LORD CLONMELL, 1854-1857 



of the month, and when the thaw came it afforded 

 only a few days hunting, mostly pottering work 

 with no sport, chopped foxes and short rings from 

 Harbordstown, Kilcullen and Giltown. But on 

 Sunday, January 21, set in that dreadful weather 

 of 1855 which wrought such havoc in the Crimea 

 and all hunting was stopped, as it proved, for the 

 rest of the season. Heavy snow followed the frost 

 on the 31st and continued without cessation for 

 two days, after which no traffic could be got across 

 the Kildare roads. Even the trains ran with the 

 greatest difficulty. A slight thaw on February 3 

 gave some promise of relief, but frost and snow 

 returned on the 5 th and continued till the 24th. 

 "So severe a frost and such deep snow," writes 

 Major de Robeck, " have not been known since 

 the year 18 14, in fact the roads were only passable 

 in places on the 3rd March." On the same date, 

 March 3rd, I read " The Emperor of Russia dead," 

 a laconic record of the dramatic end of that mon- 

 arch who trusted in " Generals Janvier et Fevrier " 

 and himself fell a victim to their discipline. 



The autumn season opened with sadly dimin- 

 ished prospects of sport, owing to the devastation 

 wrought by the frost upon the coverts. This I 

 examine in some detail later on. Meanwhile the 

 first meet of the season at Johnstown Inn on 

 November i was again quite typical. A find in Ker- 



215 



