107 



regarded as flowing from a divine source ; and he be- 

 longs to the oracles of nature, which speak the awful 

 and intelligible language of a present Deity." * 



There is, perhaps, no bird whose note is more wel- 

 come than that of the cuckoo : it is the voice of spring, 

 and in its intonation is heard the promise of the year. 

 After its visit to savage tribes and an exotic clime, the 

 cuckoo returns to Britain as its home, where its offspring 

 may be sheltered and reared in safety. Though the phe- 

 nomenon may be rare, we remember to have heard its 

 note at midnight between Douglas and Castleton in the 

 Isle of Man ; it is now some years ago ; the moon was 

 bright, and " cuckoo " was often repeated from trees in 

 the distance. Among migratory birds we know none 

 more interesting than the stork, and its history is 

 full of almost romantic detail ; it is linked with the 

 heron and the crane, though itself alone. The heron 

 is a very graceful creature, and some of its attitudes 

 extremely picturesque : when perched on the edge of 

 some antique marble fountain, there is scarcely a happier 

 image of contemplation. Its form is not only graceful, 

 but it is as still and motionless, as if life had been 

 suddenly congealed in its veins at the moment its 

 finest attitude had been assumed, and the charm her- 

 metically preserved ; we have watched this unbroken 

 stillness for hours together. The heron seems, too, a 

 docile and a curious bird; we have seen one near 

 Bridgnorth, whose manreuvres were quite amusing. 

 When the drawing-room window was opened (on a level 

 with the garden), it would stalk in with some share 

 of majesty, and after a walk up and down the room, 

 would march boldly up to the fireplace in cold weather, 

 and expanding its wings, first present one side and 



* Salmonia," p. 79. 

 F 6 



