96 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



with angry, grating screams, rush down at him. 

 He is ready for the assault, with his head up and 

 his fore-feet well together; as he stands perfectly 

 quiet, he might be photographed. In one instant 

 the scene is changed, and you see a confused lot 

 of wing and tail feathers, dashing now up, now 

 down, and then sideways ; some brown object 

 mixed up with them, while the screams and shrieks 

 from the birds are nearly deafening. The row will 

 stop as quickly as it began ; for one bird with a 

 chattering note of fear flies off, leaving the cock 

 bird in the stoat's mouth. The creature stands 

 as still as possible for a few moments, and then 

 he takes his prey into one of the flower-beds to 

 eat him. 



Lately, in one of my rambles, I came on a brood 

 of missel-thrushes that had just left the nest. They 

 were foraging for food in one of the upland meadows 

 close to the woods, and I stood in the midst of them 

 as they fed. It was a pretty sight ; as one or the 

 other got near me, they would look at me with 

 their bright eyes, open their mouths, appear to 

 chide me for my presence, and then go on search- 

 ing for food. Both parents were close at hand, 



