THE LA RUE HOLMES NATURE LOVERS LEAGUE 



489 



Faunus. picture presents itself? Do we "see" 



lie is only a dog. His portrait is be- the person of whom we think, how- 

 fore you. But what is it he says in the ever dimly, or is there no mental pic- 

 silent appeal, from eyes that look up to ture, but simply some conception, not 

 me as he gently thrusts himself be- based on an impression of "a pres- 

 tween me and any human who may encer _ 



press close to me? Is it possible "to think of someone, 



without, in some degree, "seeing" a 

 more or less distinct picture? 



FAUNUS. 



He is only a dog, but what passion 

 is it that leads him to spring between 

 the mother with a rod and the offend- 

 ing child — what is the meaning of the 

 mute appeal, as he looks up ; why does 

 his face gather darkness, and his teeth 

 show, if his first appeal is not enough? 



He is only a dog, but what motives 

 leads to cries, like sobs, as the child 

 casts her arms over him — her face 

 aflood with tears — two sobbing together, 

 on the floor under the table? 



What is it but love that reaches out 

 to you, with yearning in the uplifted 

 eye of your dog? and what can sep- 

 arate you from the love of this mute 

 creature? It is not hunger, hardship, 

 neglect, anger or barbarity — nothing 

 but death itself. We need to be piti- 

 ful ; to be kind ; to love back. 



"Thinking of Someone." 

 Can anyone interested in mental pro- 

 cesses, explain what is really meant by 

 the expression "thinking of" an individ- 

 ual ? Do they imply that a memory- 



The Blue Flower Meetings. 

 This is the season of the L. H. Na- 

 ture League Blue Flower meetings 

 when addresses are given which are in- 

 tended to accentuate the sentiment of 

 our motto, "Self-sacrifice; heroism for 

 another." A further intention is to 

 present the thought that our pathway 

 through life is like a garden. We sow 

 thought-seed as we pass through, and 

 leave the way better or worse for our 

 presence. We need to promise our- 

 selves, as we drop in the ground the 

 garden seeds, given to every member, 

 that we will imitate the example of 

 each tiny seed which struggles 

 through every difficulty, to send its 

 tiny shaft upward to fulfill its God- 

 given mission. 



Was It An Exceptional Sparrow? 



Was my song sparrow exceptional, 

 or are there more, though unknown to 

 me, that warble low rapsodies while 

 feeding on the ground? No sweeter 

 warble could be imagined than those I 

 heard, last season amid the grass, and 

 from the tops of stones or bits of dried 

 earth. I have known many song spar- 

 rows, but no others that warbled as he 

 threaded his way from place to place 

 across the grass. 



We hear so frequently that song- 

 sparrows build near the ground that I 

 have wondered if ours are indeed ex- 

 ceptional in building in a vine, about 

 eight feet above the garden-border. 



If I have, at times been led to con- 

 sider, without ever solving the problem, 

 why chimney swifts prefer a chimney 

 to some less sooty, fervent place, 1 have 

 given the matter up as involving less 

 interest than the more recent problem 

 — why has our screech owl chosen to 

 establish himself in the stable stove- 

 pipe hole? 



