10 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



it) , for the cottages and houses were widely sepa- 

 rated, the meanest having a garden and some 

 trees, and in most cases there was an old orchard 

 of apple, cherry, and walnut trees to each habita- 

 tion, and out of this mass of greenery, which hid 

 the houses and made the place look more like a 

 wood than a village, towered the great elms in 

 rows, and in groups. 



On first approaching the place I heard, mingled 

 with many other voices, that of the nightingale; 

 and as it was for the medicine of its pure, fresh 

 melody that I particularly craved, I was glad to 

 find a lodging in one of the cottages, and to 

 remain there for several weeks. 



The small care which the nightingale took to 

 live up to his reputation in this place surprised 

 me a little. Here he could always be heard in 

 the daytime — not one bird, but a dozen — in dif- 

 ferent parts of the village; but he sang not at 

 night. This I set down to the fact that the 

 nights were dark and the weather unsettled. 

 But later, when the weather grew warmer, and 

 there were brilliant moonlight nights, he was still 

 a silent bird except by day. 



I was also a little surprised at his tameness. 



