THROUGH WILD EUROPE 257 



to wait at these nests for a photograph of the birds, 

 as I did last year, but the water was excessively 

 deep, and it was only with great difficulty that I 

 could reach some of the nests at all. My man 

 always looked very anxious when I left the boat 

 and disappeared from his sight into the depths of 

 the reed-bed, and very relieved when I turned up 

 again all right. 



For the sake of identification I shot, as I thought, 

 a pair of birds, for one of them had such long plumes 

 that I felt sure it was a male. On dissection, 

 however, they both proved to be females. 



Marco couldn't accompany me on this last day, 

 for his old father had died on the previous day, after 

 an illness of some weeks. I had seen him only four 

 days before, when the poor old chap, then on his 

 death-bed, crawled out of bed and tottered to his 

 feet in order to examine my gun, and have the 

 action explained to him. It was a striking example 

 of the love of arms so universal in these countries, 

 and a case of ' the ruling passion strong in death,' 

 for within four days he was dead from exhaustion, 

 having been unable to retain any food for some 

 weeks. 



I went to the funeral, and a most painful scene it 



was ; for these people, so hardy and so accustomed 



to bloodshed, are as simple and as emotional as 



children. Marco, big as he was, fairly lifted up his 

 17 



