THE CURRAGHMORE HOUNDS. 53 



turned back to Corbally again. Crossing the road, the 

 hounds running up the hill to the cover with three or 

 four men with them, his lordship's horse (one I 

 never admired, called Mayboy, not up to fourteen, 

 much less sixteen to seventeen stone), bungled over 

 a little fence into the road ; he did not come 

 down, but his lordship fell over, right on his head ! 

 He lay motionless till picked up by Harry Jephson 

 and Johnny Ryan, his steeplechase jockey, who 

 always rode second horseman to him. Dr. O'Ryan, 

 who was close by, also jumped off at once and 

 examined the prostrate form of as fine a sportsman 

 as ever fell in the hunting field. When asked in 

 frantic strains by Jephson what his opinion was, he 

 replied : " May God have mercy on his soul, for it is 

 departing from him this moment." 



Need I dilate upon the scene of consternation that 

 followed. No ; long ago as that day is now, I remem- 

 ber every particular of it, and shall as long as "life's 

 memory" lasts. Harry Jephson was, perhaps, Lord 

 Waterford's dearest friend, and upon him devolved 

 the direful necessity of going before to Curraghmore 

 to break the awful tragic occurrence to the widowed 

 lady who "loved her lord so well." He avoided not 

 the duty, but at once proceeded on his dreadful er- 

 rand. Directly Lady Waterford saw him she guessed 

 his object, and at once exclaimed that his lordship was 

 killed ! Yes, poor soul ! she had always a presentiment 

 of such a fate befalling him ! 



After Jephson' s leaving, his lordship was laid in 



