TO THE PRESIDENT 
OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION 
LORD LILFORD, F.ZS. 
THIS RECORD IS INSCRIBED 
AS AN EARNEST OF LOYAL REGARD 
Of gentle, strange, unlettered men, 
Of Holy Hills, of frosty fen 
And ice and island foam ; 
Of flowers and of antlered herds 
And all the nesting of the birds 
He brings the story home. 
Not his the crystal to divine 
With those clear eyes the charméd page 
Where Nature, in the inner shrine, 
Enrols her children’s heritage. 
Yet, when your roses welcome June, 
This tale of far-off errantry 
May serve to cheat a languid noon 
With breezes of the Northern Sea. 
