. By night, at least, even here, in the still
silence, Heaven has her own way.

When the oak leaves first begin to turn buff, and the first acorns drop,
the redwings arrive, and their "kuk-kuk" sound in the hedges and the
shrubberies in the gardens of suburban villas. They seem to come very
early to the neighbourhood of London, and before the time of their
appearance in other districts. The note is heard before they are seen;
the foliage of the shrubberies, still thick, though changing colour,
concealing them. Presently, when the trees are bare, with the exception
of a few oaks, they have disappeared, passing on towards the west. The
fieldfares, too, as I have previously observed, do not stay. But
missel-thrushes seem more numerous near town than in the country.

Every mild day in November the thrushes sing; there are meadows where
one may be certain to hear the song-thrush. In the dip or valley at Long
Ditton there are several meadows well timbered with elm, which are the
favourite resorts of thrushes, and their song may be heard just there in
the depth of winter, when it would be possible to go a long distance on
the higher ground without hearing one. If you hear the note of the
song-thrush during frost it is sure to rain within a few hours; it is
the first sign of the weather breaking up.

Another autumn sign is the packing (in a sense) of the moorhens. During
the summer the numerous brooks and ponds about town are apparently
partially deserted by these birds; at least they are not to be seen by
casual wayfarers. But directly the winter gets colder they gather
together in the old familiar places, and five or six, or even more, come
out at once to feed in the meadows or on the lawns by the water.

Green plovers, or peewits, come in small flocks to the fields recently
ploughed; sometimes scarcely a gunshot from the walls of the villas. The
tiny golden-crested wrens are comparatively numerous near town--the
heaths with their bramble thickets doubtless suit them; so soon as the
leaves fall they may often be seen.

HERBS

A great green book, whose broad pages are illuminated with flowers, lies
open at the feet of Londoners. This volume, without further preface,
lies ever open at Kew Gardens, and is most easily accessible from every
part of the metropolis. A short walk from Kew station brings the visitor
to Cumberland Gate. Resting for a moment upon the first seat that
presents itself, it is hard to realise t