238 



THE FOX. 



in the surrounding plantations. One of the hens 

 made her nest in an adjoining meadow, and appa- 

 rently she would have hatched a plentiful brood, 

 if Keynard had not interfered to mar my interesting 

 plan. 



One day, about the hour of noon, I myself, with 

 my own eyes, saw the savage kill my bantam 

 on its nest, and take her off in triumph. This 

 happened before the park wall was finished : — the 

 completion of which, for ever shuts out Keynard, 

 and all his pilfering family, from the good things 

 which his late larder contains in such abundance. 



Foxes bark like dogs, but, in a somewhat sub- 

 dued tone of voice, and in shorter accents. They 

 will inhabit any part of a country, from the sea 

 shore to the woods and coppices in the interior. 

 At Flambro' head, the rocks are so precipitous, 

 that you would wonder how even a fox could 

 journey over them, in safety to its hiding place. 

 I have found their young ones in the hollow of an 

 inclined old oak ; and sometimes, in a dry spring, 

 on the surface of the ground, where underwood 

 and brambles invited the mother to form her 

 nursery. But, the usual haunts of foxes, either 

 for parturition or protection, are far away under- 

 ground, in deep and winding holes ; — commonly 

 known by the name of fox-earths. Sometimes 



