THE AUTHOR AND THE MOULSOE FOX. 143 



let the liounds, who richly deserved him, draw him, 

 George said, " He wished to oblige the gentlemen, 

 without, as he thought, any chance of being beaten, 

 and so lost his fox." I replied, " I wish a similar 

 chance may be given me ! " 



In the passage of time, Moulsoe again came in for its 

 turn ; and as we went to the meet, we agreed that, as 

 the fox had been so near death, we should not find 

 him there a^'ain. Takincr advantao-e of the wind, I 

 put the hounds in ; a tongue well known to me spoke, 

 another and another, and the hounds were in full cry 

 in the wood about the usual place. The scent was a 

 holding one, but nothing near brilliant ; and a few turns 

 in the cover having been taken, off went our old fi-iend 

 again, fence by fence, field by field, as usual, and down 

 to the river. This time when he came to the Ouse, 

 the waters being much out, he turned to the left, and 

 coasted the flood, till he came to a bank and hedge- 

 row of one of the immersed meadows, which ran out 

 for a considerable distance into the waters, high and 

 dry. The instant I saw the width of water, I doubted 

 if the fox Avould attempt it; but the field, thinking of 

 course the fox, as usual, Avould keep his line (though, 

 if he had, the hounds would never have followed him), 

 all galloped round to the bridges. The hounds 

 checked for a moment, and then hit the fox along the 

 top of the high bank before mentioned, pushing each 

 other off it and into the water, there not being room 

 for more than one or a couple of hounds a-breast. On 

 they went, till they came to the end of the fence, 

 which was then mastered by the deeper water and 

 strong current, and I saAV the fox rise before them, 

 and spring into the water. The hounds were at him, 

 and seized him in a moment ; and having worried him, 



