EASY-CHAIR MEMORIES 71 



building and egg laying are going on. I even 

 saw a young fledged thrush hopping about 

 in the snow. 



Burnham Beeches were unapproachable : one 

 day, indeed, the best of a long series of very 

 bad ones, I got as far as the edge of the 

 Common and had a peep at the Beeches in 

 the gloomy distance ; heavy rain came on, 

 and I ventured no farther. The Common 

 was brown with last year's dead bracken, 

 and the woods on the far side were brown and 

 leafless. I trudged back in drizzle and mud. 

 I said I will not see the Beeches till I can catch 

 them in spring glory and decent apparel. 



And so we got through April and entered on 

 the merry month of May, but it was not till 

 many days had slipped by some merry and 

 bright, but mostly gloomy and sad that I 

 found myself once more on my way to Burn 

 ham Beeches. 



Monday -, \\th May 1908, is a day of the 

 month and of the year that I want to mark 

 with a red letter ; a day " so cool, so calm, 

 so bright" is very rare, even in my long ex- 

 perience. Even the grey, dead Common of 

 a week or two ago is now ablaze here and 



