Gowns, and Robes. 39 



roots and gnarled boughs of the 

 copse ; she flits along the mossy 

 banks, where the last year's leaves 

 lie in nooks and ridges, leaves which 

 are now just of the same tints as 

 her round little body. Her in- 

 significance is her protection ; those 

 beautifully - marked and rippled 

 feathers of hers match and blend 

 with the colours of the places which 

 she loves. 



The Brown Gown is in itself worth 

 a few minutes' consideration. Few 

 of us pause to give thought to such 

 common and light things as mere 

 feathers. And yet, if any man 

 could rightly understand the whole 

 truth about one single feather, he 

 would be wiser than was King 

 Solomon. 



My dictionary explains the nature 

 of fcathers as being " a complicated 

 modification of the tegumentary 

 system forming the external cover- 

 ing or plumage of birds, and peculiar 

 to this class of animals." 



