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beneficial effect on matiy of the present , and will more powerfully influence the next generation of our home-ornithologists . I had been led to think that I had occasionally been somewhat rude , or at least blunt , in my criticisms ; but I do not perceive wherein I have much erred in that respect , and I feel no inclination to neologize . I have been honest and sincere in iny endeavours to promote the truth , With death , apparently not distant before my eyes , I am pleased to think that I have not countenanced error , through fear or favour . Neither have I in any case modified my sentiments so as to endeavour thereby to conceal or palliate my faults .
^ thoug h I might have accomplished more , I am thankful for having been permitted to add very considerably to the knowledge previously obtained of a very pleasant subject . If I have not very frequently indulged in reflections on the power , wisdom , and goodness of God , as suggested by even my imperfect understanding of His wonderful works , it is not because I have not ever been sensible of the relation between the Creator and His creatures , nor because my chief enjoyment when wandering among the hills and valleys , exploring the rugged shores of the ocean , or searching the cultivated fields , has not been in a sense of His presence . ' To Him who alone doeth great wonders / be all glory and praise . Reader , farewell . *'
As we said , lie was a field naturalist , and the fresh mountain breezes salute us from his pages . Much , of their charm lies in his enthusiasm , and in the invigorating pictures of Nature his enthusiasm paints . As an example : — " It is pleasant to hear the bold challenge of the Gor-cock at early dawn on the wild moor remote from human habitation ; where , however , few ornithologists have ever listened to it . I remember with delight the cheering influence of its cry on a cold morning in September , when , wet to the knees , and with a sprained ancle , I had passed the night in a peat bog , in the midst of the Grampians , between the sources of the Tummel and the Dee . Many years ago , when I was of opinion , as I still am , that there is little pleasure in passing through life dry shod and ever comfortable , I was returning to Aberdeen from a botanical excursion through the
Hebrides and the south of Scotland . At Blair Atholl I was directed to a road that leads over the hill , and which I was informed was much shorter than the highway . By it I proceeded until I reached Blair Lodge , where I obtained some refreshment , of which I stood greatly in need . The good woman very benevolently exerted herself to persuade me to remain all night , the hills being , as she said , bleak and dreary , entirely destitute of everything that could afford pleasure to a traveller , and even without human habitationi the nearest house being fifteen miles north . It was now six o ' clock , and I was certain of being benighted ; but I had promised to be at the source of the Dee by noon of next day , and all the dragons of darkness could not have prevented me from at least striving to fulfil my engagement . They had never heard of the spring in question , nor even of the river ; no Cairngorm could be seen : and a woman just arrived from the Spey informed me that I should
be under the necessity of going through Badenoch before I could get to it . I placed more confidence in my travelling map . All however shook their heads when I disclosed my plan , which was to proceed eastward , cross a stream , get to the summit of a ridge of mountains , and so forth , until I should reach the first burn of the Dee , where I expected to meet my friend Craigie . It was sunset when I got to the top of the first hill , whence I struck directly east , judging by the place where the sun disappeared behind the rugged and desolate mountains . After traversing a mile of boggy heath , I found myself put out of my course by a long , deep , rocky valley or ravine , which I was obliged to double ; and before I had accomplished this night fell . I travelled on however about two miles farther , and coming upon another but smaller valley , in which I was apprehensive of breaking my neck if I should venture through it , I sat down by a rock , weary , and covered
with perspiration . Rest is pleasant , even in such a place as this ; and when I had experienced a little of its sweets , I resolved to take up my abode there for the night . So , thrusting my stick into the peat between me and the ravine below , I extended myself on the ground , and presently fell into a reverie , reviewed my life , gave vent to the sorrow of my soul in a thousand reflections on the folly of my conduct , and ended with resolving to amend ! Around me were tho black masses of the granite hills rising to heaven like the giant barriers of an enchanted land ; above , the cloudless sky , spangled with stars ; beneath , a cold bed of wet turf ; within , a human spirit tortured with wild imaginings and the pangs of u sprained foot . ' In such a place , at such a time , ' and in such a mood , what are the vanities of the world , the pomp of power , the prido of renown , and even the pleasures of bird-nesting ! Having in a short time become keenly sensible that a great portion
of vital heat had oozed out of me , I looked out for a warmer situation ; but , alas , with little success ; for although I pulled some stunted heath and white moss , with which 1 covered iny feet , and laid mo down by another crag that afforded more shelter , I could not sleep . After a while , having experienced a fit of shivering , I got up to gather more heath , with which I formed a sort of bed , and lay down again . But even heath was not to be obtained in sufficient quantity , so that for a covering 1 was obliged to bury myself in moss and turf , with the soil adhering . At long , long length , tho sky began to brighten in what 1 supposed to be the north-« iist , and I was anxiously looking for tho approach of morn , when gradually tho pule unwelcome moon rose over a distant hill . It was piercing cold , and I pesr-< 'oivcd that a strolling naturalist , however fervid his temperament , could hardly , if scantily clad , feel comfortable even among moss , in a bog of the ( Irainpians .
