 head. 
 
 Sea-waders — 5 curlews, 4 coots, 16 godwits, 9 plover, 146 
 ox-birds (in three shots), 2 olives. Waders, 182. 
 
 Grand total, 143 game ; 245 wild fowl ; 182 waders ; 570. 
 Best shot 17 wigeon, 2 teal, and i duck. 
 
 April I2th. — London. Had a grand day from six in the 
 morning till twelve, with Joe Manton and his myrmidons 
 firing with, and regulating the new elevated sights of, my huge 
 double swivel gun, which we w^heeled down to Bayswatcr, to 
 the astonishment of the gaping multitude and idle followers. 
 
 lyth. — Was from nine this morning till five in the evening 
 with John Hussey, Joe Manton's celebrated borer, putting a 
 fresh inside to this gun, down at Fullerd's den in Clerken- 
 well. It was shameful to see what a miserable inside the gun 
 had before we rebored her, and then she looked and shot 
 beautifully. My men Charles and John drew home the gun 
 all along the New Road up to Manton's, lest it might come to 
 harm by being left, as the tiger who took it there on Saturday 
 evening was run foul of by a Paddington stage, on the strength 
 of which he showed fight, and the gun was left at the mercy of 
 a London mob while Smut and Jehu (who descended from his 
 rostrum for a round) put themselves in battle array, and would 
 have fought a battle worthy of the ' Morning Post ' record and 
 Marylebone Office cognisance, but for the interference of the 
 stockbroking passengers, who feared, perhaps, that their ' blunt ' 
 might be in jeopardy during the fracas. 
 
 J\I(7y 2nd. — Gave the great double gun a final trial at Ba\-s- 
 water, attended by some of Joe's best men. Found her won- 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 309 
 
 derfully improved, and therefore satisfactorily ended all the 
 trouble I have had with this job. 
 
 June i6th to i8///. — London. I continued very ill in bed, 
 and could take no sustenance. As if we had not trouble 
 enough, the chimney very kindly took fire, and we barely 
 escaped the usual levy of engines, by a chimney sweeper, a 
 hero in his way, wetting himself to the skin, and then going 
 up through the fire, by which he succeeded in putting it out. 
 
 2gth. — Longparish. We dragged the river to get baskets 
 of fish for the Duke of Clarence and others ; but, although we 
 caught about 50 brace of trout, not one fish among them was 
 more than j lb., so very small do the fish run this season. 
 
 Jiily nth. — Left Longparish for Cowes. No smoke ships 
 after three, so forced to boat it ; got becalmed, broke an oar ; 
 should have been starved but for some bread and cheese and 
 sour beer, at Calshot pothouse, and never reached Cowes till 
 midnight. 
 
 I2th. — Went to Southampton, to superintend some boat 
 jobs that were doing for me. Slept at the ' Sun ' inn on the 
 quay, where the noise was such that all I ever heard before 
 was pianissimo compared to it ; thirty fellows screeching 
 drunk, and singing till daybreak, in one room ; an argument on 
 politics in another, and a gaggle of more than average chatter- 
 ing women in another ; people to and fro all night, and the 
 waiters running about like mad dogs ; but, per contra, I had a 
 good bed, and, what was a miracle in Southampton, no fleas. 
 
 13///. — Went to Keyhaven, a transition to pure sea air, and 
 quietness to boot. 
 
 i6th. — Cowes. A grand tour round the island by the 
 * Medina ' steam packet. Captain Knight, the master, was to 
 have gone first to the eastward, and then, after seeing all that 
 I had not seen, my boat would have met me in the evening 
 off Keyhaven ; instead of which the captain went the wrong 
 way first, to oblige some company, and consequently I had 
 to go all round to Cowes again, and then work my way back 
 
310 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY July 
 
 to Kcyhaven in the evening. The packet made the round in a 
 little better than seven hours. The day was delightful, and 
 the scenery most interesting, though none so good as that 
 at the Needles. At half-past seven, I started in a hack gig 
 for Yarmouth (twelve miles), which I did by nine, and then 
 took a boat and Vv^as rowed the six miles across to Keyhaven, 
 where I landed at a quarter past ten, supped, and went to 
 roost. 
 
 24///. — Cowes. Went to see that beautiful place, Norris 
 Castle, and after passing a pleasant day with a party, was highly 
 amused at the grand evening parade here, by a very tasteful 
 singer and performer on the guitar, who appeared, in every 
 word and action, to be a highly finished gentleman, and who, 
 report says, is an officer in the Guards who is thus collecting 
 mone}' for a great bet. He seemed, when aside, to be hand 
 in glove with all the first circle, and had been, the. previous 
 evening, dancing with the nobility and gentry at the yacht 
 club house. 
 
 26///. — Made a third attempt to go to the Needle rocks, 
 and, for the third time, was disappointed owing to the weather, 
 as it blew so fresh we were obliged to put back, and, for the 
 third time, our provisions were cooked in vain. Ever since I 
 arrived here the rocks have been the object of my first cruise, 
 and not one day have we yet had that would do. Towards 
 noon the weather became boisterous, and threatened a regular 
 miserable, wet-blowing evening ; so my musical friend Lang- 
 staff and I resolved to be a match for St. Swithin ; and, as 
 every horse and wheel was in requisition for Southampton 
 races, and we could not find a boat, we hired old Sadler's 
 lobster cart, the value of which, horse and all, was about 4/., 
 and toddled into Lymington to the high diversion of ourselves 
 and petrifaction of all the staring dandies, and repaired to old 
 Klitz, theClementi of the place. There Langstaff joined in a 
 trio while I went foraging, and it then came on a determined 
 wet night, for which wc were well armed ; as we brought off a 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 311 
 
 fiddle, a tuning hammer, and all the music we could borrow, 
 and sat in with a good fire, for a thorough batch of such noise 
 that neither the wind nor the rain was thought of 
 
 3 1 J/. — This morning, between six and seven o'clock, I 
 started for the grand regatta at Cowes ; and, what was much 
 more grand to me, to survey some duck shooting ground after 
 the show was over. We were to have gone in the ' Cornwallis/ 
 but, as we found her aground, we proceeded in Reade's boat. 
 On our arrival, the place was all in an uproar, similar to the 
 Derby at Epsom, with the addition of a military band, and an 
 endless display of colours. Nothing could be more dull than 
 the yacht race itself, as there was such a want of wind, and the 
 vessels were so completely covered with canvas, that they 
 appeared more like an enormous display of linen hung out to 
 dry, than any objects that were contending for speed. At 
 four o'clock I left Cowes, and joined Captain Ward on board 
 his yacht the 'Guerilla.' We proceeded to Portsmouth, 
 where, for want of wind, we did not arrive till nine, when we 
 dropped anchor nearly alongside my old friend the ' Victory,' 
 the immortal Nelson's ship, in which I once went a voyage, 
 and slept on the very couch where this hero breathed his 
 last. We went ashore at Portsmouth, as Ward had business 
 there, and the place was ' out of the frying pan into the fire,' 
 for what with jollifications for the Lord High Admiral and 
 other naval men, here was, if possible, more noise than at 
 Cowes. We did not get back on board till twelve, when we 
 * turned in,' and prepared for weighing anchor at daylight. 
 This we did next morning. 
 
 August 1st. — Through want of wind and water we could 
 not enter Langston harbour, the place to be surveyed for pos- 
 sible future fowling, till the afternoon, being made prisoners for a 
 very long morning ; we therefore amused ourselves with some 
 bad line fishing, and then eating what we caught, added to some 
 more fish that we got with a ' silver hook.' We dropped anchor 
 in Langston harbour about three, when Singer, Ward's gunner, 
 
312 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug. 
 
 and I lowered a punt in which we kept surveying the harbour 
 till near ten at night. Though shooting w^as not my object, 
 Singer would ship Ward's beautiful stanchion ; and had it 
 not missed fire, owing to a little sea that we shipped, I should 
 have made a grand shot of curlew jacks. 
 
 N.B. — Langston harbour is, without exception, the finest 
 gunning place I ever saw% but, if possible, more infested with 
 gunners than Keyhaven. 
 
 2nd. — Got under way, long before we were up, in order 
 to be sure of getting to Cowes before nine, when the third 
 day's regatta was to commence. As vessels were desired not 
 to cross the course, we waited in the rear till the eight yachts, 
 which started for the prize, were under way, and had got 
 half a mile ahead. We then bore away and fairly passed seven 
 of them, having the advantage also of even the ' Julia,' which 
 was far ahead, insomuch that I think the ' Guerilla,' if well 
 manned and in proper order, would have beat them all, and 
 got the prize. 
 
 This regatta was beautiful, as there was a pretty breeze, 
 which made the effect of it quite different from the other. 
 We arrived at Keyhaven about half-past twelve. 
 
 6tJi. — After twenty-four days passing before there was 
 one sufficiently calm to venture to the rocks, we this day had 
 beautiful weather, and made a very pleasant excursion there. 
 Though the scene was nothing new to me, yet I could always 
 enjoy the beautiful scenery and the terrific grandeur of the 
 cliffs. It was at least two months too late for the rock birds ; 
 all that I shot at was a willock, the only rock bird I saw, and 
 a green cormorant, and these I bagged, besides landing and 
 shooting at 3 rabbits,, all of which I killed at one shot and 
 sacked. No Leicestershire fox hunt, on record, could surpass 
 the chase that we had with the shag, alias cormorant, alias 
 * parson.' After flooring his reverence from a little rock, and 
 leaving him ' keel uppermost,' the invulnerable devil rallied, 
 and led us a chase of between three and four hours and 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 313 
 
 among other places to which he led us was into a sub- 
 terraneous cave among the rocks, where the boat bumped 
 about, and the cavern echoed so as to put us in mind of the 
 incantation scene in ' Freischiitz,' and the old cormorant of the 
 devil Zamiel ; but, after unkennelling the 'gentleman' and 
 going twice to sea again after him, we shut up his daylights, 
 and brought home our bird in triumph as a present for my man 
 Williams, whose teeth vowed vengeance against him for his 
 ensuing Sunday's 'blow-out' I this day tried my old plan of 
 the bell, string and flag, for moving the rock birds off the cliffs, 
 which, had there been a thousand, would have started them 
 every one, as not a gull or cormorant would sit a moment after 
 this novel attack was made, but came pouring down on the 
 sea, and were even accompanied by young nest birds that were 
 so badgered by the sight and sound of this as to take their 
 maiden flutter down on the occasion. We concluded our day's 
 pastime by collecting specimens from the beautiful vari- 
 coloured chalk rock in Alum Bay. 
 
 Zth and (^tJi. — Was employed trying my large gun, regu- 
 lating the elevations &c. Since being fresh bored, I found 
 the gun wonderfully improved, both for strength and close- 
 ness, and as an example I must memorandum the best shot. 
 Reade fired both barrels together, at half a sheet of brown 
 paper i foot lo inches by i foot i inch, and into this, at 90 
 yards, he put 52 No. 2 shot. The single shots were 
 about in proportion, and all well driven for strength in the 
 board. I killed seabirds just for a little trial at living 
 objects, and no birds could have died in better style. 
 
 \Oth. — Was all day in expectation of Captain Ward to 
 try our two unrivalled guns, as great improvements had been 
 made to both of them since the last trial that we made. He 
 arrived, in his yacht, off the quay after a miserable passage, 
 and slept at my cottage here. 
 
 wth. — The trial being completed to our infinite satisfac- 
 tion, as possessing the ne phis ultra of guns, Captain Ward 
 
314 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY AUG. 
 
 dined with me early in order to sail for Southampton to-night. 
 I accompanied him on board the * Guerilla ; ' and after taking 
 a bottle of wine with him there, and seeing him under 
 way in a gale of wind, I went home in Reade's boat, and 
 owing to losing a hat overboard, and getting into a vile 
 mess to recover it, we had a most cruel passage home. 
 Wet to the skin, and twice forced to get overboard up to our 
 middle. 
 
 13///. — This afternoon about five o'clock I was witness to a 
 melancholy accident, on the very spot where we were in such 
 a bad predicament the night before last. Four men started 
 in the highest glee to sail out of Keyhaven harbour and 
 back, each in a separate boat and without oars on board, 
 which was their foolish agreement, and one of them, Thomas 
 Salter, a man unused to boats, ' capsized,' in * gibing,' and sud- 
 denly disappeared, boat and all, to the horror of all the spec- 
 tators. It was an hour before he was dragged up, a corpse, 
 and above two hours before the boat was discovered and 
 dragged up from above six fathoms of water. Mr. Davison 
 got his horse, while I wrote the note for the coroner, and we 
 sent my man Bagshore off for him about eight o'clock this 
 evening to Ringwood. 
 
 14///. — If one could indulge in drollery on a melancholy 
 occasion, we had some reason to do so. Bagshore, or rather Mr. 
 Davison's horse and great-coat, with which he was equipped, 
 was taken for a gentleman on his arrival at the inn in 
 Ringwood, and after being hailed with the usual salutation of 
 bell ringing, ostler calling &c. was shown up in style to a 
 room, charged eighteenpence for his tea, and billeted for the 
 night in the best manner the inn could afford, with scrapes 
 and bows on his departure. And my ' gentleman ' having a 
 little esprit dc corps about him, lugged out his ' blunt ' for ' all 
 hands,' under hope that Mr. Davison would indemnify him, 
 which he kindly did. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin, the coroner, punctually and politely at- 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 315 
 
 tended my summons by twelve this day, and after hearing 
 from me all the particulars, he went through the form of a jury 
 close to our windows here, where the body was brought, 
 and of course gave * accidental death.' 
 
 2ist. — Fired a barrel of the great gun at 3 'jack' herons 
 at about 120 yards, and winged them all three, to the super- 
 exquisite gratification of the coroner, who with his mongrel 
 dog played an able first fiddle in the ' cripple chase.' 
 These imperial grenadier-looking birds ' showed ' such fight 
 against the dogs, that we, being without mud pattens, were 
 nearly an hour before we got them all. They kept retreating 
 over the mud, and occasionally disputed ground w^ith the 
 dogs, in a manner that was quite a la inilitaire. 
 
31G COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 1827 
 
 September \st. — The greatest day on record here. 102 
 partridges and i hare, besides 3 brace more birds shot and 
 lost. 
 
 N.B. — A cold, dry, strong, easterly wind, with no scent ; 
 but I took care to have a fine army of cavalry and infantry, 
 and made ample allowance for the wildness of the birds by 
 the rapidity of our charges. I had no dogs but poor old 
 Duchess and Sappho, both, like myself, among the ' has- 
 beens.' 1 started at nine, had the first ' butcher's halloo,' 
 or three cheers for 20 brace, at two. A second 'butcher's 
 halloo' twenty minutes before six, and I then worked like a 
 slave for the glory of making up 50 brace off my own gun, 
 which I not only did, but, on turning out the game, it proved 
 that I had miscounted, and had gone i brace over the desired 
 number. I believe, under all circumstances, and at all events 
 in our district, this nearly doubles any day on record in the 
 annals of its sporting history. 
 
 2nd. — Sunday. Nothing so fortunate as this, because it 
 keeps all the raw fools off, and allows the birds a little time 
 to forget what has passed. 
 
 yd. — 50 partridges and 2 hares ; the greatest second day 
 in my annals. A still stronger easterly wind. The ground 
 like rocks of stone, and the dust flying like Irish snuff. Birds 
 walking about like poultry, and so wild that even in woods 
 and rushes they would not stay to be fired at, but kept running 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 317 
 
 off like hares ; and, in short, nothing could be done with them 
 till they were dispersed by cavalry and infantry, the labour 
 of doing which made the day's work more like a hot and 
 severe action than a day's sport and pleasure. Every man, 
 dog, and horse was so exhausted as to be quite knocked up. 
 
