244 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



sharp a tonic; unadulterated nature would startle 

 and oppress me with its rude desolate aspect, no 

 longer familiar. This softness of a well-culti- 

 vated earth, and unbroken verdure of foliage in 

 many shades, and harmonious grouping and 

 blending of floral hues, best suit my present 

 enervated condition. I had, I imagine, a swarter 

 skin and firmer flesh when I could ride all day 

 over great summer-parched plains, where there 

 was not a bush that would have afforded shelter 

 to a mannikin, and think that I was having a 

 pleasant journey. The cloudless sky and vertical 

 sun — how intolerable they would now seem, and 

 scorch my brain and fill my shut eyes with 

 dancing flames! At present even this mild June 

 sun is strong enough to make the old mulberry 

 tree on the lawn appear grateful. It is an ancient, 

 rough-barked tree, with wide branches, that droop 

 downwards all round, and rest their terminal 

 leaves on the sward; underneath it is a natural 

 tent, or pavilion, with plenty of space to move 

 about and sling a hammock in. Here, then, I have 

 elected to spend the hottest hours of my one 

 golden day, reading, dreaming, listening at in- 

 tervals to the fine bird-sounds that have a 



