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Henry almost as soon as he was able to sit on a horse, but hares 

 were not his ambition, and he soon bred the harriers into foxhounds, 

 and took to the more exalted degree of venery. He hunted the Welch 

 mountains and their neighbourhood for several years, but I don't know 

 whether he had the prescriptive right in himself, or got leave to hunt it 

 from the first Sir John Power of Kilfane. Probably the latter, for 

 Sir John then owned the Kilkenny Hounds, and had the foxhunting 

 right to the country, inasmuch as he had established the pack early in 

 the present century ; moreover, Sir John was a contemporary of Briscoe's 

 father. 



Anyway, Briscoe hunted the parts I have named. He had no enclosed 

 coverts, but along the tops and sides of the hills were wild, natural 

 patches of gorse and heather, in which foxes in abundance took shelter. 

 Briscoe hunted early in the mornings, so his hounds generally struck 

 the drag which they had to hunt to his lair before they actually found 

 their fox, and there is no doubt that from these natural fastnesses he 

 showed great sport. Owing to the limited extent of his country and 

 the skill with which he handled his hounds, together with their own 

 good qualities, foxes after a time became scarce along the Welch 

 mountains, and Briscoe was glad at times to let them have a shy at a 

 hare when one was started. 



Soon after Henry Lord Waterford commenced hunting from 

 Curraghmore, he bought Mr, Briscoe's pack, and took up his country. 

 From that time forward Briscoe was a constant follower of Lord 

 Waterford's and the Kilkenny Hounds, and he became a leading 

 member of the Kilkenny Club. 



As I said in the Curraghmore chapter, he rode to liunt^ and his whole 

 soul was in the hounds and their working. He simply used his horse 

 as a means to an end, but so effectually that he was always with the 

 hounds, whether they went a splitter of fifteen minutes or worked 

 through a long run. The consequence was, he soon became as 

 good an authority on hunting as was the second Sir John Power, who 

 had then succeeded his father, and was considered the best gentleman 

 huntsman of the day. 



To avoid repetition I must refer my readers to the second section of 

 my chapter on the Curraghmore Hunt for the portion of Mr. Briscoe's 

 history from 1859 to 1870, during which period he was Master of that 

 pack, but had to resign in consequence of ill-health. 



It so happened that in 1870 the Kilkenny Hounds were without a 

 Master, and for some few years there existed unpleasant circumstances 

 connected with that Hunt, owing to social and other dissensions among 

 some of the leading members. 



Directly it was known that Briscoe had given up the Curraghmore, 

 the Kilkenny gentlemen invited him to take office with them. They 

 one and all recognised the fact that no man could be found more likely 

 to bring about a reunion between the dissentient parties, for he was 

 alike popular with botb, and had not espoused either side in the 