 4///. — Busy ticketing off a houseful of game. Drove to 
 Andover, and heard that no one round had done a fourth 
 what I had. My w^hole army much exhausted, and a general 
 resting day, A few shooters popping about, but nothing 
 done. There rarely ever is after a grand field day, as the 
 birds have not recovered their nerves to settle quietly. 
 
 ^tJi. — Another general resting day ; men, horses, dogs, 
 and birds still unfit for war. A {^wr poppers over all the 
 ground as usual, but 7iimporte. 
 
 6th. — At them again. Another brilliant and unprece- 
 dented day. 56 partridges and 3 hares. 
 
 N.B. — A cold, dry, easterly wind, with a scorching sun 
 again ; never found a bird for the first hour, but at last dis- 
 covered that the main army of the partridges had entrenched 
 themselves in a piece of thick clover, on the estate of Sir 
 Henry Wilson, of not more than three acres. His friend and 
 steward. Captain Clark, very kindly gave me leave to enter 
 this garrison of game, and directed me to give them no 
 quarter ; so in this one little field I bagged 10 brace of birds 
 and I hare without missing a shot. Indeed, this was the only 
 sport like easy September shooting that I have seen this 
 season. The birds then returned to and dispersed on my 
 own shooting ground, which was well planted with markers, 
 and here we did gloriously. But had it not been for this 
 lucky circumstance, I doubt whether wc should have made a 
 good day's sport ; and I am quite sure we should have been 
 puzzled to make up 200 head of game in three days, which 
 everyone was anxious I should do. As it was, however, I 
 made up 214 head of game in three days' shooting, viz. 
 1st, 102 partridges and i hare; 3rd, 50 partridges and 2 
 
318 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Sept. 
 
 hares ; 6th, 56 partridges and 3 hares. Total, 208 partridges 
 and 6 hares, making 214 head besides lost birds. 
 
 I every day returned home with my cavalry and infantry in 
 proper form of procession, instead of allowing them to straggle 
 in like a vanquished army or disorderly banditti, which 
 attracted no small admiration and laughter among the friends 
 who were with me. 
 
 Having now done what I believe never was done here 
 before, and what possibly may never be done here again, and 
 supplied all the farmers and my friends with game, I shall 
 here terminate the war against the partridges ; and, at all 
 events, leave them to others till I want game again, and can 
 have proper scenting weather to kill a few birds in a quiet way. 
 
 15//A — Mr. Childe the artist arrived at Longparish, and 
 ]\Ir. Joseph IManton, preparative to a painting being made of 
 our partie de chasse. 
 
 lyth. — Assembled my myrmidons for one more grand field 
 day, in order to have some of their likenesses. Mr. Childe 
 attended as a strict observer, and Mr. Joseph Manton shot 
 with me. Our united bag was 48 partridges and i hare, and 
 we returned some time before the day was over, in order that 
 ]\Ir. Childe might complete by good daylight the necessary 
 sketches of the group. My share of the bag was 28 partridges, 
 but had I shot entirely by myself, and been able to waive the 
 usual ceremony of shooting in company, and galloped up to 
 all my birds, as heretofore, I am confident I should have 
 killed 30 brace of birds. I therefore calculate that by taking 
 out another sportsman the larder fell 6 brace short ; because 
 to follow birds up, as I ought in this wild country, I must do 
 that which in company would be unsportsmanlike and un- 
 gentlemanlike to whoever was my companion ; and Joe 
 ]\Ianton, not being one of the quickest movers, either on 
 horseback or on foot, doubly retarded several of the necessary 
 attacks. 
 
 18//^.— Stayed at home with Mr. Childe to arrange for the 
 
*^^-^. -^ _. 
 
 
 vaj^*^,. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 319 
 
 disposition of the picture &c. while a friend and Joe Manton 
 went off shooting. Nothing in ' Hudibras ' or * Quixote ' could 
 be more ludicrously crisp than the result of their day. They 
 were to beat us all by going in a quiet way, and meant to 
 astonish us by showing what could be done by one dog and 
 a little poaching on our neighbours. But (yes, but), as the 
 kitchenmaid (and the devil) would have it, the aforesaid dog 
 unhappily fell foul of a tub of buttermilk just before starting, 
 with which he so preposterously blew out his paunch, that he 
 was pointing all day, not at birds, but to open both his ports 
 in order to be relieved of the cargo he had taken in ; and 
 before he was sufficiently in trim to do anything but make his 
 deposits from one port and cast up his accounts from the 
 other, it was time to come home for dinner, and the finale 
 was a deluge of rain. So much for buttermilk. Joe Manton 
 suspected I had played this trick as a punishment for 
 his challenge ; but I was as innocent of the hoax as they 
 were of the murder of game, they having got but 7 birds 
 all day. 
 
 19///. — 50 partridges and 4 hares, besides lost and divided 
 birds, to my own gun and exclusive share, in 6 hours' shoot- 
 ing with Mr. Henry Fellowes, who is one of the quickest, 
 coolest, and best sportsmen I ever entered a field with. He 
 had a rascally gun that quite spoiled his shooting, though I 
 could see he was a good shot. Had it not been for this, I 
 daresay we should have killed 100 birds in the six hours, not- 
 withstanding we had a very wild, windy day, and a pelting 
 storm just in our best shooting, which spoiled the ground for 
 at least an hour after it had ceased. We had only one gun 
 each. 
 
 Joe Manton, Mr. Childe, and L hung on our leeward 
 
 flank, and got 1 1 brace and i hare. 
 
 20tJi. — Joe ALinton left us for town, highly delighted and 
 astonished with what he had seen. 
 
 ottJi. — A tremendous gale of wind all day, with occasional 
 
320 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 showers. The birds so wild that everyone laughed at me 
 for going out ; and I so ill that I could compare myself to 
 nothing better than the buttermilk dog that accompanied 
 Joseph Manton on the iSth, a memorable day. However, 
 I worked lo brace of birds ; I said I would have them, 
 and I did have them ; and all within less than four hours ; 
 having bagged, besides 4 towered and lost birds, 20 par- 
 tridges and I snipe. And all done by dint of rapid snap 
 shooting. 
 
 2'jtJi. — While my man Charles was gone to Southampton, 
 with despatches for Buckle, relative to building me another 
 new punt, I pottered out on a pony in order to get a few 
 more birds in a quiet way ; but I was forced to quack myself 
 up, for the sortie, with Huxham's bark and sal volatile. I 
 started at half-past twelve, and came in at half-past four with 
 24 partridges, 3 snipes, and the only landrail I have seen or 
 heard of this year, and all without once missing a shot ; 
 though, in spite of beautiful weather, the birds were so wild 
 that half those I fired at were snap shots. I made five double 
 shots and three cannons in the course of the day, and under 
 all circumstances I consider this the best day's sport I have 
 had this season. 
 
 29///. — Having enjoyed some of the best September 
 shooting that I ever heard of, and wanting no more birds just 
 now, I this day left Longparish for London. 
 
 Game killed in September 1827: In seven times going 
 out, viz. four whole days' shooting, 258 partridges and 10 
 hares. One scrambling, ill-managed day, with Joe Manton, 
 28 partridges, and two little quiet sorties of four hours each, 
 and without markers, 44 partridges, 4 snipes, and i landrail ; 
 making in all, 330 partridges, 10 hares, 4 snipes, i landrail. 
 Total, 345 head, besides about 12 brace shot dead and lost. 
 This is the best sport I ever had, or that ever was known 
 here in the memory of the oldest man living. Though far 
 from being in good health, I never shot better. A good 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 321 
 
 breed of birds, but they were particularly wild every day this 
 season. 
 
 October loth. — Arrived at my healthiest of homes, Key- 
 haven. 
 
 1 2)th. — A few wigeon appeared ; went out to reconnoitre, 
 but got no chance. 
 
 lyth. — Got my maiden shot of the season, from which I 
 picked up 2 brent geese, 2 pintails, and i wigeon ; and these 
 were all the birds I had to fire at, except i other goose, that 
 went off severely hit, and dropped off at sea. These 3 are 
 the first geese that have been heard of this season, and very 
 early it is for them. 
 
 I then came home and went game shooting. At the close 
 of the day, however, I made up a brace of partridges. We 
 then had quite an event with an old hare, an animal that is 
 thought as much of at Keyhaven as an elephant. I let fly at 
 her a scrambling shot, a long way off, and through the pota- 
 toes ; down she came, and the dog had a hold of her. Off 
 she set again : Bagshore, Mr. Davison, myself, and a whole 
 banditti had a chase after her for nearly half an hour, till, at 
 last, we gave her up. Soon after she was chased by an old 
 woman, who caught her by the legs, and who let her go in a 
 fright when she began to squeal, for fear that she (the said 
 old woman) should be scratched. Then we heard that this 
 wonderful hare had run into some one's house, and Lord knows 
 how many stories. In short, she was cut all to pieces, and is, 
 no doubt, dead ; and she was the first living creature that I 
 had pulled a trigger at, without bagging, since my arrival in 
 this place. After this curious affair I went home, shipped 
 water boots, shifted my shot, and went out for snipes. All I 
 fired at was i snipe and i jack snipe, both of which I bagged, 
 except discharging my gun at, and killing, a swallow, just to 
 say that I had shot wild geese and a swallow in the same 
 day. Here ended my three heterogeneous sallies in shooting 
 this day ; and, at night, m}' waggon, with my workman, 
 
 VOL. L Y 
 
322 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Oct. 
 
 Buckle, and all the traps for finishing the new light punt 
 arrived, and this is now my chief business at Keyhaven, as 
 the weather is still too mild for sport with wild fowl. What 
 with the hard fag in the day, the uproar of unloading a 
 large freight of traps and goods, and quartering off the 
 myrmidons attendant on them, I had this day quite as much 
 work as would have served any moderate man's exercise for 
 a fortnight. 
 
 20th. — While my men were jobbing, I went out for four 
 hours in order to get a partridge, if possible. The scarcity of 
 game was quite ridiculous. I saw but 6 birds, and these a 
 snap shot. My first barrel missed fire, but with my second 
 barrel I got i partridge, and just saved my charter of never 
 having a blank day. 
 
 2\tJi. — Busy jobbing. About 20 wigeon dropped in off 
 Pennington Lake. Reade and I went off to them in the 
 * Lion.' I let fly both barrels of the swivel gun, and stopped 
 12 of them at about no yards, with which I had every reason 
 to be satisfied. 
 
 25///. — A gale of wind and rain all the morning. In the 
 evening it abated, and we tried the new punt, in an unfinished 
 state, just to ' trim her on all tacks,' and nothing could answer 
 more beautifully than she did. While busy at the punt, a 
 very fine fat knot pitched on the mud, and I ran in for my 
 musket, and got him. This was the only shot I fired to-day. 
 
 3ii'/. — New punt finished and painted to-day. I went out 
 for about four hours, and never saw but a leash of partridges 
 the whole time ; and when T put my leg on one hedge, these 
 birds were flying over the other, at the opposite end of the 
 field. I just saved my charter of never having a blank day 
 by accidentally springing one snipe and bagging him. The 
 only shot I fired. 
 
 November \st. — Sailed all the way to Pitt's Deep, in the 
 ' Lion ' punt, and had such a fine side wind that we made the 
 passage there and back at the rate of seven miles an hour 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 323 
 
 We had thus an opportunity of surveying about twenty miles 
 of coast, and in this we saw but one flock of birds, and these off 
 at sea. I was much amused with an interview with old 
 Harnet (the emperor of the Hampshire gunners), whom I had 
 not seen before, since I was a Johnny Raw at the science 
 (about eleven years ago), and he was in ecstasy with m}' set- 
 out and new inventions. I got no shots, except firing one 
 for the edification of the said Harnet at a mark, which not a 
 little astonished him. 
 
 2nd. — The new punt having been finished last night,. 
 Stephen Keil left us this day, and such a workman, I believe,, 
 never used a tool. Among other house jobs, this morning 
 he made a capital bootjack in fourteen minutes. 
 
 4///. — Sunday. Had a pleasant sail to Yarmouth, where 
 I went to church. Nothing extraordinary occurred, except 
 that the parson forgot to read the Gospel. 
 
 jtJi. — Named the new punt the ' Dart,' and gave the 
 myrmidons a five-shilling wet on the occasion at Reade's new 
 pothouse the ' Gun,' where not only my beer, but lots more ot 
 the brewer's, w^as quaffed on the occasion ; and not one of the 
 Lord High Admiral's launches could have been launched off 
 with more determined energy. 
 
 %th. — Made my first sortie with the ' Dart,' in order to 
 try her at sea ' on all tacks.' Nothing could answer more 
 beautifully. 
 
 wtJi. — Sunday. Went, as usual, to church at Milford, 
 where on this occasion our parson forgot to read the Gospel. 
 
 \lth. — Left Keyhaven for the 'Dolphin' inn (the flash 
 hotel of Southampton), and the only place there where I ever 
 tasted of real comfort. I was busy the whole evening set- 
 tling little bills for the ' Dart ' punt, which came to 32/. 2s. 6d. 
 And so admirably superior has all turned out, that, had it 
 cost twice the money, it would have been well worth it. 
 
 2ist. — Keyhaven. An easterly wind again. Took a 
 cruise in the ' Lion ' in hopes the geese would be blown over 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov. 
 
 with this wind ; but the only fowl I saw or shot at were 2 
 teal and i tufted duck, all of which I killed with one of my 
 new cartridges, in the left barrel of the ' champion ' gun. 
 While stretching my legs ashore, I trod up a snipe, and 
 floored him with the cripple stopper and duck shot. 
 
 22nd. — Started for a regular day's cruise, to survey the 
 whole coast, at daylight, in the ' Lion ' punt, with a north- 
 east wind. Worked up beyond Leap till we were about 
 fifteen miles from Keyhaven,.and except a few geese on their 
 travels in the air, we never saw one single head of wild fowl, 
 though the frost (a rascally white one that always brings rain) 
 was so sharp that we were half starved with cold. We 
 anticipated a delightful passage back, but no sooner had we 
 completed our trip to the east, than the vile white frost 
 changed the weathercock to the west, and we had con- 
 sequently the wind in our teeth both ways. 
 
 2dfth. — Cold wind from the north, with a little frost. I 
 got 5 wigeon out of lO which I shot at, and of which I did 
 not expect to get one in the tremendous sea that they fell 
 in. I fired the great gun into the only company we saw 
 (about 25), and brought down 4 with the first barrel, and 6 
 with the second, after they flew up from the breakers. 
 
 30///. — Having now completed all my little finishing jobs 
 to my satisfaction, and established ready for the winter the 
 best ' turn-out ' of gunning punts and guns in the known 
 Avorld, I this day left Keyhaven, and arrived at Longparish 
 House. 
 
 December \st. — Being sadly in want of a little game, I 
 weathered a day's hurricane, with pelting storms every half- 
 hour, and got an old cock pheasant (the only one I have set 
 eyes on this year), 3 partridges, i jack snipe, and i rabbit, 
 vhich, with i moorhen and 2 birds shot and lost, was all I 
 fired at. 
 
 yd. — Fagged all day, and brought home but 5 partridges, 
 I rabbit, and i pheasant. 
 
i827 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 325 
 
 4///. — I tried to catch a few fish, to show Mr. Davison what 
 our sport would be if it was the season, and, in little more 
 than an hour, I caught 6 brace of fair-conditioned trout. 
 
 5///. — II rabbits, 5 hares, 2 snipes, and 5 pheasants, to 
 my share of a shoot at Hurstbourne Park, in killing which I 
 never missed one shot, except at a hare that popped behind a 
 stump which took off my whole charge. I killed 4 of the rab- 
 bits without seeing them, by firing at random, just ahead of 
 them, as they ran across in the covert. 
 
 6tJL — Pottered over my old beat, round home, and bagged 
 2 pheasants (all I saw) and 7 partridges, besides 2 more par- 
 tridges that towered and were lost. This I did by banging 
 away at all distances, as the birds were extremely wild. 
 
