a flbrding highways for onr feathered friends. Many a time 

 arc they harbingers of joy. The weary mariner, long before 

 he sees the land, is told of his approach to it by the bird that 

 settles in the rigging of his vessel. 



And what shall wc say for the robin — the cheery autumn 

 songster. There is no copse or wood so lonely, that you are 

 not immediately accosted by a robin. We say accosted, 

 because he is not content to warble hia song unseen, but he 

 challenges notice. He turns the leaves over at your feet ; he 

 eats his meal, and then flying to a liandy sprig or bough, he 

 lustily sings his merry carol. And the luscious song of the 

 nightingale, the morning and evening hymn of praise, 

 coming when the earth is grateful for her re-clothing with 

 her beautiful mantle ; and tlie bold thnish trolling forth his 

 gr.and notes ; the soft warbling of the hedge sparrow; and 

 the familiar "Little bit of bread and no cheese" of the yel- 

 lowhtimmer ; the beautiful goldfinches and bullfinches; the 

 saucy magpie ; the screaming jay ; the familiar jackdaw ; 

 tlie sapient and mischievous r:ivcn, with many others, all 

 associated with some period or other of our lives. 



Certain places are renowned not only for the number 

 of the song birds that frequent them, but also for the 

 quality of their song. Wlien Peter Pindar tells his humor- 

 ous tale of Sir Joseph Banks being taken by the police 

 officers for one of the burglars they were in search of, 

 because he was what they called hanging about a lonely 

 lane ; and of the same oflieer, who being told to apologise 

 said, " I beg your pardon, Sir Joseph, and will never 

 judge a man by his looks again," he was only describ- 

 ing a common occurrence. Holland House Lane, at Ken- 

 sington, was for many years the most renowned spot in the 

 neighbourhood of the metropolis for hearing nightingales, 

 and we have seen it full of jieople at night. They are mostly 

 amiable and kind comjianious who, like Gilbert White, can 

 mark the arrival of every bird ; who make nature a book in 

 which they read, and whose record of the periodical changes 

 are their almanacks. 



Still greater enthusiasts, and who pursue their hobbynnder 

 difficulties that would deter many, are the working men of 

 London. The weavers of Spitalfields have long been famous 

 for tlieir love of animated nature. Pigeons, rabbits, dogs, 

 song-birds, are all kept by them. In the palmy days of their 

 trade they v/ere owners of all the best of these dift'erent 

 breeds. Now the love remains, but few have the means of 

 gratifying it to the extent they did formerly. Nevertheless, 

 by the side of the loom or in the wintlow there always hangs 

 a bird. When it challenges to sing the man leaves oft' work, 

 and listens motionless while the song lasts. Let his poverty 



be ever so great, while the bird sings it disappears, and in the 

 words of the French song, he forgets 



" Les fiitlgues de la Veillo 

 Lc3 sou5is de leiidemain." 



The linllad of the yonng knight and his Goshawk has 

 been verified over aiul over again among these weavers. 



These .ire, however, the delights and companions of the 

 real country, not of the suburban residence of the profes- 

 sional man, whose over-worked brain requires relaxation ; 

 and who gets home after a seven hour's argument as to 

 whether the man described as Clark without an e could by 

 any iiieans be Clark with an e, and who has been for the jiro- 

 sceution ; the point involved being only the murder of a wife 

 and two children, the judges give him the Ijenefit of the 

 doubt, and, being of course superior to the stupid jury who 

 called it all a Icg,"il quibble and tom-foolery, and found the 

 man " Guilty," they order him to be discharged. How re- 

 freshing after the dusty coiu't and stale arguments, to look at 

 the common sense jjoultry aiul see them enjoy their lives. 

 The surgeon, the physician, the merchant, tlic tradesm.™, the 

 artizan owe much of their relaxation to the study of this 

 phase of natural history. Wo have known a physician in 

 large practice wlio lias spent the night by the side of a hen 

 hatching Iter eggs; and for the i)urpose of elucidating a knotty 

 point by comparative anatomy, he has passed through the 

 long hours, constantly using the stethesco])e. 



The love of these piu'suits is the unbending of the bow : 

 it is the natural relaxation, and att'ords not only an .amuse- 

 ment, but an inducement to cjut-door pursuits. Another 

 charm is, that it can bo indulged in by parents and children 

 together. 



We have often thought the different breeds of fowls were 

 types of the peopleof the country after which they are named. 

 The Game Cock represents the manly carriage and the pluck 

 of the independent Englishm.an, while the Dorking is a fair 

 sample of the well-to-do middle class tradesman, the .agricul- 

 turist, and the workman. The La Fleche is the old " preux 

 chevalier " of France, the Crevecceur is the middle class, the 

 " Epicier," while the Houdan is the representative of the 

 " Kobert Macaire " school. The Brahma represents our trans- 

 •atlantic cousins, full of good quality, but of doubtful origin" 

 The Spaniard is handsome, buhl, and vain, becoming nume- 

 rous, and taking temporally importance by fits and starts. The 

 Cochins are good types of those from whom they have taken 

 their n.ames, — quiet, money-making, clever, satisfied birds. 

 The Polands are handsome and useful, but not sufKciently 

 numerous to become an important breed. The Malay looks 



