The Zoologist— May, 1866. 193 



Two Letters from the late Charles Water ton, Esq., 

 of Wall OH Hull. 



[Thkse letters, although never intended for publication, contain so 

 much that is really interesting to the naturalist, that I do not think it 

 riglit to withhold them, more especially as everything connected with 

 the illustrious deceased, if it tend, to throw light on his favourite 

 pursuit, has become, as it were, public property since the death of 

 the great naturalist. — Edward Newman.^ 



Walton Hall, November 6th, 1845. 



My dear Sir, 



I cannot leave England vrithont dropping you a line to wish 

 you all manner of success, and to say how sorry I feel that such a 

 paper as "The Two Foxes" should have found its way into the 

 respectable pages of the useful ' Zoologist' [Zool. 1160]. The fox must 

 have seized the goose by the leg ; the goose then would have attempted 

 a flight, and must have dragged the fox to the surface, if not out of the 

 water altogether. 



No goose would dive in such a predicament. On the contrary, 

 flight must have been ils motion. Fancy, then, the long and strong 

 wings of the goose expanded, and its bulky body pressing upwards. 

 In the meantime, Reynard, undeineath the surface, and not able to 

 breathe, is to succeed in pulling down this firmly resisting body below 

 it. Foxes never take the water except through the pressure of hounds 

 or of hunger. It was hunger in this case. Still the thief did not eat 

 the food procured at such a risk, and in a manner so repugnant to his 

 usual habits, but must e'en try his luck again, all dripping wet; and 

 he actually entered the water a second time for a second goose. His 

 supernatural reasoning powers are then introduced by way of finale to 

 the farce. I could write a long paper on this gross Yankee fabri- 

 cation, which may possibly be of use some time or other, should 

 Drs.* Macgillivray and Audubon lay their heads together to concoct a 

 second edition of the " Biography of Birds." 



1 write this to you as a friend. You may show it to whom 



* See my 'Autobiography,' second part. 

 SECOND SERIES — VOL. I. 2 C 



