HOW 1 BECAME A NATURALIST g 



was shot in the wing on the rabbit links in the marsh, 

 just enough to prevent his rising. Many a time have 

 I gazed on that bird ; they made no fuss over him, he 

 was not the first of his kind which had visited our 

 shore. 



I remember well the day one of my school com- 

 panions, not much more than a boy, went out with a 

 borrowed boat and a gun, and shot a wild swan 

 a fine Hooper dead with the first shot, on a rising 

 tide. 



Wandering over the marshes, wading in the creek, 

 exploring the reed beds and swamps, together with 

 having the run of the sea-shore, will go a long way in 

 giving a boy an amount of self-reliance which may be 

 of use to him in the future. Some kind friend sent me 

 a box of water colours, paper, and brushes, and a good 

 lead pencil a precious gift to me, and a source of joy 

 to my companions, the fisher-lads. 



They said the boy could make them ' real good 

 picturs ' now, coloured ' nateral as life.' They knew 

 nothing better in the way of art, and I no greater 

 pleasure than to reproduce in my rough fashion the 

 creatures that were a never-failing interest to me ; so 

 we were all satisfied. 



A good mile from our village stands the grand old 

 parish church, with its massive square tower built of 



