An Incident. 131 



saw a bull with tail in the air making straight towards 

 me. He was a new-comer, and a stranger to me; 

 indeed, I was not aware of ever having before seen a 

 fellow of this sort just hereabout. He made for me 

 with such a wild dash that all I could do was to 

 retreat, and make my way over the gate again. But 

 he was of a mind to pursue the attack, and I was 

 afraid might dash over the very inefficient fence after 

 me. So I clutched at one of the posts, luckily not 

 so firmly fixed in the earth as it might have been, 

 and with it swinging above my head I waited for the 

 attack. On he came, his mouth foaming, his eyes 

 aflame ; but before he could make the leap, down came 

 the heavy post on his head, and he turned as though 

 stunned, if not blinded, and I made my way home. 

 One of the few risks of such a walk as this is the 

 presence of such animals in a lone field ; but in this 

 case it only imparted the element of adventure and 

 danger, needed to make my early morning walk more 

 and more a true image of human life. 



But we must not quit the subject in the sombre 

 strain this incident would suggest. As we regain a 

 view of our house roofs through the screen of encircling- 

 lime trees, we see that the pigeons fantails, pouters, 

 and tumblers, as well as common ones are already in 

 session on the roofs, waiting for the early advent of 

 those who feed and tend them. In the meantime, 

 they are cooing and doing their devoirs to each other 

 gaily ; and, between whiles, doing also a little damage 

 to the roofs by applying their beaks to pick out 

 morsels of lime from between the slates. As Lord 

 Tennyson says of them in the afternoon sun, they are 

 even now, early in the morning, " bowing at their own 

 deserts" self-pleased, self-admiring, proud, pretty 



