TURN AND TURN AGAIN 189 



fight in any but one set way, and the formal, alter- 

 nate following of, and retreating from one another, 

 I have noticed, also, in the fighting of blackbirds, and 

 other birds, whilst the last has been pushed to quite 

 a remarkable extreme in the case of the partridge. 

 Pairs of these birds may be seen, as early as January, 

 running up and down the fields — often along a 

 hedge, or, here, a row of pine trees — as though to 

 warm themselves, but really in pursuit of one 

 another, though the interval between them is often 

 so great that, but for both turning at the same 

 precise instant of time, one would think they were 

 acting independently. This interval may be as 

 much as a hundred yards, or even more, and it is 

 often exactly maintained for a very long time. At 

 any moment the two birds, whilst thus running at 

 full speed, may turn, and the chase is then con- 

 tinued in exactly the same way, except that it is 

 now in an opposite direction, and that the pursuer 

 and pursued have changed parts. Apollo — one 

 might say, were the sport of an amorous nature — 

 has become Daphne, Daphne Apollo ; for as each 

 turns, each becomes actuated by the spirit that, but 

 a second before, had filled the other — a complete 

 volte face upon either side, both spiritually and cor- 

 poreally. Keepers have, in fact, told me that it is 

 the male and female partridge, who thus chase one 

 another ; but this, from my own observation, I do 

 not believe. Often, indeed, the birds will get out 

 of sight before the interval between them has been 

 lessened, or the pursued one will fly off, followed 

 by his pursuer, without anything in the nature of a 

 combat having occurred. At other times, however. 



