ROBERT BROWNING.

* * * * *

DYING IN HARNESS.

Only a fallen horse, stretched out there on the road, Stretched in the broken shafts, and crushed by the heavy load; Only a fallen horse, and a circle of wondering eyes Watching the 'frighted teamster goading the beast to rise.

Hold! for his toil is over—no more labor for him; See the poor neck outstretched, and the patient eyes grow dim; See on the friendly stones now peacefully rests his head— Thinking, if dumb beasts think, how good it is to be dead; After the burdened journey, how restful it is to lie With the broken shafts and the cruel load—waiting only to die.

Watchers, he died in harness—died in the shafts and straps— Fell, and the great load killed him; one of the day's mishaps— One of the passing wonders marking the city road— A toiler dying in harness, heedless of call or goad.

Passers, crowding the pathway, staying your steps awhile, What is the symbol? "Only death? why should you cease to smile At death for a beast of burden?" On through the busy street That is ever and ever echoing the tread of the hurrying feet!

What was the sign? A symbol to touch the tireless will. Does he who taught in parables speak in parables still? The seed on the rock is wasted—on heedless hearts of men, That gather and sow and grasp and lose—labor and sleep—and then— Then for the prize! A crowd in the street of ever-echoing tread— The toiler, crushed by the heavy load, is there in his harness—dead.

JOHN BOYLE

* * * * *

PLUTARCH'S HUMANITY.

For my part, I cannot but charge his using his servants like so many beasts of burden, and turning them off, or selling them when they grew old, to the account of a mean and ungenerous spirit which thinks that the sole tie between man and man is interest or necessity. But goodness moves in a larger sphere than justice. The obligations of law and equity reach only to mankind, but kindness and beneficence should be extended to creatures of every species; and these still flow from the breast of a well-natured man, as streams that issue from the living fountain. A good man will take care of his horses and dogs, not only while they are young, but when old and past service. Thus the people of Athens, when they had finished the temple called Hecatompedon, set at liberty the beasts of burden that had been chiefly employed in the work, suffering them to pasture at large, free from any other service. It is said that one of these afterwards came of its own accord to work, and, putting itself at the head of the laboring cattle, marched before them to the citadel. This pleased the people, and they made a decree that it should be kept at the public charge so long as it lived. The graves of Cimon's mares, with which he thrice conquered at the Olympic games, are still to be seen near his own tomb. Many have shown particular marks of regard, in burying the dogs which they had cherished and been fond of; and amongst the rest Xantippus of old, whose dog swam by the side of his galley to Salamis, when the Athenians were forced to abandon their city, and was afterwards buried by him upon a promontory, which to this day is called the Dog's Grave. We certainly ought not to treat living creatures like shoes or household goods, which, when worn out with use, we throw away; and were it only to learn benevolence to humankind, we should be merciful to other creatures. For my own part, I would not sell even an old ox that had labored for me; much less would I remove, for the sake of a little money, a man grown old in my service, from his usual lodgings and diet; for to him, poor man! it would be as bad as banishment, since he could be of no more use to the buyer than he was to the seller. But Cato, as if he took a pride in these things, tells us, that when consul, he left his war-horse in Spain to save the public the charge of his conveyance. Whether such things as these are instances of greatness or littleness of soul, let the reader judge for himself.

From "Cato the Censor," in the "Lives."

* * * * *

THE HORSES OF ACHILLES.

The gentleness of chivalry, properly so called, depends on the recognition of the order and awe of lower and loftier animal life, first clearly taught in the myth of Chiron, and in his bringing up of Jason, AEsculapius, and Achilles, but most perfectly by Homer, in the fable of the horses of Achilles, and the part assigned to them, in relation to the death of his friend, and in prophecy of his own. There is, perhaps, in all the "Iliad," nothing more deep in significance—there is nothing in all literature more perfect in human tenderness, and honor for the mystery of inferior life—than the verses that describe the sorrow of the divine horses at the death of Patroclus, and the comfort given them by the greatest of gods.

RUSKIN.

* * * * *

THE WAR HORSE.

Sir Robert Clayton, a British cavalry officer, says of some war horses which had been humanely turned out to perpetual pasture, that while the horses were grazing on one occasion, a violent thunderstorm arose; at once the animals fell into line and faced the blazing lightning under an impression that it was the flash of artillery and the fire of battle.

* * * * *

PEGASUS IN POUND.

Once into a quiet village, Without haste and without heed, In the golden prime of morning, Strayed the poet's winged steed.

It was Autumn, and incessant Piped the quails from shocks and sheaves, And, like living coals, the apples Burned among the withering leaves.

Loud the clamorous bell was ringing From its belfry gaunt and grim; 'Twas the daily call to labor, Not a triumph meant for him.

Not the less he saw the landscape, In its gleaming vapor veiled; Not the less he breathed the odors That the dying leaves exhaled.

Thus, upon the village common, By the school-boys he was found; And the wise men, in their wisdom, Put him straightway into pound.

Then the sombre village crier, Ringing loud his brazen bell, Wandered down the street proclaiming: There was an estray to sell.

And the curious country people, Rich and poor, and young and old, Came in haste to see the wondrous Winged steed with mane of gold.

Thus the day passed, and the evening Fell, with vapors cold and dim; But it brought no food nor shelter, Brought no straw nor stall, for him.

Patiently, and still expectant, Looked he through the wooden bars, Saw the moon rise o'er the landscape. Saw the tranquil, patient stars;

Till at length the bell at midnight Sounded from its dark abode, And, from out a neighboring farm-yard, Loud the cock Alectryon crowed.

Then, with nostrils wide distended, Breaking from his iron chain, And unfolding far his pinions, To those stars he soared again.

On the morrow, when the village Woke to all its toil and care, Lo! the strange steed had departed, And they knew not when nor where.

But they found, upon the greensward Where his struggling hoofs had trod, Pure and bright, a fountain flowing From the hoof-marks in the sod.

From that hour, the fount unfailing Gladdens the whole region round, Strengthening all who drink its waters, While it soothes them with its sound.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

THE HORSE.

Nay, the man hath no wit, that cannot, from the rising of the lark to the lodging of the lamb, vary deserved praise on my palfrey; it is a theme as fluent as the sea; turn the sands into eloquent tongues, and my horse is argument for them all; 'tis a subject for a sovereign to reason on, and for a sovereign's sovereign to ride on; and for the world (familiar to us and unknown), to lay apart their particular functions and wonder at him.

Henry V. Act 3, Sec. 7.

* * * * *

FROM "THE FORAY."

Our steeds are impatient! I hear my blithe Gray! There is life in his hoof-clang, and hope in his neigh; Like the flash of a meteor, the glance of his mane Shall marshal your march through the darkness and rain.

WALTER SCOTT.

* * * * *

ON LANDSEER'S PICTURE, "WAITING FOR MASTER."

The proud steed bends his stately neck And patient waits his master's word, While Fido listens for his step, Welcome, whenever heard. King Charlie shakes his curly ears, Secure his home, no harm he fears; Above the peaceful pigeons coo Their happy hymn, the long day through.

What means this scene of quiet joy, This peaceful scene without alloy! Kind words, kind care, and tender thought This picture beautiful have wrought. Its lesson tells of care for all God's creatures, whether great or small, And they who love "the least of these," Are sure a loving God to please.

Our Dumb Animals.

* * * * *

THE BIRDS.

* * * * *

THE WATERFOWL.

Whither, 'midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day Far through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?

Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along.

Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean side?

There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,— The desert and illimitable air,— Lone wandering, but not lost.

All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere; Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near.

And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Some o'er thy sheltered nest.

Thou'rt gone—the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form—yet on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart.

He, who from zone to zone Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone Will lead my steps aright.

W. C. BRYANT.

* * * * *

SEA FOWL.

Through my north window, in the wintry weather,— My airy oriel on the river shore,— I watch the sea-fowl as they flock together Where late the boatman flashed his dripping oar.

I see the solemn gulls in council sitting On some broad ice-floe, pondering long and late, While overhead the home-bound ducks are flitting, And leave the tardy conclave in debate,

Those weighty questions in their breasts revolving, Whose deeper meaning science never learns, Till at some reverend elder's look dissolving, The speechless senate silently adjourns.

He knows you! "sportsman" from suburban alleys, Stretched under seaweed in the treacherous punt; Knows every lazy, shiftless lout that sallies Forth to waste powder—as he says, to "hunt."

I watch you with a patient satisfaction, Well pleased to discount your predestined luck; The float that figures in your sly transaction Will carry back a goose, but not a duck.

Shrewd is our bird; not easy to outwit him! Sharp is the outlook of those pin-head eyes; Still, he is mortal and a shot may hit him; One cannot always miss him if he tries!

O Thou who carest for the falling sparrow, Canst Thou the sinless sufferer's pang forget? Or is thy dread account-book's page so narrow Its one long column scores thy creature's debt?

Poor, gentle guest, by nature kindly cherished, A world grows dark with thee in blinding death; One little gasp,—thy universe has perished, Wrecked by the idle thief who stole thy breath!

From "My Aviary," by O. W. HOLMES.

* * * * *

THE SANDPIPER.

Across the narrow beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I, And fast I gather, bit by bit, The scattered driftwood bleached and dry. The wild waves reach their hands for it, The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, As up and down the beach we flit,— One little sandpiper and I.