 8///. — 7 partridges, by means of blazing away at all dis- 
 tances, for the lottery of taking heads and wings, as the birds 
 were so wild that fair shooting, even in turnips, was totally 
 out of the question. 
 
 2'jtJL — 2 partridges, 2 snipes, and i jack snipe. Thus have 
 I been slaving for two days to make up one small basket of 
 game for a friend. I never in my life saw the birds so wild, or 
 the country and weather in such a deplorably dull state ; the very 
 look of the fields is enough to give a sportsman the horrors. 
 
 Incessant wet weather up to and on the 31st, so that there 
 has not been the least chance for any more shooting in 1827. 
 
 1828 
 
 January ist. — A deluge of rain from the north-east, which 
 we hope and trust will clear the weather, and bring us over a 
 few fowl. 
 
 2nd. — A fine black frost, with a N.E. wind, and, before I 
 had been two hours on the road for Keyhaven, the fickle 
 cock must needs ' 'bout ship,' and get S.W. with an eternal 
 bellows of wind, and spouting of rain the whole afternoon 
 and night. Such was the damage done on man>' parts of the 
 road, that it was quite a matter of doubt whether all com- 
 
326 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Jan. 
 
 munication was cut off or not. However, after getting sick 
 with some stuff yclept ' mock turtle' at an inn, but more like 
 leather and glue, I reached Keyhaven late at night, and 
 luckily found that the place had escaped very well from the 
 floods. Not a fowl had been seen for many weeks, except 
 a few very wild geese. This I fully anticipated, and there- 
 fore, had I not had some arrangements to make, should not 
 have gone down till the weather was better settled. 
 
 We just loaded the great gun and put all ' in trim,' in case 
 anything should appear. 
 
 4///. — A few very wild geese were seen off below Penning- 
 ton, and no sooner had we started in chase of them, about three 
 miles to leeward, than there came on the most tremendous 
 weather I ever was out in : a hurricane that almost tore up the 
 very mud, hailstones that peppered us like a volley of mus- 
 ketry, and as heavy a fall of rain as I ever saw, with an ad 
 libitinn accompaniment of thunder and lightning. Reade was 
 drenched to the skin, in spite of all his ' dread-nought ' gar- 
 ments, and the punt had a complete freight of rain water 
 on board. But notwithstanding all this, and although the 
 storm lasted more or less for four hours, yet my ' sou'-wester ' 
 dress so defied the elements that I came home as dry all over 
 as if I had been sitting the whole time with dandies in a draw- 
 ing room. 
 
 ^tJi to yth. — Incessant bad weather. 
 
 ^th. — The weathercock flew backwards into the east, with a 
 gale of wind, and rain, all the morning. This being a better 
 quarter for birds, we weathered it, to explore ; and as it blew 
 so hard that we could not row the punt on end, we towed her 
 along the banks all the way to off Lymington. We then 
 flew down the wind most beautifully all the way home, 
 though saw nothing but one flock of geese, which a lubberly 
 fellow had spoiled our chance at. Being anxious to try a new 
 cartridge of my own invention, I took a shot with it at 2 grey 
 plover, which were sitting, with 3 dunlins, on some piles, and 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 327 
 
 got the whole 5 of them, so that I hope my cartridge will 
 answer. 
 
 lOtJi. — Frost and snow. Things looking up. I got 10 
 wigeon about five this morning, and Reade i wigeon only in 
 the night. It snowed all the afternoon, so that we did not go 
 out for the evening tide. 
 
 Frost and snow the previous night, and Reade got 6 wigeon. 
 But about twelve to-day there came on a rapid thaw with a 
 transition from the coldest to warm weather, and towards the 
 afternoon there came on the old detestable and everlasting 
 west wind, which, as if by magic, blew off every flock of fowl 
 that had assembled on our coast. I had no chance to-day for 
 a shot with the large gun. 
 
 \2th. — Nasty, foggy, rotten, undertaker's weather. No fowl. 
 Shot at the dunlins, picked up 43. I stopped about 60. Got 
 2 coots, at about 160 yards off, and coming home I knocked 
 down a large speckled diver. So much for the gunning here 
 now. A deluge of rain all the evening and night, with an 
 atmosphere hot and sickly. 
 
 I'^tJi. — Sunday. We had such a tremendous hurricane 
 soon after midnight, that our beds were shaken under us, with 
 an attack of thunder and lightning that may be compared to 
 the heat of a severe battle. About two hours before daylight 
 we were hastily called up with the alarm of an immediate 
 inundation. The sea broke over the beach and came raging 
 up to our very doors, so that we were in the greatest alarm for 
 the safety of our property. Though we have experienced 
 floods before, we never were so suddenly and unexpectedly 
 visited with one as on this day. Providentially, however, all 
 ended well, and I contrived with extreme exertion, at the risk 
 of being washed away, to secure all my valuable punts, and 
 with scarcely any damage, though two of them were swept 
 away, but just recovered in time on the lee shore to save their 
 being beat to pieces. The damage that must have been done 
 at sea is horrible to reflect on, and it appears worthy of re- 
 
328 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 mark that this sudden and awful visitation should have occurred 
 on Sunday, the 13th, when the first two verses of the evening 
 Psalms for that day are so appropriate to the occasion. 
 Before night the waters had abated, the weather became toler- 
 ably calm, and perfect safety was again restored. 
 
 i^tJi. — A dead calm, with a fog, and the water as smooth 
 as a looking-glass. Went with a large punt off under the 
 Isle of Wight, got a shot at a i^w ducks, and to my surprise 
 stopped 4 of them ; but not wishing to run the risk of losing 
 the tide back, I came away well pleased with i duck and i 
 mallard. In the evening the wind got to the eastward and 
 blew a gentle breeze with thick rain. 
 
 \^th. — Wind more southerly; the bellows and water 
 engines on again — everlasting puff and slush ; lovely weather 
 for doctors and undertakers, but the essence of nuisance to all 
 other people. 
 
 \6tJi. — The wind backed and blew strong from the east, 
 which occasioned the arrival of several large flocks of wigeon ; 
 but they were very wild and too much scattered to afford a 
 good shot by day. I banged off at long distances, and got 4, 
 3, and 2, making in all 9 wigeon bagged. 
 
 The wind then flew to the southward, with more rain. 
 Reade got me 4 more wigeon ; and I went out at night, but 
 was driven home again by a pour of southerly rain. The 
 springs so high that we were forced to launch a punt in the 
 larder, as a ferry boat for grub, coals, &c. A lovely time ! 
 Nothing but howling of wet gales of wind battering against 
 the windows, of eternal everlasting rain, and the barking 
 coughs of men, women and children. Everything seems to 
 promise a second edition of Noah and his cruise in the ark. 
 
 ijtJi. — A gale of wind and slush again. I weathered it 
 out, as there were several birds off. I got only 2 \\-igeon, 
 though had a fine chance at about 300 geese, but the big gun 
 was so full of water it would not go off 
 
 \ZtJi. — Left Keyhaven merely to go to Longparish for a 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 329 
 
 day, and therefore had but one shirt, and the mere clothes on 
 my back. Owing to the floods and rain I was obliged to 
 sleep at Winchester, and 1 went over to Longparish on the 
 19th. No sooner had I arrived there than a most distressing 
 letter, on a most nefarious business, called me on to London, 
 where, in a dress scarcely nt to be seen, I arrived on the 20th 
 and proceeded that night and all the 21st to business ; and I 
 may say that in those two days I saw more roguery than I 
 had before met with in all the rest of my life. 
 
 2ist. — Returned to Longparish, wishing to be in the 
 country just now, though I had left my man Charles and 
 all my gunning things at Keyhaven. The country was so 
 inundated that getting sport of any kind was out of the 
 question. Never were the floods, in the memory of man, 
 equal to those here now. Having H.R.H. the Duke of 
 Clarence's commands to get some game for the Duchess (a 
 forlorn hope I feared), I slaved all one day and got 6 par- 
 tridges and 2 pheasants. 
 
 Game &c. killed to February 1828 : Popgun work — 375 
 partridges, 15 hares, 12 rabbits, 12 pheasants, i landrail, 22 
 snipes, total 437 ; swivel-gun work — 3 ducks and mallards, 
 44 wigeon, 2 pintails, 2 teal, 2 geese, i black duck, i tufted 
 duck, total 55.^ 
 
 N.B. — Owing to the worst season ever known, and being 
 much interrupted with business, my wild-fowl shooting for 
 this year has been almost annihilated. 
 
 February igth. — London. I had received some days ago 
 a very brilliant account from Reade of the birds at Keyhaven. 
 Matters being a little right now, and having received yester- 
 day a second despatch from Reade, I resolved on making an 
 appendix to the campaign by going down solus, and roughing 
 it for a few days. 
 
 ' P. S. — Since closing this list, I had to go down to Keyhaven for a week, and 
 from the 20th to the 23rd of February I bagged 36 wigeon and 2 brent geese. 
 This brings my fowl to 93 head and my grand total to 530 head of game. 
 
330 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Feb. 
 
 Keyhaven. I was ready to go afloat at ten this evening, 
 but it came on a rascally fresh wind from the westward, which 
 embargoed the novelty of my breakfasting in London, and 
 killing wigeon above lOO miles off within fourteen hours, 
 which I was almost sure of doing, as there had been a prime 
 chance every night. 
 
 20tJi. — Tide served about two in the afternoon ; plenty of 
 birds, but the harbour ruined by dandies chasing and firing 
 at them with ball. About four a gale of wind and a pour of 
 rain drove the dandies home, and we then fell in with a trip 
 of wigeon ; but not till all was wet and onl}^ one barrel to 
 fire, and this, unluckily, loaded with large mould shot. I blew 
 it off, and picked up 14 wigeon and i brent goose. A gale 
 of south-west wind and rain for the remainder of the evening 
 and night. 
 
 2\st. — 7 wigeon and i brent goose : bad weather again. 
 
 22nd. — 8 wigeon, and the day finished with wind and rain. 
 
 2yd. — Foggy weather, which never does to get at birds 
 afloat. Out from four till ten, and at night, when I got a 
 little straggling shot across the haze, and picked up 5 wigeon. 
 
 2^tJi. — An incessant gale with constant thick rain from 
 the west. The very weather to extinguish the wild-fowl 
 season. We weathered it morning, noon, and night under 
 our new water covers, but neither saw nor heard a single bird 
 the whole time. 
 
 2'jth.- — Arrived in Park Street. 
 
 2Zth. — Saw in London in the Regent's Park 15 wild 
 wigeon and 5 tufted ducks. ^ 
 
 June \tJi. — Drove down to see my son Peter at Eton, and 
 a pour of rain having embargoed me till two 'clock, and the re- 
 quisition of every animal and vehicle for Ascot races having 
 monopolised all better conveyance, I had to work my way 
 down with an old horse and chaise, in order to be in time for 
 
 ' The French decoy ducks that I presented have, no doubt, called them in 
 there, on their nightly passage. 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 381 
 
 the grand Etonian gala of the boats.' A party of us rowed up 
 to Surley Hall in the procession with a prime four-oar, and I 
 never saw the spectacle more brilliant or more to advantage. 
 The King sent the bo}-s plenty of his royal wine in return for 
 their taking up the little Prince George of Cumberland, 
 and most royally drunk some of them got with it. What 
 with the gaiety of the scene, among the merry little fel- 
 lows on the one hand, and the reflection of my younger 
 and happier days on the other, I hardly know whether 
 the being elated or affected was more predominant on my 
 feelings. 
 
 On the 5th I spent the whole morning in shaking hands 
 with old friends &c., and first among them my esteemed 
 old tutor. Dr. Goodall, now Provost of the College ; and after 
 having partaken of the kind hospitality of my old school- 
 fellow, and Peter's ' Dominie,' Captain Dobson, I returned to 
 dinner in London. 
 
 22nd. — Longparish. Fished (to amuse Mr. \V. Griesbach) 
 in a bright sun, dead calm and north wind (with a fly), and 
 killed 4 brace of trout. This is equal to 30 brace in a good 
 time and in a good month for fly fishing. 
 
 July 2gth. — Left Keyhaven at half-past four, drove to 
 Southampton ; boarded the ' George the Fourth ' steam 
 packet at eight ; and at a quarter before eleven landed on the 
 quay at Havre de Grace. Passage 1 1 2 miles. 
 
 30///. — It was a matter as if of life and death for me to 
 get off this morning at nine by the ' steamer ' to Rouen ; it 
 being the only conveyance till the next day, except a vile 
 night coach or vile French posting. They all defied me to 
 get my passport in time for the steamer, as the ' consul was 
 never at his office till eleven, and lived out of town,' and a 
 Madame Moncey (who seemed to lead all Havre by the nose, 
 having an official situation in the custom house) was quite in- 
 dignant at my not taking her word to this effect (as all the 
 other passengers without passports had done) and paying her 
 
332 COLONEL HAWKERS DL-\RV July 
 
 the same homage that others did. I ran all the way to the 
 country seat of the consul, whom I caught just going to break- 
 fast ; and he, luckily, having a blank form by him, favoured me 
 with a passport ; so I floored the omnipotent Aladame Moncey, 
 and got under way for Rouen. Though the road to Rouen is 
 but fifty-five miles, yet the passage is seventy-five miles, owing 
 to the innumerable windings of the Seine. This is perhaps 
 one of the most lovely passages in France. 
 
 I landed soon after eight at Rouen, where, after securing 
 the only vacancy in the morning diligence, I inspected the 
 magnificent cathedral of this place, built b\' the English in 
 the reign of Henry IV., and then passed a short bad night 
 in a sorry nest, seven storeys high, at the Hotel de Lyon 
 But, as I am now an old foreign traveller, it would be needless 
 to recapitulate the mixtures of novelties and miseries with 
 which I have, over and over again, filled the pages of my 
 former journals. I have, therefore, but little to remark on 
 this excursion. 
 
 ^ist. — Left Rouen b}' the diligence at six this morning, 
 and arrived in Paris by nine at night, by way of Louviers, 
 where we breakfasted at ten ; ]\Iantes, where we dined at half- 
 past two ; and St.-Germain, which is about 4 leagues from the 
 metropolis. The short way is 32 leagues ; but I preferred 
 this route, as being the most beautiful journey on the banks 
 of the Seine, and because I had been the other way before. 
 A French post league being 2^ miles English, the journey 
 to-day was just 90 miles. I have nothing to remark on this 
 road, since I was in France before, except that the diligences 
 are cleaner and go better : you have no conductors or postil- 
 lions to pay, and the latter have doused their butter-churn 
 boots for life guards' jack boots ; have left off powder, and 
 amputated their colossal pigtails. I this night took up m.y 
 old quarters at the Hotel Montmorency, Rue St.-Marc, No. 12. 
 
 August 1st. — Called on my old friend Mr. Kalkbrenner^ 
 No. i'^ Rue Chantereine, and then passed my time in the 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 333 
 
 Louvre till it was the hour for dinner, after which I went to 
 the French opera. ^ 
 
 2nd. — Engaged in various little matters, and, in the even- 
 ing, called on another god of the piano, my other friend, Mr. 
 Jerome Bertini (who is now the Clementi of Paris), at No. 8 
 Rue Montaigne du Roule. He was out teaching, though half- 
 past eight at night ; but madame, his wife, the great harp 
 player, was cJiez elk, and not a little surprised to see me. I 
 must surely astonish both my old masters by this popping 
 suddenly upon them, who scarcely knew whether 1 was dead 
 or alive. 
 
 ird. — Bertini came up to me this morning before break- 
 fast, and I never saw a fellow more alive at seeing another 
 than he was at seeing me. We breakfasted together, and he 
 then adjourned to Pleyel's to play me some of his new music. 
 The remainder of the day we spent at Versailles, but were 
 prevented from enjoying it, owing to the wet and stormy 
 weather. 
 
 4///. — About various business till the middle of this day, 
 and then passed the remainder of it in the Jardin des Plantes, 
 where there were innumerable additions made since I was last 
 in Paris, the giraffe and many other curious animals, as well 
 as a great increase in every other branch of natural history. 
 
