PREFACE. 



pathy with and reverence for Nature which are 

 the colouring characteristics of his writing. 



Most of these chapters have appeared in 

 ' Blackwood's Magazine,' and a few have not 

 been in print before. I am indebted to the 

 courtesy of the Editor of the ' Daily News ' 

 which allows me to include the description 

 of a forest -fire that was witnessed by the 

 author. Without this, it seemed to me these 

 vivid descriptions of wild life on Surrey Hills 

 would have been incomplete. 



J. A. OWEN. 



