Mistress Cuckoo 
present instance; and I submit the following 
composition (not a long one, but at least hav- 
ing beginning, middle, and end, which is more 
than can be said of many a more pretentious 
effort of human authors) as the precise song by 
which, every spring, I recognize the return of 
this brilliant and gay musician, even before I 
catch a glimpse of him: 



The temperament of the song—if it may be 
called so—often depends quite as much upon 
the modulation of voice as upon any other feat- 
ure. This is seen in the above-cited melody 
of the ‘‘black-throated green,’’ where the brill- 
jant tone and rhythmical swing are so strongly 
reinforced by the vigorous major progressions, 
which, in their very nature, are so declarative 
of clear and strong delight, with an effect as 
of a fresh October breeze blowing in the face. 
In the cuckoo’s phrase it is the reverse—in- 
flected downward, with an effect that is retro- 
spective, even if not sad. There are shadows 
caught from the deep foliage within which it 
lurks, in that simple chant. As an example 
117 