 5///. — Spent a part of the morning in the Luxembourg ; 
 some of the pictures here were the best, for effect, I had seen 
 for a long time ; and one in particular by the president or 
 chief of the Academy at Rome. Went in the evening to the 
 * Favart ' or Italian opera. Meyerbeer's ' Crociato in Egitto ' was 
 the piece, and, as usual, the orchestra at this house was most 
 delightful ; but I hardly knew whether to condemn or approve 
 of the introduction of Turkish cymbals in this orchestra. 
 They seem to be the order of the night, now, in the Paris 
 
 ' La Muette de Portici, in four acts, with the dancing included. A very spirited 
 opera ; but the music rather in the noisy school. A tremendous orchestra, with 
 the addition of double drums and Turkish cymbals. 
 
334 COLONEL HAWKER-S DL\RY Aug. 
 
 bands. The best singer, to my taste, was Madame Pisaroni. 
 A Monsieur Donzelli also showed great talent, and I preferred 
 him to our London tenors. 
 
 lOth. — Since the 6th I have been to the Louvre, the Luxem- 
 bourg, the Tuileries, Versailles &c. but made no memorandums, 
 as nothing particular was there beyond what I took down in 
 my former visit to Paris. This evening I went to the Tivoli, 
 which is very different from what it was a few }'ears ago. 
 The ground on which this once grand fete was held is sold, and 
 the place now substituted is farther off, and not nearly so well 
 adapted to the purpose. The old Tivoli was as far superior 
 as the new one is inferior to our Vauxhall. No Russian 
 mountains, no balloons of fire now, and, in short, a poor, 
 miserable place, but little better than a country fair, except 
 having one fine temple for gormandising, and a capital band 
 for the quadrilles. But this is a matter of course : leave a 
 Frenchman alone for eating and dancing. 
 
 \2th. — Mr. Kalkbrenner gave me a seat in his box this 
 morning, to hear the pianoforte pupils of the Conservatoire 
 play for the prizes before a full audience in the theatre of that 
 establishment, which is called the Ecole de IMusique. The 
 performance began at nine o'clock, and the great Cherubini 
 sat in state as the harmonic judge, surrounded by a kind of 
 jury of other mighty dons. The first batch of pupils were 
 seven girls, who each played the same piece, and then read 
 an MS. at sight. The piece was Kalkbrenner's, and the 
 MS. was Cherubini's. Monsieur Adam, the old man who 
 for many }'ears has been pianoforte master to the Conser- 
 vatoire, and who was Kalkbrenner's master, sat by the side of 
 the pupils. It became tedious and monotonous to hear the 
 same thing played over so many times, and, as a matter of 
 etiquette, all applause was withheld. At last the first act of 
 this exhibition came to a close by a vase being handed round 
 among the judges, and their placing therein little things 
 similar to our balls in ' blackballiuLr ' at clubhouses, when 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 335 
 
 three of the young ladies were called on, and severally ad- 
 dressed as best, second best, and so on for the prizes ; and on 
 Cherubini finishing his short oration to them from the grand 
 box, there was a great burst of applause. The next part of 
 the exhibition was to be young men playing a concerto of 
 Kalkbrenner's ; sat out three of them, but when I heard there 
 were to be five or six more, I could weather it no longer, so 
 took the liberty to ' bolt.' Went to see the new building La 
 Bourse on the Exchange, a superb and commodious edifice 
 lately completed in Rue Vivienne. The imitations of sculp- 
 ture here are so well ' brought out ' in the painting, that 
 I could hardly persuade myself but what they were real 
 statues. 
 
 1 5///. — Went (by admission ticket) to the church of Notre- 
 Dame to see the King and all the royal family celebrate the 
 day of the Virgin Mary, one of the greatest festivals in 
 France. The town was in confusion the whole morning, with 
 the rattling of carriages, ringing of bells, and bustling about 
 of the civil and military ; and about two o'clock the cathedral 
 doors were opened, and those who had tickets were admitted, 
 and, no doubt, also many without them in the general confu- 
 sion. From two till near three we sat in the cathedral and 
 saw all the different processions arrive : the counts, the peers, 
 the mayor, the priests, the masters of ceremony, &c., and 
 punctually at three the grand procession began to enter : 
 the priests, the bishops, the marshals, the Duke and Duchess 
 of Angouleme, and then the King, walking under a large 
 canopy superbly ornamented. I never saw a monarch with 
 whose countenance I was better pleased, he looked the 
 picture of affability and good disposition ; and so well does 
 he carry his age, that I thought he looked quite as young as, 
 if not younger than, his son the Duke of Angouleme. I had 
 seen him before, in old Louis's time, when he was Count 
 d'Artois, and he does not appear a day older, though when 1 
 saw him last must have been about nine years ago. The cere- 
 
836 COLONEL HAWK?:R'S DL\RY Aug. 
 
 mony performed in the cathedral was what they call vespers ; 
 an immoderate bellowinj^ of the basest of base voices, with 
 the blowinc; away of two serpents, and all the noise that hands 
 and feet could brini^ forth from a hui^c roiif^h-toned orc^an ; 
 and, by way of a finish, the silver Viri^in Mary was started 
 from the altar, and carried halfway over the town with all 
 the procession from Charles X. down to half the rabble of 
 Paris, among such a noise and stink as a man may c(o his life 
 and never hear or smell ac^ain. We thou<^ht the noise in the 
 church pretty well, but it was a mere whisper to that out of 
 it, particularly the bells, which would have almost drowned 
 that of a cannonade. In short, this cvanij^clical spree was 
 kept up till about five, when the Kin^^ arrived at the Tuileries 
 in his state carriage ; and his other carriage (with eight 
 horses) was ready to take him back to St.-Cloud as soon as 
 he had rid himself of the trappings for the levee of the 
 silver Virgin. Although I am too great a ' heretic ' (as the 
 Spaniards would call me) to enter into the spirit of the 
 Catholic religion, yet no one could say but the show was 
 extremely well worth seeing. In the evening I looked into 
 the French Theatre ; but, as it was too hot to sit out a play, 
 I merely went into the second gallery. But there was no- 
 thing particular to observe since I was there before. 
 
 iJtJi. — Having now done what business I had here, and 
 prepared to start for England again, I shall just memorandum 
 down a few short remarks as to the changes that have taken 
 place since I was last in Paris. 
 
 Travelling : Road and travelling much the same. The 
 incssagcric, or diligences, altered to huge treble-bodied ma- 
 chines, and painted yellow instead of green. No con- 
 ductor or postillions to pay, but a moderate charge made in 
 lieu of it. Iims as dirty and uncomfortable as ever, charges 
 dearer, and wines not so good. Posting and the nialle 
 paste in every respect the same. 
 
 Paris : PL very article dearer than it was, but now the 
 
t82S colonel HAWKER'S DL-\RY 337 
 
 French have a fixed price, so that you have not to bargain 
 Hke a Jew to avoid being cheated, as you were once obHged 
 to do, in even the best shops. The cooking is much the same 
 — most exquisite for those who hke made dishes, and prefer 
 messes of butter, sugar, and Lord knows what to plain, 
 wholesome food. Our English sauces — cayenne &c. — may 
 now be had, if called for, at most of the 7'estaiirateurs . The 
 wines are decidedly not so good as in former times, and you 
 have still the same difficulty in getting a good-sized glass to 
 drink out of at }'Our dinner. There are, however, some English 
 people who have set up soda and ginger-beer shops, so that, 
 by going to them, you have now the means of quenching that 
 insufferable thirst which is produced by the greasy, sugary, 
 salt, and acid mixtures, that the French dishes abound with, 
 not to say a word of the tricks that are now played as to meat, 
 wines, and spirits. 
 
 Amusements : French opera rather improved. Italian 
 opera rather fallen off: their band, which I thought the best I 
 ever heard, is now no more than equal to that of our opera. 
 Dancing, if anything, in rather less force. Tivoli miserably 
 bad. Boulevards as gay as ever. Tortoni's still the best ice 
 shop, and Very's (in the Palais Royal) now become the best 
 restaurateur s in Paris. Formerly I thought it about the third 
 best. 
 
 State of things : Great improvement in the paintings of 
 the rising French artists, particularly in the school of David. 
 Military nearly the same — gendarmes^ as usual, a pattern to 
 the whole world for their orderly and respectable behaviour. 
 Cuirassiers not so well mounted as formerl}^, cavalry rather 
 fallen off than improved in appearance. Even the King's 
 stud are but moderate-looking animals. People here all 
 appear to be in the height of affluence, you rarely see a 
 shabby-looking person ; and, in short, the people of Paris 
 appear to spend a great deal more money on their dressing, 
 eating, drinking, and amusements than do those in London. 
 
 VOL. L Z 
 
338 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug. 
 
 From all appearances, therefore, we may conclude that France 
 is in a very flourishing state. 
 
 1 8///. — Left Paris at six this evening by the diligence, to go 
 the other, the short, road to Rouen. There being an opposition 
 on this road at night, we travelled a very fair pace, and were 
 as quick in all our changes as the Southampton coaches. We 
 rumbled along all night in this stupendous machine, like a 
 movable hayrick driving a herd of bullocks before it, and two 
 other diligences at our heels, and we never got more than a few 
 seconds' stoppage all the way from Paris to Rouen. Our 
 conductor was an infernal hog, and quite brutish to several 
 female passengers who wanted to alight a moment, which he 
 would hardly allow. Refreshment out of the question, except 
 what I had the sense to pocket, and grope out in the dark to eat. 
 Between four and five in the morning we descended into the 
 valley where stands the town of Flueris ; and the four dili- 
 gences descending the mountain under the opening of day- 
 light on a fine morning, the 19th, had a novel and beautiful 
 effect. The diligence weighed 11,100 lb., the freight with 
 twenty inside passengers and luggage, 5,500 lb., making in 
 all, 16,600 lb. We had seldom less than seven horses, three 
 at wheel, and four abreast leaders, all driven by one postillion ; 
 and in the mountainous parts we had nine horses, on which 
 occasion an extra boy in a blue frock and white cotton night- 
 cap drove the two leaders. The first refreshment we got 
 was i^<:/. of milk on reascending after passing the town of 
 Flueris. An old cribbage-faced woman, surrounded by beg- 
 gars, waylays the coach at this ascent with her cups and 
 pitcher. Nothing worthy of remark occurred till we ap- 
 proached the town of Rouen from the tremendous hill of St. 
 Catherine, the view from which is so charming that people 
 often make a point of staying a day in Rouen on purpose to 
 go and look from thence over the town and the Seine, if it so 
 happens that their journey does not bring them by way of 
 this heavenly landscape. The hill is tremendous, and the 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 339 
 
 coaches while descending by the winding road have a novel 
 and beautiful effect. I should not omit to mention that two 
 Frenchmen had such a quarrel about their seats in the night, 
 as to come to the scratch and collar, and almost to a fight ; 
 and, before daylight, they were as thick as two pickpockets. 
 We got to Rouen by seven, having performed the journey, 32 
 post leagues, 80 English miles, within thirteen hours, which 
 for France is very fair going. Nearly the whole way is 
 paved, and the diligence nearly as rough as a butcher's cart, 
 so the shaking may be easier imagined than described ; and, 
 as if we had not noise enough with an everlasting volley of 
 rumble and chatter, the horses had all bells. But, after all, 
 the convoy of these four machines had a very lively and some- 
 what pleasing effect. Trunks just looked into at Rouen, merely 
 to see we had no liquors, which pay a small barrier duty. 
 After a good, though dear, breakfast at the Hotel de Lyon, 
 Madame du Roy, I proceeded by a branch diligence, just like 
 the other, and for which you are booked at Paris, for Dieppe. 
 Here we had a very civil gentlemanlike conductor, who was 
 himself chief proprietor of the coach, and it is to him that I 
 am indebted for the precise state of the weight &c. before 
 mentioned. We left Rouen at nine, and got into Dieppe a 
 quarter before four. The distance is 14 leagues, 35 English 
 miles. Nothing particular occurred on the remainder of the 
 journey, except our having to walk through the fine oak wood 
 of Malawney while the diligence performed the winding 
 ascent of the road, which was so tremendous a drag that the 
 moment you have reached the summit of the hill, nine fresh 
 horses are put to, and the others taken away ready to drop. 
 English horses would have jibbed with such a freight. 
 
 N.B. — I could get no place but the rotonde (behind), 
 which happens to be cheapest. The middle is called I'in- 
 tcrieur, and the front le coupe, much the best place, but 
 generally bought up a week beforehand. The rookery place 
 ' aloft ' is called rinipcrial, and a most imperial tumble a 
 
340 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Aug. 
 
 gentleman would get out of it if any accident happened. 
 These hasty remarks are all I have time to make, as I must 
 now proceed to see and do various jobs at Dieppe. 
 
 P.S, — I forgot to note that poor old Delarne is dead, and his 
 widow keeps on the house where I am now put up. Dined at 
 the table d'hote ; and, in the evening, went down to see the 
 superb baths and public rooms that have been erected since I 
 Avas here some years ago. I never saw a place so improved. 
 I always liked Dieppe as well as any place in France, because 
 it is almost the only French town that does not stink abomi- 
 nably. Finished the day with a refreshing walk on the shore, 
 and then a warm salt bath to rectify all the shakes and dust 
 of the twenty-two hours' rough journey. 
 
 20tJi. — Went a little way out of the town to investigate 
 the particulars of the pension Anglais (English school), kept 
 by Messrs. Williams and Sparke, at a sort of country seat 
 called ' Gaudecote,' and was more pleased with this than any 
 other establishment that I had seen in France. The remainder 
 of the day was spent in running about and seeing the few ' lions ' 
 of the place, which I found so very pleasant that my deten- 
 tion in it became a day's pleasure, instead of a day's quarantine. 
 Had an excellent dinner at Madame Delarne's table d'hote, 
 and among many other good things, we had capital roast 
 beef, and good Bordeaux claret at fifteenpence English the 
 bottle. Price of the table d'hote, two francs and a half for 
 dinner, cider, dessert, and in short, everything but wine. Got 
 my heavy things on board the packet preparative to starting 
 early to-morrow morning for England. 
 
 I never was asked for my passport through the whole 
 of my journeys. 
 
 2\st. — Got under way by the 'Eclipse' steam packet. 
 Captain Cheesman, at half-past six this morning, and landed 
 on the chain pier, or new quay, at Brighton at half-past five 
 in the evening, making a tolerable passage of eleven hours. 
 For the first three hours all was as smooth as a duck pond. 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 341 
 
 and a capital breakfast was set out on deck ; but, towards 
 the latter part of the passage, the wind freshened in our 
 teeth, and the berths and basins were more in requisition 
 than the eatables or drinkables. Passage from step to step 
 on quays, 80 miles, fare 2/. The very devil's own work at 
 custom house. No fault of Mr. Lewis, who is the chief and a 
 very gentlemanly man, but the neglect of there not being 
 built a custom house nearer to the quay. The whole contents 
 of the packet were transferred to three carts and drawn off 
 all through the town to a distant and bad situation, where 
 the crowd was immense. Many people despaired of even 
 getting their night things ; but I brushed about instead of 
 going to eat, and literally got the whole of my baggage 
 cleared off and in the barrow before any soul was clear, though 
 forty names were down before I came. There is a right and 
 a wrong way of doing things. 
 
 I never saw any place so much improved as Brighton has 
 been since I was here last. 
 
 lOtJi. — Left London by the ' Times ' (Southampton) coach 
 at a quarter before eleven, for Longparish, and got home about 
 six o'clock. 
 
