In Touch with Nature Part 2

"Christmas came at last, and preparations had been made to spend it cheerfully for more than a week beforehand.

"After service--and how impressive the service was, held on the deck of that Aurora-lighted ship, I shall never forget--after service, we all rushed down to dinner. We were to have ours early, because the Yacks'

entertainment was to be the great event of the twenty-four hours.

"After our dinner we had songs and pleasant talk--the pleasantest of talk; for we chatted of the dear ones at home, who probably at that very moment were fondly thinking of us. The men forward enjoyed themselves in like manner. Then the cry was 'Hurrah! for the sh.o.r.e.'

"A large marquee, which we had on board, had been erected, and in this tent we found all the male and female Yacks a.s.sembled. Expectant Captain Bob, who commanded the Innuits, and was the merriest of them all, sat at the head of the great deal table, and on one side of him was his wife, Oily, on the other his pet sister, Shiny. Both Shiny and Oily were all on the t.i.tter with joy.

"When the great pudding was carried in on a hand-barrow and placed in front of Captain Bob, the astonishment on the faces of these funny little folk was extreme; but when the brandy was ignited on the top of the pudding, then up started Captain Bob and every Yack in the room, and a wild rush was made for the door. But peace was soon restored, and this king of puddings served. It was well it was a large one; it was well there were two more of the same size to follow, and I do believe if there had been half a dozen they would have found room for them. No wonder that when they had eaten and drunk until more than satisfied they rose up to dance. As they danced, too, they chanted a wild, unearthly kind of a song, each verse ending in 'Ee-ay-ee,' from the women, and 'Oh! ah! oh!' from the men.

"At last there was a dead silence, and all the Yacks flocked together, and presently out from their midst came Captain Bob--not willingly, for Oily and Shiny were shoving him along, yard by yard, with many a slap on his sheepish shoulders.

"'Go 'long wid you,' they were saying; 'de capitan man not eat ye.

Plenty quick go.'

"'What is it, Bob?' said the captain.

"'They want more pudding,' said shy Bob.

"'Ah!' cried Captain Browning, laughing; 'I thought that would be the cry. Steward, bring up the last two puddings, positively the last.'

"The puddings were cold--they were frozen; and this is how they were served: they were simply rolled like bowling b.a.l.l.s into the midst of them.

"And here I drop the curtain. We went away and left them scrambling over their frozen fare.

"When spring returned, with many a blessing following us, we steamed away south, and in due time reached dear old England once again; but no one who was on board the saucy _Skua_ is likely to forget that Christmas we spent in the Arctic Sea."

"So now good-night, Maggie May, and good-night all," said Uncle Frank, getting up and laying his fiddle as carefully aside as if it had been a living, breathing thing.

"I'll sleep soundly to-night," he added.

"The wind in the trees won't keep _you_ awake," I said, laughing.

"Quite the reverse, lad," replied Frank; "I shall take it for the sound of the waves, and dream I am far away at sea."

And after he had gone aloft, as he called it, we could hear that deep manly voice of his, trolling forth a verse of that grand old hymn:

"Rocked in the cradle of the deep, I lay me down in peace to sleep; Secure I rest upon the wave, For Thou, O Lord! hast power to save."

CHAPTER THREE.

BIRDS AND BEASTS IN WINTER.--THE OWL AND THE WEASEL.

"O! Nature, a' thy shows and forms To feeling pensive hearts have charms, Whether the summer kindly warms Wi' life and light, Or winter howls in gusty storms The lang dark night."

Burns.

Our birds out of doors had all a pitiful tale to tell next morning. Not that they had any reason to complain of the boisterousness of the weather, for the wind, after blowing the snow into the most fantastic of wreaths that blocked the roads and walks, and shut us quite up and away from the village, had retired to the cave of its slumber, wherever that may be. The sun, moreover, was shining from a sky of brightest blue, and the trees were like trees of coral, yet the frost was intense.

So while b.u.t.tons proceeded to feed the dogs--always an interesting operation--and I stood by looking on, the birds came round us in flocks.

The robin, of course, was the tamest; he would almost eat from my hand: later on he did.

This was our own particular robin, who had come backwards and forwards for years, and knew every one of us, I verily believe, by name.

