ON BOSTON COMMON. 9 



the custom of liis family, and paid no attention 

 to the children pLiying about, or to the men 

 who sat under his tree, with the back of their 

 seat resting against the trunk. As for the 

 children's noise, he likely enough enjoyed it ; 

 for he is a noisy fellow himself and famous as 

 a drummer. An aged clergyman in Washing- 

 ton told me — in accents half pathetic, half re- 

 vengeful — that at a certain time of the year 

 he could scarcely read his Bible on Sunday 

 mornings, because of the racket which this 

 woodpecker made hammering on the tin roof 

 overhead. 



Another of my acquaintances was of a very 

 different type, a female Maryland yellow-throat. 

 This lovely creature, a most exquisite, dainty 

 bit of bird flesh, was in the Garden all by her- 

 self on the 6th of October, when the great ma- 

 jority of her relatives must have been already 

 well on their way toward the sunny South. 

 She appeared to be perfectly contented, and 

 allowed me to watch her closely, only scolding 

 mildly now and then when I became too in- 

 quisitive. How I did admire her bravery and 

 peace of mind ; feeding so quietly, with that 

 long, lonesome journey before her, and the cold 

 weather coming on ! No wonder the Great 

 Teacher pointed his lesson of trust with the 

 injunction, " Behold the fowls of the air." 



