FOX 
his office with fidelity and diligence, until he was difabled 
by his growing infirmities. He died at Chelfea, near Lon. 
don, in 1714, in the eighty-fecond year of his age. Be- 
fides a vaft number of (ingle fermons, bifliop Fowler was 
the author of, 1. Tlie Pi inciples and'Pradtice of moderate 
Divines of the Church of England, 8vo. 1670. 2. The 
Defign of Chrifiianity, 8vo. 1671. 3. Libertas Ev angelica ; 
or, a Difcourfe of Chriftian Liberty, 8vo. 1680. 
FOWL'ING, f. The art of catching birds by means of 
decoys, and other devices, or killing them with the gun. 
For the various methods, fee the article Bird-catching, 
vol.ii. p.50-54; under which is related the perilous fitu- 
ations men are often expofed to in this purfuit. We (hall 
here add another infiance related by prebend Gilpin in 
his “ Foreft Scenery,” as the cafe of a poor fellow who 
was fowling on the coaft of Hampfhire.—“ Mounted on 
his mud-pattens, made of flat pieces of board, he was 
traverfing one of the mudland-plains in qtieft of ducks ; 
and being intent only on his game, he fuddenly found 
the waters, which had been brought forward with un¬ 
common rapidity by fome peculiar circumftanee of tide 
and current, had made an alarming progrefs around him. 
Incumbered as his feet were, he could not exert much 
expedition ; but to whatever part he ran, he found him- 
felf completely inverted by the tide. In this uncomfort¬ 
able fituation, a thought (truck him, as the only hope of 
fafety. He retired to that part of the plain, which feemed 
the higheft from its being yet uncovered by water; and 
finking the barrel of his gun, (which for the purpofe of 
(hooting wild-fowl was very long,) deep into the mud, 
he refolved to hold fafi by it, as a fupport, as well as a 
fecurity againft the waves; and to wait the ebbing of the 
tide. A common tide, he had reafon to believe, would 
not, in that place, have reached above his middle : but 
as this was a fpring tide, and brought in with fo firong a 
current, he durft hardly expeft (o favourable a conclu- 
fion. In the mean time, the water making a rapid ad¬ 
vance, had now reached him. It covered the ground on 
which he flood—it rippled over his feet—it gained his 
knees—his waift—button after button was fwullowed up 
-—till at length it advanced over his very fhoulders. With 
a palpitating heart, he gave himfelf up for loft. Still 
however he held fafi by his anchor. His eye was eagerly 
in fearch of fome boat, which might accidentally take its 
courfe that way—but none appeared. A folitary head, 
floating on the water, and that fometimes covered by a 
wave, was no cbjett to be defcried from the fhore, at the 
difiance of half a league : nor could he exert any founds 
of diftrefs, that could be heard fo far. While he was thus 
making up his mind as the exigence would allow, to the 
terrors of hidden deftrudtion, his attention was called to 
a new object. He thought he fiw the uppermoft button 
of his coat begin to appear. No mariner, floating on a 
wreck, could behold a cape at fea, with greater tranfport 
than he did the uppermoft button of his coat. But the 
fluctuation of the water was fucli, and the turn of the 
tide fo flow, that it was yet Come time before he durft 
venture to allure himfelf, that the button was fairly above 
the level of the flood. At length however a fecond but¬ 
ton appearing at intervals, his fenfations may rather be 
conceived than defcribed ; and his joy gave him fpirits 
and refolution to fupport his uneafy fituation four or five 
hours longer, till the waters had fully retired.” 
FOWL'ING-PIECE, f A gun for killing birds. See 
the article Shooting. 
FOX, f. [pox, Sax. vos, vojch , Dut.] A wild animal 
of the canine genus, with (harp ears, and a bufiiy tail, 
remarkable for his cunning, living in holes, and preying 
upon fowls and fmall animals. See the article Canis, 
vol. iii. p. 725.—The fox barks not when he would Ileal 
the lamb. Shakefpeare. > 
He that trufts to you. 
Where be Ihould find you lions, finds you hares; 
Where foxes, geeie. Shakefpeare, 
FOX 631 
By way of reproach, applied to a knave or cunning fel¬ 
low : 
O how the old fox flunk, I warrant thee, 
When the rank fit was on him. Otway. 
