70 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



alert, beautiful, a lover of her family. She feeds on ber- 

 ries, is true to her nest, and has no habits that are detri- 

 mental to man. She is a game bird, very wild, but can be 

 domesticated when hatched by a common hen and reared 

 among her brood. But the young bird so reared still seeks 

 the woods. The old New England farmers used to say that 

 " the partridge and the tongue can never be tamed." 



The question that Victor asked of his father has been 

 asked by thousands of boys who live near the woods. 



Let us imagine a scene such as has happened a thousand 

 times. A cloud is slowly darkening the sky. There is a 

 deep stillness in the air. The robins are singing — chirrup- 

 ing. The birds fly restless from tree to tree. 



Hark! A dead sound seems to beat the air. It is in 

 the near woods, and is repeated. 



" It is going to rain," says the farmer. " Hear the par- 

 tridge drum." 



" How does he drum? " asks the farm-boy. 



" No one knows; few people ever saw a partridge drum. 

 It is a forest mystery." 



Such is the farmhouse legend. 



Audubon and Victor studied the habits of the par- 

 tridge. 



" The partridge does not drum in captivity," said Audu- 

 bon ; " and did you ever see a partridge near you except 

 gliding along in thick bushes like the wind, or rising on 

 wings which you heard rather than saw? " 



