64 RECORDS OF THE CHASE 



Warren Farm, and was induced to go in search of him ; 

 the hounds had spread all over the field without 

 touching upon him. Not being accustomed to find 

 foxes in such situations, very probably they did not 

 draw well. As the land seemed alive with partridges, 

 it did not appear likely that the fox was there ; and 

 Lord Gifford was in the act of taking his horn out of 

 the case to call the hounds away, when the fox jumped 

 up within fifty yards of the spot ; a singular instance of 

 concord between the fox and the feathered tribe. The 

 hounds were soon at him, and ran him merrily over the 

 road, by Kempshot to South wood, through Bull's 

 Bushes to Ash Park, Steventon to North Waltham, 

 back to Bull's Bushes, and from thence to Itching Row, 

 near Oakley Park, where, after a chase of two hours, 

 they ran into and killed a fox, but certainly not the one 

 they found in the turnip field, for which I can assign 

 two reasons : the one they killed had a pad damaged, 

 and was therefore lame, which the one originally found 

 was not ; and a fox was on several subsequent occasions 

 seen in the turnip field. Where they changed I will 

 not take upon myself to determine, unless it wasi in 

 Bull's Bushes, the second time they got to that covert, 

 which is most probable, as there certainly were two 

 foxes there when the hounds ran into it the first time. 

 Foxes have been frequently known when chased by 

 hounds to seek refuge among ivy growing about stumps 

 of trees, in farm-buildings, and other unaccountable 

 places. They are no doubt haunts which they have 

 been accustomed to frequent in the first instance in 

 search of food ; for it is not probable in the heat of 

 pursuit that they should be able to select such sanctu- 

 aries on the impulse of the moment. I have often 

 known hounds run their fox to a certain point with a 

 good scent and lose him instantaneously, as if he had 

 vanished into ethereal space. On those occasions it is 

 evident they must have gained some unaccountable 

 place of safety to which the hounds had not the power 

 of scenting them. I remember hearing of an event 



