210 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



DEATHS in the Year 1816. 



January. 



Having in the Chronicle of the 

 last year inserted from the Irish 

 papeis a relation of the death of 

 the Duke of Dorset^ which is in 

 some respect erroneoiis^ we here 

 transcribe an authentic account 

 of that melancholy event from a 

 memoir of that lamented and 

 promising young nobleman, pub- 

 lished in the Gentleman's Maga- 

 zine for Sept. 1816. 



He had resided in Ireland about 

 a year and a half, when he met 

 with the fatal catastrophe that 

 put an end to his existence. On 

 the 13 th of Feb. 1815, he went 

 to pay a visit to his friend and 

 schoolfellow. Lord Powerscouvt, 

 meaning to stay from the Mon- 

 day till the Thursday, on which 

 day he was to return to the Castle 

 for a dravving-i-oom. On the 

 14th he went out with Lord 

 Powerscourt's harriers, mounted 

 on a well-trained active Irish 

 mare, and accompanied by his 

 Lordship and Mr. Wing-field. 

 Having been out for several hours 

 without finding any thing, they 

 were actually on the point of re- 

 turning home, when unfortu- 

 nately a hare sprang ujj, ami the 

 chase commenced. The hare 

 made for the inclosures on Kil- 

 liney Hill. They had gone but a 

 short distance, when Ihe Duke, 

 who was an e>:cellcnt and forward 

 horseman, rode at a wall, which 

 n^as in fact a more dangerous ob- 



stacle than it appeared to be. 

 The wall stands on the slope, and 

 from the lower ground what is 

 immediately on the other side can - 

 not be discerned. The wall itself 

 is perhaps no more than three 

 feet and a half in height, and 

 two in breadth ; but on the other 

 side there lay a range of large 

 and ponderous stones, which had 

 been rolled there from off the sui - 

 face of the adjacent barley-field, 

 that they might not impede the 

 growth of the corn. It would 

 have been safer to scramble over 

 such a fenccj than to take it in 

 the stroke. The Duke's inare, 

 however, attempted to cover all 

 at one spring, and cleared the 

 wall ; but lighting among the 

 stones on the other side, threw 

 herself headlong, and turning in 

 the air, came with great violence 

 upon her rider, who had not lost 

 his seat ; he undermost, with his 

 back on one of ihe large stones, 

 and she crushing him with all her 

 weight on his chest, and strug- 

 gling with all her power to re- 

 cover her legs. Ijct the reader 

 but contemplate this situation, 

 and he will not wonder that the 

 accident was fatal, or that the 

 Duke survived it only an hour 

 and half. The mare disentangled 

 herself, and galloped away. The 

 Duke sprang uj)on his feet, and 

 attempted to follow hei", but soon 

 found himself unable to stand, and 

 fell into the arms of Mr. Farrel, 

 who had run to his succour, and 



to 