Above our heads the sullen clouds Scud black and swift across the sky; Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds Stand out the white lighthouses high. Almost as far as eye can reach, I see the close-reefed vessels fly, As fast we flit along the beach,— One little sandpiper and I.

I watch him as he skims along, Uttering his sweet and mournful cry. He starts not at my fitful song, Or flash of fluttering drapery. He has no thought of any wrong; He scans me with a fearless eye. Staunch friends are we, well tried and strong, The little sandpiper and I.

Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night, When the loosed storm breaks furiously? My driftwood fire will burn so bright! To what warm shelter canst thou fly? I do not fear for thee, though wroth The tempest rushes through the sky: For are we not God's children both, Thou, little sandpiper, and I?

CELIA THAXTER.

* * * * *

THE BIRDS OF KILLINGWORTH.

The robin and the bluebird, piping loud, Filled all the blossoming orchards with their glee; The sparrows chirped as if they still were proud Their race in Holy Writ should mentioned be; And hungry crows, assembled in a crowd, Clamored their piteous prayer incessantly, Knowing who hears the ravens cry, and said: "Give us, O Lord, this day our daily bread!"

* * * * *

Thus came the jocund Spring in Killingworth, In fabulous days, some hundred years ago; And thrifty farmers, as they tilled the earth, Heard with alarm the cawing of the crow, That mingled with the universal mirth, Cassandra-like, prognosticating woe; They shook their heads, and doomed with dreadful words To swift destruction the whole race of birds.

And a town-meeting was convened straightway To set a price upon the guilty heads Of these marauders, who, in lieu of pay, Levied black-mail upon the garden beds And cornfields, and beheld without dismay The awful scarecrow, with his fluttering shreds; The skeleton that waited at their feast, Whereby their sinful pleasure was increased.

* * * * *

Rose the Preceptor,... To speak out what was in him, clear and strong.

* * * * *

"Plato, anticipating the Reviewers, From his Republic banished without pity The Poets; in this little town of yours, You put to death, by means of a Committee, The ballad-singers and the troubadours, The street-musicians of the heavenly city, The birds who make sweet music for us all In our dark hours, as David did for Saul.

THEIR SONGS.

"The thrush that carols at the dawn of day From the green steeples of the piny wood; The oriole in the elm; the noisy jay, Jargoning like a foreigner at his food; The bluebird balanced on some topmost spray, Flooding with melody the neighborhood; Linnet and meadow-lark, and all the throng That dwell in nests, and have the gift of song.

"You slay them all! and wherefore? for the gain Of a scant handful more or less of wheat, Or rye, or barley, or some other grain, Scratched up at random by industrious feet, Searching for worm or weevil after rain! Or a few cherries, that are not so sweet As are the songs these uninvited guests Sing at their feast with comfortable breasts.

"Do you ne'er think what wondrous beings these? Do you ne'er think who made them, and who taught The dialect they speak, where melodies Alone are the interpreters of thought? Whose household words are songs in many keys, Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught! Whose habitations in the tree-tops even Are half-way houses on the road to heaven!

"Think, every morning when the sun peeps through The dim, leaf-latticed windows of the grove, How jubilant the happy birds renew Their old melodious madrigals of love! And when you think of this, remember too 'Tis always morning somewhere, and above The awakening continents, from shore to shore, Somewhere the birds are singing evermore.

THEIR SERVICE TO MAN.

"Think of your woods and orchards without birds! Of empty nests that cling to boughs and beams As in an idiot's brain remembered words Hang empty 'mid the cobwebs of his dreams! Will bleat of flocks or bellowing of herds Make up for the lost music, when your teams Drag home the stingy harvest, and no more The feathered gleaners follow to your door?

"What! would you rather see the incessant stir Of insects in the windrows of the hay, And hear the locust and the grasshopper Their melancholy hurdy-gurdies play? Is this more pleasant to you than the whir Of meadow-lark, and her sweet roundelay, Or twitter of little field-fares, as you take Your nooning in the shade of bush and brake?

"You call them thieves and pillagers; but know, They are the winged wardens of your farms, Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe, And from your harvest keep a hundred harms. Even the blackest of them all, the crow, Renders good service as your man-at-arms, Crushing the beetle in his coat-of-mail, And crying havoc on the slug and snail.

THE CLAIMS OF GENTLENESS AND REVERENCE.

"How can I teach your children gentleness, And mercy to the weak, and reverence For Life, which, in its weakness or excess, Is still a gleam of God's omnipotence, Or Death, which, seeming darkness, is no less The selfsame light, although averted hence, When by your laws, your actions, and your speech, You contradict the very things I teach?"

* * * * *

The birds were doomed; and, as the record shows, A bounty offered for the heads of crows.

* * * * *

THE RESULT OF THEIR DESTRUCTION.

Devoured by worms, like Herod, was the town, Because, like Herod, it had ruthlessly Slaughtered the Innocents. From the trees spun down The canker-worms upon the passers-by, Upon each woman's bonnet, shawl, and gown, Who shook them off with just a little cry; They were the terror of each favorite walk, The endless theme of all the village talk.

The farmers grew impatient, but a few Confessed their error, and would not complain, For after all, the best thing one can do When it is raining, is to let it rain. Then they repealed the law, although they knew It would not call the dead to life again; As school-boys, finding their mistake too late, Draw a wet sponge across the accusing slate.

That year in Killingworth the Autumn came Without the light of his majestic look, The wonder of the falling tongues of flame, The illumined pages of his Doom's-Day book. A few lost leaves blushed crimson with their shame, And drowned themselves despairing in the brook, While the wild wind went moaning everywhere, Lamenting the dead children of the air!

THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS.

But the next Spring a stranger sight was seen, A sight that never yet by bard was sung, As great a wonder as it would have been If some dumb animal had found a tongue! A wagon, overarched with evergreen, Upon whose boughs were wicker cages hung, All full of singing birds, came down the street, Filling the air with music wild and sweet.

From all the country round these birds were brought, By order of the town, with anxious quest, And, loosened from their wicker prisons, sought In woods and fields the places they loved best, Singing loud canticles, which many thought Were satires to the authorities addressed, While others, listening in green lanes, averred Such lovely music never had been heard!

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

THE MAGPIE.

"Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice Triumphs; and well I remember a story, that often consoled me, When as a captive I lay in the old French fort at Port Royal." This was the old man's favorite tale, and he loved to repeat it When his neighbors complained that any injustice was done them. "Once in an ancient city, whose name I no longer remember, Raised aloft on a column, a brazen statue of Justice Stood in the public square, upholding the scales in his left hand, And in its right a sword, as an emblem that justice presided Over the laws of the land, and the hearts and homes of the people. Even the birds had built their nests in the scales of the balance, Having no fear of the sword that flashed in the sunshine above them. But in course of time the laws of the land were corrupted; Might took the place of right, and the weak were oppressed, and the mighty Ruled with an iron rod. Then it chanced in a nobleman's palace That a necklace of pearls was lost, and erelong a suspicion Fell on an orphan girl who lived as maid in the household. She, after form of trial condemned to die on the scaffold, Patiently met her doom at the foot of the statue of Justice. As to her Father in heaven her innocent spirit ascended, Lo! o'er the city a tempest rose; and the bolts of the thunder Smote the statue of bronze, and hurled in wrath from its left hand Down on the pavement below the clattering scales of the balance, And in the hollow thereof was found the nest of a magpie, Into whose clay-built walls the necklace of pearls was inwoven."

H. W. LONGFELLOW, in Evangeline.

* * * * *

THE MOCKING-BIRD.

Then from a neighboring thicket the mocking-bird, wildest of singers, Swinging aloft on a willow spray that hung o'er the water, Shook from his little throat such floods of delirious music, That the whole air and the woods and the waves seemed silent to listen. Plaintive at first were the tones and sad; then soaring to madness Seemed they to follow or guide the revel of frenzied Bacchantes. Single notes were then heard, in sorrowful, low lamentation; Till, having gathered them all, he flung them abroad in derision, As when, after a storm, a gust of wind through the tree-tops Shakes down the rattling rain in a crystal shower on the branches.

H. W. LONGFELLOW, in Evangeline.

* * * * *

EARLY SONGS AND SOUNDS.

To hear the lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night From his watch-tower in the skies Till the dappled dawn doth rise; Then to come, in spite of sorrow, And at my window bid good-morrow Through the sweet-briar, or the vine, Or the twisted eglantine; While the cock with lively din Scatters the rear of darkness thin; And to the stack, or the barn door, Stoutly struts his dames before; Oft listening how the hounds and horn Cheerly rouse the slumbering morn From the side of some hoar hill, Through the high wood echoing shrill.

JOHN MILTON.

* * * * *

THE SPARROW'S NOTE.

I thought the sparrow's note from heaven, Singing at dawn on the alder bough; I brought him home, in his nest, at even, He sings the song, but it pleases not now, For I did not bring home the river and sky; He sang to my ear, they sang to my eye.

R. W. EMERSON.

* * * * *

THE GLOW-WORM.

Nor crush a worm, whose useful light Might serve, however small, To show a stumbling-stone by night, And save man from a fall.

COWPER.

* * * * *

ST. FRANCIS TO THE BIRDS.

Up soared the lark into the air, A shaft of song, a winged prayer, As if a soul, released from pain, Were flying back to heaven again.

St. Francis heard; it was to him An emblem of the Seraphim; The upward motion of the fire, The light, the heat, the heart's desire.

Around Assisi's convent gate The birds, God's poor who cannot wait, From moor and mere and darksome wood Came flocking for their dole of food.

