HISTORY OF THE KILDARE HUNT 



W. K. was taken to Bob K's* house." On the 

 29th I read, " Up to the present W. K. is making 

 little progress." 



Mr Kennedy happily recovered, but did not 

 again hunt the hounds. More than twenty years 

 later he happened to look through these old diaries, 

 and very fortunately added some memories which 

 the perusal of them evoked. I cannot do better 

 than give in his own words his recollection of an 

 extraordinary run, which is the occasion of only 

 the briefest mention in the diary, a fact which 

 makes one regret the habit of famous sportsmen 

 to make such scanty record of their experiences even 

 when they make record at all. 



" I sit down," wrote Mr Kennedy in 1878, " to 

 write an account of the best run I ever saw or 

 heard of, because it proves the wonderful stoutness 

 and goodness of the hounds of those days, and 

 because it was the only run I ever saw that no horse 

 that ever was foaled could have lived through. 



" The meet was Eighteen Mile Stone, Jan. 4th, 

 1853, and we first drew Mullacash and I see by my 

 book we ' ran through Killashee to ground near 

 Naas, a good run.' 



" Of it I recollect nothing, but I well remember 

 what followed. At Stonebrook we found and ran 

 as hard as possible to Elverstown all over grass and 

 all uphill, so that every horse was blown. I there 



* His brother Mr Robert Kennedy. 

 206 



