Early Life
He had only the rudiments of arms and legs, but in spite of his disability he had a remarkable career. Placed in the care of a visionary doctor, Francis Boxwell, who believed that even an armless and legless child could be "trained" to live a productive life, Kavanagh learnt to ride in the most fearless way aged 3, strapped to a special saddle, and managing the horse with the stumps of his arms; he also fished, shot, drew and wrote, various mechanical contrivances being devised to supplement his limited physical capacities.
In 1849 his mother discovered that he had been having affairs with girls on the family estate, so she sent him into exile to Uppsala in Sweden and then to Moscow with his brother and the Rev. Wood, whom he came to hate. He travelled extensively in Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia and India between 1846 and 1853; in India his letter of credit from his mother was cancelled when she discovered that he had spent two weeks in a harem, so he persuaded the East India Company to hire him as a dispatch rider. Other sources say that this was due to the death of his eldest brother Charles of consumption in December 1851, which left him with only 30 shillings.
Read more about this topic: Arthur Mac Morrough Kavanagh
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