

194 NATURE IN DOWNLAND 



at last it dawned on me that it was a poor little sham 

 serpent, with the adder's black mark on its belly, on 

 which, adder-like, it is compelled to go ; but its back 

 silvery grey, to symbolise its dove-like innocence. So 

 motionless was it that I thought it dead, or else that 

 the drowsy peaceful spirit of the place had breathed 

 upon us both. But when I picked it up it woke, too, 

 quickly enough, and was glad, when I grew tired of 

 playing with it, to be released. 



It struck me at the time as a curious coincidence 

 that my last meeting with a slow- worm before this one 

 at Firle was also in a churchyard. This occurred two 

 months earlier in the season, at Boldre, in the New 

 Forest. Coming out of church after Sunday morning 

 service, I went with a party of young girls to look at 

 Gilpin's tomb in the churchyard. Pushing some ivy 

 growing against the stone aside we disturbed the little 

 silvery snake, who appeared to have made a home of 

 the grand old Forest parson's last resting-place. 



From churches, owls, and snakes (or lizards) let us 

 return to the subject of swallows. At Ditchling I 

 believe the house-martins were rather more than twice 

 as numerous as the chimney-swallows. In August 

 some idea of the rapid increase that was going on in 

 the former species could be had, owing to the habit 

 of the young birds of congregating on the telegraph 

 wires in the village. There were four wires, and at 

 one spot in the middle of the village one lot of the 

 young birds would crowd the wires for a length of 



