The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-08-28
THE SEA-MARSHo
The Delights of Solitude i'm a Boat.

| birds one could see nothing but
dull, uniform, impalpable sheet hung
before the eyes. Sea met sky; but 1t
was impossible to say where The
stream of birds seemed 20 end not
far away, but all the time as one
looked, the meaningless blank at the
! tail OF the stream would tremble and
| twinkle, and then burst and -catter
m movement as more and more birds
came into sight. They grew out OF
| the sky. as the conjurer's propertie;
out of nothing. Thousands and
| thousands they came-clouds of
| starlings, lattallons OF rocks, jack
davis flying in friendly unison WITH
the rocks for the old hostility of the
spring was forgotten and the coming
| hostility not foreseen), ployers, ami
on the edges of the column scattered
| larks, vedettes of the invading army.
But now in these winter days all
these birds are distributed about the
country, perhaps ignorant OF whence
they came and whittier they viii 80
when the migratory instinct shall
grip them again. Thousands of gray
crows-"Danes" the Norfolk people
call them-always remain faithful,
however, to these marshes, and with
a vigor which they had not when the
first tapped down exhausted on the
beach, eroak their unceasing warn
ings at you from the gates and dyke
bridges.
1t was at sunset on certain Gay
recently when we left the comfort
able cabin of the boat with our guns
to wait behind the bank of creek
70" shot at the fighting duck.
Every morning at dawn the ducks,
which have fed all night in the
marshes and fields, flight" out to
sea, where they :oost all day, to re-
turn to their feeding grounds at dusk
in the evening. The chilly saffron
lights in the west cleaned on the
mudbanks. The frozen grass crum-
pied like pie-crust under our feet as
we walked. The air was filed with
the cries of birds, which became more
and more distinct as the world inland
became more silent. The beat of
harmless waves on the sand-barriers
beyond IL ! fats made a monotone
which was almost like silence. The
high ground inland ingled with the
inky cloudbank, but still a churc.l
with nobly proportloned tower
stood up clear and grand, and seemed
to be thrusting its way across the
horizon like a great liner on q sabl:
ocean.
The darkness increased. a pa
ment of ducks in a mere inland
quacked out a noisy discussion
Stints, knots, and curlews told one
another without ceasing that tht
night had come. The sucking, gurg
ling sounds waxed in the creek as the
tide flowed; the ice was rert witt
! continuous small explosions as the
, water heaved it upward. Surely thu
ducks must have all passed over ou
heads already, very high up. as thei
. custom is, when there is no wind.
gale is necessary to beat them down
, Just when we had almost given III
hope a quacking sound from the Sc;
came near and louder and the ali
shivered with the whirr of wings
One might have fancied strang
/ things in that dark, eerie space, afte
: the long wait with strained eyes ant
, ears. The beating Of the dark wing
5 might have been mystical tongues
l Hundreds of ducks passed too higl
; up for shot, but three came rathe
: lower, with meteoric curve, aimini
for the dyke behind us. 1t was
, longish shot, but the choke barre
Y carried far enough, and the satisfac
3 tory thud of one of the three fallin
l on the frozen earth proclaimed NOR
r than one could see. That was al
! right, and the dogs nose would no
S fail because it was dark. More wing
= beat over our heads; bird whistle
: past like a bullet and came down o.
{ to the ice behind, but it was invisi
= BILE. Our bag was the smallest posi-
Y BILE, it is true, lut the bag did nc
9 matter; the experience was one O
those that count in the memory of
e lifetime.-The Spectator.