Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
seemed to stretch to the Antipodes) in order to leave the 
bed free for some other loveliness. 
May 1 8. — Rain. I am not surprised. The Cheviot 
Hills looked so clear and distinct and lovely in lights and 
shadows last night ! — too lovely by far. 
May 19. — There is a Tit’s nest at the bottom of the old 
disused pump by the garden with, as far as I can see, four 
eggs in it. The gardener’s wife says there was one last 
year, and it was so far down that the young birds were 
unable to get out, and she first fed them for a while and 
finally had to help them out. This was achieved with no 
little difficulty. There is a Hedge-sparrow’s nest in the 
beech-hedge by the pottage-garden. This old word is 
probably a corruption of the French potager. An old 
Scotch term for broth with vegetables in it is “ pottage,” 
probably also from the French. In this nest there are 
several eggs. The ditch below is full of water, and the 
bank is marked by what Gardener expressively terms the 
“ padding ” of the children’s feet as on their daily walk to 
school they take a peep at it. This is a very old Scotch 
expression. I have not seen any Swallows yet, though I 
believe some Sand-martins, sometimes called Bank-martins, 
were seen a few days ago hawking by the river. Gardener 
calls them Cranes, which is a curious misnomer I cannot 
find any explanation of. They inhabit the bank of the 
river under the overhanging trees. Odd old names for the 
Swift were “ Deviling ” and “ Squealer,” and the ancient 
Britons called him “ Martin Du.” Does that mean the 
Black Swallow? Certainly the Swallow has a very black 
back and wings, while the Martin is rather dark blue. In 
the ‘‘ Tales of the Alhambra,” Washington Irving describes 
delightfully how the ragged “ Sons of the Alhambra ” amuse 
themselves by angling from the battlements of the old 
palace for the Martlets who circle round the towers, build- 
ing unmolested everywhere. Golondrino is the Spanish name 
for a Swallow, also the cant name for a deserting soldier. 
The Arabic name for the Swallow is El Hadji, or the 
Pilgrim. There is a German legend, I think, that long 
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