60 Life and Times of " The Druid" 



steeplechase ended thus : Mr. Elmore's Lot- 

 tery (Jem Mason) i; the Marquis of Water- 

 ford's The Nun (Wm. MacDonough) 2. 

 Those were the days when grey ' Cigar ' was 

 in his prime, and steeplechase handicapping 

 was unknown, when 'Jem Mason,' prince of 

 riders, was winning everywhere, over fences 

 either natural or artificial, from the Liverpool 

 Grand National to the Bayswater Hippodrome 

 Prize. At Dunchurch, Mason's riding was, 

 as usual, superb, and as he and the late hap- 

 less William MacDonough jumped into the 

 corner of the winning field at the same 

 moment, I could not help contrasting the 

 ridge and furrow selected by the latter, with 

 the cool judgment displayed by Jem Mason, 

 who galloped along the bottom ridge till he 

 reached the one running up directly between 

 the flags, and then setting the old brown geld- 

 ing going in earnest, just passed The Nun 

 a couple of lengths from the winning post. 

 The recovery of his horse by this brilliant 

 rider, as he bungled in jumping a hurdle at 

 the Bayswater Hippodrome, was one of the 

 finest pieces of horsemanship I ever remem- 

 ber ; in fact, 1 have seen it equalled but once, 