342 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 1828 
 
 September 1st. — Longparish. Strong wind all day from 
 the east ; ground as dry as Lundyfoot's snuff, but a moderate 
 breed of birds, and my two dogs on their last legs. I there- 
 fore performed a miracle by bagging : 60 partridges (besides 
 6 more lost), 4 hares, and i quail. My son Peter killed 
 3 brace, his first essay. We never in our lives had such a 
 fagging day and such hard slavery to keep up our charter. 
 Our army were literally worked off their feed, to the joy of 
 my commissariat ; but they drank their extra hog-tub full of 
 stiff swizzle, which cost me more than the half of the sheep 
 that they left. 
 
 2nd. — I gave a general day's rest, as every sensible shooter 
 ought to do ; but, as other Johnny Raws were worrying the 
 poor birds, I gave Peter leave to go with a borrowed dog ; 
 and he bagged 3^ brace more, besides 4 brace killed by his 
 follower. 
 
 3r^. — By slaving like a negro from ten till five, I con- 
 trived to satchel 48 partridges (besides 3 brace lost), and 3 
 brace more that Peter killed, as I took him out and gave him 
 several shots. Weather so dry that the only plan was to 
 walk all day with both barrels cocked, and snap down the 
 birds as they rose wild from the stubbles. Cruel hard labour, 
 and no sport for the poor dogs. 
 
 4th and ^tJi. — Dogs all footsore, so I rested these days ; 
 but Peter, who was red-hot for sport, went out with only the 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 343 
 
 house dog, which was of more harm than good to him, but he 
 contrived to bag his 2 brace on the 4th, and his 2j brace on 
 the 5th. 
 
 6t]i. — Was anxious to finish with 20 brace, and never had 
 such a hard run to make up the number. The dogs were so 
 done that even the falling of a bird would not move them 
 from my heels, and I stood at 19^ brace for the last hour 
 before nightfall. I had no alternative but marching up and 
 down at a rapid pace, without dogs, and treading the 
 stubbles till I was ready to drop, but determined to die game. 
 I fought to the last ; but, through over-anxiety and fatigue, 
 I missed two fair shots ; but, at last, just at the farewell of 
 daylight a covey rose from the feed. I ' up gun,' and down 
 came a bird as dead as a hammer, a long shot ; so I bagged 
 the 20 brace, gave three cheers (a butcher's halloo), and came 
 home in triumph with 40 partridges on a pole. 
 
 jtJi. — Having decided on taking Peter to Dieppe, in order 
 to place him at school, I therefore started this morning for 
 London. 
 
 %tJi. — Doing business all the morning as fast as a ' cab ' 
 could drive me about. Then started by the ' Age ' coach, 
 and got to Brighton about half-past eight. ' Ship ' inn a perfect 
 hornets' nest ; a grand ball in the town ; a packet just in. 
 No beds to be got except out of the house. All the good 
 grub eaten up ; much delay in getting bad. Not grogged and 
 cribbed till twelve ; beds procured in dirty lodging houses. 
 ^ Warmunt ' in great force, more scratching than sleeping. 
 
 gtJi. — A drowned man brought ashore. Sea looking 
 rough and blue. Peter and I proceeded to France. Got 
 under way by 'Talbot' steamer, Captain Norwood, at a 
 quarter past ten, and had our legs under the cloth of Mother 
 Delarne's table d'hote, in Dieppe, about eleven at night, 
 after a fair passage of eleven hours and a half. Ran foul of 
 a French vessel coming in ; no harm done. 
 
 Though I never was asked for my passport the other 
 
344 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Sept. 
 
 day when in France, yet I was this time troubled beyond 
 anything by the poHce, so people should never depend 
 on them. They have, it appears, fresh officers on duty (in 
 order to relieve each other) every month ; and it entirely 
 depends on them whether you go free, or are molested about 
 your passport every step you take. Custom-house people, as 
 usual, lenient and very civil ; and, by a very little ruse^ I 
 escaped all duties for Peter's things. All, of course, in the 
 usual confusion on landing at night ; and I was not 'in bed till 
 twelve. 
 
 lotJi. — Up and dressed by six. Settled all Peter's affairs 
 in about two hours. Got all his baggage cleared. Rigged him 
 with a few traps, blew him out at Delarne's, got my passport 
 with great difficulty, and with the loss of half my breakfast^ 
 and all just in time to a minute to board the steamer while 
 she was getting under way for England by eleven o'clock 
 My reason for hurrying back was to avoid the tremendous 
 weather which I suspected was working ; and to prove my 
 judgment, I have since my arrival at home seen the account 
 of the ' dreadful passage ' that was encountered by the next 
 packet. Out all night in great danger ; forced to put in 
 to Newhaven, and I don't know what all. 
 
 The fairest possible wind and a pretty time at starting^ 
 but before we had been an hour at sea, there came on a 
 complete deluge of rain and, towards the afternoon, a tremen- 
 dous squall with thunder and lightning. Forced to douse all 
 sail and ease the engine. But after striking the ground three 
 times, we got alongside the chain pier off Brighton about half- 
 past eight and were landed soon after nine. I weathered it 
 well ; ate boiled beef below while others were ' cascading ; * 
 wrote letters, lent a hand in the squall, &c. Having but little 
 baggage, I was allowed to be cleared off on board, so I ran 
 up to the town, secured a place, then swallowed a cup of tea, 
 and set off by the ten o'clock night coach for town, not having 
 courage to face any more of the live stock in the Brighton 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 345 
 
 blankets. Had the inside of the coach all to myself, the best 
 possible company at night, wrapped myself up in a cloak, and 
 though I am a vile sleeper, and particularly in a coach, I on 
 this one occasion played such a good bassoon that I never heard 
 till on our arrival in town, about half-past four, that we were 
 all but killed in the night Coachee fell asleep, got partly foul 
 of a van, horses ran up a bank, a wheeler and a leader floored 
 and left sprawling, and coach all but over, and we under the 
 van, and I perhaps to have been cracked like a kernel 
 (Colonel) in a shell ; a bad pun, but a true state of the case. 
 But, thank God, all ended well, and I was over the stones and 
 in bed in London before six o'clock in the morning on Thurs- 
 day, the 1 1 th. 
 
 \lth. — Left London by the ' North Devon ' coach, and ar- 
 rived about half-past ten at night again at Longparish House. 
 
 15//^. — Longparish. Went out to try and get a few more 
 birds for my friends ; but the game had been cruelly driven 
 about in my absence, and the easterly wind had this very 
 day returned, and blew strong ; and, to mend the matter, I 
 was ill ; but, notwithstanding all, I did wonders for the third 
 week, by getting 32 partridges. 
 
 N.B. — Heard of a jack snipe having been seen to-day. 
 
 ijtJi. — Went out quietly without markers, and bagged 
 21 partridges and this snipe. 
 
 Killed altogether, in only five mornings' shooting : 20 r 
 partridges, 4 hares, i quail, i snipe. Total, 207 head. 
 
 N.B. — A bad breeding season ; more old birds than 
 young ones. 
 
 20t]L. — 20 partridges. Dry easterly wind, birds as wild 
 as hawks, no scent ; and my two old bitches had scarcely a 
 leg to stand on, though I had given them two days' rest. 
 
 22nd. — As this day commences the fourth week in Sep- 
 tember, the birds, in our very wild open country, had, of 
 course, got quite wary. Bagged 18 partridges and i hare. 
 
 Made one rather extraordinary shot ; 3 birds crossed 
 
34G COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Sept. 
 
 each other, at the regular interval of about lo yards apart ; 
 and, when all three got in a line, I ' up gun ' and floored 
 the whole trio with one barrel. They were all killed quite 
 dead, picked up instantly, and all three pro\ed to be full- 
 grown birds. 
 
 29//^. — Had the variety of shooting, hunting, and fishing 
 all within five hours. It blew a hurricane all the morning. 
 I first bagged 10 partridges. Then had a spree with the 
 harriers, which I fell in with while shooting ; and, by way of 
 a wind up, I got my rod and killed 6 brace of very fine trout 
 for dinner, &c. 
 
 Game killed in September 1828: 264 partridges, 5 hares, 
 I quail, I snipe. Total, 271 head. 
 
 N.B. — Out but ten times. 
 
 October 2nd. — A particularly fine day ; and, as I might 
 as well try for an elephant as a pheasant, I availed myself of 
 this time to try our wild partridges on the hills. I was at 
 first out of luck : broke the cock of my gun, broke my 
 horse's bridle, tore my shooting jacket, and, what was more 
 annoying to me than all, missed four shots ; however, the luck 
 soon turned, and I ended the day with shooting brilliantly 
 and bagging 20 partridges. 
 
 3r<^. — A strong southerly wind ; and, it being a good 
 fishing day, I took my fly rod out for about an hour before 
 dinner, and killed 3 brace of fine trout ; and, among them, 
 one which weighed \\ lb. He was as red as a salmon, 
 and as full of curd as a new-laid ^^^ ; so I crimped him and 
 made a most delicious dinner on him. 
 
 gtJi. — A tolerably fine day ; and I had the extraordinary 
 luck to bring home 20 partridges and a magnificent old cock 
 pheasant, for which there was a hue and cry in search of 
 me, just as I was coming home to dinner. They had marked 
 him down in our moors ; Duchess soon pinned him, and I 
 had a most beautiful easy open shot at him. I think, under 
 all circumstances, considering that I had only one pony and 
 
i828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 347 
 
 one man out, a new gun stock to try — with which I never 
 shot more brilliantly in all my life — I never had a better day 
 in all my annals of sporting. 
 
 22nd. — Put myself on the rostrum of a Newbury coach, 
 at Winchester, and took a run down to Keyhaven, in order 
 to overhaul my craft, make some experiments &c. preparative 
 to the winter. 
 
 2yd. — Went out to explore a little, boat leaked, came 
 home and caulked her ; heard that the curlews had taken a 
 strong haunt on my artificial island, where two beautiful 
 shots had been missed at them by the ' Sams ' here. Saw 
 but 2 curlews there, and floored them both, with a blow off of 
 my right barrel, when coming in from my reconnoitre. Not 
 a wild fowl to be seen. 
 
 24/// and 25///. — Up to my eyes in wind, rain, dirt, gun- 
 powder, and experiments with my patent cartridges again. 
 Too busy to look after birds ; fired but at one living target, 
 and that was a cormorant, which I killed dead, at above loo 
 yards. After coming home from my day's experiments, 
 settling some business, bills, &c., I worked my way up, on 
 the outside of the mails ; and, with my nose half nipped off, 
 by that vilest of all vile weathers, a rotten pinching white 
 frost, I got home to Longparish House about a quarter before 
 one on the morning of the 26th, or (as a Frenchman would 
 more properly say) ' after midnight' 
 
 2jtJL — Heard of 3 pheasants that had beat the other 
 shooters. I nabbed them all in about an hour. 
 
 31^-/. — A nasty raw cutthroat gloomy day ; birds walking 
 about like fowls ; came home without having had a shot. 
 Shipped my boots and went to the river, to save my charter 
 of never having a blank day. Got the first jack snipe I have 
 seen this year, and one whole snipe (at 75 yards) ; all I saw, 
 and all I shot at. 
 
 November ^tJi. — A tremendous fire on the hill immediately 
 in front of our house. It broke out about eight in the 
 
348 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Nov. 
 
 evening, and proved to be 5 large ricks, belonging to poor 
 Farmer Ray ; and, as there had been no lightning, and this 
 was on a desolate hill away from the village, it was too 
 evident that this was the revengeful work of some damnable 
 incendiary. The hill was in an uproar all night, and the effect 
 was awfully grand. 
 
 loth. — A cold raw day. Walked out and had the good 
 luck to get I snipe, 2 jack snipes, I teal, i mallard, 2 rabbits, 
 and I woodcock (the first one I have seen or heard of in this 
 country since goodness knows when). I made a most brilliant 
 snap shot at him the first moment I caught sight of him. 
 
 12///. — Having had a fine easterly wind for nearly three 
 weeks, I put myself on the rostrum of the old ' Oxford ' coach, 
 and ran down to Keyhaven, where I arrived about nine this 
 evening. Found, to my astonishment, that there had been 
 scarcely any wigeon ; and, a few hours after midnight, there 
 came rain and a westerly wind. It seems like magic how 
 this almost always occurs to me the very day I arrive. 
 
 13///. — Out all day in very unpleasant weather, and never 
 saw the least chance for sport. The wild fowl had all left. 
 
 lA^tJi. — A tremendous gale from the southward all night 
 and all day, with heavy rain. About 20 fowl were seen ' off.' 
 The ' Lion ' punt weathered it most gloriously ; and I had 
 the great luck, in spite of the heavy sea, to stop 5. 
 
 27///. — Walked out for an hour, and just saved my charter 
 of never having a blank day, by bagging i miserable jack 
 snipe. Such is the shooting here just now. 
 
 December 20///.— Went out to try a new gun stock ; dis- 
 charged my gun ten rounds, and brought home 5 snipes, 
 3 jack snipes, and 2 partridges, which were all I saw. 
 
 N.B. — The 3 jacks were killed with some eclat. The first 
 got up as I was carrying the bitch over some water ; I dropped 
 the bitch into a cold bath, cocked, ' up gun,' and do^^■n jack, 
 all as quick as a conjurer ; the other 2 jacks were killed right 
 and left, a double shot. 
 
1 828 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 349 
 
 Total killed up to Christmas 1828: 388 partridges, 
 7 hares, i quail, 2 rabbits, 8 pheasants, i woodcock (the only 
 one I have seen these two years), 56 snipes. Total, 463 head. 
 Wild fowl : 2 mallards, 5 wigeon, 3 teal. Total, 10 head. 
 Grand total, 473 head. 
 
 1829 
 
 January \st. — Keyhaven. Weather a little finer. Put off 
 (by way of a little start on New Year's Day) at three this 
 afternoon ; got 4 curlews. Never saw or heard any other birds 
 
 2nd. — I explored all day, but, from what I saw and from 
 what I heard, there does not appear to have been a single 
 trip of fowl on the coast, except a few very wild geese, that 
 old Harnett flashed in the pan at and drove out of the country 
 just before I came to where they were. 
 
 5///. — New moon and a northerly wind. Things looking 
 much better. No birds arrived yet, but I walked out with 
 the musket to try a new dog, which appears to do well, and 
 saw I teal and i wigeon, both of which I bagged, and which 
 the dog brought to me in prime style. 
 
 6th. — 10 brent geese. No wigeon come yet, and this was 
 the only shot I had all day. 
 
 jtJi. — A northerly wind, but no wigeon come yet. 
 
 8/A — A fine north-east wind, though no frost, and scarcely 
 any wigeon to be seen ; and what few there were had mixed 
 with the geese, and were wilder than ever I knew them. 
 
 9///. — Out all day, and never got a chance. Not a wigeon 
 to be seen, and the very few geese that were about were so 
 wild that it was quite impossible to do anything with them. 
 
 lOtJi. — Got a long shot at a small company, and brought 
 in, close to Keyhaven, 3 brent geese, after having been three 
 miles beyond Lymington without a chance of a shot. I took 
 them in by sailing to them, as the few that are here are now 
 so well up to a paddling punt as invariably to rise at 400 
 yards. 
 
350 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL^RY Jan. 
 
 \2tJi. — A furious easterly wind; no showing our noses 
 outside the harbour, and, being ' the dead of the nip,' no water 
 in it ; so we were prisoners for the day, except Readc, who 
 crawled about on the mud ; but it blew so strong he could 
 not even work his launching punt to what few birds he saw. 
 