What a blessing a jug of hot water would have been to such a stomach as mine , aching with emptiness , and nothing , not even tripo-de-rocho , to bo got to thrust into it . However , morning actually cnnio at last , and I started up to renew my journey . It was now that I got a view of my lodging , which was an amphitheatre fanned of bare craggy bills , covered with fragments of stone and white moss , and separated by patches of peat bog . Not n bonne was to be seen , nor a . sheep , nor < -von a tree , nor ho much as a blade of green grass . Not a vestige of life can bo lound here , thought I ; but I . was reproved by a cry that startled me . The scarlet r « st and bright eye of a moor-cock wore suddenly protruded from a tuft of heather , a » d I hoard with delight tho well-known kok , kok , of the ' blessed bird , ' as tho
Highlanders call him . It was a good omen ; the night and dulness had fled , and ' limped along us cheerily as 1 could . My half frozen blood noon regained its proper temperature ; ore long I reached the base of tho rocky ridgo , and after panning noino hills , traversing a long valley , and ascending a mountain of considerable height , I took out my map , and looking eastward below me , saw , to my great Ratisfaotion , a rivulet running for . several miles directly in the course marked . I was assured that this stream , whether tho source or not , ran into the Dee , as it proceeded eastward ; and therefore I directed iny steps toward it . But here too a « ootio occurred which gave ino great pleasure . Some low croaking sounds came from fcuiong tho iioh « M arouud m « , and presently afbar a splendid flock of grey ptarmi
gans , about fifty in number , rose into the air , and whirred past me , on their way to the opposite eminence . On the brow of the hill I found two large fountains , the sources of the stream below , of each of which I drank a mouthful , and proceeded . My friend , however , was not to be seen ; but it was too early ; and so to pass the time I explored another of the sources of the rivulet , that rose farther up in the glen . But at length , the scene became too dreary to be endured ^ desolate mountains , on whose rugged sides lay patches of snow that the summers' suns had failed to melt ; wild glens , scantily covered with coarse grass , heath , and lichens ; dark brown streams , gushing among crags and blocks , unenlivened even by a clump of stunted willows;—and I followed the rivulet , judging that it would lead to the river , and the river to the sea . For seven long miles I trudged along , faint enough , as you may suppose , having obtained no refreshment for eighteen hours , excepting two mouthfuls of cold water ; so that even the multitudes of grouse that sprung up around me , ceased to give much pleasure , although I had never before started so many , even with a dog , in a space of equal extent . "
" Tell me , " said Nazi , " for you are wise , how is it Love brings all this sorrow into the world ? " Indeed , philosophers who probe the delicate secrets of the heart will find something curiously perplexing in the quarrelsomeness Love seems to engender not only in human beings but in animals . Read this on the black grouse : — " Like the polygamous , or rather promiscuously-breeding quadrupeds , such as the stag , the males separate from the females and young , and during autumn and winter keep by themselves in small flocks , living together in harmony . Towards the middle of spring they separate , quarrel whenever they meet , and engage in desperate combats , in which several individuals frequently join . So intent are they on this occupation that a person may easily get near enough to shoot them . At this season the supraocular space assumes a deeper red , and the bird manifests alle writers
much activity and vivacity , but the gloss of its plumage , as ged by some , following the popular notion that in the breeding season all birds are more gorgeously apparelled , is not brighter than in winter . Although destitute of spurs , it fig hts in the same manner as the domestic cock , lowering its head , erecting and spreading its tail , and leaping against its adversary , endeavouring to drive him off and if possible tear him to pieces . These combats , hoxvever , are less bloody than those of our game-cocks , although they are engaged in with so much earnestness that an unscrupulous fowler might easily carry destruction among the gallants . A cock who has beaten off his opponents from his favourite station , betakes himself to it morning and evening , struts in a pompous manner , with spread tail , and stiffened wings rustling against the ground , calls aloud with a harsh grating voice , and invites the neighbouring females , or rather challenges those of his own sex within hearing to come forward and dispute his claims to the favour of his elect bride . When this season of excitement is over , the male 3 , forgetting their animosities , meet together , and endeavour to recruit their diminished energies by following
