146 BIRDS IN LONDON 



excitement among Londoners, as is proved by 

 the numbers of people that have crowded the 

 bridges and embankments to watch their move- 

 ments. To a considerable portion of these, no 

 doubt, the marvellous flight and power of wing 

 of the gull came as an absolute revelation.' 



Gulls came up the river in still greater force 

 during the exceptionally long and severe frost 

 of 1892-3. That was a memorable season in 

 the history of the London gulls. Then, for the 

 last time, gulls were shot on the river between 

 the bridges, and this pastime put a stop to by 

 the police magistrates, who fined the sportsmen 

 for the offence of discharging firearms to the 

 public danger. And then for the first time, so 

 far as I know, the custom of regularly feeding 

 the gulls in London had its beginning. Every 

 day for a period of three to four weeks hundreds 

 of working men and boys would take advantage 

 of the free hour at dinner time to visit the 

 bridges and embankments, and give the scraps 

 left from their meal to the birds. The sight 

 of this midday crowd hurrying down to the 

 waterside with welcome in their faces and food 

 in their hands must have come ' as an absolute 

 revelation ' to the gulls. 



