146 NATURE NEAR LONDON 



one particular spot, and may be gathered there before a 

 petal has opened elsewhere. The first swallow in this 

 district generally appears round about a pond near some 

 farm buildings. Birds care nothing for appropriate 

 surroundings. Hearing a titlark singing his loudest, 

 I found him perched on the rim of a tub placed for 

 horses to drink from. 



This very pond by which the first swallow appears is 

 muddy enough, and surrounded with poached mud, for 

 a herd of cattle drink from and stand in it. An elm 

 overhangs it, and on the lower branches, which are dead, 

 the swallows perch and sing just over the muddy water. 

 A sow lies in the mire. But the sweet swallows sing on 

 softly ; they do not see the wallowing animal, the mud, 

 the brown water ; they see only the sunshine, the golden 

 buttercups, and the blue sky of summer. This is the 

 true way to look at this beautiful earth. 



