THE CURRAGHMORE HOUNDS. 55 



Enough of the melancholy narrative ! 



The auction over, Lord John, the fourth Marquis, 

 in that princely, offhand manner, which was the charac- 

 teristic of so many of his kin that had gone before, 

 presented to the hunt thirty-two couple of the picked 

 hounds of the kennel, four horses, the best also, and a 

 subscription of ^loo a year. At a meeting of the 

 gentry of the country, Mr. Henry Briscoe, ofTInvane, 

 was unanimously chosen to be master of the hounds, 

 with Ryan as huntsman, and Billy Barry as whip, and 

 the pack were transferred to TInvane. 



A subscription was raised (of course all know that 

 Lord Waterford hunted the country at his own expense 

 solely) which was headed by Messrs. David, George, 

 and Fred Malcomson, and the Earl of Bessborough, 

 withal 50 and ^loo respectively. 



Sir John Power only gave Lord Waterford that 

 portion of his country I have mentioned, while he 

 hunted the country ; so at his death a new arrangement 

 had to be come to, Avhich was this — they took back 

 Castlemorrls, Wynne's Gorse, Kllmoganny, Windgap, 

 Kiltorcan, Sir John's Gorse, Coolmine, and Killeen,and 

 if Woodstock, Glensinsaw, Brownstown, and Lucy's 

 Rock, were given his lordship, them also, leaving us 

 only that portion below Carrlgtruss to Snow Hill, 

 taking in Tory Hill and Knockbrack, for which we 

 paid the Kilkenny Hunt (then a club, Sir John Power 

 having given It up to the country) a rent of ^50 a 

 year, which Lord Bessborough paid in addition to his 

 subscription of^ioo a year. 



Briscoe only hunted two days a week, and started 

 with Merryman, Sunshine, Cheasty, and Wall, given 

 by Lord Waterford, Stretcher and other horses 