 13///. — The gale continued. Reade out mud crawling 
 from morning till night, and he got 8 wigeon. I walked out 
 with the musket, and got a wild duck, a very long shot (with 
 snipe shot), and then went half the day in chase of a beautiful 
 old gander barnacle, a rare bird here, and I had the luck to 
 bring him home, at the expense of being in a miserable mess, 
 by following him 'through thick and thin.' 
 
 lA^tJi. — Out from five in the morning till five in the 
 evening, and never got but one very long shot, with which I 
 had the unexpected luck to bring in 3 brent geese. The 
 rascally blackguard ' mud launchers ' have totally ruined this 
 country, and they now rarely ever kill anything themselves. 
 
 lyth. — Magnificent weather ; fowl pouring in by thou- 
 sands ; cruel bad luck. Flashed in the pan at about 1,000 
 wigeon ; again at as many geese, and, after drawing and 
 squibbing, flashed again at a splendid hooper close to me. 
 To complete my sorrows I found my lock broken, and had to 
 leave all m.y sport and go off with my gun to Lymington. I 
 got but two shots otf ; with one I bagged 8 wigeon in the 
 breakers, and with the other 2 geese at a very long distance. 
 Reade got also 7 w^igeon. Reade was out till Sunday morn- 
 ing came, and got but 3 more wigeon, owing to as bad a run 
 of luck as I had. 
 
 \(^tJi. — Reade, who had been wallowing about in his mud 
 sledge from the break of the Sabbath till daj-light, and got 
 three shots, came in with 17 wigeon, and we found 5 more dead 
 wigeon after breakfast. 
 
 Out from nine at night till one ; had a glorious chance 
 spoiled by a wretched tailor of a fellow spitting off his popgun, 
 but, the tide being slack, I had no other chance for a shot. 
 
1 829 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 351 
 
 Plenty of birds, and a fine time for wallowing on the mud 
 again in the mud sledge, for which only this essence-of-mud- 
 country in general serves. 
 
 20tJi. — A foggy, white frost ; Reade came in with lo 
 wigeon, after crawling in the slush all night. I went out ' on 
 tide,' having got my gun well repaired, and brought in 14 
 wigeon, i pintail, and i tufted duck. 
 
 N.B.- — I fired at 3 tufted ducks, and stopped them all ; 
 but, seeing a large flock of wigeon pitched near, I dare not 
 finish off the 2 cripples with the musket, but proceeded with 
 the second barrel of the great gun to attack the wigeon, as 
 there were three other boats advancing on them ; what I 
 fired at them was a patent cartridge, and I bagged 22, 
 besides towered and crippled birds ; but the tide was such 
 that, if I had attempted to get any more, I should have been 
 carried out to sea. As it was we were off to the shingles^ 
 and had to remain there an hour before we could ' stem the 
 tide' to get back. 
 
 2\st. — The 'Lion' punt brought them to action at last. 
 All I got on the spot, however, was 32 wigeon, 2 mallards, and 
 T coot, at one shot ; but including what others brought me, I 
 killed 53 wigeon, 2 mallards, and i coot, at one shot. The 
 greatest work that has ever been done here. 
 
 To make this brilliant shot the more extraordinary, I 
 should name that it was done about half-past twelve o'clock 
 in the day. The gunners to windward had driven all the 
 birds down to Keyhaven, and they congregated, about 1,000 
 strong, just off Shorehead in the shallow water, and by having 
 a favourable time, I just slipped into them before the other 
 gunners could come up. 
 
 I went out again after taking some refreshment, and was 
 all but getting nearly as good a chance again ; but a four-oar 
 boat happened to spring the fowl when I was within a few 
 minutes of doing the business. Coming home I got 6 grey 
 plover with one barrel, and lost 3 more, and made a capital 
 
352 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 flying shot at a wild duck with the other, and I knocked 
 down a tippet grebe eighty yards off with the musket ; so I 
 began well, emptied all my barrels well, and, in short, made 
 a most satisfactory day in every respect. 
 
 In the afternoon I had only just come in to refresh my- 
 self, and wipe the gun. Off again at ten, out all night, and 
 the severest night I ever remembered. My cap froze on my 
 head, and it blew a gale of wind ; but I had so much to do 
 that I perspired the whole time, except at intervals when my 
 hands were so frost-bitten that it was with the utmost diffi- 
 culty I could grope out the traps to load, and particularly to 
 prime the gun. The man who followed me to retrieve my 
 dead birds fell overboard, and was obliged to go home in order 
 to avoid being frozen to death ; and I thus lost at least a third 
 of my birds, which fell into the hands of the leeward shore 
 hunters, who lurk about after gunners, as vultures follow an 
 army, at all hours of the day and night, when there is a hard 
 frost and a chance of good plunder. The labour of working 
 for the fowl was an odd mixture of ecstasy and slavery. 
 I brought home, shot on the spot and caught on the ice at 
 daybreak by self and helpers, 69 wigeon and i duck, making 
 in all 10 1 wigeon and 4 ducks and mallards, besides the 6 
 plover and the old coot, in eighteen hours, as I was out from 
 past twelve in the day till six the next morning. The gun 
 missed fire twice, and I missed one fine shot owing to the 
 spray of the sea freezing on the punt, and forming a mass of 
 ice that threw the barrels above their bearings. My best 
 shot in the night, or rather at two in the morning, was 30 
 wigeon with one barrel. The left barrel snapped, as the 
 lock had broken again, but on getting home to the candle 
 I luckily found it was not so far gone but that I could make 
 shift with it on being a little rectified. 
 
 Had not this misfortune occurred and my follower re- 
 mained with me, I really believe I should at least have doubled 
 what I did. 
 
1 829 COLONEL HAWKER^S DL-\RY 353 
 
 22nd. — After sleeping a few hours I was off again. It 
 * blew great guns,' and froze the oars as we rowed ; had cruel 
 hard labour to row to windward, as the ice prevented our 
 towing the boat up along shore. Saw seven splendid 
 hoopers ! — gave up everything for them. Lay alongside for 
 the tide to flow for hours. Not water enough at last ! so 
 Reade had to steal overboard and shove the punt with his 
 chest while I crept ' abaft ' to ' give her life forward.' The 
 sun came out, and my cap was too white and glared, so, while 
 lying as close as I could, I rubbed it with water and gun- 
 powder, as I had seen the old captain of the hoopers look 
 ' ticklish,' which I suspect was at my cap. For want of more 
 tide, we could only get within about 130 yards of these swans ; 
 but, having shifted my common shot to some glorious pills for 
 them, I tried m\' luck. First barrel missed fire by the lock 
 cover catching the cock ; but, as it blew a gale, the birds never 
 heard this, so I cocked again, and held up the cover with the 
 little finger, while I pushed off the trigger with my thumb, and 
 instantaneously banged in the detonating barrel as these huge 
 monsters began to flap and sprawl, and gave them such a 
 broadside as they little expected. As 2 of them were far 
 detached I had only 5 to shoot at, and I had the satisfaction 
 to bring home in triumph 3 of these wild swans, and kill a 4th, 
 not got, that I saw tower and fall, where I should soon have 
 been as dead as he was had I been rash enough to follow him 
 off in such a sea as that on which he dropped. I never made 
 so splendid a shot in my life, and Reade's agility in ' shipping- 
 sail ' and ' cutting off' one of my birds that was only winged 
 from going seawards, was one of the most finished manoeuvres 
 I ever saw. We just got up in time to blow out his brains 
 with the cripple stopper before he reached some breakers that 
 would have swallowed us. We had a miserable time in getting 
 these swans, but were amply repaid for our wetting and labour. 
 
 Our next game was a flock of mixed birds. We dropped 
 to leeward and loaded, and bore down on them as quick as 
 VOL. L A A 
 
354 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Jan. 
 
 we could to save the tide, to a part where there happened to 
 be water enough. Terribly plagued with our huge shipmates 
 on board, and my follower, as usual, skulking behind, and 
 thinking more of his dinner than the sport, instead of being 
 up and ready to relieve us of this encumbrance. These last 
 birds were scattered, and I had to fire across their line ; but 
 I got 5 ducks and mallards, 5 wigeon, 3 curlews, and i brent 
 goose at the shot. 
 
 N.B. — While in full chase under sail to force the punt 
 over the flooded mud the gale carried away her mast, and w-e 
 had both to get overboard and strain ourselves like slaves by 
 working inch by inch for about 300 yards to shore her into 
 a creek, or we should have had to leave her on the mud and 
 hail our other boat to retreat in. During our dilemma the 
 dirty pirates to leeward carried off I know not how many of 
 my other dead birds, that had floated to the lee shore while 
 we were chasing the cripples to prevent their going to sea ; 
 and our follower, who had orders to be near us, did not reach 
 his post in time. The ruffians here have literally lived well 
 on my lost birds, insomuch that, before the frost set in, I 
 could command any loafer for a shilling, and now I can get 
 no one to go with me unless dearly paid, as they can do so 
 much better by stealing my dead birds, and selling them to 
 the neighbours round at a trifle below the market price. 
 They all carry an old musket if they can, and just pop off a 
 half charge (perhaps with only powder) to justify the posses- 
 sion of your bird by swearing that they fairly shot it. This 
 roguery I have watched no small number of times by the 
 help of my spy-glass, which, of course, I always take afloat to 
 save useless rowing after fowl. 
 
 23;^/. — It blew such a tremendous gale of wind that it 
 was by sheer slavery a man could row on end, and the shore 
 was still so frozen that we could not approach it to tow the 
 punt to windward. Reade, however, by working like a horse, 
 got us up to near Pennington, from whence we dropped down 
 
i829 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 355 
 
 on the fowl, and they were Hterally so cold as to be flying up 
 and pitching again every moment, which, by their thus seeing 
 into the punt, spoiled all chances for a heavy shot. But I 
 got in all 28 wigeon, i duck, and i curlew in the only 2 shots 
 I fired. The first shot I stopped 42 (I always stand up and 
 count what lies on the water the moment I have fired), and 
 the second, a very long one, 17. So tremendous was the 
 weather and sea that I was obliged for safety's sake to 
 allow about 20 dead birds to be carried to sea before my face, 
 and all within 70 yards of the boat. 
 
 24///. — A very hard frost, but the wind more moderate. 
 The birds were frozen out of harbour, and not even in at 
 night. I went outside for the day, but found them wild and 
 much scattered, as the moderate weather had drawn forth the 
 gentlemen gunners, who generally perform the part of excel- 
 lent ' gallibaggers,' a term used by the clods for anything to 
 frighten away birds. All, therefore, I could do to-day was 
 to bring home 18 wigeon, 2 brent geese, 2 curlews. My 
 best shot was 14 wigeon bagged. Thus ended the best week's 
 wild-fowl shooting I had ever enjoyed, or ever heard of 
 
 It is worthy of being summed up together, being as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Monday. — 22 wigeon 22 
 
 Tuesday. — 24 wigeon, i curre, i pintail . . .26 
 Wednesday (night included). — loi wigeon, 4 ducks, 
 
 6 plover, i coot 112 
 
 Thursday. — 5 wigeon, i curre, 5 ducks, i goose, 
 
 3 hoopers, 3 curlews 18 
 
 Friday. — 28 wigeon, i duck, i curlew . . .30 
 Saturday. — 18 wigeon, 2 geese, 2 curlews, r plover 23 
 Making in all : 198 wigeon, 2 curres, 10 ducks, i 
 
 pintail, 3 geese, 3 hoopers, 6 curlews, 7 plover, 
 
 I coot ; which is, 217 wild fowl and 14 waders. 
 
 (h-and total, 231 head. 
 
 26tJi. — A sudden change of weather had taken place in 
 the night, and by daylight this morning we had a decided 
 thaw, with warm wind and rain. Was routed out of bed and 
 
35G COLONEL HAWKER'S DL'VRY Jan. 
 
 all the house thrown in confusion by an alarm about 3 wild 
 swans having dropped off in view of our windows. I shuffled 
 on my clothes, bolted my breakfast, and did all else as quickly 
 as possible ; and, after some little manoeuvring, I got at the 
 swans, and made the most superlatively double shot that mortal 
 man could wish for. The old cock sat up in majestic state 
 on the mud, where, by going up a creek, I could just get the 
 gun to bear on him. The other two birds were in a hollow, 
 where the shot would hardly have touched them. I fired the 
 first barrel at the old captain, and killed him as dead as a stone ; 
 and instantly knocked down one of the others quite dead, as he 
 flev/ up, with the second barrel. The first bird was 1 1 5 yards, 
 the second 120 ; I paced the distance on the mud. Thus I 
 had the glory to sack 2 more wild swans, and killed 6 (in- 
 cluding the one I lost the other day) out of the 7 that had 
 appeared at Keyhaven. 
 
 Afterwards, like a resurrection, 7 more swans appeared, and 
 I had done their business within a few yards' punting, when a 
 diabolical wretch spit off a popgun at some tomtit or lark 
 on the shore, and drove them all to sea. Towards the after- 
 noon I had all but got the seventh swan of my old company ; 
 he rose, out of shot, but crossed the punt, and both barrels 
 missed fire. The detonator had got damp from the rough 
 sea, and the flint lock had caught in the gun cover. I then 
 went after smaller fowl ; but the whole country was so full of 
 poppers ashore and afloat that I had better been in bed. I 
 got but one shot, with which I bagged 7 wigeon. 
 
 27//^. — II geese, 13 wigeon, and 3 scaup ducks. First 
 shot 9 geese, second shot 2 geese and 1 3 wigeon, third shot 
 was at 4 scaup ducks, all of which I stopped. 
 
 The birds happened to be in harbour, and I had this day 
 two following boats, so I never lost but one bird that I know 
 of; a very pretty little day, and excellent shooting. 
 
 28///. — Tide for night shooting at last, for which we have 
 to thank the very wind that drives the birds awa}' — south- 
 
1 829 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 357 
 
 west. Out from two till six in the morning ; got a shot, and 
 bagged 13 wigeon, all dead, and lost several of our cripples, 
 owing to our follower rowing off after some sea weeds which 
 he took for dead birds, and the wigeon he ought to have had 
 escaping in the meantime. In bed from seven till nine, out 
 again from half-past nine till eight in the evening. Country- 
 ruined by floating poppers ; so we gave up and pottered about 
 the harbour. Saw 2 scoter ducks, birds I never met with before, 
 except stuffed in museums ; blew off a cartridge and floored 
 them both ; and had a chase of more than an hour before we 
 could get near enough to finish, with a detonating musket, 
 one of them which was winged, though I had three boats with 
 me. I then shot and killed 3 scaup ducks out of 4, then got 
 another little shot at 3 more scaup ducks and a golden- 
 eye. Floored them all ; lost i scaup duck, that beat us by 
 diving, and bagged 2 scaup ducks and i golden-eye duck. 
 Blew the gun off at a few curlews coming home, and killed I 
 curlew at 200 yards. Nothing of a bag, but exquisite shooting, 
 capital fun, with the chases these diving ducks led us, and a 
 very pleasant day's diversion. 
 
 N.B. — I was all but killing the last remaining sv/an of my 
 original company ; but a raw amateur spoiled my shot when 
 I was within one minute of getting into him, up an excellent 
 creek, which I had reached unobserved by the bird, and up 
 which I was working v/ith the almost certainty of getting 
 close on board him. 
 
 29//A — Up at three and out till half-past eight. A fog 
 came on, and then, of course, shooting afloat was annihilated, 
 as birds will at such a time never let you come near them. 
 A cold rime fell that was more disagreeable than anything 
 I ever felt before ; and this is the first time I ever felt really 
 chilled in gunning. On getting home I made a good break- 
 fast, put my feet in hot water, and turned into a warm bed, 
 by which I was quite comfortable in a few hours, instead, 
 perhaps, of taking a serious cold. All people should do this. 
 
358 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Jan. 
 
 Out at two in the afternoon, and it came on most tre- 
 mendous rain from the south-east all the evening. I had just 
 time to pop at 3 wigeon, and I killed them all dead, and 
 make a long shot at i brent goose, which I knocked out of 
 the company, with small shot, at about 150 yards. There 
 were plenty of birds, but my man having neglected to bring 
 my south-wester defiance jacket, and I, thinking with Falstaff 
 
 that 
 
 The better part of valour is discretion, 
 
 turned tail, and came home for the evening about five o'clock 
 wet through. 
 
