2l6 WHITE 



was numerous, amounting perhaps to one hundred and fifty ; 

 and that the season was soft and still ; I was resolved to pay 

 uncommon attention to these late birds ; to find, if possible, 

 where they roosted, and to determine the precise time of 

 their retreat. The mode of life of these latter hirundines is 

 very favorable to such a design ; for they spend the whole 

 day in the sheltered district, between me and the Hanger, 

 sailing about in a placid, easy manner, and feasting on those 

 insects which love to haunt a spot so secure from ruffling 

 winds. As my principal object was to discover the place of 

 their roosting, I took care to wait on them before they re- 

 tired to rest, and was much pleased to find that for several 

 evenings together, just at a quarter past five in the afternoon, 

 they all scudded away in great haste towards the south-east, 

 and darted down among the low shrubs above the cottages 

 at the end of the hill. This spot in many respects seemed 

 to be well calculated for their winter residence ; for in many 

 parts it is as steep as the roof of any house, and therefore 

 secure from the annoyances of water; and it is moreover 

 clothed with beechen shrubs, which, being stunted and bitten 

 by sheep, make the thickest covert imaginable ; and are so 

 entangled as to be impervious to the smallest spaniel; be- 

 sides, it is the nature of underwood beech never to cast its 

 leaf all the winter ; so that, with the leaves on the ground and 

 those on the twigs, no shelter can be more complete. I watched 

 them on the I3th and I4th October, and found their evening 

 retreat was exact and uniform ; but after this they made no 

 regular appearance. Now and then a straggler was seen; and 

 on the 22nd October, I observed two in the morning over the 

 village, and with them my remarks for the season ended. 



From all these circumstances put together, it is more than 

 probable that this lingering flight, at so late a season of the 

 year, never departed from the island. Had they indulged 

 me that autumn with a November visit, as I much desired, I 

 presume that, with proper assistants, I should have settled 

 the matter past all doubt ; but though the 3rd November was 

 a sweet day, and in appearance exactly suited to my wishes, 

 yet not a martin was to be seen ; and so I was forced, re- 

 luctantly, to give up the pursuit. 



