104 tRtn^ntn of tftt Evttn 



tree fairly black with them, a gay, noisy 

 colony. There must have been at least 

 five hundred in the flock, and as all were 

 talking and scolding at the top of their 

 voices, the din can easier be imagined 

 than described. I crept cautiously out to 

 the tree, and seating myself upon a root, 

 was an uninvited member of the black- 

 bird assembly. 



The bright rays of the morning sun 

 fell full upon them, and they were as 

 gay a company as one would often see. 

 Their wonderful bottle-green heads and 

 necks shone like emeralds, and even their 

 black was as shiny as a new hat. They 

 seemed to be a very self-conscious crowd, 

 for they prinked and perked as they 

 scolded and chattered, until one could not 

 have told whether toilet or conversation 

 was the object of the meeting. 



As I sat there under the old elm, with 



