The Birds of Shakespeare 
more especially ample. Chaucer, the illus- 
trious Father of English Poetry, struck the 
keynote of that passionate love of Nature 
which has been maintained among us 
with ever-growing devotion. ‘“ Nature, 
the vicar of the Almighty Lord,” to use 
his own expression, filled his soul with a 
deep, reverential and joyous delight in the 
endless beauty and charm of the outer 
world. ‘This pleasure included an ardent 
appreciation of bird-life, which finds vent 
continually in simple but enthusiastic lan- 
guage all through his writings. Chaucer 
was undoubtedly a bookish man, much 
attached to his favourite authors and to 
meditation upon them. Yet, as he him- 
self confesses, there were times when the 
open country, with all its varied sights and 
sounds, and especially with its exuberant 
life in plants and animals, had for him 
even greater attraction. He tells that 
On bokes for to rede I me delyte, 
And to hem yeve I feyth and ful credence, 
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