The wanderings of a spiritualist . way, but mostly of the second growth onaccount of forest fires as much as the woodmans came in to guide us, for there is no one toask upon these desolate tracks,, and it is easy to getbushed. Mr. Waite, the very capable zoologist of themuseum, joined the party, and with two such men theconversation soon got to that high nature talk whichrepresents the really permanent things of material life—more lasting than thrones and dynasties: I learnedof the strange storks, the native companions whomeet, 500 at a time, for their stately balls, where in
The wanderings of a spiritualist . way, but mostly of the second growth onaccount of forest fires as much as the woodmans came in to guide us, for there is no one toask upon these desolate tracks,, and it is easy to getbushed. Mr. Waite, the very capable zoologist of themuseum, joined the party, and with two such men theconversation soon got to that high nature talk whichrepresents the really permanent things of material life—more lasting than thrones and dynasties: I learnedof the strange storks, the native companions whomeet, 500 at a time, for their stately balls, where in thehush of the bush they advance, retreat, and pirouettein their dignified minuets.* I heard of the bower birds,who decorate their homes with devices of glass andpebbles. There was talk, too, of the little red beetleswho have such cunning ways that they can fertilise theinsectivorous plants without being eaten, and of thegreat ants who get through galvanised iron by the aidof some acid-squirting insect which they bring with [80]. THE WANDERINGS OF A SPIRITUALIST them to the scene of their assault. I heard also of thesharks egg which Mr. Waite had raped from sixtyfeet deep in Sydney Harbour, descending for the pur-pose in a divers suit, for which I raised my hat to things came also from Bellchamberss store ofknowledge and little glimpses of beautiful humanityfrom this true gentleman. Yes, he said, I am mostly vegetarian. You see,I know the beasts too well to bring myself to pick theirbones. Yes, Im friends with most of them. Birdshave more sense than animals to my mind. They un-derstand you like/ They know what you have least of any. They dont get friendly-like in the same But Nature helps the snakes inqueer ways. * Some of them hatch their own eggs, andwlien they do Nature raises the temperature of theirbodies. Thats queer. T carried away a mixed memory of the things I hadseen/ A blue-headed wren, an eagle soaring in the dis-tance; a hideous lizard
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectspiritualism, bookyea
