THE MOUNTAIN-FOX. 47 



time burst out, as fair a shot as I could wish. The 

 hound was close to his brush, so back went my powder- 

 flask into my pocket, and I rushed down the steep with 

 reckless desperation. The bay became fainter and fainter, 

 my head grew dizzy, I had run a distance' of three miles 

 on one of the steepest hills in Scotland, and had just 

 given up hope of another check, when I heard a wood- 

 man's axe. More by signs than words, I made him com- 

 prehend that he must follow the dog as long as he was 

 able ; sat down to rest for a moment, and then loaded 

 my gun. No sound was now to be heard; the whole 

 wood seemed as if it had never been disturbed. I shoul- 

 dered my gun, and was proceeding, as I thought, in the 

 direction of the chase, when I met my brother, who had 

 from the first taken a different route, in order to inter- 

 cept the fox at another point. We proceeded together 

 in search of hound and woodman, but for a long time 

 unsuccessfully; at last we thought of returning to the 

 place where I first found him at work. Our delight may 

 be imagined, when we saw the hound tied upj the wood- 

 man smoking his pipe, and the fox lifeless on the ground, 

 a perfect monster. The man's account was, that after 

 following a considerable way, and being nearly distanced, 

 there was a sudden check ; when he came up, he found 

 the fox dead, the hound standing over him, without 

 having touched a hair he had run till his heart was 

 broken. We sent this magnificent fox to be stuffed at 

 the College Museum, Glasgow : those who had charge 



