A STUDY OF CHARACTER. 1 97 



him more noticeable than another, it was his fond 

 ness for nature. He could content himself for 

 hours at a low window, looking into the ravine 

 and at the great trees, noting the smallest stir 

 there; he delighted, above all things, to accom 

 pany me walking about the garden, hearing the 

 birds, getting the smell of the fresh earth, and 

 rejoicing in the sunshine. He followed me and 

 gambolled like a dog, rolling over on the turf 

 and exhibiting his delight in a hundred ways. 

 If I worked, he sat and watched me, or looked 

 off over the bank, and kept his ear open to the 

 twitter in the cherry-trees. When it stormed, he 

 was sure to sit at the window, keenly watching 

 the rain or the snow, glancing up and down at 

 its falling; and a winter tempest always de 

 lighted him. I think he was genuinely fond of 

 birds, but, so far as I know, he usually confined 

 himself to one a day; he never killed, as some 

 sportsmen do, for the sake of killing, but only as 



