WILD LIFE AT HOME, AND ABROAD. 2O/ 



the various other scenic spots and wild life which we have 

 in Britain. 



How much farther must I proceed to prove what Britain's 

 wild and rural life presents to the observant and the Nature lover ? 



Must I mention the giant spreading Oaks, the sea of Hya- 

 cinths, the Cowslip and Primrose-covered banks, the peaceful 

 agricultural villages, the Clover fields, the glorious views from 

 the old stile on the hillside? Shall we visit the old ruins, or 

 the village church, where the ever-green Ivy loves to entwine 

 itself, and where the Owls and Bats are blinking and snoozing 

 until their night-prowls; and may I pluck the Celandine, and 

 examine its every component part? 



The last scene I shall present is the Sheep Fold in early 

 Spring. What a truiy captivating scene! Playful Lambs, so 

 innocent, so vivacious, and attractive. The attentive parents, 

 and the Meadow Pipits which love to frequent these surround- 

 ings 1 Behold a Starling takes up his station on the back of 

 one of the Sheep, and commences searching for ticks 1 Was 

 there ever a more striking and practical example of Animal 

 intelligence, for notice how quiet the animal stands as he is 

 being rid of parasites which tickle and annoy him, and, then, 

 on the other hand, how the Starling knows that the ticks are 

 there, and how pleased the saucy creature seems at having 

 such a good fill from such a fleecy cover 1 



Longfellow proved his practical acquaintance with Nature when 

 he wrote the lines : 



c lf thou art worn and hard beset 



With sorrows that thou wouldst forget, 



If thou wouldst read a lesson that will keep 



Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep, 



Go to the woods and hills! -No tears 



Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.' 



Much have I left unwritten, but there must be some limit; 

 this is barely an introduction, it scarcely merits the title of a 

 preface, but it is hoped that such a brief, unpretentious, and 

 ill-constructed sketch may at any rate have interested some 

 indifferent observers who are continually complaining that the 

 Country is dull, and life hardly worth living. Then, if my 



