PHILLIDA AND CORIDON. 109 



truth." Other parts of the Bible must be in- 

 terpreted^ to be sure (so the theory would run) ; 

 but these statements mean just what they say, 

 and whoever meddles with them is carnally 

 minded and a rationalist. 



Somebody will object, perhaps, that, with 

 our talk about a " perpetual picnic," we are 

 making a bird's life one cloudless holiday ; con- 

 tradicting what we have before admitted about 

 a struggle for existence, and leaving out of 

 sight altogether the seasons of scarcity, the 

 storms, and the biting cold. But we intend no 

 such foolish recantation. These hardships are 

 real enough, and serious enough. What we 

 maintain is that evils of this kind are not nec- 

 essarily inconsistent with enjoyment, and may 

 even give to life an additional zest. It is a 

 matter of every-day observation that the peo- 

 ple who have nothing to do except to " live 

 well " (as the common sarcasm has it) are not 

 always the most cheerful ; while there are 

 certain diseases, like pessimism and the gout, 

 which seem appointed to wait on luxury and 

 idleness, — as though nature were determined 

 to have the scales kept somewhat even. And 

 surely this divine law of compensation has not 

 left the innocent birds unprovided for, — the 

 innocent birds of whom it was said, " Your 

 heavenly Father feedeth them." How must 



