[Illustration: The Lark’s Nest.] MORE TALES OF THE BIRDS BY W. WARDE FOWLER AUTHOR OF “A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS,” ETC. _ILLUSTRATED BY FRANCES L. FULLER_ _London_ MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1902 _All rights reserved_ Richard Clay and Sons, Limited, LONDON AND BUNGAY. TO A. A. E. F. IN MEMORY OF PLEASANT DAYS IN THE SUNNY SUMMER OF 1901 CONTENTS PAGE I. The Lark’s Nest 1 II. The Sorrows of a House Martin 24 III. The Sandpipers 51 IV. The Last of the Barons 79 V. Downs and Dungeons 104 VI. Doctor and Mrs. Jackson 130 VII. A Lucky Magpie 147 VIII. Selina’s Starling 185 IX. Too Much of a Good Thing 204 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Lark’s Nest _Frontispiece_. The Sorrows of a House Martin _To face page_ 24 The Sandpipers ” 52 The Last of the Barons ” 80 Downs and Dungeons ” 104 Doctor and Mrs. Jackson ” 131 A Lucky Magpie ” 148 Selina’s Starling ” 186 MORE TALES OF THE BIRDS THE LARK’S NEST A STORY OF A BATTLE I It was close upon Midsummer Day, but it was not midsummer weather. A mist rose from moist fields, and hung over the whole countryside as if it were November; the June of 1815 was wet and chill, as June so often is. And as the mist hung over the land, so a certain sense of doubt and anxiety hung over the hearts of man and beast and bird. War was in the air as well as mist; and everything wanted warmth and peace to help it to carry out its appointed work; to cheer it with a feeling of the fragrance of life.