"O brother birds," St. Francis said, "Ye come to me and ask for bread, But not with bread alone to-day Shall ye be fed and sent away.

"Ye shall be fed, ye happy birds, With manna of celestial words; Not mine, though mine they seem to be, Not mine, though they be spoken through me.

"Oh, doubly are ye bound to praise The great Creator in your lays; He giveth you your plumes of down, Your crimson hoods, your cloaks of brown.

"He giveth you your wings to fly And breathe a purer air on high, And careth for you everywhere, Who for yourselves so little care!"

With flutter of swift wings and songs Together rose the feathered throngs, And singing scattered far apart; Deep peace was in St. Francis' heart.

He knew not if the brotherhood His homily had understood; He only knew that to one ear The meaning of his words was clear.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

WORDSWORTH'S SKYLARK.

Ethereal Minstrel! Pilgrim of the sky! Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground? Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will, Those quivering wings composed, that music still!

To the last point of vision, and beyond, Mount, daring warbler! that love-prompted strain, ('Twixt thee and thine a never-failing bond) Thrills not the less the bosom of the plain: Yet might'st thou seem, proud privilege! to sing All independent of the leafy spring.

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood; A privacy of glorious light is thine; Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood Of harmony, with instinct more divine; Type of the wise who soar, but never roam; True to the kindred points of heaven and home!

WORDSWORTH.

* * * * *

SHELLEY'S SKYLARK.—(Extracts.)

Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert, That from heaven, or near it, Pourest thy full heart In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

Higher still and higher From the earth thou springest, Like a cloud of fire, The blue deep thou wingest, And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.

Teach us, sprite or bird, What sweet thoughts are thine: I have never heard Praise of love or wine That panted forth a flood of rapture so divine.

Chorus hymeneal Or triumphal chant Matched with thine, would be all But an empty vaunt— A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want.

What objects are the fountains Of thy happy strain? What fields, or waves, or mountains? What shapes of sky or plain? What love of thine own kind? what ignorance of pain?

Better than all measures Of delightful sound, Better than all treasures That in books are found, Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground!

Teach me half the gladness That thy brain must know, Such harmonious madness From my lips would flow The world should listen then, as I am listening now!

P. B. SHELLEY.

* * * * *

HOGG'S SKYLARK.

Bird of the wilderness, Blithesome and cumberless, Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Emblem of happiness, Blest is thy dwelling-place,— Oh to abide in the desert with thee! Wild is the day and loud Far in the downy cloud, Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. Where, on thy dewy wing, Where art thou journeying? Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. O'er fell and mountain sheen, O'er moor and mountain green, O'er the red streamer that heralds the day, Over the cloudlet dim, Over the rainbow's rim, Musical cherub, soar, singing, away! Then, when the gloaming comes, Low in the heather blooms Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be! Emblem of happiness, Blest is thy dwelling-place, Oh to abide in the desert with thee!

JAMES HOGG.

* * * * *

A skylark wounded on the wing Doth make a cherub cease to sing.

He who shall hurt a little wren Shall never be beloved by men.

W. BLAKE.

* * * * *

THE SWEET-VOICED QUIRE.

Lord, should we oft forget to sing A thankful evening hymn of praise, This duty, they to mind might bring, Who chirp among the bushy sprays.

For in their perches they retire, When first the twilight waxeth dim; And every night the sweet-voiced quire Shuts up the daylight with a hymn.

Ten thousand fold more cause have we To close each day with praiseful voice, To offer thankful hearts to Thee, And in thy mercies to rejoice.

GEORGE WITHER, 1628.

* * * * *

A CAGED LARK.

A cruel deed It is, sweet bird, to cage thee up Prisoner for life, with just a cup And a box of seed, And sod to move on barely one foot square, Hung o'er dark street, midst foul and murky air.

From freedom brought, And robbed of every chance of wing, Thou couldst have had no heart to sing, One would have thought. But though thy song is sung, men little know The yearning source from which those sweet notes flow.

Poor little bird! As often as I think of thee, And how thou longest to be free, My heart is stirred, And, were my strength but equal to my rage, Methinks thy cager would be in his cage.

The selfish man! To take thee from thy broader sphere, Where thousands heard thy music clear, On Nature's plan; And where the listening landscape far and wide Had joy, and thou thy liberty beside.

A singing slave Made now; with no return but food; No mate to love, nor little brood To feed and save; No cool and leafy haunts; the cruel wires Chafe thy young life and check thy just desires.

Brave little bird! Still striving with thy sweetest song To melt the hearts that do thee wrong, I give my word To stand with those who for thy freedom fight, Who claim for thee that freedom as thy right.

Chambers's Journal.

* * * * *

THE WOODLARK.

I have a friend across the street, We never yet exchanged a word, Yet dear to me his accents sweet— I am a woman, he a bird.

And here we twain in exile dwell, Far from our native woods and skies, And dewy lawns with healthful smell, Where daisies lift their laughing eyes.

Never again from moss-built nest Shall the caged woodlark blithely soar; Never again the heath be pressed By foot of mine for evermore!

Yet from that feathered, quivering throat A blessing wings across to me; No thrall can hold that mellow note, Or quench its flame in slavery.

When morning dawns in holy calm, And each true heart to worship calls, Mine is the prayer, but his the psalm, That floats about our prison walls.

And as behind the thwarting wires The captive creature throbs and sings, With him my mounting soul aspires On Music's strong and cleaving wings.

My chains fall off, the prison gates Fly open, as with magic key; And far from life's perplexing straits, My spirit wanders, swift and free.

Back to the heather, breathing deep The fragrance of the mountain breeze, I hear the wind's melodious sweep Through tossing boughs of ancient trees.

Beneath a porch where roses climb I stand as I was used to stand, Where cattle-bells with drowsy chime Make music in the quiet land.

Fast fades the dream in distance dim, Tears rouse me with a sudden shock; Lo! at my door, erect and trim, The postman gives his double knock.

And a great city's lumbering noise Arises with confusing hum, And whistling shrill of butchers' boys; My day begins, my bird is dumb.

Temple Bar.

* * * * *

KEATS'S NIGHTINGALE.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down: The voice I heard this passing night was heard In ancient days by emperor and clown: Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Through the sad heart of Ruth, when sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn; The same that ofttimes hath Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell To toll me back from thee to my sole self! Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well As she is famed to do, deceiving elf. Adieu! Adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side: and now 'tis buried deep In the next valley-glades Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:—do I wake or sleep?

J. KEATS.

* * * * *

LARK AND NIGHTINGALE.

Color and form may be conveyed by words, But words are weak to tell the heavenly strains That from the throats of these celestial birds Rang through the woods and o'er the echoing plains; There was the meadow-lark with voice as sweet, But robed in richer raiment than our own; And as the moon smiled on his green retreat, The painted nightingale sang out alone.

Words cannot echo music's winged note, One voice alone exhausts their utmost power; 'Tis that strange bird, whose many-voiced throat Mocks all his brethren of the woodlawn bower, To whom, indeed, the gift of tongues is given, The musical, rich tongues that fill the grove; Now, like the lark, dropping his notes from heaven, Now cooing the soft notes of the dove.

Oft have I seen him, scorning all control, Winging his arrowy flight, rapid and strong, As if in search of his evanished soul, Lost in the gushing ecstasy of song; And as I wandered on and upward gazed, Half lost in admiration, half in fear, I left the brothers wondering and amazed, Thinking that all the choir of heaven was near.

DENIS FLORENCE MACCARTHY.

* * * * *

FLIGHT OF THE BIRDS.

Meanwhile the tepid caves, and fens, and shores, Their brood as numerous hatch from the egg that soon Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed Their callow young; but feathered soon and fledge They summed their pens; and, soaring the air sublime, With clang despised the ground, under a cloud In prospect: there the eagle and the stork On cliffs and cedar-tops their eyries build; Part loosely wing the region; part, more wise, In common ranged in figure, wedge their way, Intelligent of seasons, and set forth Their aery caravan, high over seas Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing Easing their flight; so steers the prudent crane Her annual voyage, borne on winds; the air Floats as they pass, fanned with unnumbered plumes: From branch to branch the smaller birds with song Solaced the woods, and spread their painted wings Till even; nor then the solemn nightingale Ceased warbling, but all night tuned her soft lays: Others, on silver lakes and rivers, bathed Their downy breasts; the swan with arched neck Between her white wings, mantling proudly, rows Her state with oary feet; yet oft they quit The dank, and, rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aerial sky: others on ground Walked firm; the crested cock, whose clarion sounds The silent hours; and the other, whose gay train Adorns him, colored with the florid hue Of rainbows and starry eyes.

MILTON: Paradise Lost, book 7.

* * * * *

A CHILD'S WISH.

I would I were a note From a sweet bird's throat! I'd float on forever, And melt away never! I would I were a note From a sweet bird's throat!

But I am what I am! As content as a lamb. No new state I'll covet; For how long should I love it? No, I'll be what I am,— As content as a lamb!

Poetry for Children.

* * * * *

THE HUMMING-BIRD.

Emerald-plumed, ruby-throated, Flashing like a fair star Where the humid, dew-becoated, Sun-illumined blossoms are— See the fleet humming-bird! Hark to his humming, heard Loud as the whirr of a fairy king's car! Sightliest, sprightliest, lightest, and brightest one, Child of the summer sun, Shining afar!

