300 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



is so characteristic of the British boy. 



What are you to do ? You cannot send 

 them back, for the roads and footpaths are 

 as free for them as for you, a fact which 

 they are slow neither to see nor to announce- 

 It will never do to let them follow you to 

 your hunting ground, for if left to them- 

 selves they will whoop and halloo till they 

 make all ring again, and if you try to im- 

 press on them the necessity of being quiet 

 each one will be so intent on keeping all the 

 rest still that he will make more noise than 

 ever, like a Sheriff in a police-court, crying 

 " Order " and " Silence in court "till nobody 

 can hear another word. Happy are you if 

 you are near the homestead of a friendly 

 farmer, or gateway of some private grounds 

 which you are privileged to enter. Grace- 

 fully bidding adieu to your perhaps uninten- 

 tional tormenters, and warning them not to 

 follow, with mysterious hints of the big dog 

 or the game keeper, you heave a sigh of 

 relief and wend your way in peace and 

 quietness. Should no such refuge, however, 

 present itself, your best course will be to 

 ehoose a comfortable bank, bestow yourself 

 thereupon, take out your note book and 

 begin to write. The youngsters will not 

 stacri much of that : it reminds them too 

 much of school, impositions, home lessons, 

 and such like bug-bears. Your patience 

 vcill not be put to a very severe test ; one 

 by one they will tr. op off, leaving the coast 

 clear at last. Y. u have lost half-an-hour, 

 may be, for it will not do to move till the 

 last is out of sight, but you have rid yourself 

 of your unwelc- me attendants. It is a 

 better plan than bribing them to go away, 

 for if once they've tasted the sweets of 

 bribery and corruption you are never safe 

 from them— they are ever on the lock out 

 for the chance of le\'ying black mail on any 

 unfortunate entomologist who may chance 

 to come that way. 



The pond hunter fares somewhat better 

 than his insect-loving friend, but he has his 

 annoyances occasionally. Fortunately for 



him, he can, if so inclined, entirely concea 

 his implements. His jars, or wide-mouthed 

 bottles, filled with corks that will admit air 

 and yet prevent water spilling, can be 

 carried in a small basket if too large or too 

 numerous for his pockets ; his net, smaller 

 than the entomologist's, can be made to fold 

 in two ; his rod is simply a walking stick : 

 and thus equipped he can stalk through a 

 regiment of the most inquisitive boys with- 

 out attracting notice. No ! his troubles are 

 likely to begin after he has arrived at his 

 hunting ground, the margin, say, of some 

 old pond ia the middle of a pasture field. 

 For a while his fate permits him to search 

 in quietness, but soon — far too soon — 

 appears the "boy,'* whose mission in life 

 seems to be to turn up just when he isn't 

 wanted. Presently he begins: " Hey, mis- 

 ter, are you fishin' ? it's no use fishin' in 

 that pond, there's never nowt in it nobbut 

 deead cats and dogs ! " Now which shall 

 you do ? If you ignore his presence he 

 will probably take offence and show it, not 

 by taking himself off in a dignified manner 

 as you or I might do, but by staying and 

 making himself unpleasant. And if you 

 come to think of it, a boy's capacity for 

 making himself disagreeable, when he gives 

 his mind to it, is — well it is simply unlimited. 

 Perhaps the best and kindest way is to take 

 him into your confidence, make a friend of 

 him, and tell him what you are doing and 

 why you are doing it. True, you run the 

 risk of being set down in his mental note 

 book as a person of weak intellect ; but as 

 that is not an indictable offence it need not 

 disturb either your sleep or your digestion. 

 One or two boys can be managed with a 

 little tact and knowledge of human nature, 

 but when it comes to a shoal of them, the 

 best plan usually is to gather up traps and 

 walk away to find a quieter spot. 



But if you want to hear a tale of woe 

 indeed, cultivate the acquaintance of an 

 amateur aquarium keeper, and let him pour 

 his griefs into your sympathetic ear. There 



