I 14 IRISH SPORT AND SPORTSMEN. 



He was, Indeed, the prime mover and principal pro- 

 moter of them, and he used to watch with particular 

 interest the artistic performances of Messrs. Moore, 

 Whyte, Exshaw, Captain Sn^ith, the brothers Ryan, 

 Gavin, and other " giants in the pigskin." After a 

 drive of about eight miles I arrived at Lisrenny 

 House, the residence of the master of the Louth 

 Hounds, Mr. W. De Salis Filgate. The mansion is a 

 very comfortable one, nicely situated in the centre of 

 a rich country, and surrounded by fine old timber. 

 Having received a cordial welcome from Mr. Filgate, 

 he accompanied me to the kennels, which are neat, 

 clean, and, no doubt, healthy, though plain and small. 

 The pack comprise 33 couple of hounds, averaging, I 

 should think, about 24 inches. There are not many 

 of them very remarkable for beauty, but few amongst 

 them are really faulty. They have a deal of work to 

 get through, and there is so much plough and wood- 

 land in the hunting district that they must be very 

 steady and good workers — as they undoubtedly are. 

 They are more remarkable for sterling worth and 

 great substance than for perfection of symmetry and 

 appearance. They were brought before me in litters, 

 and the junior members were first called upon to 

 answer to their names. The entry last year was much 

 smaller than is generally the case, as Mr. Filgate was 

 particularly unfortunate with his bitches. 



The first lot comprised a quartette by the Belvoir 

 Drayman, from Careless. Caterer is one of the 

 largest — indeed I think the biggest — dog of his age I 

 ever saw. He will, no doubt, improve in appearance, 

 but is not a very attractive-looking youngster just 

 now, yet he has a good character. Of the others I 



