AVALON AND A BLACKBIRD 187 



monk in the legend, only my wonderful bird was 

 black instead of white. By-and-by he flew away and 

 that was the last of him, for on other days I searched 

 and listened for him in vain. Perhaps on the very 

 morning after that evening he fell to the gun of some 

 person anxious about the safety of his reddening 

 strawberries — some farmer or cottager who did not 

 know that he was killing an angel. However, a worse 

 fate would have befallen him if one of those who 

 prefer to have their birds in cages had chanced to 

 hear his wonderful song and had proceeded to capture 

 him for exhibition about the country, winning great 

 glory from the "fancy" and perhaps making a 

 thousand pounds out of his prisoner for life. 



This character of the blackbird's music, which I 

 have been discussing — its resemblance to human- 

 made music — is not the whole nor the principal cause 

 of its charm. The charm is chiefly due to the intrinsic 

 beauty of the sound; it is a fluty sound and has that 

 quality of the flute suggestive of the human voice, 

 the voice in the case of the blackbird of an exquisitely 

 pure and beautiful contralto. The effect is greatly 

 increased by the manner in which the notes are 

 emitted — trolled out leisurely, as if by a being at 

 peace and supremely happy, and able to give the 

 feeling its most perfect expression. 



It is this delicious song of the blackbird — a voice 

 of the loveliest quality, with an expression derived 

 from its resemblance to a melodious, brightened 

 human voice, uttered in a leisurely and careless 

 manner, as of a person talking sweetly and mingling 



