THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 21 



send on a fresh horse for him to the meet," 

 rode her along at a hand canter, and without 

 drawing rein from Tiverton town-end to Baron's 

 Down, a distance, by the old road, of at least 

 fifteen miles. 



"Never before, and never after," records the 

 son, "do I remember my father failing to fulfil 

 a promise he had made me ; but there, at 

 Baron's Down, for some reason which I cannot 

 now remember, the fresh horse did not appear." 



The young mare w^as of course blown, but, 

 happily for the rider, not yet beaten. The 

 harbourer had reported a "warrantable deer;" 

 but the woodland was a deep one in which 

 he had made his lair, and many a change took 

 place before the two couple of tufters could 

 rouse and force the right animal away. By 

 that time the mare, under the freshening in- 

 fluence of gentle exercise and the breezy moor, 

 had fairly recovered herself, and as Jack avow^ed, 

 was then "fit as a fiddle to go for her life." 



But now an awkward accident occurred that 

 suddenly checked, and might have terminated, 

 our hero's career before he had gone ten 

 strides with the hounds. Mr. Stucley Lucas, of 

 Baron's Down, w4io at a later period became 

 Master of the Staghounds, was riding a race- 

 horse called Erebus, and, as that gentleman 

 was known to be an authoritv on all matters 

 relating to the moor and the running of the 



