ll as all
night long.

I am ashamed to say that all three boys very soon tired of botanising,
and were searching about the shady paths for anything or nothing, as the
case might be. Now it was after butterflies; now the discordant cry of
the jay told of its nest being, at hand; while every now and then the
scampering rustle of a rabbit amidst the underwood would start the boys
off in full chase, and in almost every instance the fruit of their hunt
was, seeing the little white tail of the rabbit as its owner scuffled
down its hole under some hazel stub. Once, while they were deep in the
thickest shade, Philip gave a regular jump, for a great brown owl
started from its roosting-place in an oak-tree, and softly and slowly
flapped its way down the dell, but soon to have its flight quickened by
a host of sandmartins, which began to mob the stolid-looking old fellow,
till they all passed out of sight in a curve of the pathway.

Mr and Mrs Inglis were resting in a rustic seat placed opposite one of
the openings in the trees, where there was a splendid view right out to
sea; and while Mr Inglis was scanning the horizon with his telescope,
the lads felt themselves quite at liberty to have a good ramble. Their
first excursion was right round the hill, down in the trench, and here
there was plenty to have taken their attention for a day: there was an
ant-hill, swarming with those great black ants found in the woods, whose
hill looks one lightly shovelled-up collection of earth: then, close at
hand, they heard the regular "tip-tap" of the great green woodpecker;
the harsh "pee-pee-peen" of the wryneck; while, from far off, floating
upon the soft breeze, came the sweet bell-tones of the cuckoo. Directly
after, came again the harsh cry of the jay, to be succeeded by the soft
cooing of the cushat doves; and every interval was filled up by the
bursts of song from the small finches, thrushes, and other denizens of
the wooded hill. In one fir tree there was a pair of tiny gold-crested
wrens, beautiful little birds, which seemed to consider that their
insignificance was quite enough to keep them from harm. So tame were
they that they could have been struck down by a stick, which would have
been their fate but for the interposition of Philip, who seized his
brother's arm as he was raising his hand to deal the blow. In a
box-tree they found the pretty covered-in nest of a bottle-tit,
beautifully compact, with its tiny opening or doo