132 Sea ^ Shore Birds 



One's nerves give way, I suppose. 



It was very mean and very ungallant ; but laugh 

 I did. 



I remember, too — and that time I laughed im- 

 moderately — how another lady fell over a rock into 

 a gorse bush ; and, although she did not spoil her 

 beauty (for it would take a good deal to do t^at), 

 wounded her very distinguee nose, by the fact of a 

 large gorse-prickle sticking exactly in the tip of it. 



And she wounded my feelings by the fact that she 

 declared it was my fault ; and wouldn't allow me to 

 come to the rescue by extracting that prickle ! More- 

 over, I wounded hers by my laughter. 



So we were all wounded together ! 



But this, like our luncheons amongst the rocks and 

 the sea-pink, is a digression. 



As we sit eating as voraciously as the cormorants 

 which are diving for fish not far off, a pair of ringed 

 plover are tippeting about, crying " Tluy-tluy ; " and, 

 our luncheon having disappeared, I walk off along the 

 stony shore to find their eggs. 



Sometimes one comes across them accidentally at 

 once ; another day one may search for a length of 

 time before discovering them. 



Ah ! there they are on the sand, amongst the 

 pebbles, by some tussocks of sea-grass — four, pale buff^, 

 very pointed at one end, and dotted over, especially on 

 the larger part, with brown spots and little blotches. 

 The pointed ends lie inwards, meeting one another. 



They are evidently far on in incubation, for they 

 are heavy and quite warm. 



