A fox will run back from a child among
a pack of hounds, so much more terrible is to him the human race
even than the canine. The object of all men of course is that the
fox shall go, and from a gorse covert of five acres he must go
very quickly or die among the hounds. It will not be long before
he starts if there be space left for him to creep out, as he will
hope, unobserved. Unobserved he will not be, for the accustomed
eye of some whip or servant will have seen him from a corner. But
if stray horsemen roaming round the gorse give him no room for
such hope, he will not go. All which is so plainly intelligible,
that you, my friend, will not fail to understand why you are
required to remain with the crowd. And with simple gorse coverts
there is no strong temptation to move about. They are drawn
quickly, and though there be a scramble for places when the fox
has broken, the whole thing is in so small a compass that there
is no difficulty in getting away with the hounds. In finding your
right place, and keeping it when it is found, you may have
difficulty; but in going away from a gorse the field will be open
for you, and when the hounds are well out and upon the scent,
then remember your Latin; Occupet extremum scabies.
But for one fox found in a gorse you will, in ordinary countries,
see five found in woods; and as to the place and conduct of a
hunting man while woods are being drawn, there is room for much
doubt.
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