HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



cross the ferry each time he went to Croydon to the 

 meet that he promoted a Bill which resulted in the 

 building of old Westminster Bridge. It was this 

 duke who appeared at the meets in a single-breasted 

 peach-coloured frock coat reaching nearly to his 

 heels, and wore a three-cornered hat trimmed with 

 gold lace. When foxes were scarce at Croydon he 

 would bring down one in a hamper which had 

 been trapped in Whittlebury Forest. The duke 

 always maintained that if such a fox escaped, it 

 returned again to Whittlebury. He was a great 

 martinet in the field, and was impatient of the 

 slightest noise when hounds were drawing. On one 

 occasion an old gentleman who was much troubled 

 with a cough was waiting with the rest for the fox 

 to break. The duke walked his horse up to him, 

 took off his gold-laced hat with a profound bow and 

 remarked in a voice of suppressed passion, " Sir, I 

 wish to God your cold was better.'^ 



Such is a very brief glance at the origin of fox- 

 hunting in England, and there is every reason to 

 believe that it developed on exactly similar lines 

 in Ireland. The first fox-hunting here was practised 

 by different packs maintained by individual gentle- 

 men, each of which would have a considerable fol- 

 lowing among the sportsmen of its own neighbour- 

 hood. Of these private owners the names of several 

 have been preserved, doubtless those of many others 

 i6 



