NIGHTINGALE ROAD 



^HE wayside is open to all, and that 

 which it affords may be enjoyed with- 

 out fee ; therefore it is that I return 

 to it so often. It is a fact that com- 

 mon hedgerows often yield more of general inter- 

 est than the innermost recesses of carefully guarded 

 preserves, which by day are frequently still, silent, 

 and denuded of everything, even of game ; nor 

 can flowers flourish in such thick shade, nor where 

 fir-needles cover the ground. 



By the same wayside of which I have already 

 spoken there is a birch copse, through which runs 

 a road open to foot passengers, but not to wheel 

 traffic, and also a second footpath. From these 

 a little observation will show that almost all the 

 life and interest of the copse is at, or near, the 

 edge, and can be readily seen without trespassing 

 a single yard. Sometimes, when it is quiet in the 

 evening and the main highway is comparatively 

 deserted, a hare comes stealing down the track 

 through the copse and after lingering there awhile 

 crosses the highway into the stubble on the other 

 side. 



- 4 6_ 



