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full liberty. Two days after this, in a very bare yew shrub, for it 

 was nothing more, I observed a nest commenced. Although I never 

 imagined that the nightingales had already set to work, yet the nest 

 struck me as being built of an uncommon material, and its general 

 appearance convinced me that no blackbird, thrush, bullfinch, goldfinch, 

 &c., had been at work. The nest was, a very frail one, with no founda- 

 tion ; merely bits of dead grass and some old pieces of rush lightly 

 interwoven, the whole structure being decidedly small for the size of the 

 bird ; in fact, a greenfinch would seem a more suitable occupant for it 

 than its real owner. 



" The shrub stands at a corner where four paths meet, and is therefore 

 the most exposed position a bird could choose for such an object. The 

 same day that I discovered the commencement of this nest, the gardener 

 told me that he had actually seen the hen Virginian Nightingale on it, whilst 

 the cock bird perched himself on the top of the shrub. Exactly a week after 

 they had escaped, the first egg was laid ; it was rather larger than a 

 sparrow's in size, and dirty white in colour, with large blotches of reddish- 

 brown, thicker at the round end than at the other. At present, all goes 

 well ; and the hen has laid five eggs in as many consecutive days, and is 

 now sitting. To protect such an exposed position, I have tied some 

 branches of yew all over the bush, thereby making it difficult for passers- 

 by to see the bird on her nest. As soon as the young are hatched, I 

 intend rearing them up when a week old, and I look forward to seeing the 

 old birds go to nest again before the summer is over. In the meanwhile, 

 the subject is so interesting, not to say exciting, that the future fate of 

 the young nightingales shall be related at a date not far distant, so here I 

 must cease from " counting my chickens before they are hatched." 



" Since writing my last letter on this subject, four young birds have 

 successfully hatched, the fifth egg being unfertile. They are now a week 

 old, and are most carefully attended to by the parents ; but I intend 

 taking them, for by rearing them by hand they will become much tamer, 

 whilst the old birds will soon build again, and I look forward to seeing 

 another brood in about a month's time. The cock bird has almost entirely 



