tranquilly about on the pond, and planks and fragments of zinc were
strewn over the paddock. The moment we reached the house, Mr. U---,
the gentleman-cadet of whom I have told you, came out, with a
melancholy face, to tell me that a large wooden cage, full of the
canaries which I had brought from England with me, had been blown
out of the verandah, though it was on the most sheltered side of the
house. It really seemed incredible at first, but the cage was lying
in ruins in the middle of the paddock, and all my birds except one
had disappeared. It happened in the middle of the night, and Mr. U---
described, very amusingly, that when he was awakened by the noise
which the cage made against a wire fence (which it just "topped" in
passing), he sprang out of his bed in the attic, and clambered out
of the window, expecting to find the very heavy sort of staircase-
ladder in its place; but it was "over the hills and far away," so he
had a drop of about twelve feet to the ground, which thoroughly
aroused him. He went into the verandah to see if the cage was safe,
and was nearly knocked down by a big tin bath, ordinarily kept
there, which was just starting across country. As soon as he missed
the cage he very pluckily went after it, being able to keep sight of
it by the fitful gleams of moon-light, and he was just in time to
rescue the poor little surviving canary. We could not help laughing
at the recital of all the mischief which had been done, but still it
is very tiresome, and the garden looks, if possible, more wretched
than ever. There is no shelter for it yet, and my poor green-peas
are blown nearly out of the ground. It rained hard all the evening,
so our congregation was confined to the home party.



Letter XIV: A Christmas picnic, and other doings.