THE COVERTS 277 



contributor to the excitement of a Scottish field-day. 

 Though there may be no hounds within a couple of 

 counties, at first it goes against the grain of the 

 Southron to shoot him ; but as he does more mischief 

 in the preserves than in the poultry yards, he soon 

 comes to be proscribed and outlawed as the marauder 

 he is. If the roe is the incarnation of shrinking 

 timidity, the Scotch fox is the embodiment of 

 audacious impudence. Being never hunted by the 

 hounds he grows pursy and lazy in the lowlands, but 

 his wiles set the keepers and their traps at defiance. 

 He attains to enormous size and is always in sleek con- 

 dition. Like Major Dugald Dalgetty, he never misses 

 an opportunity of laying in the provant or replenishing 

 the larder. One instance of his coolness in difficulties 

 we remember. It was a party where the beaters 

 mustered strong, and having lunched freely, in defiance 

 of rule were making a most unholy noise. There was 

 a cry of " Cock ! " and a shot, a second cry of 

 " Down ! " and a pause, while unsuccessful search was 

 made for the bird. We were uncocking the gun pre- 

 paratory to leaving our station, when an old fox 

 emerged from the midst of the hullabaloo, with the 

 missing woodcock in his mouth for he had quietly 

 retrieved it. 



It is a sharp descent from the roe to the rabbit, but 

 the rabbit is in every respect a most estimable animal 

 when his ravages are kept within due bounds. He is 

 unwisely neglected by fashionable cooks, for he is 

 excellent when coming from the kitchen in any shape, 



