168 THE l'E.\'riOiUED TUU-.ES. 



'J lie liLidMuun on ihu upland hill, 



The ploughman in the hamlet near, 

 Arc prone thy little paunch to fill, 



And pleased thj- little psalm to hear. 



The woodman seated on a log 



His meal divides atween the three, 

 And now himself, and now his dog, 



And now he casts a crumb to thee. 



For thee a feast the school-boy strews 



At noon-tide, when the form's forsook ; 

 A worm to thee the delver throws, 



And angler when he baits the hook. 



At tents where tawney gipsies dwell, 



In woods where hunters chase the hind. 

 And at the hermit's loneh- cell, 



Dost thou some crumbs of comfort find. 



Nor arc thy little wants forgot, 



In beggar's hut or Crispin's stall ; 

 The miser only feeds thee not. 



Who suffers ne'er a crumb to fall. 



The youth who strays, with dark design, 



To make each well-stored nest a prey, 

 If dusky hues denote them thine 



Will draw his pilfering hand away. 



The finch a spangled robe may wear. 



The nightingale delightful sing, 

 The lark ascend most high in air, 



The swallow fly most swift on wing. 



The peacock's plumes in pride may swell, 



The paiTot prate eternally ; 

 But yet no bu'd man loves so well 



As thee with thy simplicity. 



It has been truly said of this bird: — 



" High is his perch, but humble is his home. 

 And well concealed ; sometimes within the sound 

 Of hcartsomc mill-clack, where the spacious door, 

 AVliite with dust, tells him plenty reigns around : 

 Close at the root of bricr-busli that o'erhangs 

 'I'he narrow stream, with shealings bedded white. 

 He fixes his abode, and lives at will. 

 Oft near some single cottage he prefers 

 To rear his little home ; there, pert and spruce. 

 He shares the refuse of the good wife's churn ; 

 Nor seldom does he neighbour the low roof 

 Where tiny elves arc taught." 



The robin indeed often selects strange localities in which fn liayo its nest. One pair chose 

 ■a small cotla'^'c, in wliich potatoes were lv(-p(, and whicli closely adjoined a blarksmitli'.s 

 shop, and dcsintc the noise of the forge and tlie iVcquent yisits of tlie owners, tliey built 

 their nest in a child's covered cart which was hung against tlic wall over the tire-place. 

 Another pair took possession of a small saw-pit, and were altogether unafleeted by tlie 

 sawing of timber which was carried on during the time of tlie sitting of tlie female. 

 Other spots equally unexpected have thus been chosen, ami tlmngli tliese birds may be 

 particular in rcipiirliig secbislr.a at- fiist, yet, if tlie eggs iiave been laid, it appears to 

 require no small demand upon their fears before they arc made to remove. 