Brave little humming-bird! Every eye blesses thee; Sunlight caresses thee, Forest and field are the fairer for thee. Blooms, at thy coming stirred, Bend on each brittle stem, Nod to the little gem, Bow to the humming-bird, frolic and free. Now around the woodbine hovering, Now the morning-glory covering, Now the honeysuckle sipping, Now the sweet clematis tipping, Now into the bluebell dipping; Hither, thither, flashing, bright'ning, Like a streak of emerald lightning: Round the box, with milk-white plox; Round the fragrant four-o'-clocks; O'er the crimson quamoclit, Lightly dost thou wheel and flit; Into each tubed throat Dives little Ruby-throat.

Bright-glowing airy thing, Light-going fairy thing, Not the grand lyre-bird Rivals thee, splendid one!— Fairy-attended one, Green-coated fire-bird! Shiniest fragile one, Tiniest agile one, Falcon and eagle tremble before thee! Dim is the regal peacock and lory, And the pheasant, iridescent, Pales before the gleam and glory Of the jewel-change incessant, When the sun is streaming o'er thee!

Hear thy soft humming, Like a sylph's drumming!

Californian.

* * * * *

THE HUMMING-BIRD'S WEDDING

A little brown mother-bird sat in her nest, With four sleepy birdlings tucked under her breast, And her querulous chirrup fell ceaseless and low, While the wind rocked the lilac-tree nest to and fro.

"Lie still, little nestlings! lie still while I tell, For a lullaby story, a thing that befell Your plain little mother one midsummer morn, A month ago, birdies—before you were born.

"I'd been dozing and dreaming the long summer night, Till the dawn flushed its pink through the waning moonlight; When—I wish you could hear it once!—faintly there fell All around me the silvery sound of a bell.

"Then a chorus of bells! So, with just half an eye, I peeped from the nest, and those lilies close by, With threads of a cobweb, were swung to and fro By three little rollicking midgets below.

"Then the air was astir as with humming-birds' wings! And a cloud of the tiniest, daintiest things That ever one dreamed of, came fluttering where A cluster of trumpet-flowers swayed in the air.

"As I sat all a-tremble, my heart in my bill— 'I will stay by the nest,' thought I, 'happen what will;' So I saw with these eyes by that trumpet-vine fair, A whole fairy bridal train poised in the air.

"Such a bit of a bride! Such a marvel of grace! In a shimmer of rainbows and gossamer lace; No wonder the groom dropped his diamond-dust ring, Which a little elf-usher just caught with his wing.

"Then into a trumpet-flower glided the train, And I thought (for a dimness crept over my brain, And I tucked my head under my wing), 'Deary me! What a sight for a plain little mother like me!'"

MARY A. LATHBURY.

* * * * *

THE HEN AND THE HONEY-BEE.

A lazy hen, the story goes, Loquacious, pert, and self-conceited, Espied a bee upon a rose, And thus the busy insect greeted:

"I've marked you well for many a day, In garden blooms and meadow clover; Now here, now there, in wanton play, From morn till night an idle rover.

"While I discreetly bide at home, A faithful wife, the best of mothers, About the fields you idly roam, Without the least regard for others.

"While I lay eggs and hatch them out, You seek the flowers most sweet and fragrant; And, sipping honey, stroll about, At best a good for nothing vagrant."

"Nay," said the bee, "you do me wrong: I'm useful, too,—perhaps you doubt it: Because, though toiling all day long, I scorn to make a fuss about it.

"Come now with me and see my hive, And note how folks may work in quiet; To useful arts much more alive Than you with all your cackling riot!"

JOHN G. SAXE.

* * * * *

SONG OF THE ROBIN.

When the willows gleam along the brooks, And the grass grows green in sunny nooks, In the sunshine and the rain I hear the robin in the lane Singing "Cheerily, Cheer up, cheer up; Cheerily, cheerily, Cheer up."

But the snow is still Along the walls and on the hill. The days are cold, the nights forlorn, For one is here and one is gone. "Tut, tut. Cheerily, Cheer up, cheer up; Cheerily, cheerily, Cheer up."

When spring hopes seem to wane, I hear the joyful strain— A song at night, a song at morn, A lesson deep to me is borne, Hearing, "Cheerily, Cheer up, cheer up; Cheerily, cheerily, Cheer up."

Masque of Poets.

* * * * *

SIR ROBIN.

Rollicking Robin is here again. What does he care for the April rain? Care for it? Glad of it. Doesn't he know That the April rain carries off the snow, And coaxes out leaves to shadow his nest, And washes his pretty red Easter vest, And makes the juice of the cherry sweet, For his hungry little robins to eat? "Ha! ha! ha!" hear the jolly bird laugh. "That isn't the best of the story, by half!"

Gentleman Robin, he walks up and down, Dressed in orange-tawney and black and brown. Though his eye is so proud and his step so firm, He can always stoop to pick up a worm. With a twist of his head, and a strut and a hop, To his Robin-wife, in the peach-tree top, Chirping her heart out, he calls: "My dear You don't earn your living! Come here! Come here! Ha! ha! ha! Life is lovely and sweet; But what would it be if we'd nothing to eat?"

Robin, Sir Robin, gay, red-vested knight, Now you have come to us, summer's in sight. You never dream of the wonders you bring,— Visions that follow the flash of your wing. How all the beautiful By-and-by Around you and after you seems to fly! Sing on, or eat on, as pleases your mind! Well have you earned every morsel you find. "Aye! Ha! ha! ha!" whistles robin. "My dear, Let us all take our own choice of good cheer!"

LUCY LARCOM.

* * * * *

THE DEAR OLD ROBINS.

There's a call upon the housetop, an answer from the plain, There's a warble in the sunshine, a twitter in the rain. And through my heart, at sound of these, There comes a nameless thrill, As sweet as odor to the rose, Or verdure to the hill; And all the joyous mornings My heart pours forth this strain: "God bless the dear old robins Who have come back again."

For they bring a thought of summer, of dreamy, precious days, Of king-cups in the summer, making a golden haze; A longing for the clover blooms, For roses all aglow, For fragrant blossoms where the bees With droning murmurs go; I dream of all the beauties Of summer's golden reign, And sing: "God keep the robins Who have come back again."

ANON.

* * * * *

ROBINS QUIT THE NEST.

"Now, robins, my darlings, I think it is best," Said old mother bird, "that you all quit the nest. You've grown very plump, and the nest is so small That really there isn't quite room for you all.

"The day is so fair and the sun is so bright, I think I can teach you to fly before night: And, when you have learned, you can go where you please, As high as the gable,—yes! high as the trees.

"Come, Dickey, hop out, and stand up here by me; The rest of you stand on the branch of the tree; Don't be frightened, my dears; there's no danger at all, For mother will not let her dear birdies fall.

"Now all spread your wings. Ah! but that is too high; Just see how I do it. Now, all again try! Ah! that is much better. Now try it once more. Bravo! much better than ever before!

"Now flutter about, up and down, here and there: My dears, you'll be flying before you're aware. Now carefully drop from the tree to the ground; There's nothing to fear, for there's grass all around.

"All starting but Robbie. 'Afraid you shall fall?' Ah! don't be a craven, be bravest of all. Now up and now down, now away to yon spire: Go on: don't be frightened: fly higher and higher."

* * * * *

"I've waited one hour, right here on the tree: Not one of my robins has come back to me. How soon they forget all the trouble they bring! Never mind: I'll fly up on the tree-top and sing."

MRS. C. F. BERRY.

* * * * *

LOST—THREE LITTLE ROBIN'S.

Oh, where is the boy, dressed in jacket of gray, Who climbed up a tree in the orchard to-day, And carried my three little birdies away? They hardly were dressed, When he took from the nest My three little robins, and left me bereft.

O wrens! have you seen, in your travels to-day, A very small boy, dressed in jacket of gray, Who carried my three little robins away? He had light-colored hair, And his feet were both bare. Ah me! he was cruel and mean, I declare.

O butterfly! stop just one moment, I pray: Have you seen a boy dressed in jacket of gray, Who carried my three little birdies away? He had pretty blue eyes, And was small of his size. Ah! he must be wicked, and not very wise.

O bees! with your bags of sweet nectarine, stay; Have you seen a boy dressed in jacket of gray, And carrying three little birdies away? Did he go through the town, Or go sneaking aroun' Through hedges and byways, with head hanging down?

O boy with blue eyes, dressed in jacket of gray! If you will bring back my three robins to-day, With sweetest of music the gift I'll repay; I'll sing all day long My merriest song, And I will forgive you this terrible wrong.

Bobolinks! did you see my birdies and me— How happy we were on the old apple-tree? Until I was robbed of my young, as you see? Oh, how can I sing, Unless he will bring My three robins back, to sleep under my wing?

MRS. C. F. BERRY: Songs for Our Darlings.

* * * * *

THE TERRIBLE SCARECROW AND ROBINS.

The farmer looked at his cherry-tree, With thick buds clustered on every bough. "I wish I could cheat the robins," said he. "If somebody only would show me how!

"I'll make a terrible scarecrow grim, With threatening arms and with bristling head; And up in the tree I'll fasten him, To frighten them half to death," he said.

He fashioned a scarecrow all tattered and torn,— Oh, 'twas a horrible thing to see! And very early, one summer morn, He set it up in his cherry-tree.

The blossoms were white as the light sea-foam, The beautiful tree was a lovely sight; But the scarecrow stood there so much at home That the birds flew screaming away in fright.

