68 HUNTING. 



is sure to be ' tree'd ' at last, and a drop of fifteen or twenty 

 feet, land he never so lightly, is neither bracing at the com- 

 mencement, nor restorative towards the end, of a run. 



One bred in the neighbourhood of a country town, soon 

 makes himself acquainted with the ins and outs of every pig- 

 stye and hovel about the place ; he can thread a suburb like a 

 rate collector. Wearying to the hounds and exasperating to 

 the huntsman, such an animal is appreciated only by the 

 publicans, who on occasion of a town hunt, glean a goodly 

 harvest from the drinking division, which always furnishes a 

 considerable contingent in every field of horsemen. Adven- 

 turous wanderer though he is, and much as we admire his 

 courage, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the fox is some- 

 what too apt to seek ignoble refuge beneath the surface of the 

 soil, and, however diligent the earth stoppers, however carefully 

 grated the old stone drains, some underground lurking place 

 always seems to have escaped man's observation, though duly 

 noted by the retentive vulpine memory as open and good at 

 need. 



Gone to ground ! Who-whoop ! It is neither one thing 

 nor the other, and the spirit of the chase is chilled. Then 

 follows the question, What shall we do with him ? If the 

 sanctuary is a short drain, or culvert, with two ends to it, and 

 the terriers are handy, a bolt may be speedily effected ; a squib, 

 a charge of powder from a gun, or hydraulic pressure, where 

 theie is a slight stream of water which can be dammed and 

 suddenly sluiced down upon the refugee, will equally serve the 

 purposes of what we may call legitimate eviction ; but against 

 prolonged disinterment by a gang of labourers, ending with a 

 worry over the mouth of a yawning chasm, we at least would 

 fain enter energetic protest. The stock arguments in favour of 

 a dig are almost too well known to need repetition, but have 

 we sufficiently considered them from the fox's point of view ? 



If the act of sepultus de se occurs early in the run, there 

 arises at once a chorus of 'Wretched brute ! Cowardly devil! Not 

 worth saving ! Deserves his fate ! ' &c. How do we know ? May 



