QUADRUPEDS. 
57 
ning and his arts, and his reputation is somewhat 
I deserved. He makes his kennel at the edge of a 
wood, and yet as near as possible to some cottage, 
where he can hear the crowing of the cocks and the 
cackling of the hens. If he can get into the yard, 
he first levels all the poultry without remorse, and 
then carries off the whole, one at a time, and conceals 
them in different places. 
144. He also is very expert in taking birds from 
the springes w T hich are set for them by the fowler. 
He finds out birds’ nests, and often seizes the sit- 
ting partridges and quails, catches young rabbits, 
and destroys a large quantity of game. When 
pressed by hunger, he preys on rats, mice, serpents, 
; toads and lizards. 
145. The chase of the Fox affords much amuse- 
ment to sportsmen. He is followed by a pack of 
hounds, who, after having tired him out, overtake 
and destroy him, or drive him round in a circuit, 
when he is shot by the hunter. The skins of the 
Fox are an article of trade, being valuable on ac- 
count of their fur. 
146. u A female Fox, possessed of one cub, was 
pursued by a gentleman’s hounds near Chelmsford, 
in England. The poor animal, at the moment of 
their approach, instantly thought of the safety of her 
young, and, taking it* up in her mouth, fled before 
her pursuers for several miles, panting under the 
weight of her burden, yet resolved to preserve it at 
the hazard of her life. 
147. “ At length, exhausted by fatigue and fear, 
she was attacked by a mastiff in a farmer’s yard, 
In what ways does he contrive to get his prey ? Describe the 
chase of the Fox. What anecdote is related of a female Fox and 
her cub 1 
