XL MASTER IMPERTINENCE. 153 



edge of the tail are arranged a row of twelve sprouts 

 which will develop into the tail-quills. The tail-coverts, 

 like the under wing-coverts, are at present very small. 

 But just in front of the bend of the wrist there are two 

 or three well-marked feather-sprouts. These will con- 

 stitute the winglet or bastard wing which is developed on 

 the bird's thumb. You can easily see the thumb of a bird 

 the next time you pick the wing of a fowl. It forms a 

 little projection in front of the wrist. The " hand " of the 

 bird is very narrow and long, and has only two digits, of 

 which that answering to your first finger is the only one 

 which is well developed, the palm bones of the two digits 

 being fused together at their ends. The whole limb has 

 been modified to subserve the purposes of flight. Only 

 in the earliest known bird which sought the yet earlier 

 worm in the secondary epoch of the age of reptiles are the 

 three digits separate. And in this bird they all three 

 bear claws (as does the thumb in some existing birds), a 

 legacy from reptilian ancestors. 



How admirable is the flight of birds ! The other day I 

 stood on the jetty at Brixham, near the spot where Dutch 

 William landed from the vessel which had borne him over 

 seas. The waters of Torbay were crisped with a fresh 

 spring breeze, and taking advantage of this a score or so 

 of gulls were alternately sailing up and dropping down 

 the wind, within a dozen yards of where we stood. Their 

 bright eyes were eagerly on the watch for any chance 

 morsel good to eat, from a gull's point of view, that might 

 be floating on the waves. The ease with which they floated 

 along, merely setting their wings to the breeze and adjust- 

 ing them with consummate though instinctive skill, was 

 so fascinating that I could hardly tear myself away from 

 the spot. I rejoiced at their perfect fearlessness, though 

 the sailor-lads were standing in groups on the jetty within 



