INTRODUCTION. 19 



nears the trampled spot where the thirsty herds 

 approach the water, he hears the shrill cackle of 

 a blackbird away in the forest some two hundred 

 paces beyond the deer-path, and the screech of 

 a jay accompanied by the warning " pink pink " 

 of a pair of chaffinches coming from a spot 

 nearer to him. Instantly he slips behind the 

 bole of a tree and stands motionless and alert, 

 with an arrow upon the string, for he has re- 

 ceived sure intelligence that some beast of prey 

 is prowling near, and it is necessary that he 

 should gain the fullest information before pro- 

 ceeding. As he stands there, still as the tree- 

 trunks about him, do you imagine that his mind 

 (although the nearest alphabet is ten thousand 

 years off in the future) is sluggish or inactive } 

 It would be well for us if we could bring such 

 keen and apposite thoughts to bear upon our 

 avocations whenever we wished as those which 

 are now coursincr throusfh his brain ! A dozen 

 different theories, suggested by the signs, are 

 being sifted with lightning rapidity and with 

 masterly discretion by the machinery inside of 

 that rugged, weather-beaten head. At the same 

 moment every faculty is keenly astretch for 

 further information which may aid in the con- 



