MEMOIR OF THE KILKENNY HUNT. 19 



was a younger son of Mr. John Nixon, of Brown's 

 Barn, on the Nore, where the family were settled for 

 a couple of centuries. As a young child his sight 

 was very imperfect, and at twelve years old he was 

 totally blind. He nevertheless was, during his whole 

 life, not only able to ride about the country quite 

 unattended, but actually rode to hounds, accompanied 

 either by a boy or by some friend, who undertook to 

 pilot him, and who called out the fences as he neared 

 them during a run. He hunted for a great many 

 years, and was considered, in the days when veteri- 

 nary surgeons scarcely existed, as an excellent judge 

 of a horse's soundness and shapes. People said that 

 he could tell everything about a horse except his 

 colour, and that he could pronounce an opinion as to 

 a horse's sight ! The following story about him is 

 absolutely authentic : One day he had engaged to 

 meet Chief Justice Bushe for a ride up Brandon 

 mountain. They met as arranged, and were riding 

 together, when Nixon turned to the Chief Justice 

 with the remark, "That is a new horse which you are 

 riding; I know that by his step." The Chief Justice 

 replied that it was so, and that he would like Nixon 

 to examine him when he got home. This he did, 

 and, after carefully feeling him all over, he said, " He 

 is a nice horse, but he will be quite blind in a year." 

 In the time mentioned the horse was stone blind. 



Mr. Nixon was fond of bathing, and during the 

 summer used to walk down through a grove of large 

 trees at Brown's Barn to a high rock opposite Cool- 

 more, jump off the rock into deep water, and, after 

 swimming about, return home the same way. He 



