THE FOX. 



251 



I happened to be resting quietly on my horse, 

 in one of the rides, when old Keynard, panting and 

 bewildered, with his once handsome brush now 

 wet and dirty, and his tongue lolling out of his 

 mouth, wished to cross the path; but, on seeing 

 me, he stopped short, and stared me full in the 

 face. " Poor little fellow," said I to him, " thy 

 fate is sealed ! — thy strength has left thee ; in a 

 few minutes more, thou wilt be torn in pieces/' 

 He then shrunk back again into the wood, as if 

 to try another chance for life. 



The noble lord now rode up to the spot where 

 I was waiting, and said, that, as they could not 

 force the fox into the open fields, he had made 

 up his mind to have it killed in cover ; and that, 

 he had given the necessary orders ; which however 

 were not fulfilled, according to my lord's intention, 

 as you shall shortly learn. 



We were about two hundred yards from the 

 king's highway, when a butcher, who was going 

 on it, thought that he might tarry for a while, 

 and enjoy the sport. So he and his dog got over 

 the hedge, and came softly up to where we had 

 stationed ourselves. At that unlucky moment, 

 Keynard made his appearance, so completely 

 exhausted, that, I was convinced his "last day's 

 run was over." In a moment, the butcher's dog, 



