A DELECTABLE RETREAT 115 



the slope, and sat on a cushion of thrift over- 

 lapping the lip of the under-cliff. Within the 

 ambit of his wanderings he could not have 

 selected a more secluded spot. Man had never 

 set foot there ; save for the old fisherman who 

 rested on his oars to gaze at the primroses, sea- 

 pinks, and foxgloves that in their season decked 

 this hanging garden, no human eye had seen 

 its beauty. Even now the solitary furze-bush 

 amongst the naked rods of the foxgloves was 

 gay with blossom, for the slope fronted south 

 and caught the sun. Sitting there the hare 

 observed every living thing within his ken. He 

 watched the gannets that sent the spray flying 

 as they dived into a school of pilchards ; he 

 was interested in the cormorants that stood 

 on the rock below and dried their outstretched 

 wings ; even the little companies of mullet did 

 not escape him, when they came scurrying past 

 the point and coasted round the tiny bay ; and 

 by such sights his attention was drawn, his 

 curiosity excited, as he enjoyed the warmth 

 of the sun that brightened the austerity of the 

 cliff and sparkled on the wintry sea. 



December found the hare using this retreat. 

 All went well with him till one day in leaping 

 the chasm he landed a little short and nearly 

 fell back into the sea, but by great good 



