242



The nest of a Chaffinch.



been constrained to mention The Manse at all. It was after one of

these rejoicings, when a loving couple had taken each other “ for

richer, for poorer, for better, for worse,” that the following charming

incident occurred. After receiving the blessing of the worthy pastor,

they were further gladdened by a glorious send-off at The Manse

gate, from which they took their departure in a smothering shower

of confetti. A pair of chaffinches which had been sitting in one of

the trees near by, introducing themselves to one another, were

amazed at the manner in which human beings could conduct them¬

selves after a wedding, and, until the cab had driven off, and the

newly-wedded ones were far away from the scene, they sat perfectly

speechless to see men and women—who were supposed to belong to

the higher grades of the animal kingdom—carrying on in such a way

as to proclaim to all right-thinking birds, that they had taken leave

of their senses for the time being. The hen was the first to regain

her composure (a faculty, by the way, not altogether unpeculiar to

the female sex), and she said ; Pink ! pink ! pink ! pink! By the

tone of her voice one could easily interpret it to mean, “ These folks

are mad!” But the cock, who had spent a year or two in The

Manse grounds, and knew all about it, corrected her, and said : Pink !

pink ! Tra la la la, Hu hu hu hu, He he he he, hooie,” which, being

freely translated, means, “ No ! no ! no ! no ! Not at all, dear !

That’s just how they wish them joy ! ” It were needless for me to

enter into the many conversations they had together for long, long

after the bride and bridegroom had departed. Suffice it to say, that

after a great deal of persuasion, much cajolery and flattery, not to

speak of a continual and liberal display of his beautiful new spring

suit, he overcame the lady’s coquetry, and obtained her consent to do

as the humans had done, without any of the fuss and noise with

which they had accompanied their ceremony. They were married—

without the consent of the reverend doctor, I must say—but they

built their house, and lived and reared their family within the

sacred precincts of The Manse grounds. The building of their house

was a great affair, for it was a unique bit of architecture. It was

started in the orthodox way, with small twigs and grass interwoven

and interlaced, and the inside was beautifully lined with feathers.

But the outside, which is generally formed of lichen or moss, pre-



