WOODCOCK SHOOTING. 83 



species of subtlety you could place your finger 

 on the breast where the plumage is worn from 

 the skin, you might then feel a mother's heart 

 beating hurriedly within, in spite of the seat 

 maintained, the tranquil eyes, the composed and 

 unruffled plumes.* 



So unstudied is the nest, composed as it is of 

 a dozen stalks of grass and a few withered leaves, 

 so fearless and full of faith to the end the atti- 

 tude of the bird, that it is long before you can 

 withdraw your eyes from the sight. 



From how many hundred leagues in the far 

 south has the woodcock flown, to hatch her 

 brood at last in that chosen spot! For how 

 many days and nights by that old grey stump 

 in sun, in wind and in rain through how many 

 dangers past has she kept her post ! How 

 often has that little heart throbbed with fear as 

 the hawk stole by on her hungry flight, or the 

 stealthy fox on his midnight prowl ! How often 

 have the winds beat and the floods came, and 

 the house built by the stump withstood the 



* We attempted to remove the eggs from under a sitting wood- 

 cock, when, uttering a sort of soft murmur, she fluttered off to a 

 little distance, and remained watching our motions with evident 

 anxiety. We replaced them and turned away ; she then returned 

 to the nest, and soon after hatched her brood. 



