Chapter X 



BIRD SONGS AFTER DARK 



OUT on this broad Pennsylvania wheat- 

 field, at two o'clock in the morning, 

 with the yellow sheaves beneath 

 and around us, and the full-orbed moon 

 above — surely this is no place, no time, 

 for birds! 



Were it merry England, a Nightingale 

 might come perchance and keep us com- 

 pany, with his matchless voice. But here it 

 seems folly to expect any winged creature 

 to waken and cheer the soUtude by so 

 much as a sound. 



Yet, listen! That is more than mere 

 sound which thrills upon the air. 



The flooding silver light from an almost 

 starless sky is wonderfully clear; and the 

 winding river, showing through the distant 

 trees beyond the sloping hillside, glistens 

 and flashes at times almost as if it were day. 



[129] 



