70 Ztnunt^ of ti^e artees 



I wonder if my young reader has a col- 

 lection of birds' eggs nicely numbered and 

 lettered in his cabinet ; if so, here is a 

 thought for him to ponder when the 

 spring brings the birds back again. 



Supposing there are one hundred eggs 

 in your collection ; one hundred less birds 

 sing to us and make the world glad. Im- 

 agine a tree filled with one hundred birds. 

 How bright it would be with their 

 plumage, and how your dooryard would 

 ring with the song of a hundred throats. 

 All this joy and gladness, these bright 

 coats and sweet voices, you have crushed 

 in the shell. Each time your hand stole 

 into the nest that was sacred to get an- 

 other egg for your collection, you took a 

 life that was precious in the eyes of God. 



