88 BIRD LIFE GLIMPSES 



almost in one straight line, from the top of which 

 the snake-like head and spiked bill shoot sharply 

 and angularly out. Standing thus, he raises himself 

 a-tip-toe once or twice, as though it were St. Cris- 

 pin's Day, or to get the widest possible view of the 

 landscape, before shutting himself out from it, then 

 stepping into the nest, and sinking slowly down in 

 it, becomes entirely concealed in its deep, capacious 

 cavity. Both here, and, still more, in alighting, one 

 cannot but notice the strange rigid aspect that the 

 bird presents. *' Cannot but," I say, because one 

 would like it to be otherwise — graceful, harmonious 

 — but it is not. There are no subtle bends or 

 curves — no seeming symmetry — but all is hard, 

 stiff, and angular. Even the colours look crude 

 and harsh, as they might in a bad oil painting. 

 Nature is sometimes " a rum 'un," as Squeers said 

 she was. Here she looks almost unnatural, very 

 different from what an artist who aimed at being 

 pleasing, merely, or plausible, would represent her 

 as. This shows how cautious one ought to be in 

 judging of the merits, or otherwise, of an animal 

 artist. There are many more human than animal 

 experts, and the latter, as a rule, are not artistic, so 

 that, between critical ignorance and uncultured 

 knowledge, good work may go for long before it 

 gets a just recognition. Those who talk about Land- 

 seer having stooped to put human expressions into 

 his animals, seem to me to be out of touch at any 

 rate with dogs. Probably the thought of how 

 profoundly the dog's psychology has been affected 

 by long intercourse with man has not occurred to 

 them, it being outside their department. Sure I am 



