The Sun.
London, England, 1834-12-01 00:00:00

associate of the old man in many a winter's prowl on duty.
His fears were realized--she was dead! On examining the
body, and finding her dugs fresh in milk, Will immediately
exclaimed, " The vick must have cubs ; I know her earth,
which she cannot have left many hours ; so come with me,
Dick, and we'll see." Off they both trudged, with pick-axe
and spade, and accompanied by his dogs. On reaching the
earth, Will threw himself " down flat" on the ground, and
placing his ear close, cried out with great joy, " Dong it,
Dick, the young ones are all alive and kicking ; I hear the
poor littles rogues crying for their dam." Off goes his old
bit of pink, by time and hard service changed to the deepest
blood purple, and his no less remarkable rusty hunting cap,
which in his haste forced his few remaining gray hairs on end,
and both he and Dick went at it like Trojans. In less than
an hour their labour was rewarded, and they obtained their
prize. " Three fine cubs," says Will, "as my eyes ever sec.
Here, Dick, open the bosom of thy shirt, and take two of
them, and I'll take the other." On their way home, many
were Will's conjectures how to rear the darlings, which were
put an end to on reaching his cottage ; for on going in and
finding his wife suckling his youngest child, a big boy about
five years old, he called out, " I say, Nan, dant thee give that
great lubberly chap the tet any longer : here, if thee must gie
suck, gie it to these here little poor little cubs, that have had
their mother killed by some - poacher or other." Now
Nan, though at all times most obedient to the injunctions of
her lord and master, Dick being present, chose to show off a
little by raising a repugnance to comply with the old man's
wishes, saying, " Na, na, not that ; you had better rop them
up in these here old worsted stockings, and put them in the
stock-hole in the chimney-corner, and that'll keep 'em warm."
No sooner, however, had Will and Dick turned their backs to
kennel the terriers, than the kind-hearted Nan, hearing the
plaintiff cries of the distressed captives, took them into her
lap, and placing her nipple in the mouth of the smallest, the
little urchin began to suck away lustily. Will and Dick re-
turning sooner than she expected, they caught her in the fact,
and the old man was in raptures. When the father entered,
his cub called out, " Look, dad, look; mammy gie little dog
tet ; look, dad, look." But Will's whole attention was ab-
sorbed in delight : he blessed her kind-heartedness, and Dick
was not backward in his praises of her maternal care of her
adopted progeny. Nan continued to suckle the trio till they
were able to forage for themselves, when they were turned
out, marked, and in after-days afforded excellent runs to the
much-loved sport. I have only to add, the fact of this extra-
ordinary preservation was known to the late Sir John Honey-
wood, and can be verified by Sir Brook Bridges, Sir John
Fagg, Captain H. Cotton, Captain W. Deeds, C. Delmar,
Esq., Mr.. W. White, and by most of the gentlemen of the
East Kent Hunt. F. C. TURNER.
* Sir Dudley Digges, Knt., by will dated in 1638, left 201. to
be run for yearly by two young men and two maids, on the Ist of
May, at Old Wives, Chilham, and again by two young men and
two maids on the Monday following at Sheldwich Lees, the winners
of each sex at the two places to run on the 19th of the same month,
for the 101. at Old Wives Lees (now called Holders Lees). Inha-
bitants of Preston, Feversham, and Chilham, only allowed to be
competitors ; and by way of encouraging the agility of both Kentish
men and maids, no winner is allowed to start a second time.