The Lark's Nest 



All this time the Skylark's wife had been 

 sitting close ; men and horses were all around, 

 but the nest was safe, being just under the lip 

 of the bank. Her husband had crept into a hole 

 close by her, and was presently fast asleep, with 

 his head under his wing. They had already got 

 used to the din and the sounds, and they could 

 not abandon the nest. There they slept, for the 

 present in peace, though war was in the air, and 

 seventy thousand men lay, trying to sleep, around 

 them. 



II 



ON that first day, when the sun had broken 

 through the mist and shone upon the army 

 hastening southwards, an English lad, in the 

 ranks of an infantry regiment, had heard the 

 singing of the Larks high above them. He was 

 a common village lad, a " Bill " with no more 

 poetry or heroism in him than any other English 

 Bill ; snapped up at Northstow Fair by a re- 

 cruiting serjeant, who was caught by his sturdy 

 limbs and healthy looks ; put through the mill of 

 army discipline, and turned out ready to go 



