BIRDS IN A VILLAGE 



II 



AFTER wandering somewhat aimlessly about the 

 country for a couple of days I stumbled by chance 

 on just such a spot as I had been wishing to find 

 a rustic village not too far away ; it was not more 

 than twenty-five minutes' walk from a small station, 

 less than one hour by rail from London* 



The way to the village was through cornfields, 

 bordered by hedges and rows of majestic elms* 

 Beyond it, but quite near, there was a wood, prin- 

 cipally of beech, over a mile in length, with a public 

 path running through it. On the right hand, ten 

 minutes' walk from the village, there was a long 

 green hill, the ascent to which was gentle, but on 

 the further side it sloped abruptly down to the 

 Thames* 



On the left hand there was another hill, with 

 cottages and orchards with small fields interspersed 

 on the slope and summit, so that the middle part, 

 where I lodged, was in a pretty deep hollow. There 

 was no sound of traffic there, and few farmers' 

 carts came that way as it was well away from the 

 roads and the deep narrow winding lanes were 

 exceedingly rough, like the stony beds of dried-up 

 streams. 



