2 1 6 love's meinie, 



" The long and the short of it is, that we 

 may as well take the trouble first to look for, 

 and then to look at, a bird's ear — having first 

 made the bird like us and trust us so much, 

 that he won't mind a human breath upon his 

 cheek, but will let us see behind the veil, into 

 the doorless corridor that lets music into the 

 bird-soul." 



154. Next ; the physician (over whom, to get 

 the letter out of him, I had to use the authority 

 of a more than ordinarily imperious patient) 

 says,— 



'* Now for the grebes lowering themselves 

 in water, (which Lucy said I was to tell you 

 about). The way in which they manage it, I 

 believe to be this. Most birds have under 

 their skins great air-passages which open into 

 the lungs, and which, when the bird is moving 

 quickly, and consequently devouring a great 

 deal of air, do, to a certain extent, the work of 

 supplementary lungs. They also lessen the 

 bird's specific gravity, which must be of some 

 help in flying. And in the gannet, which drops 

 into the sea from a great height after fish, 

 these air-bags lessen the shock on striking the 

 water. Now the grebes (and all diving-birds) 



