106 



WOOD NOTES WILD. 



his title of "Captain," at length he burst out into this 

 sonorous strain : — 



wauk, 



wauk, 



wauk, wauk, 



wauk, wauk, wauk. 



The Captain's voice was sound and powerful, and his 

 intonation perfect. The slides of a third and fourth were 

 carried up with a noble crescendo ; and when he rose to 

 the tonic at the close, the effect was thrilling as that of 

 a clarion blast. 



What with his sturdy song and dignified, soldierly bear- 

 ing, the Captain's effort was full of hints, in manner and 

 motive, for the composer, the singer, and the orator. 

 When, a few mornings after his notable improvisation, I 

 found the Captain's lifeless body, I was not surprised at 

 the gentle demeanor of his many widows ; they felt, per- 

 haps more keenly than I, that one of the mighty had 

 fallen. 



It was several weeks before I found a substitute for the 

 Captain; at length a boy brought him, and I saw at a 

 glance that he was the " General." With a word or two 

 by way of greeting, he paused and stood erect before the 

 bereft hens. Soon a pullet, the only shy member of the 

 company, ran to him and put her head close to his. If 

 the General moved, Euth-like, she moved. A mourner 



