XIV 



GLIMPSES OP WILD LIFE 



So fond am I of seeing Nature reassert her- 

 self that I even found some compensation in the 

 loss of my chickens that bright November night 

 when some wild creature, coon or fox, swept two 

 of them out of the evergreens, and their squawk- 

 ing as they were hurried across the lawn called 

 me from my bed to shout good-by after them. 

 It gave a new interest to the hen-roost, this sud- 

 den incursion of wild nature. I feel bound to 

 caution the boys about disturbing the wild rab- 

 bits that in summer breed in my currant-patch, 

 and in autumn seek refuge under my study floor. 

 The occasional glimpses I get of them about the 

 lawn in the dusk, their cotton tails twinkling in 

 the dimness, afford me a genuine pleasure. I 

 have seen the time when I would go a good way 

 to shoot a partridge ; but I would not have killed, 

 if I could, the one that started out of the vines 

 that cover my rustic porch, as I approached that 

 side of the house one autumn morning. How 

 much of the woods, and of the untamable spirit 



