CHAPTER VIII 



RAVENS IN SOMERSET 



Mr Warde Fowler in his Sumrner Studies of Birds 

 and Books has a pleasant chapter on wagtails, in 

 which he remarks incidentally that he does not care 

 for the big solemn birds that please, or are dear to, 

 " Mr Hudson." Their bigness disturbs and their 

 solemnity oppresses him. They do not twitter 

 and warble, and flit hither and thither, flirting their 

 feathers, and with their dainty gracefulness and 

 airy, fairy ways wind themselves round his heart. 

 Wagtails are quite big enough for him ; they are, 

 in fact, as big as birds should be, and so long as 

 these charming little creatures abound in these 

 islands he (Mr Fowler) will be content. Indeed, 

 he goes so far as to declare that on a desert island, 

 without a human creature to share its solitude 

 with him, he would be happy enough if only wag- 

 tails were there to keep him company. Mr Fowler 

 is not joking ; he tells us frankly what he thinks 

 and feels, and when we come to consider the matter 

 seriously, as he wishes us to do, we discover that 



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