"It is terrible weather, isn't it," he said to me confidentially; "there is nothing to eat; everything is covered up, and the worms have all gone down a yard beneath the earth to keep themselves cosy. My feet are almost frozen!"

"That is right," he added; "I cannot live without a little animal food, and this shredded morsel of sheep's-head is delicious. Some feed their birds in winter on crumbs alone. They ought to study their habits, and add a bit of meat now and then. There, don't go away till I finish my breakfast, because, the moment you are off, down comes Mr Thrush and gobbles up the lot."

"But," I said, "you're not afraid of the sparrows."

"I'm not afraid of a few of them, though five is more than I can fight, and often ten come. They are cowardly creatures in the main."

"Now, b.u.t.tons," I said, "as soon as you have fed the dogs give them all a romp in the snow; then set up the birds' sheaf."

I alluded to a custom we have at our place of giving the birds a Christmas-tree, whenever there is snow on the ground. It is a plan taught us by the Norwegians, and I would rejoice to think it was universally adopted; for surely we ought to feed well in winter the birds that amuse and delight us when summer days are fine.

The Christmas-tree is simply a little sheaf of oats or wheat tied to the top of a small spruce-fir. It is positively a treat to see with what delight they cl.u.s.ter round it.

Another good plan--which gives much amus.e.m.e.nt, as witnessed from the dining-room window--is to tie up a little sheaf of oats by a string to the branch of a tree.

Tie also up some sc.r.a.ps of meat, and, if you have it, a few poppy-heads for the t.i.ts. The poppy-heads must be gathered and garnered in autumn, being cut down before they are too ripe, and with long stalks attached to them.

I am not sure that the seeds are not almost capable of intoxicating the birds, but they do so luxuriate in them, that I have not the heart to deny them the delight.

Here is an excerpt from my diary of this winter before the snowstorm came on:

"December 19.--It is a bright beautiful day. The garden-paths are hard.

The gra.s.s on lawns and borders is crisp and white with the h.o.a.r-frost that has fallen during the night. Though it is past midday, the sun makes no impression on it. There isn't the slightest breath of wind, nor is there a leaf left on the lofty trees to stir if it did blow. A still, quiet, lovely winter's day.

"But I do not think the birds are at all unhappy yet. The blackbirds and the thrushes are still wild. _They_ have not come near the door yet to beg for food. But the sparrows have, and eke c.o.c.k-robin. The latter has just eaten about a yard of cold boiled macaroni, and now sits on an apple-tree and sings loud and clearly a ringing joyous song of thanksgiving. I cannot help believing that he looks upon poor me as only an instrument in the hands of the kind Providence, who seeth even the sparrow fall.

"Perhaps even the sparrows are thankful, though music is not much in their line. These gentry are not particular what they eat, and it is surprising how soon they make away with a soaked dog's biscuit, if one be left in their way, or a pound or two of the boiled liver that Hurricane Bob is so very fond of. The old nests of these birds are still up in the wistaria-trees that cover the front, or one of the fronts, of the cottage. Those nests are crowded with the birds at night. They have used them now for two seasons, simply re-lining them.

_Memo_: to pull them all down as soon as the days get warmer; laziness should not be encouraged even in sparrows.

"December 21.--The weather is still hard and calm. c.o.c.k-robin had a sad story to tell me this morning. He looked all wet and draggled and wretched, quite a little mop of a robin.

"'Whatever have you been doing, c.o.c.kie?' I asked. 'Have you had an accident?'

"'Accident, indeed!' replied c.o.c.kie. 'No, it was no accident, but a daring premeditated attempt at parricide.'

"'Parricide,' I cried, 'you don't mean to say that your son--'

"'O! but I do though,' interrupted c.o.c.kie. 'You know, sir, that he follows me to the door, and attempts to take the bit out of my mouth, and you've seen me fling him a piece of meat.'

"'Yes,' I replied, 'and then try to chase him away, and the young rascal runs backwards, and sings defiance in your face.'

"'True, sir; and to-day, when I tried to reason with him, he flew right at me--at his father, sir--and toppled me heels over head into the water-vat, and I'm sure I've caught a frightful cold already.'

"'There's a fire in my study, c.o.c.kie, if you care to go in.'