A June Festivity 



if one should unfortunately come across 

 him. 



A keeper should know all about the foxes on 

 his beat; he should almost have a personal ac- 

 quaintance with them; and there is no doubt 

 that many of them have. But it is easy for 

 even a good man to make a mistake, and the 

 anecdote I am about to relate shows how even 

 a good keeper — a man who knows " the way of 

 the world in the woods " can make a mistake, 

 especially when he is obsessed by a strong wish. 



A keeper of my acquaintance, a good sports- 

 man and a strict preserver of foxes, had long 

 been disappointed because, for some reason or 

 other, foxes would not breed on the estate 

 which he had in charge. His coverts held 

 foxes ; after the cub-hunting season indeed 

 they were rarely drawn blank. But for years, 

 there never was a litter on the place. Why, it 

 is impossible to say, for there were suitable 

 earths, and the coverts were always kept quiet. 

 But foxes are curious animals, and very little is 

 really known of their ways. Perhaps, though 

 this is only a surmise on my part, the keeper 



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