But the robins, watching him day after day, With heads on one side and eyes so bright, Surveying the monster, began to say, "Why should this fellow our prospects blight?

"He never moves round for the roughest weather, He's a harmless, comical, tough old fellow. Let's all go into the tree together, For he won't budge till the fruit is mellow!"

So up they flew; and the sauciest pair 'Mid the shady branches peered and perked, Selected a spot with the utmost care, And all day merrily sang and worked.

And where do you think they built their nest? In the scarecrow's pocket, if you please, That, half-concealed on his ragged breast, Made a charming covert of safety and ease!

By the time the cherries were ruby-red, A thriving family hungry and brisk, The whole long day on the ripe food fed. 'Twas so convenient! they saw no risk!

Until the children were ready to fly, All undisturbed they lived in the tree; For nobody thought to look at the guy For a robin's flourishing family!

CELIA THAXTER.

* * * * *

THE SONG SPARROW.

A little gray bird with a speckled breast, Under my window has built his nest; He sits on at twig and singeth clear A song that overfloweth with cheer: "Love! Love! Love! Let us be happy, my love. Sing of cheer."

Sweet and true are the notes of his song; Sweet—and yet always full and strong, True—and yet they are never sad, Serene with that peace that maketh glad: "Life! Life! Life! Oh, what a blessing is life; Life is glad!"

Of all the birds, I love thee best, Dear Sparrow, singing of joy and rest; Rest—but life and hope increase, Joy—whose spring is deepest peace: "Joy! Life! Love! Oh, to love and live is joy,— Joy and peace."

MISS HARRIET E. PAINE: Bird Songs of New England.

* * * * *

THE FIELD SPARROW.

A bubble of music floats The slope of the hillside over— A little wandering sparrow's notes— On the bloom of yarrow and clover. And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry-leaf On his ripple of song are stealing; For he is a chartered thief, The wealth of the fields revealing.

One syllable, clear and soft As a raindrop's silvery patter, Or a tinkling fairy-bell, heard aloft, In the midst of the merry chatter Of robin and linnet and wren and jay, One syllable, oft-repeated: He has but a word to say, And of that he will not be cheated.

The singer I have not seen; But the song I arise and follow The brown hills over, the pastures green, And into the sunlit hollow. With the joy of a lowly heart's content I can feel my glad eyes glisten, Though he hides in his happy tent, While I stand outside and listen.

This way would I also sing, My dear little hillside neighbor! A tender carol of peace to bring To the sunburnt fields of labor, Is better than making a loud ado. Trill on, amid clover and yarrow: There's a heart-beat echoing you, And blessing you, blithe little sparrow!

LUCY LARCOM.

* * * * *

THE SPARROW.

Glad to see you, little bird; 'Twas your little chirp I heard: What did you intend to say? "Give me something this cold day?"

That I will, and plenty too; All the crumbs I saved for you. Don't be frightened: here's a treat. I will wait and see you eat.

Shocking tales I hear of you; Chirp, and tell me, are they true? Robbing all the summer long; Don't you think it very wrong?

Thomas says you steal his wheat; John complains his plums you eat, Choose the ripest for your share, Never asking whose they are?

But I will not try to know What you did so long ago: There's your breakfast; eat away; Come and see me every day.

Child's Book of Poetry.

* * * * *

PICCOLA AND SPARROW.

Poor, sweet Piccola! Did you hear What happened to Piccola, children dear? 'Tis seldom Fortune such favor grants As fell to this little maid of France.

'Twas Christmas-time, and her parents poor Could hardly drive the wolf from the door, Striving with poverty's patient pain Only to live till summer again.

No gifts for Piccola! Sad were they When dawned the morning of Christmas Day; Their little darling no joy might stir, St. Nicholas nothing would bring to her!

But Piccola never doubted at all That something beautiful must befall Every child upon Christmas Day, And so she slept till the dawn was gray.

And, full of faith, when at last she woke, She stole to her shoe as the morning broke; Such sounds of gladness tilled all the air, 'Twas plain St. Nicholas had been there!

In rushed Piccola sweet, half wild: Never was seen such a joyful child. "See what the good saint brought!" she cried, And mother and father must peep inside.

Now such a story who ever heard? There was a little shivering bird! A sparrow, that in at the window flew, Had crept into Piccola's tiny shoe!

"How good Piccola must have been!" She cried as happy as any queen, While the starving sparrow she fed and warmed, And danced with rapture, she was so charmed.

Children, this story I tell to you, Of Piccola sweet and her bird, is true. In the far-off land of France, they say, Still do they live to this very day.

CELIA THAXTER.

* * * * *

LITTLE SPARROW.

Touch not the little sparrow who doth build His home so near us. He doth follow us, From spot to spot, amidst the turbulent town, And ne'er deserts us. To all other birds The woods suffice, the rivers, the sweet fields, And Nature in her aspect mute and fair; But he doth herd with men. Blithe servant! live, Feed, and grow cheerful! on my window's ledge I'll leave thee every morning some fit food In payment for thy service.

BARRY CORNWALL.

* * * * *

THE SWALLOW.

A swallow in the spring Came to our granary, and beneath the eaves Essayed to make a nest, and there did bring Wet earth and straw and leaves.

Day after day she toiled With patient art; but, ere her work was crowned, Some sad mishap the tiny fabric spoiled, And dashed it to the ground.

She found the ruin wrought; But, not cast down, forth from the place she flew, And, with her mate, fresh earth and grasses brought, And built her nest anew.

But scarcely had she placed The last soft feather on its ample floor, When wicked hands, on chance, again laid waste, And wrought the ruin o'er.

But still her heart she kept, And toiled again; and last night, hearing calls, I looked,—and, lo! three little swallows slept Within the earth-made walls.

What truth is here, O man! Hath hope been smitten in its early dawn? Have clouds o'ercast thy purpose, truth, or plan? Have faith, and struggle on!

R. S. ANDROS.

* * * * *

THE EMPEROR'S BIRD'S-NEST.

Once the Emperor Charles of Spain, With his swarthy, grave commanders, I forget in what campaign, Long besieged, in mud and rain, Some old frontier town of Flanders.

Up and down the dreary camp, In great boots of Spanish leather, Striding with a measured tramp, These Hidalgos, dull and damp, Cursed the Frenchmen, cursed the weather.

Thus as to and fro they went, Over upland and through hollow, Giving their impatience vent, Perched upon the Emperor's tent, In her nest, they spied a swallow.

Yes, it was a swallow's nest, Built of clay and hair of horses, Mane, or tail, or dragoon's crest, Found on hedge-rows east and west, After skirmish of the forces.

Then an old Hidalgo said, As he twirled his gray mustachio, "Sure this swallow overhead Thinks the Emperor's tent a shed, And the Emperor but a Macho!"

Hearing his imperial name Coupled with those words of malice, Half in anger, half in shame, Forth the great campaigner came Slowly from his canvas palace.

"Let no hand the bird molest," Said he solemnly, "nor hurt her!" Adding then, by way of jest, "Golondrina is my guest, 'Tis the wife of some deserter!"

Swift as bowstring speed, a shaft, Through the camp was spread the rumor, And the soldiers, as they quaffed Flemish beer at dinner, laughed At the Emperor's pleasant humor.

So unharmed and unafraid Sat the swallow still and brooded, Till the constant cannonade Through the walls a breach had made, And the siege was thus concluded.

Then the army, elsewhere bent, Struck its tents as if disbanding, Only not the Emperor's tent, For he ordered, ere he went, Very curtly, "Leave it standing!"

So it stood there all alone, Loosely flapping, torn and tattered, Till the brood was fledged and flown, Singing o'er those walls of stone Which the cannon-shot had shattered.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

TO A SWALLOW BUILDING UNDER OUR EAVES.

Thou too hast travelled, little fluttering thing— Hast seen the world, and now thy weary wing Thou too must rest. But much, my little bird, couldst thou but tell, I'd give to know why here thou lik'st so well To build thy nest.

For thou hast passed fair places in thy flight; A world lay all beneath thee where to light; And, strange thy taste, Of all the varied scenes that met thine eye— Of all the spots for building 'neath the sky— To choose this waste.

Did fortune try thee? was thy little purse Perchance run low, and thou, afraid of worse, Felt here secure? Ah no! thou need'st not gold, thou happy one! Thou know'st it not. Of all God's creatures, man Alone is poor.

What was it, then? some mystic turn of thought, Caught under German eaves, and hither brought, Marring thine eye For the world's loveliness, till thou art grown A sober thing that dost but mope and moan, Not knowing why?

Nay, if thy mind be sound, I need not ask, Since here I see thee working at thy task With wing and beak. A well-laid scheme doth that small head contain, At which thou work'st, brave bird, with might and main, Nor more need'st seek.

In truth, I rather take it thou hast got By instinct wise much sense about thy lot, And hast small care Whether an Eden or a desert be Thy home, so thou remain'st alive, and free To skim the air.

God speed thee, pretty bird; may thy small nest With little ones all in good time be blest. I love thee much; For well thou managest that life of thine, While I! oh, ask not what I do with mine! Would I were such!

MRS. THOMAS CARLYLE.

* * * * *

THE SWALLOW, THE OWL, AND THE COCK'S SHRILL CLARION IN THE "ELEGY."

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, And all the air a solemn stillness holds, Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight, And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds.

Save that from yonder ivy-mantled tower The moping owl does to the moon complain Of such as, wandering near her secret bower, Molest her ancient, solitary reign.

Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.

The breezy call of incense-breathing morn, The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed, The cock's shrill clarion, or the echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed.

GRAY.

* * * * *

THE STATUE OVER THE CATHEDRAL DOOR.

Forms of saints and kings are standing The cathedral door above; Yet I saw but one among them Who hath soothed my soul with love.

In his mantle,—wound about him, As their robes the sowers wind,— Bore he swallows and their fledglings, Flowers and weeds of every kind.

And so stands he calm and child-like, High in wind and tempest wild; Oh, were I like him exalted, I would be like him, a child!

And my songs,—green leaves and blossoms,— To the doors of heaven would bear, Calling, even in storm and tempest, Round me still these birds of air.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

THE BIRD LET LOOSE.

The bird let loose in eastern skies, When hastening fondly home, Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies Where idle warblers roam;

But high she shoots through air and light, Above all low delay, Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, Nor shadow dims her way.

So grant me, God, from every care And stain of passion free, Aloft, through Virtue's purer air, To hold my course to thee!

No sin to cloud, no lure to stay My soul, as home she springs;— Thy sunshine on her joyful way, Thy freedom in her wings!

T. MOORE.

* * * * *

THE BROWN THRUSH.

There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree. "He's singing to me! He's singing to me!" And what does he say, little girl, little boy? "Oh, the world's running over with joy! Don't you hear? Don't you see? Hush! Look! In my tree I'm as happy as happy can be!"

And the brown thrush keeps singing, "A nest do you see, And five eggs, hid by me in the juniper-tree? Don't meddle! don't touch! little girl, little boy, Or the world will lose some of its joy! Now I'm glad! now I'm free! And always shall be, If you never bring sorrow to me."

So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, To you and to me, to you and to me; And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, "Oh, the world's running over with joy! Don't you know? don't you see? But long it won't be, Unless we are as good as can be?"

LUCY LARCOM.

* * * * *

THE GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH.

In the hot midsummer noontide, When all other birds are sleeping, Still one in the silent forest, Like a sentry, watch in keeping, Singing in the pine-tops spicy: "I see, I see, I SEE, I SEE."

No one ever sees you, atom! You are hidden too securely. I have sought for hours to find you. It is but to tease us, surely, That you sing in pine-tops spicy: "I see, I see, I SEE, I SEE."

HARRIET E. PAINE: Bird Songs of New England.

* * * * *

THE THRUSH.

Beside the cottage in which Ellen dwelt Stands a tall ash-tree; to whose topmost twig A thrush resorts, and annually chants, At morn and evening from that naked perch, While all the undergrove is thick with leaves, A time-beguiling ditty, for delight Of his fond partner, silent in the nest. "Ah why," said Ellen, sighing to herself, "Why do not words, and kiss, and solemn pledge, And nature that is kind in woman's breast, And reason that in man is wise and good, And fear of Him who is a righteous Judge,— Why do not these prevail for human life, To keep two hearts together, that began Their spring-time with one love, and that have need Of mutual pity and forgiveness, sweet To grant, or be received; while that poor bird,— Oh come and hear him! Thou who hast to me Been faithless, hear him, though a lowly creature, One of God's simple children that yet know not The universal Parent, how he sings As if he wished the firmament of heaven Should listen, and give back to him the voice Of his triumphant constancy and love; The proclamation that he makes, how far His darkness doth transcend our fickle light!"

WORDSWORTH.

* * * * *

THE AZIOLA.

"Do you not hear the Aziola cry? Methinks she must be nigh," Said Mary, as we sate In dusk, ere stars were lit or candles brought, And I, who thought, This Aziola was some tedious woman, Asked, "Who is Aziola?" How elate I felt to know that it was nothing human, No mockery of myself to fear or hate; And Mary saw my soul, And laughed and said, "Disquiet yourself not, 'Tis nothing but a little downy owl."

Sad Aziola! many an eventide Thy music I had heard By wood and stream, meadow and mountain-side, And fields and marshes wide, Such as nor voice, nor lute, nor wind, nor bird, The soul ever stirred; Unlike and far sweeter than them all. Sad Aziola! from that moment I Loved thee and thy sad cry.

SHELLEY.

* * * * *

THE MARTEN.

This guest of summer, The temple-haunting martlet, does approve, By his loved mansionry, that the heaven's breath Smells wooingly here. No jutty, frieze, Buttress, nor coigne of vantage, but this bird Hath made his pendent bed, and procreant cradle. Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed The air is delicate.

Macbeth, Act 1, Sc. 6.

* * * * *

JUDGE YOU AS YOU ARE?

How would you be If He which is the top of Judgment should But judge you as you are? Oh, think on that, And Mercy then will breathe within your lips Like man new made.

Measure for Measure, Act 2, Sc. 2.

* * * * *

ROBERT OF LINCOLN.

Merrily singing on briar and weed, Near to the nest of his little dame, Over the mountain-side or mead, Robert of Lincoln is telling his name. Bob-o'-link, Bob-o'-link, Spink, spank, spink; Snug and safe in that nest of ours, Hidden among the summer flowers; Chee, chee, chee.

Robert of Lincoln is gayly drest, Wearing a bright-black wedding coat; White are his shoulders, and white his crest, Hear him call his merry note: Bob-o'-link, Bob-o'-link, Spink, spank, spink; Look what a nice new coat is mine, Sure there was never a bird so fine; Chee, chee, chee.

Six white eggs on a bed of hay, Freckled with purple, a pretty sight! There as the mother sits all day, Robert is singing with all his might. Nice good wife, that never goes out, Keeping house while I frolic about.

Summer wanes,—the children are grown; Fun and frolic no more he knows, Robert of Lincoln's a humdrum crone: Off he flies, and we sing as he goes,— "When you can pipe in that merry old strain, Robert of Lincoln come back again."

W. C. BRYANT.

* * * * *

MY DOVES.

My little doves have left a nest Upon an Indian tree, Whose leaves fantastic take their rest Or motion from the sea; For, ever there, the sea-winds go With sunlit paces to and fro.

The tropic flowers looked up to it, The tropic stars looked down, And there my little doves did sit, With feathers softly brown, And glittering eyes that showed their right To general Nature's deep delight.

My little doves were ta'en away From that glad nest of theirs, Across an ocean rolling gray, And tempest clouded airs. My little doves,—who lately knew The sky and wave by warmth and blue!

And now, within the city prison, In mist and dullness pent, With sudden upward look they listen For sounds of past content— For lapse of water, swell of breeze, Or nut-fruit falling from the trees.

Soft falls their chant as on the nest Beneath the sunny zone; For love that stirred it in their breast Has not aweary grown, And 'neath the city's shade can keep The well of music clear and deep.

So teach ye me the wisest part, My little doves! to move Along the city-ways with heart Assured by holy love, And vocal with such songs as own A fountain to the world unknown.

MRS. BROWNING.

* * * * *

THE DOVES OF VENICE.

I stood in the quiet piazza, Where come rude noises never; But the feet of children, the wings of doves, Are sounding on forever.

And the cooing of their soft voices, And the touch of the rippling sea, And the ringing clock of the armed knight, Came through the noon to me.

While their necks with rainbow gleaming, 'Neath the dark old arches shone, And the campanile's shadow long, Moved o'er the pavement stone.

And from every "coigne of vantage," Where lay some hidden nest, They fluttered, peeped, and glistened forth, Sacred, serene, at rest.

I thought of thy saint, O Venice! Who said in his tenderness, "I love thy birds, my Father dear, Our lives they cheer and bless!

"For love is not for men only; To the tiniest little things Give room to nestle in our hearts; Give freedom to all wings!"

And the lovely, still piazza, Seemed with his presence blest, And I, and the children, and the doves, Partakers of his rest.

LAURA WINTHROP JOHNSON.

* * * * *

SONG OF THE DOVE.

There sitteth a dove so white and fair, All on the lily spray, And she listeneth how, to Jesus Christ, The little children pray.

Lightly she spreads her friendly wings, And to heaven's gate hath sped, And unto the Father in heaven she bears The prayers which the children have said.

And back she comes from heaven's gate, And brings—that dove so mild— From the Father in heaven, who hears her speak, A blessing for every child.

Then, children, lift up a pious prayer, It hears whatever you say, That heavenly dove, so white and fair, That sits on the lily spray.

FREDERIKA BREMER.

* * * * *

WHAT THE QUAIL SAYS.

Whistles the quail from the covert, Whistles with all his might, High and shrill, day after day, "Children, tell me, what does he say?" Ginx—(the little one, bold and bright, Sure that he understands aright)— "He says, 'Bob White! Bob White!'"

Calls the quail from the cornfield, Thick with stubble set; Misty rain-clouds floating by Hide the blue of the August sky. "What does he call now, loud and plain?" Gold Locks—"That's a sign of rain! He calls 'More wet! more wet!'"

Pipes the quail from the fence-top, Perched there full in sight, Quaint and trim, with quick, bright eye, Almost too round and plump to fly, Whistling, calling, piping clear, "What do I think he says? My dear, He says 'Do right! do right!'"

MRS. CLARA DOTY BATES.

* * * * *

CHICK-A-DEE-DEE.

The snowflakes are drifting round windows and door; The chilly winds whistle "Remember the poor;" Remember the birds, too, out on yonder tree; I hear one just singing a Chick-a-dee-dee.

