THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST. 169 



risk of being shot. Not a rare bird has a chance of 

 escape if it once shows itself within the limit of the 

 British Isles ; and I can but think with exultation of 

 those deluded individuals who lately spent much powder 

 and shot, and more patience, upon some rare sea-bird 

 which had settled in a lake, and which afterwards proved 

 to be nothing but a stuffed skin ingeniously anchored by 

 a long line. Such persons never think of watching the 

 living being in order to learn the wonderful instincts 

 with which its Maker has gifted it, and the interesting 

 habits and customs belonging to the individual or the 

 species. Should they come across a rare bird, their 

 first regret is that they have no gun with them ; and 

 instead of feeling delighted at the opportunity of gain- 

 ing further knowledge, they only lament that they 

 cannot take away from the bright being that life which 

 it is so evidently created to enjoy, and the causeless 

 deprivation of which is literally a robbery of its birth- 

 right. 



One of the principal objects of our expedition was 

 to ascertain the mode in which the snipe produces the 

 remarkable sound called ' drumming,' from its fancied 

 resemblance to the distant roll of the military drum. 

 To my ears, however, the mingled whizz and hum of a 

 slackened harp-string give the best idea of this re- 

 markable sound. 



It must be premised that during the breeding 

 season the male snipe, like many other creatures, 

 assumes new habits, and utters new sounds. Generally 



