CHA REES W A TER TON 
35 
“ This heronry was one of his most successful achievements accomplished hy 
the simple mode of attraction I have already described. No sooner had he 
completed the high stone wall that encloses the park than a colony of herons 
settled there, to his intense delight. One of his keenest enjoyments was to take 
his guests up to the telescope-room, where the instrument was always set in the 
direction of the heronry, in order that he might the more completely study the 
habits of its interesting inhabitants, and observe the strange construction of their 
nests, the curious positions they would assume, and the immobility with which 
they would remain standing for a surprising length ol time on one of their long 
legs. As none was ever shot they formed a large community ; for their greater 
delectation, the Squire contrived for them a running stream, by cutting a channel 
in the hill they had chosen to colonise, and as it flowed into the lake, the herons 
might be constantly seen frequenting its course alone or in company. 
“ One is almost forced to believe that the Squire possessed some special mode 
of making himself comprehended in the animal world, at least one is tempted 
thus to account for the mutual good understanding which subsisted between him 
and the inhabitants of his domain. That the poultry in the farmyard should 
cheerily greet him unbidden was not the most astonishing. The peacocks on the 
lawn, however depressing the weather, seemed to vie with each other the moment 
they saw him approach, in strolling eagerly forward, and spreading out the glory 
of their fantails for his delectation. Most remarkable of all, however, was it in 
the woods, where it was impossible not to believe the birds recognised their 
benefactor when one saw them come out to meet him, flying about him as he 
walked, settling on his shoulder, and even on his hand when he held it out to 
them, while a call from his voice would bring them from any distance. 
“ It is a very curious fact that when the good old man died, and his corpse was 
conveyed in a boat across the lake to the spot where his father was buried, and 
where he himself had desired he might be laid in a sequestered nook of the park, 
a flight of birds suddenly appeared, gathering as it went, and followed the boat 
to its destination.” 
Mrs. Pitt Byrne sought his views of the “ future state” of animals, and asked 
him if he did not think that there were indications that they would have their 
part in the after life of human beings. 
He replied rather dryly “ The church has said nothing about it.” 
“ ‘No,’ I replied, ‘but is not that perhaps because of its obviousness? If 
not what does St. Paul mean when he says “The whole creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain until now T ,” meaning the coming of Christ? Does not that, 
therefore, plainly demonstrate that there is no exclusiveness in the liberation of 
all created things ? ’ 
“ ‘ The church,’ he again answered, ‘has not made that an article of faith ; 
let us be content with what we are bound to believe.’ ” 
Walton Hall was a little kingdom, with the old Squire as its recognised 
monarch. His laws were all made to promote the comfort and well being of 
those who had voluntarily become his subjects. He was determined that their 
confidence should be justified, and not only were they supplied with food and 
shelter, but protected, at whatever cost, from molestation. He made streams, 
he planted trees singly, in clumps, in lines, and in forest-like proximity to suit 
the varying needs of his favourites. What was the consequence ? “ No denizen 
of park, lake, or forest at Walton Hall ever testified the smallest fear of molesta- 
tion, all manifesting by their every action their entire confidence in the good faith 
of its owner and its privileged occupants.” 
To baffle poachers he would perch mimic pheasants in the trees. There were 
hundreds of these pious frauds, and their positions were frequently changed with 
acute foresight. 
A curiosity in the park was a tree grown from a peach stone, accidentally cast 
into the hole of an old millstone lying on the grass. “ The trunk had at first filled 
up this hole, but instead of allowing itself to be strangled by it, it had vigorously 
raised the stone from the ground, wearing it like a collar. This, for the Squire, 
represented the vigour with which England supports her huge National Debt.” 
Waterton gave a tenth of all his revenues to the poor. He also dedicated a 
part of a farm to St. Joseph, and most of the produce of “ St. Joseph’s acre” was 
appropriated to pious uses. The ancient custom of annually blessing the fields 
