ANOTHER LAST DAY 



dell, half-circled by the winding brook, where 

 rising hills ward off the wintry winds, the old 

 customer had curled himself up to sleep till 

 evening's dusk invited him back to the hen-roost. 

 That outburst of melody proclaims that he is 

 unkennelled before the pack ! 



Mr. Jorrocks, having gained his point, places 

 himself behind a gnarled and knotted ivy-covered 

 mountain ash, whose hollow trunk tells of ages 

 long gone by, through a hole in which he com- 

 mands a view of the grass ride towards the 

 rising ground, upon which the ' old customer ' 

 generally wends his way. There, as Mr. Jorrocks 

 sat, with anxious eyes and ears, devouring the 

 rich melody, he sees what, at first sight, looked 

 like a hare coming up at a stealthy, stopping, 

 listening sort of pace ; but a second glance shows 

 that it is a fox and not only a fox, but his 

 identical old friend, who has led him so many 

 dances, and whose lightening fur tells of many 

 seasons' wickedness. 



Mr. Jorrocks can hardly contain himself, and 



199 



