Notices of New Books. 3017 



perty, but ' calculating ' that it was a ' tarnation sight ' harder for 

 him to get possession of it ; and concluding by asserting in unquali- 

 fied terms his entire disbelief in the whole story. Captain Johnson's 

 object, however, being rather to recover his falcon than to pick a 

 quarrel with the trucculent Yankee, he had, fortunately, sufficient self- 

 command to curb his indignation, and proposed that his claim to the 

 ownership of the bird should be at once put to the test by an experi- 

 ment, which several Americans, who were present, admitted to be 

 perfectly reasonable, and in which their countryman was at last per- 

 suaded to acquiesce. It was this ; Captain Johnson was to be ad- 

 mitted to an interview with the hawk (who, by the way, had as yet 

 shown no partiality for any person since her arrival in the New World, 

 but on the contrary had rather repelled all attempts at familiarity), 

 and if at this meeting she should not only exhibit such unequivocal 

 signs of attachment and recognition as should induce the majority of 

 the bystanders to believe that he really was her original master, but 

 especially if she should play with the buttons of his coat, then the 

 American was at once to waive all claim to her. The trial was imme- 

 diately made. The Yankee went up stairs, and shortly returned with 

 the falcon, but the door was hardly opened before she darted from his 

 fist and perched at once on the shoulder of her beloved and long 

 lost protector, evincing, by every means in her power, her delight and 

 affection, rubbing her head against his cheek, and taking hold of the 

 buttons of his coat and champing them playfully between her mandi- 

 bles, one after another. This was enough : the jury were unanimous. 

 A verdict for the plaintiff was pronounced : even the obdurate heart 

 of the sea captain was melted, and the falcon was at once restored to 

 the arms of her rightful owner." — Page 177. 



Pheasants. " The habit of crowing, indulged in at all hours of the 

 day during the breeding-season, is not restricted to the purposes of 

 love or the hour of rest. The same note is uttered on quitting his 

 perch at early dawn, and the sound of thunder or distant cannon 

 never fails to produce it. How often, though at a distance of thirty 

 miles, have I heard it elicited by the booming of the Portsmouth guns, 

 when the weather was calm, or the wind in a favourable quarter. But 

 the most remarkable instance of this kind that ever came underbuy 

 notice, occurred on the 11th of March, 1850. It was a clear sunny 

 day, the air cold and frosty, with a gentle breeze from the north-east. 

 I had been riding through Charlton Forest, and had just begun to 

 descend the northern slope of the downs by a rugged path, above the 

 village of Graffham, when I was induced to halt for a moment to 

 IX. G 



