KEEPERS 151 



with the foxes in the cover before described. The 

 reply was, " That if there had been foul play, it 

 was unknown to him ; for he would not allow 

 such a shameful thing on any account, and that 

 he had taken every care possible of them." The 

 gentleman then said, " I do not believe you ; for 

 I am sure you must have destroyed them." His 

 reply was, " What ! me, sir ! I'll take my oath 

 I have not killed them." — " Do you mean that ? " 

 said the gentleman. " Yes ! " said the man. 

 " Then take the book," holding out the usual 

 Bible for that purpose to try him. He took the 

 book in his hand, when the gentleman said, " Hold 

 hard ! my friend " ; and rang the bell, when in 

 walked the footman with the two young foxes, as 

 before arranged. On seeing which, after a little 

 confusion, and being asked whether he had ever 

 seen them before, he said, " Well, then, I did do 

 it, and I could not help it ; for it would be unnatural 

 in me not to kill what I was brought up to do." 

 A severe reprimand and dismissal was, of course, 

 the immediate result. 



That a keeper should venture to kill a fox is 

 bad enough, certainly ; but that any other persons 

 should think fit to do so is scarcely credible, when 

 they know the loss it would be to the country if 

 fox-hunting was destroyed. The writer was once 

 with a very good man, and true fox-hunter, who 



