72 
A CASE OF RABIES IN A FOX. 
ever, the case which I now more particularly allude to is, that of 
a fox which had been a pet of mine for nearly three years. 
On my returning home, after having been a few days absent, 
my servant told me that my fox was very unwell. I went to see 
him directly, and found him in his kennel, trembling, and looking 
very dirty, and apparently unconscious of my being close to him. 
I pulled him out, and from his appearance I thought it might pro¬ 
bably arise from the extreme coldness of the weather, having, 
during the previous winters, kept him in a warmer situation. T 
opened his mouth, and examined him thoroughly, and gave him 
some victuals, a small portion of which he ate, but he did not seem 
either to masticate or swallow well, and appeared as if he scarcely 
knew what he was about. I desired the man to take him into the 
stable, and give him plenty of litter. 
When I first pulled him out, he seemed as if he could scarcely 
stand; but when he was made to move, and found that he was 
going to his old quarters, he roused a little, and went along pretty 
strongly, and, as soon as he got into the stable, tried to jump up 
into the manger as usual, but failed. 
There was a peculiar expression of the eyes, but this did not then 
rouse any suspicion as to the real nature of his malady. However, 
after he had been in the stable a few minutes, he began to tear 
the straw, and now and then he tried to hide himself in it, and 
then, after moving backwards and forwards the full length of his 
chain, he would drop suddenly down. If I laid hold of his chain, he 
would lie down, and allow me to pull him about as I pleased, but 
at the same time I observed that there was a degree of slyness 
in his countenance. 
These circumstances began to arouse my suspicion, and I tried 
whether he would seize any thing, by moving a piece of straw 
backward and forward near him, which, as soon as he caught sight 
of it, he eagerly darted at. He would then bite the straw around 
him, and lie down as before. 
After I had mentioned my suspicions, my man" told me that he 
had seen him biting and shaking his chain the day previous. He 
continued in that state through the day, occasionally moving back¬ 
wards and forwards, and seizing his straw or any thing else that 
was placed near him: he gradually got weaker, and at night died. 
As I said before, there was a peculiar expression about his eyes, 
yet they were very clear and bright. His respiration was much 
quickened; but I do not recollect hearing him once attempt to bark. 
I could not tell, at first, how to account for this; but, upon in¬ 
quiring, one of the maids told me that she recollected, in the middle 
of the night, between a fortnight and three weeks before, being 
awoke by the fox making a great noise, as if he was fighting with 
