A WIDOW AND TWINS. 131 
closely as almost or quite to touch him with 
her wings. On completing the circle she 
dropped upon the perch at his side, but im- 
mediately rose again, and again flew round 
him. It was a beautiful act, — beautiful 
beyond the power of any words of mine to 
set forth; an expression of maternal ecstasy, 
I could not doubt, answering to the rap- 
turous caresses and endearments in which 
mothers of human infants are so frequently 
seen indulging. Three days afterward, to 
my delight, I saw it repeated in every par- 
ticular, as if to confirm my opinion of its 
significance. The sight repaid all my watch- 
ings thrice over, and even now I feel my 
heart growing warm at the recollection of 
it. Strange thoughtlessness, is it not, which 
allows mothers capable of such passionate 
devotion, tiny, defenseless things, to be 
slaughtered by the million for the enhance- 
ment of woman’s charms! 
At this point we suddenly became aware 
that for at least a day or two the old bird 
had probably been feeding her offspring in 
two ways, — sometimes by regurgitation, 
and sometimes by a simple transfer from 
beak to beak. The manner of our discovery 
