Il8 FOXES AT HOME. 



a small footbridge. The hounds had come 

 away on his back, and were racing him in view 

 along the shore of the Lake ; but when we came 

 to the river we found that recent heavy rains 

 had flooded the '' callows " at the Gurthalougha 

 side, making it nearly tAvo hundred yards broad ; 

 the fox, however, kept on his old line, splashing 

 through the water till it was deep enough for 

 him to swim. Hounds and fox were in the 

 water together, about thirty yards apart — an 

 interesting and novel sight ; but the fox drew 

 away from the pack at every stroke, and finally 

 landed on the far bank some fifty or sixty yards 

 ahead. On getting out of the water he shook 

 his sides and brush, turned and looked back at 

 the hounds, then at the field, and then cantered 

 quietly away up the bank, reaching Kyleanoe 

 Wood a quarter of a mile in front of the pack 

 and finally making his escape. 



This fox calmly looking back at the hounds, 

 after escaping from what we all thought was 

 almost certain death, reminds me of the narrow 

 escape of another fox from the very same covert 

 on a previous occasion. We had drawn the hill 

 blank, and were crossing a large grass field to 

 the next gorse when a labourer asked Lord 



