THE MARSH WARBLER'S MUSIC 211 



occasion I had him even nearer, owing to a mishap. 

 I was walking along the dry bottom of a wide old 

 ditch under a hedge at the side of the withy bed, 

 when I came to a deep pool or hole full of mud and 

 slimy water, and to save myself the trouble of going 

 round it I took hold of an overhanging willow branch 

 and swung myself across to the other side, but failed 

 to get quite clear and was plunged deep into the 

 slime. After scraping off the fetid mud and slime 

 which covered me I went back to the deep pool of 

 clear water in the withy bed and taking off my tweed 

 suit and boots spent an hour in washing them, then 

 spread them out in the sun. The drying I thought 

 would take five or six hours, and as I could not roam 

 about in my stockings and underclothing, which had 

 not got wet, or return to the town and civilised life 

 to get a meal or tea, I thought my best plan was to 

 spend the rest of the day lying down close to one of 

 the marsh warbler's favourite singing-bushes. There 

 I made myself a nice bed of dry sedges in a sunny 

 spot within two yards of the singing-bush, and pre- 

 sently the cock bird came and flew round and perched 

 here and there on the stems, scolding and singing. 

 He went and came a good many times, but at last 

 gave up being troubled at my presence and even- 

 tually began coming to his own withy-plant and to 

 sing there fully and freely for long intervals at that 

 short distance of two yards from my head. 



I thought I had never listened to sweeter music 

 than this bird's, and that my fall into the mud-hole 

 had proved an exceedingly happy accident. 



