The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-23
The Cunning Reynard.

Southey's story is of a tame fox at
Bridgewater, which had been brought
up from a cub to run in the wheel as
a turnspit. One day, however, his vag
abond instincts proved too much for
him, and he determined to take a holi-
day. The fieshpots Of his Egypt were
as dust and ashes to his palate COM
pared with the chickens of his own Sc
lection. Unfortunately, he chose the
hunting season for his excursion, and
soon came in contact with his hered
itary prosecutors. He evidently deter
mined to give them a good run, for he
took them twice through a stream
called the Parrot, after a grand circum
| bendibus, which involved a chase Of
nearly thirty miles; he made his way
| back with the hounds in full cry and,
re-entering the kitchen, resumed opera
/ tons in the wheel with as much uncon-
Germ as though he never left it. The
! fat cook, with whom he was a great
| favorite, succeeded in beating the
hounds off till the arrival of the hunts
man, who humanely assisted in saving
a life, which, if sagacity and ingenuity
be virtues, well deserved to be spared.
a somewhat risky hiding place, espe-
cialy if the StowaWay remained in Sc
clusion for an indefinite period, is a
| bakers oven, and yet the writer has
two instances before him Of such a Sc
lection, one occurring with the Blank
ney pack, when Major Tempest was
master and Capeil huntsman. A pre-
! ciouS quarter of an hour elapsed be-
fore the fugitive was discovered. The
other, in the experience of II. Reginald
/ COrbett, Esq, seemed to have entirely
! disappeared in the neighborhood of a
farm building, when a lad arrived with
( the information that the fox had got
into the bread oven, and was there
still"
Smart doubling, for which all foxes
are more or less famous, is naturally
/ one of his most elementary tactics.
Many are the stories of the success of
! this operation, and of the cleverness of
it. even when it has failed. Thus a fox
got away by leading hounds to a clip
! ped hedge and, hiding on the other
/ side until they had torn pell NELL over,
I gently and leisurely leaped on to the
! hedge again, and, running along the
top. got clean away. He was observed
! by person on foot, who of course was
unable to interfere with his well-earned
/ safety the fox returning at an easy
dog-trot to his home, totally uncon-
cerned, and oblivious to the adaptation
! of an old proverb, which would ulti-
mately apply TO his case: He who is
hunted and gets away may live to be
hunted another day"
| From Scotland comes a tale Of fail
Irre, attributable purely to accident and
to no lack of ingenuity. Things were
getting very desperate for Reynard, in
fact. it was close ON Catching time,
when he led through an open fir wood
along which ran a five-foot wall, to-
| wards which hounds We're running at
an angle of about rs degrees. On reach
ing the spot where the fox had scram-
bled over the wall, hounds checked,
when one of the field. looking to his
left, saw Master Reynard running along
the top of the wall in an opposite di-
rection, and when observed he was
practically parallel with the hounds.
After about 600 yards of this mural
promenade Reynard jumped down on
the further side; but his enemy had
spotted him and relentlessly put hounds
on his line, and kill was effected in
very few minutes.-English Illus
trated Magazine.