THE BADGER 



through paper, and it is well to make all 

 as safe as possible. 



M. Edmond le Masson, in his book on 

 hunting fox and badger, severely deprecates 

 tailing a badger. He denounces the danger 

 and folly of it, and gives an amusing account 

 of his falling into a trench at the critical 

 moment as follows : 



" One fine day, or rather one cursed day, 

 when I was sweating blood and water to 

 get a monster badger out of his earth, a 

 venerable patriarch, white with years, who 

 resisted my aching tired arms and weary 

 back with all his strength, the earth gave way 

 and I fell back, rolling over with the animal, 

 and there I was at the bottom of the abyss 

 in a veritable pandemonium. Bruised and 

 breathless, I was conscious enough to know 

 that I was in very bad company, with four 

 more badgers, a furious mother and three 

 young ones, and not so young either but that 

 one of them was able to tear from me a large 

 piece of the most indispensable part of my 

 attire, which placed me in a position of cruel 

 embarrassment, and obliged me to wait till the 

 9 1 



