Il6 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



as nearer and nearer it came ; it was a solitary kingfisher 

 calling to its mate as it winged its way towards the distant 

 marsh. Already there were vultures and kites soaring 

 very high, and appearing like tiny specks against the azure 

 sky. The sun was just rising, and the eastern sky look- 

 ed glowing and glorious. In a moment the tall tree tops 

 became bathed in soft golden rays which gradually pene- 

 trated into the poor man's hamlet and the rich man's hall, 

 and illumined everything. The birds had done singing 

 their morning anthem, and now hopped about and played 

 in all directions, infecting us with their joyousness, 

 In a merry inood congenial to this changing and char- 

 ming aspect of Nature, we wended our way, one fine 

 morning, now several years ago, towards the open fields 

 and meadows. 



We had almost reached the outskirts of the 

 town and were about to leave the dusty public thorough- 

 fare and strike eastwards towards the park, when, we 

 observed a series of interrupted double lines right across 

 the road. They looked like foot prints of some bird, 

 but there were no marks of claws or nails. Our curio- 

 sity ixl interest having been aroused we began a closer 

 examination of them and their situation. They all 

 converged round the scattered remnants of a heap of 

 horse-dropping on one side, and were lost in the grass 

 and shrubs bordering the road on the other. We tried 

 to trace the marks into the shrubbery with a view to 

 finding the cause, but found it difficult, owing to the 

 sodden staj:e of the grounds, and abundance of fallen 



