Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
Church Reformation, to desecrate religious terms and 
belittle what before was reverenced ? — as to this day, for 
instance, if the brose be singed, there is talk of the Pope's 
toe or the Bishop’s foot. 
There is a Squirrel’s nest in the Dene, but too high up 
in the old Larch for me to examine it, or, indeed, dis- 
tinguish much more than a mass of sticks. The nest is 
called a Drey in Hampshire, but has no distinctive name 
here that I can find. 
I should like to see it close ; Squirrel-babies I should 
fancy delightful, but perhaps they are as unlovely as most 
bird-babes in early youth. I know Rabbit-babies in very 
early blind childhood are very ugly, just like tiny Hippo- 
potami, but they are very pretty when big enough to skip 
about. There is nothing prettier than to see, as I did the 
other day, when cycling home over Laverock Law, hosts of 
tiny Rabbits sitting out, enjoying the cool of the evening, on 
the grass by the roadside in the shadow of the Beech hedges, 
and at the tinkling sound of the cycle-bell scurrying off on 
either side through the hedge into the field where the sleepy 
sheep were feeding, or into the deep shadows of the firwood 
amongst the bracken fern. Once a very small Rabbit did not 
scoot across the “ causey ” quick enough, and he was sent 
flying by the cycle. It is curious how, when one is cycling, 
Rabbits come out of the hedge and invariably cross over 
just in front of the cycle, when it would seem they would 
be so much better hidden by just remaining in their tracks. 
Once I saw a small Weasel cross the road before me, closely 
followed, to my great surprise, by a large Rabbit ! It is 
curious that, though Scotch people do not misplace the 
unhappy letter H as Londoners, and I believe Northamp- 
tonshire folk do, yet these Borderers sometimes insert it. I 
have heard it in the word “weasel,” pronounced “wheasel.” 
A Hawk was seen the other day pursued by a Crow, and 
then suddenly the Hawk wheeled round and pursued the 
Crow. I should like to have seen it. 
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