98 



THE OOLOGIST. 



antries never came. Here dwelt the 

 companionable Blue Jays and Red 

 Squirrels and their buoyancy of spirit 

 was catching and life became a glad- 

 some thing. What fun to route the 

 soft eyed flying* squirrels and nimble 

 footed deer mice from their snug re- 

 treats in old stumps and dead trees and 

 how a mewy shout would speed the al- 

 ready panic stricken rabbit and what 

 music in the partridge's muffled drum 

 and henhawk's indolent scream; but we 

 must pass to other things. He liked 

 the furred denizens well but the birds 

 a great deal more. It was in his nature 

 to favor these birds. They were aware 

 of their advantage in the power of flight 

 and if not too closely pressed would at- 

 tend to their every day affairs almost 

 unconscious of his presence but the 

 mammal tribes always had an eye in 

 his direction, ready to flee at the first 

 movement towards closer companion- 

 ship. He knew this timidity and sus- 

 picion was a natural instinct necessary 

 for their preservation but it was not 

 flattering to be treated thus and he pre- 

 ferred the birds. In all his rambles 

 they were constantly under his notice 

 and he began to observe their doings 

 and characteristics until to study them 

 became his main object. Their making 

 was a source of much amusement and 

 he felt the charm of their beauty and 

 melody, besides he loved their country 

 and the free independent life they led 

 touched a responsive chord and it 

 grieved him that he could come visiting 

 but once a week. Their nesting was 

 also very interesting. He found their 

 dwellings in all conceivable kinds of 

 places and marveled at the variety of 

 taste exhibited, and exquisite architect- 

 ual skill and more exquisite eggs. 



The opera glass advocate was also 

 abroad— an equal share in all the Orni- 

 thologist's discoveries and delights— 

 but as the years rolled by he remained 

 unchanged with exception of an in- 

 creasing fondness for out door life and 



birds. The influence of peace and quiet 

 in which these birds dwelt became ab- 

 sorbed into his nature and he felt a 

 fatherly solicitude for their welfare; so 

 when a terrible thunder burst forth in 

 their land and he saw their trust and 

 happiness replaced by doubt and terror 

 his wrath was terrible to behold and he 

 sought out the cause and said impious 

 things. Serenely unconscious of wrong 

 doing, the cause was astonished at this 

 reception, but took it all in and then 

 told him to go hence or somewhere else 

 and coolly walked away but not before 

 exhibiting a score of birds cold in death, 

 their dear little throats plugged with 

 cotton and "their poor itttle legs held 

 up in pathetic appeal." He learned 

 that this red handed marauder was 

 termed an Ornithologist and thence- 

 forth he classed Ornithologists with 

 sportsmen, plume hunters, etc , and 

 cheerfully d — d the lot. About this 

 time he acquired the opera or field 

 glass. He was influenced into this step 

 by an instinct to possess some instru- 

 ment or weapon stimulated by novelty 

 or by the simple pleasure in bringing 

 birds close as possible even if an illu- 

 sion. Of course there could be no other 

 reason, unless failing sight, since a good 

 pair of eyes do equally well for common 

 birds and there could be no pleasure in 

 observing such as the warblers in their 

 various plumages as no one can identi- 

 fy them all without the liberal use of 

 bird skins and so he would not know 

 what he was looking at. Possibly the 

 glass may assist in ascertaining the 

 nature of their food but a year of this 

 kind of observation would not equal 

 what could be learned in a few days by 

 dissection. On second thought, how- 

 ever, it may be used to study their 

 emotions as depicted upon their coun- 

 tenances. Now we will return to , the 

 Ornithologist. 



His first step from the narrow path 

 was when he commenced to rob bird's 

 nests. To him an egg had always 



