CHAP, iv.] WATEB HENS IN THE COUNTRY. 293 



the smaller, though exactly similar in their lively 

 colouring, namely, azure blue all over, with scarlet 

 feet, legs, bill, and frontal shield) appears to be so 

 tender as to require great care and housing, and is 

 unfortunately not robust enough in this climate to orna- 

 ment our ponds and lakes. But our own humbly-clad 

 native species may well claim our regards for the in- 

 terest which is attached to it. 



A stranger, "long in populous cities pent," starts for 

 a country excursion, and arrives rather unexpectedly at 

 the house of a friend. No one happens to be in the 

 way to receive him : all except the indoor servants are 

 dispersed hither and thither after their own devices. 

 As his carriage drives up to the door, he looks around, 

 and soliloquises : " Pretty place pleasant lawn nice 

 piece of water rather full of weeds though ; no objec- 

 tion to a few water-lilies and so on, but not quite so 

 many. Those are some of his Ducks quite a poultry 

 fancier, I know has written about it in the papers ; 

 wonder he was not afraid of being laughed at I should ; 

 and those little things walking amongst the Ducks that 

 are asleep on the grass, and showing a little bit of white 

 now and then in their tails, just as the old ladies 

 used to open their fans those, I suppose, are some of 

 his Bantams but they need not fly off in such a hurry 

 to the other side of the water I am not going to steal 

 them, and should like to have a look at them. I 

 thought he would have had better ; they seem long in 

 the leg, with curious bills, queer too in colour, neither 

 brown nor black. Ill wait here in the dining-room till 

 some one returns, and take a chair by the window and 

 there come the Bantams again, peeping out from what 

 seems an island and, yes they take to the water, and 



