Michael Blencowe, Alexandra Fuller, Charles Kingsley, and the Gairfowl

Suddenly Charles Kingsley, whose Water Babies I have never read (but now feel I would like to), is turning up all over the place. I have just finished Alexandra Fuller's Travel Light, Move Fast, and she prefaces it with one of his poems, well the first part of it. Maybe she is saving the second for her next book:

Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

from The Water Babies

WHEN all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green ;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen ;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away ;
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.

https://www.potw.org/archive/potw365.html

And I am also reading Michael Blencowe's stunning GONE Stories of Extinction. Unputdownable, except that you will have to keep stopping to wipe the tears from your eyes. I do want to review it, to try to show why everyone should read this book. But it is going to have to be a review that will do the book justice...

But I do want to say here that Michael ends the chapter on The Great Auk by quoting from Charles Kingsley's book The Water Babies. It was published in 1863 and featured the last Great Auk, the Gairfowl.

“The Gairfowl told her sad tale of vanishing islands, and a once great nation of birds slaughtered, beaten, shot and eaten. ‘This was the Gairfowl’s story”, wrote Kingsley, ‘and, strange as it may seem, every word of it is true.’ The last Great Auk stands all alone; crying tears of pure oil. ‘And soon I shall be gone, my little dear’, she says, ‘and nobody will miss me.’
She was wrong.”

Yes.  

I got out on the doors for the first time for some weeks and managed half an hour. It was hot and I did not feel wonderful, but we had one 20 minute long talk with a very nice and thoughtful lady on the doorstep. It is not something I find easy for many reasons. But that is probably true for all of us. And it is so urgent that people listen to their Creator now. We are all in "the valley of the decision". 

We are so close to the moment when Jehovah will, as promised, bring to ruin those ruining the earth.  And if you don't think we are in the process of ruining it, please please read Michael Blencowe's book. You can also, of course, watch the News.

Obviously, and tragically, Col has never been able to take a photo of a Gairfowl, so I hope the beautiful and dramatic Great White Egret will do.

Please God, we do not lose that too.