200 ROUND THE GREAT WHITE HORSE 



the town of Diss on a foggy night by the lights, and 

 from the sound of their voices seemed to fly scarcely 

 higher than the tops of the houses. They came about 

 seven P.M., and as it was Sunday evening, they appeared 

 to be especially attracted by the lights in the church, 

 and their incessant clamour not a little disturbed the 

 congregation assembled for evening service. From that 

 time until two A.M., when the fog cleared off and they 

 departed, they continued to fly round and round utterly 

 bewildered. One bird happened to fly so low as to 

 strike a gas-lamp outside the town probably, like the 

 pigeon at Leeds, it was flying round the light just as 

 a policeman was passing by, who very properly, as the 

 bird was making a great ncise outside a public-house, 

 took it into custody ; and the next day it was with 

 equal propriety sent off to a private lunatic asylum at 

 Melton, where it lived for some years an honoured 

 guest. 



Rooks and partridges do not seem to alter their 

 habits in the fog so much as other birds that seek their 

 living in the open country. Partridges are, if anything, 

 wilder than ever ; and if the rooks keep nearer home 

 than usual, they by no means refuse to fly ; their wings 

 make a great noise in the silence of the fog, and often 

 the first notice of their presence is the flapping of the 

 damp wings as they make off suddenly before the 

 unwelcome presence of man. But all other wild birds 

 keep still and moping till the darkness goes. The 

 deprivation of light, which affects all animals so much, 

 is particularly depressing to birds ; and this may be 



