136 More Tales of the Birds 



Greek, and then I could not easily follow it. 

 Once I heard " Sed neque Medorum silvae," and 

 could just catch sight of him pausing to look 

 round at the grey fields as he slowly added line 

 to line of that immortal song. And there were 

 single lines which he would repeat again and 

 again, cherishing them with tenderness like old 

 jewels, and doubtless seeing many a sparkle in 

 them that I could not, as he turned them over 

 and over. And there were bits of Latin from some 

 author unknown to me then, known to me later 

 as the unknown author of the " De Imitatione " : 

 " Unde coronabitur patientia tua, si nihil adversi 

 occurrerit ; " or, " Nimis avide consolationem 

 quaeris." 



At one time he took long walks or rides, and 

 coming in after dark to dinner, would spend the 

 evening in "logging" (as he called it) all that he 

 had seen or heard. But when I knew him he 

 was getting old, and the rambles were growing 

 shorter : it was not often that he was seen 

 beyond the village. He would go up to the 

 village shop of afternoons, where a chair was 

 always set for him, and talk to the people as they 



