PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 165 



the object of her especial solicitude. Should 

 the eggs be handled, it is very rare indeed that 

 the bird is again seen on the nest. It would 

 almost seem, that in the mysteries of nature's 

 ordering, the process of incubation of this fami- 

 liar bird must be carried on in entire silence 

 and solitude ; as if the little temple of woven grass 

 and leaves, not to speak profanely, were a very 

 sanctum sanctorum, not to be desecrated by 

 other eyes than those of its priestess. When, 

 however, it is once abandoned, the bird does not 

 immediately proceed to lay again, as might, at 

 first glance, be supposed. An interval of some 

 days arid even weeks may elapse, during which 

 she may be daily seen sitting listlessly on a 

 fence-rail for many moments at a time, while 

 other more fortunate mothers are already lead- 

 ing about their callow broods. The male closely 

 attends his mate, and would seem, by his silence 

 and drooping attitude, to share in her dejection 

 of spirits. At length, however, another place 

 of concealment is sought for, and another nest 

 made; should the same fate attend this which 

 befell the first, \ve have reason to believe that, 

 after a second interval, greater or less, the bird 

 will lay again, and her brood, perhaps not more 

 than one-third grown, will be found by the 

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