24 BIRDS, BEASTS, AND FISHES 



and eke crumbs from the fenman's table ; for often the kindly 

 man leaves his door open, and Bob walks right in, " oncon- 

 sarned as a passenger," and eats between his quiet host's 

 crotch-boots as carelessly as a starling wanders under a 

 horse's belly. 



And though Bob's song be rare in winter, still you may 

 occasionally hear it, and the fenman says with a smile, 

 " Thar's old Bob a calling on you ter feed him." And feed 

 this pretty ungrateful young generation of " Bobs " you will, 

 for the little creature has such charming manners, and is so 

 confiding quite one of the mildest of parricides, yet selfish 

 withal. Nothwithstanding everything, like the boy high- 

 wayman, Bob will always be a hero in popular sentiment. 

 As for me, I like his pluck. His breast is a bright patch of 

 colour in the landscape, moreover, and his song is not repul- 

 sive, if not very attractive. The sentiment aroused by him, 

 too, is one of tolerant amusement. A desirable little fellow 

 on the whole is Bob. 



MUD COTTAGE, NORFOLK. 