their ordinary occupations in peace . We must return to these volumes for other pleasant extracts , and now break off with—¦ THE SCHOOLBOY ' S PET . " The boys in the Outer Hebrides often attempt to rear young doves , but their cares are seldom continued long enough . They introduce the food , dry barley grain , by tho side of the mouth , which occasions inflammatio n and swelling of tho basal margins of the mandibles . When a boy , I had a young rock dove , which I fed for some time in this manner , until the bill became tumid and sore , when , in consequence of advice from a friend , I took a mouthful of barley and water , and
introduced the pigeon ' s bill , when the bird soon satisfied itself , flapping its wings gently and uttering a low cry all the while . It grew up vigorously , shed the yellow down-tips of its feathers , and began to fly about . Towards the middle of autumn it renewed its plumage , and assumed the bright and beautiful tints of tho adult male . Whenever I escaped from the detested pages of Virgil and Horaco , the pigeon was sure to fly to me , and sometimes alighted on my head or shoulder , directing its bill towards my mouth , and flapping its wings . Nor did it ever fly off with the wild pigeons , which almost every day fed near the house , although it had no companions of its own species . At length some fatal whim induced it to make an excursion to a village about a mile distant , when it alighted on the roof
of a but , and the boys pelted it dead with stones . Long and true was my sorrow for my lost companion , tho remembrance of which will probably continue as long as lifc . I have since mourned the loss of a far dearer dove . They were gentle and lovely ' beings ; but while the one has been blended with the elements , the other remains ' bid with Christ in God , ' and for it I ' mourn not as those who have no hope . ' " What a touching retrospection , linking tho happy days of childhood with tho grave and saddened days of manhood !
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TI 1 K LANDSCAPE PAINTKR , IN CALABRIA . Journals of a Landscape Fainter in Southern Calabria , Sfc . 13 y Edward Lear . Bontloy . A moke thoroughly fascinating volume of travels it would be diflieult to name . Mr . Edward Lear is a painter with the pen as well as with tho pencil ; and , unlike the generality of those who endeavour to reprodueo in words the images of beauty they have moved among in their travels , he has no affectations either of rhetoric or enthusiasm . Mr . Lear eschewn "imaginings , " but is vivid iu his landscapes . The consequence is , that wo accompany bin wanderings with a freHh and healthy sense of the lovolincHH of Nature , and participate in the emotions those scenes excited m
him . A style like his would make the beaten track agreeable , but he lias the further incalculable advantage of a subject as yet unworn by tour / Nts . Calabria ,, the land of romance , has been " seldom visited , rarely described . The name suggests Salvator Rosa and Mrs . Kadclide , with all their collateral associations of mountain fastnesses , caves , torrents , hmu its , midnight murders , and " one-handed" monkn . M r . Lear saw no bandits , not even a pointed lint ; en revanche , his eyes were feasted witli a prodigality of loveliness ; and if , will be difficult for his readers—at Joust o * the peripatetic class—to resist , following in his footsteps . Ho and his friend travelled on foot—by far the most agreeable method —accompanied by an excellent guide , upon whoso horse the small baggage was carried . There are few inns on this unfrequented route ,. and tho travellers therefore lived in tho houses of the various noblemen to whom they had letter * of introduction * Thi « oC itself wag a moat fortunate
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Oaf < ftWM % 1852 . ] fl-fl ' B LEADER . *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 9, 1852, page 973, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1955/page/17/
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