HAUNTS OF THE SHEARWATER 215 



powerless, and then, mistaking its captor's motives, 

 composed itself in a heroic attitude to die with dignity, 

 looking only doubtfully pleased, and not quite sure 

 that it had not been made a fool of, when it found 

 itself free to return to its desecrated home, or join the 

 excited party of gossips who watched what was going 

 on on shore from outside the breakers. 



It is impossible for any one who has established an 

 intimacy with sea-fowl, Puffins more especially, to watch 

 their behaviour under exciting or perplexing circum- 

 stances without crediting them with motives and 

 passions the counterpart of our own, a sense of 

 humour included. 



The sentiments of a swarm of birds Razor-bills, 

 Shags, Puffins, and Guillemots who came out of their 

 holes and craned their necks to see the fun, as a boat 

 rowed away after an unsuccessful attempt to land on 

 the rather inaccessible island which gives the Scillies 

 their name, having narrowly escaped a catastrophe, 

 could scarcely, as appeared to the discomfited crew, 

 have been more vividly expressed, if each had held an 

 extended web-foot to her beak. There is something, 

 too, very human in the way in which evil-doers in 

 feathers as well as fur birds and beasts of prey 

 consult their own interest by trying to keep up 

 characters as law-abiding people at home, seldom 

 interfering with creatures, their natural prey else- 

 where, near their own nests or lairs. The ' enterpris- 

 ing burglar ' has before now been highly esteemed as 

 a Sunday-school teacher in his own parish. 



