3 o <I(AfMBLES OF A 



as the trysting-place of fairies he makes up for the 

 weakness of the site by the added strength of his out- 

 works. 



The tall, straggling hawthorn hedges of the West 

 country are the very place for him ; but even in the 

 tree tops his nest is still a fortress. 



Who is there that can look back on birds'- nesting days 

 at all who does not remember the storming of some 

 magpie's nest, that in the school-boy world was of more 

 moment than the taking of the Great Redan ? 



In the tallest of the tall fir-trees in the copse was 

 dimly seen among the topmost branches the outline of 

 the nest. Only by good honest swarming up a straight 

 and slippery stem, without a bough to help the climber, 

 could the eggs be taken. From the shoulders of two 

 companions the oldest hand sprang to the attack. The 

 old bird, secure in the height of her tree and the 

 strength of her defences, sat on unmoved. But at 

 length, alarmed by the shaking of the stem and the 

 shouts and laughter of the little group below, she left 

 her nest, and, settling in a tree near by, chattered loud 

 her indignation. And then her mate appeared, and 

 with eager clamour the two birds flew restlessly from tree 

 to tree, watching the varying fortunes of the stormer. 



It was a hard pull ; but, at last, panting and struggling, 

 the climber was safely anchored in the branches. A 

 moment's pause to examine the contents of the nest, a 

 triumphant shout to the expectant group beneath, and 

 then, holding in his teeth the cap that bore the precious 

 spoil, he descended, as slowly as he might, to earth again. 