[In old plays.] A fword : poftibly from fome fworcH- 
cutler’s name. — I had a fword, ay the flowerof Smithfield 
for a fword, a right fox i’faith. Porter’s Two angry Women. 
— A cowardly flav^e, that daresas foon eat his fox, as draw 
it in e.irn'eft. KUligre-zv’s Parfon's Wedding. 
To FOX, v. a. [ftill in ufe for one mode of fifiling.] 
To intoxicate.—As much bread as would dine a fparrow, 
or as much drink as would fox a fly. Rowley's Hatch dt 
Midnight. —The captain fox'd him rarely. Maine's City - 
match. 
FOX, a town of the American States, in North Caro¬ 
lina : thirty miles fouth of Newborn. 
FOX, a river of America, in the north vvefi: territory, 
which rifes in the fouth, and runs about fifty miles north, 
where it approaches very near to, and parallel with, Ouif- 
confin, a north-eaftern branch of the Miliiflippi river. 
From the Gre.it Carrying-place here, through lake Win¬ 
nebago, it runs eafterly, then north-eaft to bay Puan, about 
1S0 miles. From the Carrying-place to Winnebago it is 
navigable for canoes four or five miles. From bay Puan 
its current is gentle ; from thence to Winnebago lake it 
is full of rocks and very rapid. Its breadth is between 
feventy and one hundred yards. 
FOX (Richard), a celebrated Englifh prelate, defeend- 
ed from parents in mean circumftnnces, born at Ropefiey, 
near Grantham, in Lincolnfliire, about the latter end of 
the reign of Henry VI. He received his education in 
grammar learning at Wykeham’s fchool in Winchefter. 
When properly qualified for entering on academic ftudies, 
he was fent to Magdalen college, Oxford, where he ac¬ 
quired diftinguifhed reputation by his proficiency in learn¬ 
ing and knowledge. He went for farther improvement to 
Paris, where lie ftudieu divinity and the canon law. At 
Paris he obtained the acquaintance and friendfhip of 
Dr. Morton, bifliop of Ely, whom the perfecutions of 
Richard III. had driven from his native country. The 
learning and ability of Dr. Fox engaged that prelate to 
admit him into his confidence, and by him, mod proba¬ 
bly, he was introduced to Henry earl of Richmond, who 
was then projedling a defeent upon England, in order to 
dethrone the ufurper Richard. To the caufe and inte- 
refts of that nobleman Dr. Fox zealoufly attached himfelf, 
and, together with the other Engliftimen then refiding at 
Paris, entered into an engagement to embark in his under¬ 
taking. Dr. Fox foon acquired the favour of the earl, 
and was admitted into his mod fecret councils. After 
Henry had obtained the crown of England, in 1485, by 
the victory of Bofworth-field, he appointed Dr. Fox one 
of his privy-counlellors, and, next to Dr. Morton, ad¬ 
mitted him to the greateft (hare of his confidence and fa¬ 
miliarity. About the fame time the doctor was collated 
to a prebend in the church of Salifbury ; and in 1486-7 he 
was nominated keeper of the privy-feal : he was alfo made 
principal fecretary of ftate, and mafter of St. Crofs hofpi- 
tal, near Winchefter. In 1491-2 he was tranflated from 
Exeter to the bilhopric of Bath and Wells; whence he 
was removed, in 1494, to the fee of Durham. Some dif¬ 
ferences having arifen between the Scotch and Englifh na¬ 
tions refpedling the fifheriesof the river E(k, he was fent, 
in the year laft mentioned, at the head of an embafly, to 
Janies IV. king of Scotland, in order to terminate them ; 
but, with all his ability and addrefs, was unable to bring 
the bufinefs to an amicable fettlement. The animofity 
continuing to increafe, in the year 1497 king James in¬ 
vaded England with a large army, and laid fiege to the im¬ 
portant caftle of Norham, belonging to the fee of Durham. 
As the bifhop, however, had received information of the 
projected hoitile incurfion, he had taken proper meafures 
to place that fortrefs in fuch a ftate of defence, and given 
fuch timely notice t(J the country people to withdraw their 
cattle 
