A MONTH'S MUSIC. 297 



in tune, but the rest of the warblers were otherwise 

 engaged. Finally, just as a distant vvhippoorwill be- 

 gan to call, a towhee sang once from the woods ; and 

 a moment later the stillness was broken by the sudden 

 outburst of a thrasher. ' Now then,' he seemed to 

 say, ' if the rest of you are quite done, I will see what 

 /can do.' He kept on for two or three minutes in 

 his best manner, and at the same time a pair of cat- 

 birds were whispering love together in the thicket. 

 Then an ill-timed carriage came rattling along the 

 road, and when it had passed, every bird's voice was 

 hushed. The hyla's tremulous cry was the only mu- 

 sical sound to be heard. As I started away, one of 

 these tree-frogs hopped out of my path, and I picked 

 him up at the second or third attempt. What did he 

 think, I wonder, when I turned him on his back to 

 look at the disks at his finger-tips ? Probably he 

 supposed that his hour was come ; but I had no evil 

 designs upon him, — he was not to be drowned in alco- 

 hol at present. Walking homeward I heard the rob- 

 in's scream now and again ; but the thrasher's was 

 the last song^ as it deserved to be." 



Two days later I find the following : — 



" Into the woods by the Old Road. As I approached 

 them, a little after sundown, a chipper was trilling, 

 and song sparrows and golden warblers were sing- 

 ing, — as were the black-throated greens also, and 

 the Maryland yellow-throats. A wood thrush called 

 brusquely, but offered no further salute to the god of 

 day at his departure. Oven-birds were taking to wing 



