THE COMMON TOAD. 63 



could not reconcile capricious kindnesses with the overhauling of 

 his tongue and toes, the bodkin gagging his mouth, and the close 

 imprisonment meanwhile. Yet, like Froggin, when there came 

 a temporary respite from these inflictions, he made some progress 

 towards friendliness. It was expedient during the summer to give 

 him occasional liberty, to support himself by his own exertions. 

 And this for several reasons. The tiny frogs and also some small 

 newts that escaped from their glass globes in the conservatory 

 could not always be found again ; their numbers were fast dimi- 

 nishing, when, finding that the toad could swallow a slug much 

 larger than the newts and a beetle much bigger than the frogs, 

 I suspected that his tongue was the agent in their disappearance. 

 The few square yards of enclosed space called "garden" in 

 London swarmed with small molluscs, worms, and crustacean, 

 good for toads but not for plants, and it seemed that Toadums 

 might as well help himself to these dainties. At the far corner 

 was a little "rockery," furnishing precisely the crevices and 

 hiding places in which he in troublous times could circumvent 

 me, but where, under happier auspices, he climbed and foraged, 

 growing rapidly, a proof of his ability to maintain himself. His 

 favourite retreat was one particular recess, a miniature cavern under 

 a projecting stone, where from within, eight or ten inches from 

 daylight, he could command approaches. Comically enough, 

 whenever he saw me near, he came to the entrance of this retreat, 

 and sat, like a sentinel at the door of his tent, waiting. His 

 vocabulary consisted of about three distinct sounds. One, a 

 subdued croak, "cgwha," seemed pleasurable; louder was re- 

 monstrative ; and a third, consisting of about five gutturals in one 

 unspellable ejaculation, was resistant. My usual greeting was to 

 pat and stroke his head, which he held down submissively, simply 

 remarking " cgwha." The finger removed he looked up, but 

 seeing it still there down went his head again ; but whether the 

 patting was agreeable, or that he merely submitted, was never 

 clear to me. With Froggin the attention was similarly accepted, 

 only he more quickly and inquiringly raised his head, as if to ask, 

 "Is that all?" Toadums' next move from his grotto was to 

 make for one particular corner, where, from behind a fern, he 

 faced about, observant. One day, a child who had witnessed the 

 above routine, threw stones on the sly at Toadums in his corner. 

 Presently I saw a little heap of stones and gravel, but the toad 

 was gone ; and after a long search was found hidden in a new 

 retreat, under another block of stone, which only by being lifted 

 led to his discovery. 



Such an object was poor Toadums ! He was literally streaming 