Throw out a few crumbs! you've enough and to spare; They need through the winter your kindness and care; And they will repay you with heartiest glee, By constantly singing a Chick-a-dee-dee.

Each morning you'll see them go hopping around, Though little they find on the cold frozen ground; Yet never disheartened! on each bush and tree, They merrily carol a Chick-a-dee-dee.

Oh! sweet little songster; so fearless and bold! Your little pink feet—do they never feel cold? Have you a warm shelter at night for your bed, Where under your wing you can tuck your brown head?

Though cold grows the season you seem not to care, But cheerily warble though frosty the air; Though short are the days, and the nights are so long, And most of your playmates are scattered and gone.

The snowflakes are drifting round window and door, And chilly winds whistle behind and before, Yet never discouraged, on each bush and tree, You'll hear the sweet carol of Chick-a-dee-dee.

MRS. C. F. BERRY.

* * * * *

THE LINNET.

What is the happiest morning song? The Linnet's. He warbles, blithe and free, In the sunlit top of the old elm-tree, Joyous and fresh, and hopeful and strong.

The trees are not high enough, little bird; You mount and wheel, and eddy and soar, And with every turn yet more and more Your wonderful, ravishing music is heard.

A crimson speck in the bright blue sky, Do you search for the secret of heaven's deep glow? Is not heaven within, when you carol so? Then why, dear bird, must you soar so high?

He answers nothing, but soars and sings; He heeds no doubtful question like this. He only bubbles over with bliss, And sings, and mounts on winning wings.

HARRIET E. PAINE: Bird Songs of New England.

* * * * *

HEAR THE WOODLAND LINNET.

Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear the woodland Linnet, How sweet his music! on my life, There's more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the Throstle sings! He, too, is no mean preacher: Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.

Sweet is the love which Nature brings: Our meddling intellect Misshapes the beauteous forms of things: We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art: Close up these barren leaves: Come forth, and bring with you a heart That watches and receives.

W. WORDSWORTH.

* * * * *

THE PARROT.

A TRUE STORY.

The deep affections of the breast That heaven to living things imparts, Are not exclusively possessed By human hearts.

A Parrot, from the Spanish main, Full young and early caged came o'er, With bright wings, to the bleak domain Of Mulla's shore.

To spicy groves where he had won His plumage of resplendent hue, His native fruits, and skies, and sun, He bade adieu.

For these he changed the smoke of turf, A heathery land and misty sky, And turned on rocks and raging surf His golden eye.

But petted in our climate cold, He lived and chattered many a day: Until with age, from green and gold His wings grew gray.

At last when blind, and seeming dumb, He scolded, laughed, and spoke no more, A Spanish stranger chanced to come To Mulla's shore;

He hailed the bird in Spanish speech, The bird in Spanish speech replied; Flapped round the cage with joyous screech, Dropt down, and died.

T. CAMPBELL.

* * * * *

THE COMMON QUESTION.

Behind us at our evening meal The gray bird ate his fill, Swung downward by a single claw, And wiped his hooked bill.

He shook his wings and crimson tail, And set his head aslant, And, in his sharp, impatient way, Asked, "What does Charlie want?"

"Fie, silly bird!" I answered, "tuck Your head beneath your wing, And go to sleep;"—but o'er and o'er He asked the selfsame thing.

Then, smiling, to myself I said:—How like are men and birds! We all are saying what he says, In actions or in words.

The boy with whip and top and drum, The girl with hoop and doll, And men with lands and houses, ask The question of Poor Poll.

However full, with something more We fain the bag would cram; We sigh above our crowded nets For fish that never swam.

No bounty of indulgent Heaven The vague desire can stay; Self-love is still a Tartar mill For grinding prayers alway.

The dear God hears and pities all; He knoweth all our wants; And what we blindly ask of Him His love withholds or grants.

And so I sometimes think our prayers Might well be merged in one; And nest and perch and hearth and church Repeat, "Thy will be done."

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

* * * * *

WHY NOT DO IT, SIR, TO-DAY?

"Why, so I will, you noisy bird, This very day I'll advertise you, Perhaps some busy ones may prize you. A fine-tongued parrot as was ever heard, I'll word it thus—set forth all charms about you, And say no family should be without you."

Thus far a gentleman addressed a bird; Then to his friend: "An old procrastinator, Sir, I am: do you wonder that I hate her? Though she but seven words can say, Twenty and twenty times a day She interferes with all my dreams, My projects, plans, and airy schemes, Mocking my foible to my sorrow: I'll advertise this bird to-morrow."

To this the bird seven words did say: "Why not do it, sir, to-day?"

CHARLES AND MARY LAMB.

* * * * *

TO A REDBREAST.

Little bird, with bosom red, Welcome to my humble shed! Courtly domes of high degree Have no room for thee and me; Pride and pleasure's fickle throng Nothing mind an idle song. Daily near my table steal, While I pick my scanty meal:— Doubt not, little though there be, But I'll cast a crumb to thee; Well rewarded, if I spy Pleasure in thy glancing eye; See thee, when thou'st eat thy fill, Plume thy breast and wipe thy bill. Come, my feathered friend, again? Well thou know'st the broken pane:— Ask of me thy daily store.

J. LANGHORNE.

* * * * *

PHOEBE.

Ere pales in heaven the morning star, A bird, the loneliest of its kind, Hears dawn's faint footfall from afar, While all its mates are dumb and blind.

It is a wee, sad-colored thing, As shy and secret as a maid, That, ere in choir the robins ring, Pipes its own name like one afraid.

It seems pain-prompted to repeat The story of some ancient ill, But Phoebe! Phoebe! sadly sweet, Is all it says, and then is still.

It calls and listens: earth and sky, Hushed by the pathos of its fate, Listen: no whisper of reply Comes from the doom-dissevered mate.

Phoebe! it calls and calls again, And Ovid, could he but have heard, Had hung a legendary pain About the memory of the bird;

A pain articulate so long In penance of some mouldered crime, Whose ghost still flies the furies' thong Down the waste solitudes of time;

* * * * *

Phoebe! is all it has to say In plaintive cadence o'er and o'er, Like children that have lost their way And know their names, but nothing more.

Is it in type, since Nature's lyre Vibrates to every note in man, Of that insatiable desire Meant to be so, since life began?

I, in strange lands at gray of dawn, Wakeful, have heard that fruitless plaint Through memory's chambers deep withdrawn Renew its iterations faint.

So nigh! yet from remotest years It seems to draw its magic, rife With longings unappeased, and tears Drawn from the very source of life.

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL: in Scribner.

* * * * *

TO THE STORK.

Welcome, O Stork! that dost wing Thy flight from the far-away! Thou hast brought us the signs of Spring, Thou hast made our sad hearts gay.

Descend, O Stork! descend Upon our roof to rest; In our ash-tree, O my friend, My darling, make thy nest.

To thee, O Stork, I complain, O Stork, to thee I impart The thousand sorrows, the pain And aching of my heart.

When thou away didst go, Away from this tree of ours, The withering winds did blow, And dried up all the flowers.

Dark grew the brilliant sky, Cloudy and dark and drear; They were breaking the snow on high, And winter was drawing near.

From Varaca's rocky wall, From the rock of Varaca unrolled, The snow came and covered all, And the green meadow was cold.

O Stork, our garden with snow Was hidden away and lost, And the rose-trees that in it grow Were withered by snow and frost.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

THE STORKS OF DELFT.

The tradition of the storks at Delft (Holland), is, however, still alive, and no traveller writes about the city without remembering them.

The fact occurred at the time of the great fire which ruined almost all the city. There were in Delft innumerable storks' nests. It must be understood that the stork is the favorite bird of Holland; the bird of good fortune, like the swallow; welcome to all, because it makes war upon toads and frogs; that the peasants plant poles with circular floor of wood on top to attract them to make their nests, and that in some towns they may be seen walking in the streets. At Delft they were in great numbers. When the fire broke out, which was on the 3d May, the young storks were fledged, but could not yet fly. Seeing the fire approach, the parent storks attempted to carry their young out of danger; but they were too heavy; and, after having tried all sorts of desperate efforts, the poor birds were forced to give it up.

They might have saved themselves and have abandoned the little ones to their fate, as human creatures often do under similar circumstances. But they stayed upon their nests, gathered their little ones about them, covered them with their wings, as if to retard, as long as possible, the fatal moment, and so awaited death, in that loving and noble attitude.

And who shall say if, in the horrible dismay and flight from the flames, that example of self-sacrifice, that voluntary maternal martyrdom, may not have given strength and courage to some weak soul who was about to abandon those who had need of him.

DE AMICIS' Holland.

* * * * *

THE PHEASANT.

See! from the brake the whirring pheasant springs And mounts exulting on triumphant wings. Short is his joy; he feels the fiery wound, Flutters in blood, and panting beats the ground. Ah! what avail his glossy, varying dyes, His purple crest, and scarlet-circled eyes, The vivid green his shining plumes unfold, His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold!

POPE.

* * * * *

THE HERONS OF ELMWOOD.

Silent are all the sounds of day; Nothing I hear but the chirp of crickets, And the cry of the herons winging their way O'er the poet's house in the Elmwood thickets.

Call to him, herons, as slowly you pass To your roosts in the haunts of the exiled thrushes, Sing him the song of the green morass, And the tides that water the reeds and rushes.

Sing him the mystical song of the Hern, And the secret that baffles our utmost seeking; For only a sound of lament we discern, And cannot interpret the words you are speaking.

