4 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



quarters. It is their dinner signal ; they have 

 fashionable customs, and dine late. Here they 

 come, the whole place is alive with them. With 

 the exception of the hitting of the back of the wings 

 together at times, like a pigeon, their flight is noise- 

 less. "Chur" and "squeak," they are in full work 

 now. The different flights of the moths cause the 

 bird to tumble and dart in a very peculiar way. 

 Some moths fly straightly, others archwise ; the 

 skip-jacks van dyke about; that clip of the owl's 

 wing when he seems to tumble hits the moth down ; 

 the return stroke from the other wing brings him 

 alive into his enemy's mouth. 



We do not intend going home before morning 

 breaks. The heather makes a good couch on a 

 pinch ; and if you want a pillow pull up a good arm- 

 ful of the frieze moss, which is all round about. It 

 is light enough to read, almost, and it is warm ; 

 what more could any one want ? The scent from 

 the fir-trees is enough to make you feel glad to be 

 alive ; the heather gives its share, so do other small 

 things. We doze a little but wake up with a start, 

 for the ground seems to shake. Two or three of the 

 fern owls have settled close to us, and are having a 



