42 A MEMEXTO OF HAIIJAITLT FOREST. 



After a pleasant walk of a couple of miles^ which brought me to the top 

 of a small hill, I at last perceived a dark, noble, heavy-looking mass of trees, 

 extending some distance, and which I at once concluded must be Hainault 

 Forest, which conjecture ultimately proved true. The sight of the Forest 

 cheered me, and after a short one mile walk, I stood on its borders. I 

 looked to the right, to the left, and in front of me, and saw nothing but 

 trees, shrubs, pools, and wild wastes. I have spent a great portion of my 

 time in the country, yet seldom I think have I felt so happy as then. In 

 that moment, business, time, and indeed everything, was forgotten, and the 

 only damp there seemed to be to my pleasure was, that at the setting of 

 .that sun which shone so gloriously over my head, I must retrace my footsteps, 

 I felt and knew I was free, and knew that there I could roam where I 

 liked, without fear of interruption by a man in corduroys, shooting-coat, and 

 wide-awake, calling himself baililF or keeper, asking me if I knew I was 

 trespassing, and that I should oblige him by walking off. But I happened 

 to look behind, and then I started and awoke from my reverie, on seeing, 

 not a dozen yards off, the well-known inscription of ^^All persons found 

 trespassing on these premises, or injuring these fences, will be prosecuted," 

 painted on a black board, affixed to a post set up on the hedge of a piece 

 of land, which was no doubt stolen from the Forest. 



In order to avoid this, to me, unpleasant object, I walked on, determined 

 before stopping again to penetrate further into the Forest. The Forest was 

 miserably wet, and at first I tried to pick my way, but finding that, in spite 

 of so-named waterproof boots, my feet became wet, I relinquished that mode 

 of proceeding, and went, not as the dry land pleased, but as I wished. The 

 trees there, if I recollect rightly, are mostly Elm and Oak, but I think there are 

 almost as many Pollards as trees. There are also a great number of small 

 Holly bushes there, as well as some very tall May and Black-thorn trees, 

 round which, in many places, the Ivy, with its death hug, has grown quite 

 thick, and often hangs over the sides of the topmost branches. 



At the entrance to the Forest I flushed a brace of Partridges. I noticed 

 a good many of that beautiful bird the Jay, the habits of Avhich, from behind 

 a tree, I could watch to my perfect satisfaction, but on my showing myself^ 

 uttering their hoarse and well-known cry of "kar, kar," they immediately 

 flew off. This is one of my favourite birds, and always has been, even when 

 it used to steal the cherries from our garden when I was a boyj and I 

 have often watched them alighting on a small branch, when, for the first 

 minute or so, you almost doubt whether they will not lose their balance 

 and fall, but by dint of a little exertion, they soon right themselves, and 

 even then every ''kar" they utter generally sets them moving to and fro. 



While walking here one day, I heard some Jays making a great noise, 

 and wondering what it was about, advanced cautiously to where they were, 

 in order to ascertain, if possible, what the matter was. Unfortunately, still 

 advancing, I kept my eyes fixed on a Jay, perched on a tree some way off, 



