SURVEY OF THE PAEKS : WEST LONDON 169 



made it unlike any other spot known to me 

 in or near London. The old manor house in- 

 side the park was seldom occupied ; no human 

 figure was visible in the grounds ; there were 

 no paths, and all things grew untended. The 

 grass was everywhere long, and in spring lit 

 with colour of myriads of wild flowers ; from 

 dawn to dusk its shady places were full of the 

 melody of birds ; exquisitely beautiful in its 

 dewy and flowery desolation, it was like a home 

 of immemorial peace, the one remnant of 

 unadulterated nature in the metropolis. 



The alterations that had to be made in this 

 park when the County Council took it over 

 produced in me an unpleasant shock ; and the 

 birds were also seriously affected by the change. 

 When the gates were thrown open, in 1888, and 

 a noisy torrent of humanity poured in and 

 spread itself over their sweet sanctuary, they 

 fled in alarm, and for a time the park was 

 almost birdless. The carrion crows, strange to 

 say, stuck to their nesting-tree, and by-and-by 

 some of the deserters began to return, to be 

 followed by others, and now there is as much 

 bird life as in the old days. It is probable, 

 however, that some of the summer visitors have 



