Tlie Horse Vampire, 117 



others, including even a steeple-chase rider on 

 a first-rate horse. Jem Mason is alive, and 

 can vouch for the follo^ving statement. Mr. 

 Harvey Coombe's hounds fomid a fox at 

 Hodgemoor, and they ran to and through Mr. 

 Du Pro's park, straight to and. over the high 

 oak-paling at the far end. Mr. Smith was the 

 first at the paling, mounted on this horse, 

 whicii carried him clean over. Jem Mason 

 only was near him, and vras well mounted, but 

 he turned back; and then for several miles 

 across this difficult country no man beside 

 Mr. Smith saw the hounds until they reached 

 a lar2:e covert. The next summer, when in 

 London, Mr. Smith went to Elmore's to look 

 at a horse, when Mason came up ; and, in 

 answer to an inquiry whether he knew Mr. 

 Smith, replied, "Oh! don't I? wh}-, he's the 

 only man that ever stopped me at a fence ; he 

 did it at a rasper, Du Pro's park-pales, with 

 Coombe's hounds." Probably Anderson the 

 dealer heard of this, for he sent a groom 



