66 THE LIFE OF A FOX.

and pursued me closely in the flat country, and
in the forest: yet I found that I left them far
behind when running over the flinty hills which
separate that country from Mr. Ashton Smith’s.
Their steady style of hunting made it difficult
to shake them off elsewhere. I once overheard
a man remark to their master, that they were
larger than any that he had ever seen, especially
as to their heads. The reply at first surprised me.
“Yes, I like them large, for when once they get
them down in hunting they are so heavy, that
they cannot get them up again.” After being
hunted by them under his direction, I was hunted
by them when they belonged to Mr. Horlock,
from whom also I have had some narrow escapes,
principally by running through large woods,
where they soon changed me for another fox. I
recollect once, when lying in a small covert, near
Benham Park, I was startled by hearing the cry of
another but smaller pack of hounds, as I could dis-
tinguish them to be by the sound of their tongues.
Shortly afterwards I saw a fox pass near me,
much distressed, and very soon the fatal “ whoop”
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