 30///. — No tide and a very slack time to-da\', so I went 
 into Lymington to get the hammer of my flint lock hardened, 
 as I had lost several shots through the steel missing fire. On 
 my return home, Reade, who had been out all the morning, 
 congratulated me on escaping a blank day, which he had 
 had, owing to innumerable shooters driving the birds out 
 to sea. I went afloat in the evening and got 3 brent 
 geese, besides shooting 2 more that fell on tide, and which 
 our fellows never got for want of proper exertion ; and this 
 shot, a preposterously long one, was the only chance I got. 
 There being no water, I sent Reade mud launching at dusk, 
 and he came in at half-past nine with 26 wigeon, killed at 
 one shot. 
 
 3 1 J-/. — Reade came in this morning, after being out again 
 since midnight, with 25 more wigeon, making in all, killed by 
 his mud launching in my little punt the ' Mudlark,' 5 1 wigeon 
 in a night ; and, by finding 6 of his cripples this morning, he 
 made the first great shot up to 32 wigeon at one shot, 
 launching, which is the greatest work he ever did or had ever 
 heard of A north-caster, but very little frost. This just 
 favoured the operation of mud crawling. 
 
 February 2nd. — Reade stuck to the mud every night, and 
 got in all 40 more wigeon. 
 
 yd. — Reade came in with 13 more wigeon, after his usual 
 
iSic, COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY 359 
 
 night's crawl, there being no water for me or anyone to go 
 afloat.1 
 
 To-day I went out at eleven round the ' outside,' and at four 
 brought in 12 brent geese, which under all circumstances I 
 thought capital sport. 
 
 Some water to-night. Went afloat about nine. Nasty 
 white frost and fog — birds all scattered and ticklish. Could get 
 none together. At about eleven found a few birds before gun. 
 Floored the whole trip without ever seeing them. 
 
 Reade and I just made up to-day a score of wigeon and a 
 dozen of geese. Too thick for Reade on the mud at ebb tide, 
 so no launching to-night. 
 
 4t/i. — Prepared to go off outside the beach, but wind and 
 rain came on, and prevented us. So had but two chances the 
 whole day ; the first a most beautiful one at geese, which was 
 spoiled w^hen we had all but done their business by some 
 miserable preventive men spitting off a popgun at a cripple. 
 
 St/i. — Wet w^eather, but a strong northerly wind. Got 6 
 brent geese ; 2 with the first barrel, and 4 with the second. 
 Fired another shot, but too far off. Birds cruell}^ disturbed 
 by boats out of number. 
 
 6///. — II brent geese ; 8 with the first barrel, and 3 with 
 the second. The only chance I got the whole day, and, I 
 believe, the only birds that were killed by anyone, though 
 all the gunners were working round me in every direction. 
 
 yt/i. — Reade had been out all night, and never got a bird, 
 owing to the thick, hazy weather, and I was out all to-day, 
 and never got a shot. Towards evening the wind became 
 more northerly, but no water for me to-night, till near twelve, 
 which would encroach on the Sunday. So Reade was mud 
 crawling till just before twelve, and got 4 wigeon. 
 
 gt/L — A mild pleasant da}', birds outside, between the 
 
 ' N.B. — Reade, liy crawling on the mud while there was no water for a 
 floating punt, brought in 104 wigeon in four nights ; and his best shot, a most 
 miraculous one for 12 oz. , was 37 wigeon, picked up at one discharge of his gun. 
 
8G0 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY Feb. 
 
 beach and the Needles ; tried them, but there was too much 
 ' lop.' Worked the rest of the day inside, at straggling ' trips,' 
 and brought home 8 brent geese and 4 wigeon. 
 
 Reade got but 2 wigeon all night, launching, and it came 
 on too thick before the water served for me. This is the sixth 
 time I have had the kitchen fire kept in till morning, and 
 been baulked by hazy weather from getting out. 
 
 \oth. — Out the whole day, and got but 2 dun divers (out 
 of 3 that I shot at, and stopped them all) and i brent goose. 
 
 wth. — Reade had been out the whole night, and could do 
 nothing, owing to the thick hazy weather. 
 
 Nothing inside all day ; tried the outside, off Milford, 
 having towed above a mile from Hurst Castle ; but the sea 
 was so rough that the birds and punt were jumping about, 
 and nothing could be got together worth firing at, and we 
 were too happy to retreat from this unpleasant berth, and 
 determined not to venture again unless the sea should be 
 like a mirror. 
 
 I2th. — A nasty rotten day, with small rain, and a fog as 
 thick as possible ; the vilest of vile weather for night, and 
 but little better for day shooting. Neither Reade nor I could 
 attempt anything, but we rowed down to Hurst and back, 
 just at the close of the evening, and blew off the gun at the 
 dunlins (for a pudding) ; we picked up only 28, but had the 
 company been clear of a ridge of mud that took the shot, I 
 am confident we should have got 100 at least, as I had taken 
 the precaution to whip in a dose of small shot for these 
 little gentlemen. 
 
 13//^. — Dead tides, thick nights and no chance for gunners 
 morning, noon, or night. Out all day, and never fired a shot. 
 I got two golden-eyes.^ 
 
 ' N.B.— The golden-eye is here provincially called ' gingler ' or ' ginging- 
 curre,' from the noise of its wings. Bewick speaks of the ' morillon ; ' and 
 Lead beater, our great London ornithologist, laughs at him, and says that what he 
 calls the morillon is only the golden-eye, which never is in high feather till at a 
 certain age, and even then not till the spring of the year. So one or the other 
 must be wrong. 
 
i829 COLONEL HAWKERS I)L\RY 301 
 
 14///. — Rcadc had been out all niL^ht, crawling on the mud, 
 and I the whole day, and never saw the chance to get a fowl. 
 
 \ttJi. — Readc,who had been crawling on the mud ever since 
 the clock was past Sunday, got a little shot about five this 
 morning, after lying on the mud in a heavy rain for two hours, 
 in hopes of being able to see his birds, which he kept lying in 
 shot of ; but hearing a rival scavenger on the move at the same 
 game, he let fly by guess and brought in 6 wigeon. I went 
 out from eight till ten, in hopes of water, but there was no tide 
 to speak of I got a scaup duck, at which I made a brilliant 
 flying shot with the musket, and this is the only living fowl we 
 saw all the time we were afloat. Mild wet weather, and birds 
 beginning to leave the countr)- very fast. Prepared to go out 
 at half-past eight in the evening, when it was time for high 
 water ; and after beginning to undress for bed, at a quarter 
 past nine, I looked out, and saw the tide had made three- 
 quarters of an hour after its time, so I shuffled on my things 
 again and got afloat. I brought in 5 wigeon out of a little 
 scattered trip, which was all I had to shoot at. 
 
 xytJi. — Reade crawled all night and till seven in the morn- 
 ing, and brought in but 2 wigeon. A good tide to-day, but a 
 dead calm, and as warm as in May. I went out from nine till 
 two, and brought in 6 brent geese. I used as a last resource 
 the * L.G.' boluses in Eley's cartridge, and I am confident the 
 first 3 birds were killed at near a quarter of a mile. I blew^ 
 off at about 2,000, and took about ten yards' elevation. It was 
 complete artillery business. 
 
 A good night tide at last ; out from nine till half-past 
 twelve. Brought in i 5 wigeon ; birds scattered like fieldfares, 
 so that I got but few at a time. A change of weather, a white 
 hoar, and then an easterly gale, all within a few hours to- 
 night. 
 
 \ZtJi. — Reade out after my cripples before daylight, but the 
 shore lubbers (who keep dogs on purpose, and partly live by 
 other folk's birds) had been before him. A tremendous gale 
 
362 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY Feb. 
 
 from the eastward all day, and a sky as thick as mustard. We 
 were up about half-past seven, and with difficulty worked about 
 four miles to windward, to drop down on the geese ; but the 
 hazy weather, as it always does, made the birds extremely 
 wild, and we were all but coming home without a shot. At 
 last, however, I fired across a trip flying, and I knocked down 
 3 at an incredible distance with the left-hand barrel and 
 Ele}''s cartridge. 
 
 Turned into bed all hands at five, hoping for a spree from 
 nine till two, as there is now good water, but it blew great 
 guns, and after being up from eight till eleven we were forced 
 to return to our berths. The gale moderated, and the wind 
 got south, about four in the morning. 
 
 19///. — Reade, after a long crawl, came in with 5 wigeon. 
 I was out from nine till two in the afternoon, but got 
 onl}' I brent goose, as the birds had been so tormented by. 
 other people that no boat could get within 500 yards of them. 
 Turned into bed from six till nine, then out till past two in the 
 morning ; never heard a bird till one, when at the very critical 
 moment for a shot, there came on suddenly a most abominable 
 fog, the vilest of all the vile weathers to ruin a shot, and 
 particularly at night. I popped, a long way off, at a few strag- 
 glers and got 3 wigeon. I then heard more, and lay in wait for 
 them till two, wiien the water went off, not choosing to injure 
 the harbour by advancing any more on birds while a fog was 
 on. No man who values his own sport ever should, when the 
 season is so far gone. 
 
 20///. — Extraordinary weather ; a thick fog with a sun 
 and a strong breeze of wind. The fog was our only enemy. 
 The geese were heard off ' Stivers.' We tried them, though 
 with despair, after losing three-quarters of the tide through 
 waiting for the fog to clear ; and luckily for the geese to-day, 
 the fog suddenly blew off, as unluckily for the wigeon last night 
 it suddenly came on. We consequently got a very long shot 
 instead of no shot at all, and brought in 4 brent geese after a 
 
i829 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 363 
 
 most glorious and hard cripple chase. I never saw such fine 
 fat birds in my life as those we had the luck to get. So 
 difficult is it now to get at a goose, that people will not be- 
 lieve you have killed one till you produce him. Turned into 
 bed all hands at six this evening, in order to get a snooze to 
 windward, in case the night should clear up at high water. 
 Up at a quarter before ten, and out till four in the morning. 
 Fine at first, but wind and rain at last. Wigeon nearly all 
 gone ; got but one poor little shot at about 7 stragglers (all 
 that we found), and brought in but 3 wigeon, with which I 
 was well content, as I wanted just that number to make up 
 the last basket for H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence. 
 
 2ist. — A gale of wind from the southward all day with a 
 tremendous high tide. Plenty of geese off, but the wind blew 
 the punt about so that we could do nothing, and drove them 
 all to leeward. This will be a lesson to me for the future 
 never to meddle with geese in very rough times till just at the 
 ground ebb, when they are feeding and quietly settled for a 
 good target. 
 
 2ird. — A strong wind from the eastward ; out from 
 twelve till five ; got a long shot, flying, with one barrel, and 
 bagged 4 brent geese after the other gunners had been driving 
 the flock all the morning without being able to get a shot. 
 This shows the superiority of my punt &c. 
 
 2^th. — Got my fifth brent goose that I had shot }-estcr- 
 day, and afterwards was off the whole day, and never saw 
 one single bird in harbour, or even all the way to three miles 
 above Lymington, though we had a strong easterl}- wind. 
 This I impute to the mischief done by two notorious monsters, 
 from Itchen Ferry, who infest the coast, and fire ball at 
 everything they see, and rarely ever kill a bird. They have 
 punts like washing tubs, heavy guns like blunderbusses, and 
 are all boots and breeches, and look like banditti. They 
 act as scarecrows or ' gallibaggers ' by lying on the mud at 
 low water, and driving about under sail at high water ; and 
 
3G4 
 
 COLONEL HAWKER'S DL\RY 
 
 Feb. 
 
 would have long ago been starved but for fishing in summer, 
 and getting other people's cripples in the winter. 
 
 25///. — Having packed up my ' alls ' to leave Keyhaven for 
 the season, I went off in the rain from three till seven this 
 evening, in order to give the birds (if any) a farewell salute. 
 I discharged one round and got i brent goose, and with the 
 other I curlew ; at such immense distances that I will now 
 give the other gunners leave to get a shot if they can, for I 
 have well scared the last remnant of the feathered tribes here. 
 
 I began with the curlews and finished with the curlews 
 this prosperous season. 
 
 26///. — Left Keyhaven. 
 
 Most brilliant and glorious season ; proof how my plans 
 repay me. 
 
 G^'eatest shots. 
 1st : 16 geese. 
 
 2nd : 30 wigeon with one barrel. 
 
 3rd : 53 wigeon, 2 mallards, and the coot, with the two barrels fired 
 together. 
 
 4th : 4 hoopers out of 5 with the two barrels, 
 
 5th : A double shot at 2 hoopers, and killed both dead ; the one with 
 the flint barrel, sitting, and the other with the detonator, flying (the first 
 at 115, the second at 120 yards). 
 
 Best sport : loi wigeon, 4 ducks, 4 mal 
 eighteen hours. 
 
 Wild fowl &c. killed up to February 25 (incl 
 Swans 
 Barnacle . 
 
 lards, 6 plover and i coot, in 
 
 usive), 1829 : 
 
 Brent geese 
 
 Ducks and mallards 
 
 Pintail 
 
 Wigeon . 
 
 Teal . 
 
 Curres 
 
 vScoters 
 
 Dun divers 
 
 Plover 
 
 Curlews 
 
 Coot . 
 
 Olive 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 96 
 
 17 
 
 I 
 
 433 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 14 
 
 I 
 
 Total (574 wild fowl and 28 waders) 602 
 
1 829 COLONEL HAWKER'S DIARY 3G5 
 
 All killed just in eight weeks to a day. Add game killed 
 at Longparish before Christmas (388 of which were partridges, 
 and 56 of which were snipes), 463 head ; and grand total 
 makes 1,065 head. 
 
 28///. — Longparish. Busy all day putting my traps away 
 for the season ; but hearing that a few snipes here had 
 tempted divers vagrants to salute the premises with popping, 
 
 1 went off a little before three in the afternoon, and by a six 
 o'clock dinner contrived to pretty well clear the country. I 
 found altogether 1 1 snipes, and I did for o of them, the other 
 
 2 got up too far ; but as 2 of my birds fell in a withy bed 
 and were lost, I have only to score 3 snipes and 4 jack snipes, 
 added to 3 moorhens and i other, which increases my grand 
 total to 1,076 head. 
 
 March 2nd. — A very severe black frost, and a strong 
 north-easter the whole day ; and I had to weather it outside 
 the coach to London, where I arrived this evening at half- 
 past six, and, thank God, found all well. I never was colder 
 in my life ; and, on seeing such glorious gunning weather, I 
 sorely regretted being fried out of Keyhaven by the warm 
 summer-like weather which we had had latterly at that 
 place. 
 
 18///. — Longparish. Walked out with my gun (for 
 the few hours I could leave my workmen) and got 4 
 snipes and 2 jack snipes ; all I saw, and the only six shots 
 I fired. 
 
 igth. — Incessant jobbing every day at my new invention for 
 the invisible approach to land birds, till the 24th. In one inter- 
 val of leisure I took the first chance of the season for fl\' fishing, 
 and killed 20 brace of trout in about two hours, or rather less, 
 and, notwithstanding an easterly wind and occasional sun, 
 the fish rose beautifully, and many of them proved in ex- 
 cellent season, though some mornings the water was hard 
 frozen. 
 
 2$th. — Tried my invention, to see which the emperor 
 
36G COLONEL HAWKER'S DL-\RY Feb. 1829 
 
 Buckle, grand * admiral ' of the * gunners,' had come over from 
 Southampton ; and it answered most exquisitely. 
 
 26^//.— Having succeeded most beautifully in everything, 
 and left the workmen to ' finish off,' I this day returned to 
 London. 
 
 April 2\st. — After having been more or less unwell ever 
 since I came to town, and several days confined to my bed 
 and the sofa, I this day completed several repairs and im- 
 provements to the locks and breechings of my large gun, and 
 got all safe away from the hornet's nest which Joe Manton's 
 manufactory was in while he was in gaol, and this billet beset 
 by ' Philistines.' His men worked under and for me, and had 
 to keep an incessant eye lest anything should happen on the 
 premises. No other workmen in London could have done 
 such a job well to my fancy. 
 
