A WIDOW AND TWINS. 133 
with the increasing age of the fledgelings; 
yet it is to be said that the two methods 
continued to be used interchangeably to the 
end, and on the 28th, when Number Two 
had been out of the nest for seven days, the 
mother thrust her bill down his throat, and 
repeated the operation, just as she had done 
three weeks before. 
For at least two days longer, as I believe, 
the faithful creature continued her loving 
ministrations, although I failed to detect 
her in the act. Then, on the 1st of August, 
as I sat on the piazza, I saw her for the 
last time. The honeysuckle vine had served 
her well, and still bore half a dozen scat- 
tered blossoms, as if for her especial bene- 
fit. She hovered before them, one by one, 
and in another instant was gone. May the 
Fates be kind to her, and to her children 
after her, to the latest generation! Our in- 
tercourse had lasted for eight weeks, — 
wanting one day, — and it was fitting that it 
should end where it had begun, at the sign 
of the honeysuckle. 
The absence of the father bird for all this 
time, though I have mentioned it but casu- 
ally, was of course a subject of continual re- 
