98 HISTORY OF THE YORK AND AINSTY HUNT. 



snugly resting in a travelling tinker's bag, that worthy having 

 caught him as he was climbing the bank out of the road. 

 I may add that this is not the only instance of a fox being- 

 handled in this manner, as Mr. John Andrew, the first 

 master of the Cleveland Hounds, relates in his diary, how, 

 after a very hard run, a member of his hunt got off his 

 horse and took the fox up, presumably for another day. 



During this period the Whixley fox used to show them 

 a lot of sport, and at the same place he beat them for three 

 years in succession. They found him in various places, for 

 a good old fox by no means always frequents the same 

 quarters ; but wherever they found him, to Whixley Park 

 he took them, and at Whixley Park he beat them. One can 

 almost imagine a clever 'old customer' like this enjoying 

 being hunted. But like many another hero of history, from 

 Csesar and Napoleon downwards, he played the game once 

 too often, — his secret was found out, and he was killed. 

 What he did was this. He jumped the wall into Whixley 

 Park, and ran through a little drain that ran under the wall 

 and into the road. Then, crossing the road, he went into 

 the middle of a field which is behind Whixley Manor House. 

 He then slipped back to the wall which surrounds the 

 grounds at the Manor House, and ran along side it to the 

 flagged footpath between the Manor House and the church- 

 yard. This flagged footpath was handy, and was, of course, 

 utilised by the fox, who returned to the little drain under 

 Whixley Park wall, a drain just large enough to hold him. 

 Of course, hounds ran him into the middle of the field, and 

 then checked. A forward cast to Thorpe Green was naturally 

 the first cast to make, and by the time that that was un- 

 successful, there was little chance of hitting off his line 

 backward on account oi the steaming horses. It may be 

 said, how was it that he was never seen on the footpath ? 

 He was seen, and his secret was known by many, but it was 



