52 THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, AND FISHES OF ESSEX.
Another instance was in April, 1784, when Daniel's own
whipper-in, returning home after being thrown out by
accident, was induced, by the action of a terrier which accom-
panied him, to examine more closely a pollard oak tree near
a cover on Broomfield Hall farm. Climbing the tree, he dis-
covered a Fox and four cubs in a deep hole, at least twenty-
three feet above the ground. She had apparently littered
there, and had no other means of reaching them than by
climbing the stem of the tree, which was thickly covered with
twigs. Many people, the author goes on to say, inspected
the tree, and three of the cubs were reared up tame to
commemorate the incident.
Of the Fox's cunning, Daniel relates {Rural Sports,
vol. i., pp. 257-258) a humorous story : In 1785, Mr. (afterwards
Sir Henry) Bate Dudley, who hunted the Dengie Hundred
country with his hounds, frequently had " a good Drag " on
the banks of the river Crouch without finding a Fox. One
morning, as they were drawing the remote churchyard of
Cricksea, strangely overgrown with thick blackthorn bushes, a
labouring man called out to the huntsman, " You are too late
to find Reynolds at home. He crept off when he heard the
hounds challenge about a quarter of an hour ago." In conse-
quence of this information, the hounds were taken to different
spots for some miles around, but a fall of sleet prevented
their finding that day. A fortnight after, however, the Fox
was found in an adjoining copse, and after a smart run of
over two hours, he shaped his course to his favourite church-
yard, where, apparently, desolation and neglect reigned
supreme. The hounds being there at check, one of the
pack suddenly reared itself up against an ancient buttress
and gave tongue ; whereupon the master, declaring his
reliance on this, a favourite hound, dismounted and climbed
up the broken buttress to the low roof of the church. Here,