156 ANECDOTE OF PARTRIDGE. [PART II. 
A Partridge, which had her nest in a hedge- 
row close to a footpath leading to a farm-house in 
the Isle of Wight, sat there upon thirteen eggs, 
and appeared so little disturbed by the presence 
of the passers-by, that the farmer one day, from 
curiosity, put his hand down to see if she would 
permit him to touch her. The bird however flew 
off, but, doing so hastily, became caught in the 
briars surrounding the nest, and he took her up. 
He then perceived that her crop had been ripped 
up by a thorn, and to such an extent that its 
contents escaped through the rent. He took the 
bird into the house, where his wife, with the 
assistance of her maid, carefully sewed up, one 
after another, the wounds in the inner and outer 
skins of the crop, rubbed in a little salt butter by 
way of a salve, and set the bird at liberty. Away 
she flew,—but within a very short time, in spite of 
all that had occurred, she had actually returned 
to her eggs, of which, in due time, she succeeded 
in hatching twelve. 
This story appears at first sight so improbable, 
that it is perhaps as well for me to state that I 
have satisfied myself by personal inquiries as to 
its perfect accuracy. 
I have known of two instances in which Gulls, 