 2%tJi. — Longparish. I caught 24 brace of trout in a few 
 hours, though the cold weather still continued. 
 
 June Zth. — London. The best Philharmonic ever known, 
 and a duet between Sontag and Malibran considered the best 
 piece of singing ever heard in this country. 
 
 July yth. — Longparish. Took two hours' fishing this 
 evening, and killed 25 large trout. 
 
 gth. — Made a droll trial of a new-stocked duck gun, which 
 was well done by my carpenter Keil. I knocked down, in 
 seven shots, 6 bats and i moth. A duck at dusk flight may 
 therefore know what to expect. 
 
 loth. — Fished and killed 20 very large trout indeed, and 
 1 then left off, not wanting any more fish to-day. 
 
 END OF THE FH<ST VOLUME 
 
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 Crown Svo. los, 6d. 
 
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 Vol. L FIELD AND COVERT. With 105 Illustrations. Cr. Svo. lo^. 6^. 
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 SKATING, CURLING, TOBOGGANING, AND OTHER ICE 
 
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 and Capt. R. M. Alexander. Crown Svo. lor. 6/. 
 
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 from Photographs by G. Mitchell. Crown Svo. loj. td. 
 
 TENNIS, LAWN TENNIS, RACKETS, AND FIVES. By J. M. 
 
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August, 1893 
 
 Classified Catalogue 
 
 OF WORKS IN 
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE 
 
 BADMINTON LIBRARY (THE) - - - - 
 
 BIOGRAPHY, PERSONAL MEMOIRS, ETC. 
 
 CHILDREN'S BOOKS - 
 
 CLASSICAL LITERATURE, TRANSLATION, ETC. 
 
 COOKERY AND DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT - 
 
 EVOLUTION, ANTHROPOLOGY, ETC. 
 
 FICTION, HUMOUR, ETC. .... 
 
 HISTORY, POLITICS, POLITY, AND POLITICAL MEMOIRS 
 
 INDEX OF AUTHORS ----- 
 
 LANGUAGE, HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF 
 
 MENTAL, MORAL, AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS AND CRITICAL WORKS 
 
 POETRY AND THE DRAMA 
 
 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND ECONOMICS 
 
 POPULAR SCIENCE 
 
 SILVER LIBRARY (THE) 
 
 SPORT AND PASTIME - 
 
 TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE 
 
 WORKS OF REFERENCE 
 
 PAGE 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 LONDON 
 LONG M A N S, G R E E N. A N D C O. 
 
 NEW YORK : 15 EAST i6th STREET 
 

 Page 
 
 Abbott (Evelyn) - 
 
 ■ 3. 14 
 
 (T. K.) - - - 
 
 10 
 
 Acland (A. H. D.) - 
 
 3 
 
 Acton (Eliza) - 
 
 22 
 
 /Eschylus 
 
 14 
 
 Allingham (W.) 
 
 15 
 
 Anstey(F.) - 
 
 16 
 
 Aristophanes - 
 
 14 
 
 Aristotle - - - - 
 
 10 
 
 Armstrong (E.) 
 
 3 
 
 (G. F. Savage-) 
 
 / '5 
 
 (E. J.) - - - 
 
 Arnold (Sir Edwin) - 
 
 6, 15, 23 
 
 - 7,15 
 
 Arnold (T.) 
 
 3 
 
 Ashley (W.J.)- - - 
 
 ■ ^1 
 
 Atelier du Lys (Author of) 
 
 16 
 
 Bacon - - - - 
 
 - 6,11 
 
 Bagehot (Walter) - 
 
 6, 13, 23 
 
 Bag^vell (R.) - 
 
 3 
 
 Bain (Alexander) - 
 
 II 
 
 Baker (James) - 
 Baker (Sir S. W.) - 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 Ball (J. T.) - - 
 
 3 
 
 Baring-Gould (S.) - 
 
 - 23 
 
 Barrow (Sir J. Croker) - 
 
 15 
 
 Beaconsfield (Earl of) - 
 
 - 16, 17 
 
 Beaufort (Duke of) - 
 
 9 
 
 Becker (Prof.) - 
 
 14 
 
 Bell (Mrs. Hugh) - - 
 
 15 
 
 Bent (J. Theodore) - 
 
 7 
 
 Bjornsen (B.) - 
 
 15 
 
 Boase (C. W.) - 
 
 4 
 
 Boedder (B.) - 
 
 12 
 
 Boyd (A. K. H.) - 
 
 - 6.23 
 
 Brassey (Lady) 
 
 7 
 
 Bray (C. and Mrs.) - 
 
 II 
 
 ' Brenda ' - 
 
 20 
 
 Buckle (H. T.) - - 
 
 3 
 
 Bull (T.) - - - - 
 
 22 
 
 Burrows (Montagu) 
 
 4 
 
 Bury (Viscount 
 
 9 
 
 Butler (E. A.) - - - 
 
 18 
 
 (Samuel) - - - 
 
 23 
 
 Campbell-Walker (A.) - 
 
 8 
 
 Carlvle (Thomas) - 
 
 23 
 
 Carbe (W. D.) - - - 
 
 4 
 
 Chesney (Sir G.) - 
 
 3 
 
 Chetwynd (Sir G.) - 
 
 8 
 
 Chilton (E.) - 
 
 17 
 
 Cholmondeley-Pennell (H.) 
 
 9 
 
 Cicero - - - - 
 
 14 
 
 Clarke (R. F.) - 
 
 12 
 
 Clerke (Agnes M.) - 
 
 14 
 
 Clodd (Edward) 
 
 14 
 
 Clutterbuck (W. J.) 
 
 8 
 
 Comyn (L. N.) 
 
 17 
 
 Conington (John) - 
 
 14 
 
 Cox (Harding) 
 
 9 
 
 Crake (A. D.) - 
 
 20 
 
 Creighton (Bishop) - 
 
 4 
 
 Crozier(J.B.) - 
 
 II 
 
 Crump (A.) 
 
 - 3. 13 
 
 Curzon (Hon. G. N.) 
 
 8 
 
 Cutts (E. L.) - 
 
 4 
 
 Dante - - . . 
 
 15 
 
 Davidson (W. L.) - 
 
 - II. 13 
 
 Deland (Mrs.) - 
 
 17 
 
 Dent (C. T.) - 
 
 9 
 
 De Salis (Mrs.) 
 
 - 22, 23 
 
 De Tocqueville (A.) 
 
 3 
 
 Devas (C. S.) - 
 
 13 
 
 DougalKL.) - 
 
 17 
 
 DowelKS.) - 
 
 13 
 
 Doyle (A. Conan) . 
 
 17 
 
 Falkener (E.) 
 
 10 
 
 Farnell (G. S.) 
 
 14 
 
 Farrar (Archdeacon) 
 
 - 13. 17 
 
 Fitzpatrick (W. J.) - 
 
 3 
 
 Ford(H.)- - - - 
 
 10 
 
 Francis (Francis) - 
 
 10 
 
 Freeman (Edward A.) 
 
 3 
 
 Froude (James A.) - 
 
 4. 6, 8, 17 
 
 Furneaux (W.) 
 
 18 
 
 Gardiner (Samuel Rawson) 
 
 4 
 
 Gleig (G. R.) - 
 
 7 
 
 Goethe - - . . 
 
 15 
 
 Gordon (E. J. A.) - 
 
 4 
 
 Graham (G. F.) 
 
 13 
 
 Graves (R. P.) - 
 
 6 
 
 Green (T. Hill) 
 
 II 
 
 Greville (C. C. F.) - 
 
 4 
 
 Haggard (H. Rider) 
 
 17 
 
 (Ella) - - - 
 
 15 
 
 Halliwell-Phillipps (J. O.) 
 Harrison (Mary) 
 Harrison (Jane E.) - 
 Harte (Bret) - 
 Hartwig (G.) - 
 Hassall (A.) - 
 Hearn (W. E.) 
 Heathcote (J. M. & C. J.) 
 Helmholtz (Prof.) - 
 Henry (W.) - 
 Hodgson (Shadworth H.)- 
 Hooper (G.) 
 Hopkins (E. P.) 
 Horlev(E.) 
 Howard (B. D.) 
 Howitt (William) - 
 Hullah (John) - 
 Hume (David) - 
 Hunt(W.) 
 
 Hutchinson (Horace G.) - 
 Huth (A. H.) - 
 Hyne (C. J. C.) - - 
 Ingelow (Jean) 
 Jefteries (Richard) - 
 Jewsbury (Geraldine) 
 Johnson (J. & J. H.) 
 Johnstone (L.) 
 Jones (E. E. C.) - 
 Jordan (W. L.) 
 Joyce (P. W.) - - 
 Justinian - - - - 
 Kant (I.) - - - - 
 Killick (A. H.) - 
 Kitchin (G. W.) 
 Knight (E. F.) 
 Ladd(G. T.) - 
 Lang (Andrew) 4, 10, 14, 15, 
 Lavisse (E.) - 
 Lear (H. L. Sidney) 
 Lecky (W. E. H.) - 
 Lees (J. A.) - 
 Leslie (T. E. C.) - 
 Lewes (G. H.) - 
 Leyton (F.) 
 Lodge (H, C.) - 
 Loftie (W. J.) - 
 Logeman (W. S.) - 
 Longman (F. W.) - 
 Longmore (Sir T.) - 
 Lubbock (Sir John) 
 Lyall (Edna) - 
 Lydekker(R.) - 
 Lyttelton (R. H.) - 
 Lytton (Earl of) 
 Macaulay (Lord) 
 Macfarren (Sir G. A.) 
 Mackail (J. W.) 
 Macleod (H. D.) - 
 Maher (M.) 
 Mannering (G. E.) - 
 Marbot (Baron de) - 
 Marshman (J. C.) - 
 Martin (A. P.) - 
 Matthews (Brander) 
 Maunder (S.) - 
 Max Miiller (F.) 
 May (Sir T. Erskine) - 
 Meath (Earl of) 
 Meade (L. T.) - 
 Melville (G. J. Whyte) - 
 Mendelssohn - 
 Merivale (Dean) 
 Mill (James) - 
 Mill (John Stuart) - 
 Milner (G.) 
 Molesworth (Mrs.) - 
 Monck (H. S.) - 
 Moore (E.) 
 Nansen (F.) 
 Nesbit (E.) 
 Norton (C. L.) 
 O'Brien (W.) - 
 Oliphant (Mrs.) 
 Osbourne (L) - 
 Parkes (Sir H.) 
 Parr (Mrs.) 
 
 Paul (H.) - - - - 
 Payn (James) - - . 
 Payne-Gallwey (Sir R.) - 
 Pembroke (Earl of) 
 Perring (Sir P.) 
 Phillipps-Wollcv (C.) 
 Piatt (S. cS: J. J.) - 
 
 Page ! 
 
 - 7> 
 
 231 
 
 14 1 
 
 18, 19 
 
 6 
 
 4, II 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 II, 24 
 
 6 
 
 Id 
 4 
 8 
 8 
 
 24 
 
 ii 
 4 
 9 
 
 17 
 
 15. 20 
 24 
 24 
 2l 
 ll 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 ii 
 
 17, 20 
 
 24 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 2^ 
 
 - 4 
 
 ifi 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 It 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 ^3 
 
 
 IQ 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 U 
 
 
 '7 
 
 
 '9 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 16 
 
 - 5 
 
 16 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 U 
 
 
 ^3 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 7 
 
 - 17 
 
 24 
 
 
 20 
 
 II, 13 
 
 24 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 M 
 
 - 20 
 
 21 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 12 
 
 - 12 
 
 13 
 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 16 
 
 8 
 17 
 18 
 18 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 9, 10 
 
 9 
 
 ^4 
 
 9- 18 
 
 16 
 
 Page 
 
 Plato 14 
 
 Pole (W.) - - - - 10 
 
 Pollock (W. H.) - - - 9 
 
 Poole (W. H. and Mrs.) - - 23 
 
 Praeger (F.) - - . . 7 
 
 Pratt (A. E.) - - - - 8 
 
 Prendergast (J. P.) - - - 5 
 
 Proctor (Richard A.) - 10, 19, 24 
 
 Raine (James) - - - - 4 
 
 Ransome (CntII) ... 
 
 Reader (E. E.) - . - 
 
 Rhoades (J.) - - - - i. 
 
 Ribot (T.) ... - 
 
 Rich (A.) 
 
 Richardson (Sir B. Ward) - 
 
 Rickaby (John) - - - 
 
 (Joseph) - - - - 
 
 Rilev(J.W.) - - - - 
 
 (A.) - - - - . 
 
 Robertson (A.) 
 
 Roget (John Lewis) 
 
 (Peter M.) - - 
 
 1 Romanes (G. J.) - 
 
 Ronalds (A.) - - - - 
 I Roosevelt (T.) - - - - 
 ! Rossetti (M. F.) - - - 
 ; Round (J. H.) - 
 
 Seebohm (F.) - - - - 
 
 Sewell (Eliz. M.) - 
 ' Shakespeare - - - - 
 j Shearman (M.) ... 
 i Shirres(L. P.)- 
 1 Sidgwick (Alfred) - 
 ! Sinclair (A.) - . - - 
 i Smith (R. Bosworth) 
 
 Sophocles .... 
 , Southev (R.) - . - - 
 
 Spedding (J.) - - - - 
 i Stanlev (Bishop) ... 
 
 Steel (A. G.) - 
 
 Stephen (Sir James) 
 
 Stephens (H. C.) - 
 i (H. Morse) 
 
 (T.) ■ 
 
 Stevenson (Robert Louis) 16, i 
 
 Stock (St. George) - 
 
 Strong (H. A.) ... 
 
 I Stubbs (J. W.) ... 
 
 Sturgis (Julian) . . - 
 ' Suffolk and Berkshire (Earl of) 
 '■ Sully (James) - - - - 
 
 Suttner (Baron von) 
 
 Swinburne (A. J.) - 
 
 Symes (J. E.) - 
 i Thompson (Annie) - 
 
 (D. G.) - - - - 
 
 Thomson (Archbishop) - 
 
 Tirebuck (W.) - - - - 
 
 Todd (A.) - - . . 
 
 Toynbee (A.) - - - - 
 
 Trevelyan (Sir G. O.) - 
 
 Trollope (Anthony) 
 
 Tupper (C. L.) ... 
 
 Tyrrell (R. Y.); 
 
 Vernej' (Francis P.) 
 
 Virgil 
 
 Wade(G.W.) .... 
 
 Wakeman (H. O.) - 
 
 Walford (Mrs.) 
 
 Wallaschek (R.) 
 
 Walpole (Spencer) - - - 
 
 Walsingham (Lord) 
 
 Walter (J.) .... 
 
 Watson (A. E. T.) - 
 
 Webb (T. E.) - 
 
 Weir(R.) .... 
 
 West(C.) 
 
 Weyman (Stanley J.) 
 
 Whatelv (Archbishop) - 
 
 — (e: J.) . . . . 
 
 Wheeler (B. L) ... 
 Whishaw(F. J.) - 
 Wilcocks (J. c.) - - - 
 Wilkin (G.) . . . - 
 Willich (C. M.) 
 Wilson (A. J.) - 
 Wishart (G.) ... - 
 Wolff (H.W.) 
 Woodgate (W. B.) - 
 Wood (J. G.) - 
 Wordsvorth (Bishop Charles) 
 Wylie (J. H.) - 
 I Zeller (E.) ... - 
 
 3 
 21 
 U16 
 12 
 14 
 24 
 12 
 12 
 16 
 
 8 
 18 
 24 
 13 
 14 
 10 
 
 4 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 16 
 9 
 13 
 12 
 9 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 8,21 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 7,18 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 23 
 18 
 12 
 13 
 13 
 
 8 
 10 
 14 
 20 
 13 
 
 6 
 8,13 
 
 9 
 19 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 12 
 
Messrs. LONGMANS, GREEN, & co;s 
 
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