THE PASSING OF THE BIRDS. 187 



my notebook of the previous year, I came 

 upon my entry of May 18th, and thought 

 I would be on the lookout for a black-cap 

 on that date. Several times during the 

 morning I thought of the matter, and af- 

 ter my lunch I sauntered into the rockery 

 just as I had done the year before. Imag- 

 ine my start when there, in the very same 

 bush, was the black-cap peering at me ; and 

 I found on looking at my watch that it was 

 precisely the same hour, half past one ! 

 I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to 

 make sure it was not a dream. No, it was 

 all real. Of course, I thought the coinci- 

 dence very singular, and talked about it, 

 not only with my family, but also with other 

 people. You must remember that I had 

 never seen the bird elsewhere. 



"Well, another spring came round. The 

 18th of May was fixed in my mind, and I 

 thought many times of my black-cap (I 

 called it my black-cap now), and wondered 

 if it would keep tryst again. On the morn- 

 ing of the 18th, the first thing I thought of 

 when I awoke was my black-cap. That fore- 

 noon I actually felt nervous as the time ap- 

 proached, for I felt a sort of certainty (you 



