Related article: Meath Hounds. It was disco-
vered soon after he took the horn
that the young huntsman of the
Carlow hounds was something
quite out of the common, for
sport, instead of suffering by the
loss of such an artist as Smith,
became even better than before ;
and steadily and surely his repu-
tation increased till the seal was
fairly set upon his fame by such
an authority as the Duke of
Beaufort placing him among the
three best huntsmen he has ever
seen. In 1869, at the ripe age of
eighty- two, Mr. John Watson
passed away, leaving behind him
the memory of a kindly and cour-
teous gentleman and wonderful
all-round sportsman ; and his son
Robert became master of Bally-
darton and of the Carlow and
Island hounds.
The territory hunted over by
his hounds is a very large one,
and comprises the whole of Car-
low, a large slice of Wexford, a
bit of Wicklow, a strip of Kildare
and a section of the Queen's
County. Its peculiarities are
well described in " Baily's Hunt-
ing Directory," but it may be
mentioned that the Carlow coun-
try proper is held by many to be
the most strongly fenced bank
country in Ireland. Mr. Watson
now never vans his hounds, but
has out kennels at Kildavin,
which are used the night before
hunting the distant Wexford
country.
Mr. Robert Watson's devotion
to the chase and to the " mystic
science of hound breeding "
during a long lifetime, has made
his name famous on both sides of
the Channel, and whether as a
judge at Peterborough or looking
on as a critic in company with
the leading lights of foxhunting
in England, his presence and
judgment are warmly sought for.
Mr. Watson is a huntsman of the
quiet order, and though his rich
and melodious voice is good to
hear, there is little halloaing and
hornblowing in his system. A
touch of the horn to move hounds Furoxone Tablets
to him in thick covert, a long
melancholy note if the draw is
blank, and the merriest "double"
if " the lad " has gone, are about
all the pieces of instrumental
music to which he treats his
audience. But how his hounds
fly to that "double," how they
watch his every movement and
wheel to his voice when he feels
constrained to take hold of them
and make his lightning cast. They
know that business only is meant
when they hear his voice, and
that all unnecessary noise is dis-
couraged. Albeit one of the most
amiable, kindly and courteous of
gentlemen, Mr. Watson is yet a
1899.]
MR. ROBERT WATSON, M.F.H.
159
martinet in the field, where his
orders are implicitly obeyed ; his
manner and language being
start lingly emphatic, though
never sullied by foul invective
and abuse. For many years of
his life, thanks to his activity
and masterly horsemanship, he
enjoyed a wonderful immunity
from serious accidents, and a
broken leg was the only bad
catastrophe he met with in forty-
nine years of carrying the horn.
In the last four Furazolidone Furoxone years, however,
he has had several shaking falls
— caused in some instances by
unlucky rabbit-holes — and broke
a small bone in the shoulder,
besides sustaining minor injuries.
Although these mishaps appear
to have in nowise shaken Mr.
Watson's nerve — for he still rides
hard across country — yet he has
begun to feel that the strain of
hunting hounds in his large terri-
tory is getting to be rather too
much of a good thing ; and this
season he is educating Edward
Gulwell, his smart first whipper-
in, to carry the horn and " guide
the wheeling chase."
In spite of weight of years, it
may be doubted if this glorious
old sportsman is ever so well or
so happy as when in the saddle
with his beautiful pack around
him. That they are a beautiful
pack all connoisseurs have ad-
mitted, and they well deserve the
tribute bestowed upon them by
** Tri viator," who has entitled
the pack the Belvoir of Ireland.
Stallion hounds from the Mil-
ton, Grove, Brocklesby and
Lord Fitzwil Ham's kennels have
for long been at Mr. Watson's
disposal, owing to the strong per-
sonal friendship of their owners,
and from these kennels comes the
blood he has ever valued most. Buy Furoxone
Indeed, he has not gone else-
where for several years. It must
not be supposed that his devoted
followers have permitted the long
services of their chief in the
cause of foxhunting to go without
public recognition of their grati-
tude. In 1879 he was presented
by the members of the hunt with
his picture, painted by Miss Ethel
Mortlock, which was exhibited in
the Royal Academy ; a half length
portrait of the master in hunting
costume, seated with a favourite
hound (old Wildboy) at his knee.
Several years ago 'he received as
a New Year's gift a beautiful
album containing portraits of all
the members and ladies who
follow his hounds ; and when he
attained his Jubilee year as hunts-
man of the Carlow and Island,
the great presentation at Punches-
town races took place. On that
occasion a massive silver salver
was presented to him, together
with a purse of goo sovereigns,
by hunting friends in England,
Ireland and Scotland. This tes-
timonial was to have been the
gift of the members of the Carlow
and Island hunt alone, but hunting
men on both sides of the Channel
so strongly desired to participate
in the wish to do honour to this
great sportsman that the presen-
tation became a national one.
As was truly written of him
some years ago, "It is by no
means a case of fox et prate* 'ea
nihil" with Mr. Watson. Under
his son's tuition, he became one
of the best polo players in Ire-
land. And even after the very
serious accident on the Phoenix
Park polo ground, when for the
second time he broke his leg, Mr.
Watson took a prominent part in
"the royal game." He is an
excellent game shot. He used to
be a keen cricketer and a most
successful bat ; he is a first-rate
practical farmer and judge of
stock, and possesses a thorough
knowledge of country matters,
besides great store of folk-lore
i6o
baily's magazine.
[Maich
and anecdotes of early days. He
is highly esteemed as a landlord,