CHAP. VI.] His Ambuscades. 101 
they did not venture to disturb him. If they were out, they 
did the same, except on one occasion, when a badger endeav- 
ored to dislodge him, showing his teeth. He was obliged 
to shoot it. He could often have shot deers and hares, 
which came close up to where he was; but they were for- 
bidden animals, and he resisted the temptation. He shot 
owls and polecats from his ambuscades. Numbers of moths 
came dancing about him, and many of these he secured and 
boxed, sending them to their long sleep with a little drop 
of chloroform. When it rained heavily, he drew in his 
head and his gun, and slept until the first streaks of light 
appeared on the horizon; and then he came out of his hole 
and proceeded with his operations. 
At other times he would take up his quarters for the 
night in some disused buildings—in a barn, a ruined castle, 
or a church-yard. He usually obtained better shelter in 
such places than if he were seated by the side of a stone, a 
bush, or a wall. His principal objection to them was, that 
he had a greater number of visitors there than elsewhere— 
such as polecats, weasels, bats, rats, and mice, not to speak 
of hosts of night-wandering insects, mollusks, beetles, slat- 
ers, centipedes, and snails. Think of having a polecat or a 
weasel sniff-sniffing at your face while asleep! or two or 
three big rats tug-tugging at your pockets, and attempting 
to steal away your larder! These visitors, however, did not 
-always prove an annoyance. On the contrary, they some- 
times proved a windfall; for, when they came within reach, 
they were suddenly seized, examined, and, if found necessa- 
ry, killed, stuffed, and added to the collection. 
The coldest places in which Edward slept at night were 
among the rocks by the sea-side, on the shingle, or on the 
sea-braes along the coast. When exposed to the east wind, 
these sleeping-places were perishingly cold. When he went 
inland, he could obtain better shelter. In summer-time, es- 
pecially, he would lie down on the grass and sleep soundly, 
with the lock of his gun for his pillow and the canopy of 
