
KIDD’S OWN JOURNAL. 

205 

THE DECAY OF NATURE. 

Trip along lightly down by the dingle, 
Autumn returneth all hazy and chill; 
Here, with the hedgerow and forest commingle, 
Soft be your footfall and silent your will. 
Nature is moaning, the leaves too are falling, 
Just as the tears of the sorrowful fall ; 
Rocking and bending as if they were calling 
Unto the fallen to answer the call. 
Trip along lightly, the damp air is moving 
Heavy and dull, as onward it streams; 
Autumnal aspects have something worth loving, 
Something to linger with memory’s dreams. 
What though there’s nothing around thee 
retaining 
Aught of its hue but the brightevergreen? _ 
Trip along lightly, and mark that the waning 
Still has a glory in yon golden screen. 
Trip along lightly over the dying, 
Clothing the earth with their beautiful hue ; 
Think you the leaflets so plentiful flying 
Come as a warning in silence to you ? 
Unto thy feet the decay’d ones are clinging, 
Earthy and damp is the smell which they bring; 
Trip along lightly, for violets were springing 
Here when, in gladness, you welcomed the 
Spring. 
J. Hi. Toomeson. 
A VISIT TO WALTON HALL, 

THE NAME OF CHARLES WATERTON, in- 
separable as it is from his lovely palace of 
living animals—Walton Hall, will ever be 
regarded with reverence by all who love to 
see the “lower creation” happy. We there- 
fore gladly give insertion to the following 
sketch of a visit paid to Walton Hall, in 
July of the present year, by Mr. THomas 
Lister, of Barnsley, and sent to us direct : 
This morning, Mr. Editor (July 28, 1853), 
I fulfilled a long-promised visit to Walton 
Hall, accompanied by a few friends ; ardent 
lovers of natural history. I took the mail, 
with three of the party, as far as Sandal. 
We walked from thence to Walton Hall, in 
a drizzling rain, very unpromising for our 
day’s excursion. On our arrival, we repaired 
to the grotto to take our repast. 
When near to the place, a cry, as of some 
rapacious bird, was heard from the trees 
overhead. It was a call not by any 
means familiar to us; but we made up our 
minds to make it out before we left the 
grounds. During our unceremonious meal, 
before a cheering fire (provided by the good 
owner of the domain), we were called forth 
by other sounds. One of these was a con- 
stant cry of “tezezet, tzet, tzet!” We traced 
it to the beautiful gold-crested wren, which 
abounds about this closely-wooded place, 
where I had twice observed it on former 
visits. We had as good a view of it through 
my telescope as its restless habits would 
permit ; also of several pairs of bullfinches, 
revealed by their low piping note. 
After dinner, I ascended the elevated 
terrace above fhe pleasure grounds ; and 
drawn by the strange call first alluded to, I 
saw amongst the tall and graceful spruces, 
with their young green cones pendent, near 
the longer brown ones of last year, a bird- 
like figure, which on applying the Dollond, 
proved to be a young kestrel. My summons 
instantly broke up a legal discussion of my 
friends, seated in a niche below; and they 
readily availed themselves of the clearly- 
revealing glass to inspect the bird. This 
instrument is far more to be recommended to 
the field naturalist, than the exterminating 
gun. 
We saw, afterwards, the old birds, both 
on the trees, and taking short flights to lure 
their young. Some had the appearance in 
flight, of the kestrel, others of the sparrow- 
hawk. One, partially viewed through the 
| telescope, by its darker brown back, proved 
it to belong to the latter species, rather than 
to the former, marked by the reddish brown 
tinge of its feathers. Here we were joined 
by a juvenile member of our party, too late 
for the start, having been detained by the 
unpropitious aspect of the morning. But 
the day had now cleared up; and having let 
him feast on our intellectual as well as phy- 
sical treat, we all proceeded to the Hall. 
Crossing the surrounding lake, by its 
guardian bridge,and the old ivied tower—now 
peopled by owls and starlings, we reached the 
entrance hall. ‘There was the worthy master ; 
whose white head, tall, spare, but enduring 
frame, and firm-stepping, upright figure, 
bespoke the veteran naturalist—the veri- 
table WATERTON himself. Busied with some 
parting guests, he could not show us more 
attention than to permit us to see the house. 
We were first struck with a figure of the 
chimpanzee, amongst many striking objects 
in the ante-room. He was decked out like 
a jolly elector, with the motto, “The Whigs 
and Tories have taught me to sell my vote 
to the highest bidder.”” ‘There was a splendid 
glass case, containing several fine pairs of 
toucans, and what he calls in his works 
toucanets. Also the richly-tinted yellow 
and red casiques, with their curious pendent 
nests. These remarkable birds, larger than 
the starling, occur again on the staircase, 
with reference, as in other instances, to de- 
scriptions in his Wanderings and Essays; 
copies of which lie for the use of visitors. In 
addition to the splendor of their tints, they 
-have characteristics of imitative fun equal 
to those of the mocking-bird of the northern 
division of America. 
At the foot of the staircase a scarlet 
curlew, and a huge ant-bear, strike the eye; 

