THE BADGER AND THE FOX. 



813 



as we wunt forgit in a hurry ; 'twas desprit work. But tins 'ere 

 bit o' business sets that aside clean. Jim ! what are ye sniggerin' 

 about ? what's in the wind now, ticklin' yer fancy that way ? " 



" Oh, nuthin' pertickler. Is Ginger an' Nipper quiet ? " 



" No, they ain't ; I thinks as they'd like ter fall foul o' that 'ere 

 sack." 



" Well, I dessay they wud ; fur this 'ere warmint has cum 

 round agin', an' is teariu jn' scratchin' like mad. It do take a 

 lot to wind a badger's cloc up, that it do ! " 



" Jim, when we've sin to the dogs, you come up an' hev a pint 

 o' the best cider." 



The Fox. I feel it almost presumptuous on my part to say 

 anything about that wonderful animal, the fox so much has 

 been written and said about him, both by sportsmen and some of 

 the greatest of our literary geniuses. My account of him will be 



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English Fox. 



brief ; not having the fox-hunter's feeling of veneration for him, 

 nor the hatred natural to the poultry-keeper, my views will at any 

 rate not be one-sided. Nor have I ever had the least wish to pos- 

 sess Master Reynard embalmed as a mummy, or to see the wily 

 gentleman in a glass case, lean and hungry-looking, with squint- 

 ing cunning in his eye. He is known to me as a clean, swift, 

 strong, and handsome creature, full of courage. He is also uni- 

 versally credited with a very large amount of intellectual power, 

 although it is always said to be employed exclusively for his own 

 benefit. To call an individual of the human family an old fox 

 is certainly not a compliment, for it implies that he is crafty and 

 selfish. 



His usual length is four feet, but he varies in size according 

 to food and locality. In the Highlands of Scotland he is almost 

 like a wolf in size and strength ; and he is not regarded in the 

 same light as in England, for he is shot down without the least 

 compunction there. The proper place to see all wild animals to 



