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WILD-FOWL IN SANCTUARY 



(BLENHEIM LAKE) 



JUST before the opening of spring, when the biting 

 winds drive the shepherds down from the hill, and send 

 even the gipsies to the shelter of the towns, wild birds 

 and beasts seem almost to vanish from the open country, 

 except the March hares and they, we know, are mad. 



Yet there is no time at which the rare and beautiful 

 water-birds, now so scarce in England, are more tame 

 or more easily observed than when they seek sanctuary 

 for rest and pairing, before their long journey to their 

 breeding-places in the high latitudes of the North. 

 The scene on the few inland lakes and waters of any 

 size in the south of England, where the fowl are 

 unmolested, is at such times full of interest even to the 

 least observant eyes, though a few weeks later the 

 surface will be deserted by all but the nesting swans, 

 and the few coots, dobchicks, and water-hens which 

 remain throughout the summer. The lake at Blen- 

 heim, always beautiful from its setting and surround- 

 ings, gives a pleasing picture of the Lenten rest and 

 quiet which the wild-fowl then enjoy. This lake, 