Sing of the air, and the wild delight Of wings that uplift and winds that uphold you, The joy of freedom, the rapture of flight Through the drift of the floating mists that enfold you;

Of the landscape lying so far below, With its towns and rivers and desert places; And the splendor of light above, and the glow Of the limitless, blue, ethereal spaces.

Ask him if songs of the Troubadours, Or of Minnesingers in old black-letter, Sound in his ears more sweet than yours, And if yours are not sweeter and wilder and better.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

WALTER VON DER VOGELWEID.

Vogelweid the Minnesinger, When he left this world of ours, Laid his body in the cloister, Under Wuertzburg's minster towers.

And he gave the monks his treasures, Gave them all with this behest: They should feed the birds at noontide Daily on his place of rest;

Saying, "From these wandering minstrels I have learned the art of song; Let me now repay the lessons They have taught so well and long."

Thus the bard of love departed; And, fulfilling his desire, On his tomb the birds were feasted By the children of the choir.

Day by day, o'er tower and turret, In foul weather and in fair, Day by day, in vaster numbers, Flocked the poets of the air.

On the tree whose heavy branches Overshadowed all the place, On the pavement, on the tombstone, On the poet's sculptured face,

On the crossbars of each window, On the lintel of each door, They renewed the War of Wartburg, Which the bard had fought before.

There they sang their merry carols, Sang their lauds on every side; And the name their voices uttered Was the name of Vogelweid.

Till at length the portly abbot Murmured, "Why this waste of food? Be it changed to loaves henceforward For our fasting brotherhood."

Then in vain o'er tower and turret, From the walls and woodland nests, When the minster bells rang noontide, Gathered the unwelcome guests.

Then in vain, with cries discordant, Clamorous round the Gothic spire, Screamed the feathered Minnesingers For the children of the choir.

Time has long effaced the inscriptions On the cloister's funeral stones, And tradition only tells us Where repose the poet's bones.

But around the vast cathedral, By sweet echoes multiplied, Still the birds repeat the legend, And the name of Vogelweid.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

THE LEGEND OF THE CROSS-BILL.

On the cross the dying Saviour Heavenward lifts his eyelids calm, Feels, but scarcely feels, a trembling In his pierced and bleeding palm.

And by all the world forsaken, Sees he how with zealous care At the ruthless nail of iron A little bird is striving there.

Stained with blood, and never tiring, With its beak it does not cease, From the cross 'twould free the Saviour, Its Creator's son release.

And the Saviour speaks in mildness: "Blest be thou of all the good! Bear, as token of this moment, Marks of blood and holy rood!"

And that bird is called the cross-bill; Covered all with blood so clear, In the groves of pine it singeth Songs, like legends, strange to hear.

H. W. LONGFELLOW.

* * * * *

PRETTY BIRDS.

Among the orchards and the groves, While summer days are fair and long, You brighten every tree and bush, You fill the air with loving song.

NURSERY.

* * * * *

THE LITTLE BIRD SITS.

And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days; Then Heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays: Whether we look, or whether we listen, We hear life murmur, or see it glisten; Every clod feels a stir of might, An instinct within it that reaches and towers, And, groping blindly above it for light, Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers; The flush of life may well be seen Thrilling back over hills and valleys; The cowslip startles in meadows green, The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean To be some happy creature's palace: The little bird sits at his door in the sun, Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, And lets his illumined being o'errun With the deluge of summer it receives; His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings, And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings; He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,— In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

* * * * *

THE LIVING SWAN.

Then some one came who said, "My Prince had shot A swan, which fell among the roses here, He bids me pray you send it. Will you send?" "Nay," quoth Siddartha, "if the bird were dead To send it to the slayer might be well, But the swan lives; my cousin hath but killed The god-like speed which throbbed in this white wing." And Devadatta answered, "The wild thing, Living or dead, is his who fetched it down; 'Twas no man's in the clouds, but fall'n 'tis mine, Give me my prize, fair Cousin." Then our Lord Laid the swan's neck beside his own smooth cheek And gravely spake, "Say no! the bird is mine, The first of myriad things which shall be mine By right of mercy and love's lordliness. For now I know, by what within me stirs, That I shall teach compassion unto men And be a speechless world's interpreter, Abating this accursed flood of woe, Not man's alone; but, if the Prince disputes, Let him submit this matter to the wise And we will wait their word." So was it done; In full divan the business had debate, And many thought this thing and many that, Till there arose an unknown priest who said, "If life be aught, the savior of a life Owns more the living thing than he can own Who sought to slay—the slayer spoils and wastes, The cherisher sustains, give him the bird:" Which judgment all found just.

Light of Asia.

* * * * *

THE STORMY PETREL.

A thousand miles from land are we, Tossing about on the roaring sea— From billow to bounding billow cast, Like fleecy snow on the stormy blast. The sails are scattered abroad like weeds; The strong masts shake like quivering reeds; The mighty cables and iron chains; The hull, which all earthly strength disdains,— They strain and they crack; and hearts like stone Their natural, hard, proud strength disown.

Up and down!—up and down! From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, And amid the flashing and feathery foam, The stormy petrel finds a home. A home, if such a place may be For her who lives on the wide, wide sea, On the craggy ice, in the frozen air, And only seeketh her rocky lair To warm her young, and to teach them to spring At once o'er the waves on their stormy wing!

O'er the deep!—o'er the deep! Where the whale, and the shark, and the sword-fish sleep— Outflying the blast and the driving rain, The petrel telleth her tale—in vain; For the mariner curseth the warning bird Which bringeth him news of the storm unheard! Ah! thus does the prophet of good or ill Meet hate from the creatures he serveth still; Yet he ne'er falters—so, petrel, spring Once more o'er the waves on thy stormy wing!

BARRY CORNWALL.

* * * * *

TO THE CUCKOO.

Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove! Thou messenger of Spring! Now heaven repairs thy rural seat, And woods thy welcome sing.

What time the pea puts on the bloom, Thou fliest thy vocal vale, An annual guest in other lands Another Spring to hail.

Delightful visitant! with thee I hail the time of flowers, And hear the sound of music sweet From birds among the bowers.

Sweet bird! thy bower is ever green, Thy sky is ever clear; Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, No Winter in thy year!

Oh, could I fly, I'd fly with thee! We'd make, with joyful wing, Our annual visit o'er the globe, Attendants on the Spring.

JOHN LOGAN.

* * * * *

BIRDS AT DAWN.

The beautiful day is breaking, The first faint line of light Parts the shadows of the night, And a thousand birds are waking. I hear the Hairbird's slender trill,— So fine and perfect it doth fill The whole sweet silence with its thrill.

A rosy flush creeps up the sky, The birds begin their symphony. I hear the clear, triumphant voice Of the Robin, bidding the world rejoice. The Vireos catch the theme of the song, And the Baltimore Oriole bears it along, While from Sparrow, and Thrush, and Wood Pewee, And, deep in the pine-trees, the Chickadee, There's an undercurrent of harmony.

The Linnet sings like a magic flute, The Lark and Bluebird touch the lute, The Starling pipes to the shining morn With the vibrant note of the joyous horn, The splendid Jay Is the trumpeter gay, The Kingfisher, sounding his rattle,—he May the player on the cymbals be, The Cock, saluting the sun's first ray, Is the bugler sounding a reveille. "Caw! Caw!" cries the crow, and his grating tone Completes the chord like a deep trombone.

But, above them all, the Robin sings; His song is the very soul of day, And all black shadows troop away While, pure and fresh, his music rings: "Light is here! Never fear! Day is near! My dear!"

MISS HARRIET E. PAINE.

* * * * *

EVENING SONGS.

Gliding at sunset in my boat, I hear the Veery's bubbling note; And a Robin, flying late, Sounds the home-call to his mate. Then the sun sinks low In the western glow, And the birds go to rest. But hush! Far off sings the sweet Wood-Thrush. He sings—and waits—and sings again, The liquid notes of that holy strain.

He ceases, and all the world is still: And then the moon climbs over the hill, And I hear the cry of the Whip-poor-will.

Tranquil, I lay me down to sleep, While the summer stars a vigil keep; And I hear from the Sparrow a gentle trill, Which means, "Good Night; Peace and Good Will."

MISS HARRIET E. PAINE.

* * * * *

LITTLE BROWN BIRD.

A little brown bird sat on a stone; The sun shone thereon, but he was alone. "O pretty bird, do you not weary Of this gay summer so long and dreary?"

The little bird opened his black bright eyes, And looked at me with great surprise; Then his joyous song broke forth, to say, "Weary of what? I can sing all day."

Posies for Children.

* * * * *

LIFE'S SIGN.

Wouldst thou the life of souls discern, Not human wisdom nor divine Helps thee by aught beside to learn, Love is life's only sign.

KEBLE.

* * * * *

A BIRD'S MINISTRY.

From his home in an Eastern bungalow, In sight of the everlasting snow Of the grand Himalayas, row on row, Thus wrote my friend:— "I had travelled far From the Afghan towers of Candahar, Through the sand-white plains of Sinde-Sagar;

"And once, when the daily march was o'er, As tired I sat in my tented door, Hope failed me, as never it failed before.

"In swarming city, at wayside fane, By the Indus' bank, on the scorching plain, I had taught,—and my teaching all seemed vain.

"No glimmer of light (I sighed) appears; The Moslem's Fate and the Buddhist's fears Have gloomed their worship this thousand years.