264 The Turkey Family 



trifle of swallowing without too much mastication. 

 I swallowed blindly and bravely until a paragraph 

 was reached which described the swimming which 

 " they do dexterously enough, spreading their 

 tails for a support, closing their wings to the body, 

 stretching the neck forward, and striking out 

 quickly and forcibly with their legs. If, in thus 

 endeavoring to regain the land, they approach an 

 elevated or inaccessible bank, their exertions are 

 remitted, they resign themselves to the stream for 

 a short time, in order to gain strength, and then, 

 with one violent effort, escape from- the water." 



I was astonished ! Wilson, of all men, to make 

 such a statement, when I knew that a turkey 

 could not swim any better than a brickbat ! Then 

 came the soothing recollection that Wilson him- 

 self did not write the turkey matter, it being in 

 the " Continuation " by Bonaparte. This was not 

 so bad, but still the princely author was wrong. 

 But how to prove it? Easy enough. There 

 was a farmer near by who had turkeys of wild 

 blood, and the river sang below. To get into a 

 punt, paddle to the landing, beg the temporary 

 loan of a young gobbler from the fattening pen, 

 were all simple matters. 



" Wot the divvul fur ? " queried the jolly Mile- 

 sian when the object of the call had been ex- 

 plained. 



"Oh, you'll see!" was all the explanation, as 



