324 PHILOMELA LUSCINL4. 



and thither, and with constant and most industrious care to 

 reap the delicious harvest intended for her sustenance during 

 the gloomy months of winter. 



" How often at such a season as I have here attempted to 

 describe, have I left my downy couch, awakened, not by the 

 rays of the orb of day, but by an intuitive sensation, far more 

 pleasing than that of indolent repose, and sallied forth to watch 

 the eventful moments when nature's rest was for a time inter- 

 rupted, and she arose fresh, blooming, and full of renovated 

 vigour ! How oft, I repeat, have I betaken myself to the 

 fields and groves before the objects around me were clearly dis- 

 cernible, to watch the first notes of the vernal visitors of the 

 feathered tribe, which from their sojourn in more sunny lands 

 have returned to the abode of their youth ! Then the Winter 

 Fauvette would be heard to sing its humble lay, the little 

 Wren would pour forth its lively chirpings, the Chaffinches 

 challenged each other on the sprays, the loud notes of the 

 Blackbird came on the ear from afar, while perhaps overhead, 

 amid the branches of that sturdy elm, the Song Thrush, cousin 

 to the Mocking Bird, poured forth his unpremeditated notes, so 

 sonorous, so varied, and so mellow that, methinks, while lis- 

 tening to the lay, the rogue has actually practised the gamut 

 of the Louisiana songster. 



" In the midst of a thicket I now see a solitary bird, humble 

 in its attire, and of most modest mien, peeping at me with a 

 caution so uncommon, and yet so inviting, that I feel tempted 

 to seek its acquaintance. With care I gradually approach 

 the feathered stranger. Its form is somewhat elongated, yet 

 not incompact ; its eyes are large, and of peculiar mildness ; it 

 stands rather high on a pair of light flesh-coloured, and as it 

 were, transparent legs ; its wings, which are of moderate 

 length, droop and seem at intervals to tremble ; and as it 

 moves from one twig to another, I see that it hops or leaps, 

 and does not walk step by step like many other birds. Its 

 colour is a dull brownish-olive, but the hind part of the back 

 and the tail are of a richer tint, though corresponding with the 

 general hue. At this moment it flies lightly to the ground, 

 hops a few steps, picks up a grub, and then returns to its 



