35 



Mr. Springfield was Master, Rawle hunted and showed good sport, 

 but above all he proved himself to be a determined plucky fellow 

 upon many occasions during that troublous time. 



The trophies of foxhunting are by no means a reliable record of 

 the sport shown by a pack of hounds, but there are still to be seen 

 at the kennels of Curraghmore boards on which are nailed the noses 

 of foxes killed during many seasons of the present Marquis's time. 

 What the number is does not signify, but I will say that they 

 were all killed in sportsmanlike style, for neither in the present Lord 

 Waterford's time, nor in that of his uncle's or Mr, Briscoe's, was 

 "digging" ever resorted to unless under most exceptional and 

 thoroughly reasonable circumstances. When a fox had beaten the 

 Curraghmore Hounds to ground, he was left to do so again. Needless 

 to say a terrier was never seen in the ranks of ^Aa^ pack. 



It will, I think, astonish not a few of my readers to hear that 

 I cannot recall to mind our having more than three hlanh days durinrj 

 JSriscoe's time, and I swear there were not six! The Curraghmore 

 Hounds had only one blank day during the eleven years Lord Waterford 

 ivas Master^ and that was when he was not out, but it was so wet. 

 the hounds went home at one o'clock without drawing a covert where 

 they would have been certain to find. 



I shall now proceed to give short particulars of a few of the many- 

 great runs we had while the present Marquis was Master, the greater 

 number of which were shown by himself while he carried his own, 

 horn and hunted his own hounds. Happy I am to add that I saw a 

 good many of them, though not all. I venture to hope some 

 interest will be taken in hearing of what was done within compara- 

 tively a few years, particularly as the account may probably be 

 read by those who partook of the sport we had in the halcyon, 

 days of Curraghmore and who can bear me out in stating that the 

 few accounts of foxhunts which follow these remarks but poorly, 

 describe the average doings of the Curraghmore previous to the 

 sport being stopped in 1881. Yes the fine, ay brilliant, runs we had 

 in those days can be counted by the dozen. 



Like his uncle, the present Lord Waterford neglected to keep a 

 diary of his hunting. This seems extraordinary, for, again like him, 

 he is most particular in having accounts and records kept in minute 

 detail. I kept one for a few years, but it recorded only the sport 

 which took place on the days I was out, and unfortunately I did not 

 keep it regularly, and discontinued it many years ago. From these 

 facts I am unable, as I was with some of Briscoe's, to fix some of 

 the dates, but the other details are critically correct. 



We had a run in January, 1871, from Knockbrack almost straight 

 to Brownstown without a check, although the hounds ran through 

 the little gorse of Busherstown, a point to point of some six miles 

 distance run fully eight miles, all grass and stiff fencing ; time, 

 forty minutes. 



