MR. THORNHILL.— 1835. 315 



Jan. 25. — Met at SwaclifFe and found in Melcombe 

 Fields ran him to SwaclifFe, and then on for Epwell ; here 

 he turned short back by Tadmarton, and on to Wigginton 

 Heath ; by Nell Gorse to South Newington, and then 

 straight back to SwaclifFe. Reynard, being hard pressed, 

 got to the top of a house, and from that, after rimning 

 along some other buildings, he by some means contrived to 

 conceal himself, and was lost. 



Jan. "26. — The hounds met this morning at Kineton, 

 and drew Farnborough, blank. Found a fox, soon after, in 

 Curtis's Gorse, 1 and after rattling him for 20 minutes, ran 



1 This run would scarcely be worth recording, were it not to 

 shew, in two remarkable instances, the superior instinct when hard 

 pressed, of the fox. Found in a gorse brake, and after running a 

 mile or two we lost our fox at a small, low cottage. On making 

 inquiry of the woman belonging to the house if she had seen any 

 thing of the fox, she replied, ' Yes, here he is, and I wish you would 

 come in and fetch him out, for I dont much like his company.' The 

 huntsman and some others went in, and there sat reynard, not under 

 the table, but on the cupboard. It appeared that he had got upon the 

 roof of the cottage, which was covered with thatch, and had either 

 jimiped, or fallen down the chimney, and aftenvards sprang upon the 

 cupbotard, where he was found. Reynard was put into a bag and 

 carried about a mile from the place and then turned up. When he 

 had run about two miles further, he was again lost near a newly-built 

 farm-house at Boddington. Hei*e the barn, stable, outhouses, and 

 even the henroost, were examined, and nearly an hour was employed 

 in a vexatious and useless search. ' What ! you cannot find him, then, 

 (said a labourer thrashing in the barn, who had been standing for some 

 time with his hands placed on the top of his flail, and his chin resting 

 upon them), can you?' 'No d — n him, (said Boxall) I wish we 

 could.' ' I'm thinking, (continued the man, not a little proud that 

 he could find the fox, when he had been given up by the whole of 

 them,) I see something like a bit of his tail lying by the side of yonder 

 chimbley.' The huntsman cast his eye to the top of the house, and 

 there, by the side of the chimney, he saw his brush hanging a little 

 down the roof. A long ladder was procured, and Will Boxall got 

 upon the house, whipped him off, and he was shortly afterwards killed. 



