CRASNOI LAIS. 35 



came towards me, moving softly over the snow ; 

 and as my eye followed him I became aware of 

 some dozen grey forms that had risen suddenly 

 ghost-like all round me : one old hare sitting abso- 

 lutely under my tree and gazing apparently rigidly 

 into my face. There she sat, listening to the shots, 

 without stirring for some five minutes, until in the 

 open between two great oaks a fine red fox came 

 trotting stealthily towards us, his broad heavy 

 brush spread, and seeming to trail on the snow 

 behind him, which threw his whole graceful, un- 

 dulating form out in bold relief. It seemed against 

 one's Eiiglish nature to shoot him, but it had to 

 be done, and a charge of heavy shot rolled him 

 over on the snow. It seemed like shooting a 

 friend. 



.By this time* the cries of the beaters had drawn 

 very near, some of their forms even showing from 

 time to time in open places. Three quick springs 

 and an abrupt pause in the bushes in front of me 

 now arrested my attention, but thinking after a 

 time that it was only another hare, I singled out 

 one of these long-eared gentry, and rolled him 

 over. As I did so two roebucks broke covert, and 

 galloped rapidly past our Russian friend on the 

 left, who, making a neat right and left, laid them 

 both on the path. 



This was the shot of the day. A bugle now 

 sounded a warning to turn our backs to the 



D 2 



