202 The Chase 



'Tis half-past twelve by the railway clocks, 



And the Earl he has called for his horse and his 



fox ; 

 And behind the Earl there rides the Earl's groom, 

 And there comes a man with a big birch broom — 

 Clad in the Earl's discarded breeches — 

 To tickle the fox when he comes to the ditches. 

 The Earl's admirers are ranged in Brown's yard ; 

 They all wear top-boots and intend to ride hard ; 

 Whether the wily fox or the timid hare 

 Be the game to-day, they none of them care. 

 — 'Twas well for the Earl he had called for his 



fox. 

 And brought him from Tring in a little deal box ; 

 For three hours and more they drew for a hare — 

 They drew in vain, all was blank despair. 

 Then said the Earl to the elder Brown, 

 Open your box and turn him down. 

 So they turned him down in Aylesbury Vale, 

 In sight of a fence called a post and rail. 

 To suit the views of a certain gent 

 Who rather liked rails and thought he went. 

 Over the fence the first to fly 

 Was the gent, of course, but the fox was shy 

 And would have declined, but the Earl and his 



groom 

 And the field, and the gent, and the man with the 



broom, 

 Two boys in a cart, and the Browns, Sam and John, 

 Would not hear of his shirking, and drove him on. 

 A pleasant line the captive took. 

 Would not have doubles, avoided the brook ; 

 As you may imagine he went by rule. 

 Only taking the leaps he learnt at school. 

 Two hounds, of Baron Rothschild's breed, 

 Unmatch'd for courage, strength, and speed, 



