308 
WILD NORWAY. 
thirty yards, in a moment it disappeared. Thinking the 
bird was on her nest, we gave her two minutes to settle, 
then stood up and walked forward, when she rose 
vertically in air, hovering around with loud cries, but 
always at full a hundred yards’ distance. The black 
tail was very conspicuous, with the legs extended beyond. 
We had carefully marked the spot, took our lines, and 
in a few minutes the four beautiful pear-shaped eggs of 
the Black-tailed Godwit—one of the chief prospective 
prizes of this journey—lay beneath my eyes. This was 
real good work and a good start, for the godwit is scarce 
and the area vast. 
The nest was slight, quite open, and the eggs about 
half-incubated, having presumably been laid about 
April 25th. We returned home exultant, amidst a 
chorus of wild bird-notes, the weird long-drawn trill 
of dunlins, and the croaking of millions of frogs. 
That evening a curious incident occurred. It hap¬ 
pened to be the night selected by the good folks of the 
village for their weekly gathering, and the sitting-room 
of the inn presently filled with a good-humoured 
company on social thoughts intent. Cards and coffee, 
music, chaff and comic songs were the programme, and 
merriment ruled ; while one young fellow’s singing and 
44 break-down ” dance (his long pipe hanging backwards 
over his shoulder) might have made his fortune 
at a music-hall. In simple compliment to us, the 
strains of 44 Home, Sweet Home,” 44 God save the 
Queen,” even 44 Ta-ra-ra, Boom de-ay,” were several 
times repeated,, and every one wished to be agreeable 
to the foreigners. There was a tall and superbly 
uniformed official in blue and brass, whom A., I think, 
