THE LAPWING. 229 



wily. They are nasty yelpin craturs and joost deave ye wi' 

 their din. Ah ! they're ill- set craturs. They frighten a' the 

 sheep. They're as guid's a doug ; whenever they see yin by 

 itsel, they're on the tap on't. Whenever they see a hare 

 they chase it through the middle o' the hirsel, and the sheep 

 a' fear'd o' them, rin as 'twere frae a doug. I've seen me 

 kill them when I fand them, although it was'na richt,^ joost 

 for the noise they make. A craw daurna come near them. 

 They play the hero wi't a'thegither, for they fa' on't and 

 buffet it, and the craw has naething for't but joost to make 

 off." Another herd, when alluding to localities frequented 

 by this bird, said : " About Aikenga, Peeseweeps are scarce. 

 Gowkscraft's King o' the Peeseweeps." It used to be con- 

 sidered a sign of bad weather in spring when the Peeseweep 

 was observed flying about in flocks on the lower grounds, 

 as may be seen from the following entries in Captain Bell's 

 diary : — 



"1813, April If^th. — Saw a flock of Green Plover near 

 Eyemouth, and small birds sitting in trees at Linthill chirp- 

 ing in afternoon — a sign of bad weather. April loth. — 

 Flock of Green Plover yesterday morning flying high about 

 10 A.M. — a sign of bad weather at this season, as they 

 should be paired before this." 



There are several popular rhymes and sayings in Ber- 

 wickshire about the Peeseweep, of which Mr. Hardy has 

 been good enough to furnish me with the following : — 



Peeseweep ! wallop away, 

 Cauld feet in a frosty day. 



Another version is : — 



Peeseweep ! wallop away, 

 Harries my nest in a rainy day. 



^ Poor bird ! where'er the roaming swain intrudes 

 On thy bleak heaths and desert solitudes, 

 He curses still thy scream, thy clamorous tongue, 

 And crushes with his foot thy moulting young. 



Leydbn, Scenes of Infancy. 



