A SPARROW QUARTETTE. 



Having on several occasions, in the company of 

 friends, attempted a eulogy on our native sparrows, 

 I have invariably been compelled to stop suddenly 

 and explain that I did not mean that interloper 

 from across the sea, the English sparrow. It was 

 the look of scorn on the faces of my auditors that 

 made the parenthesis necessary. Many persons 

 seem scarcely aware that we have native birds of 

 the sparrow family ; nor do they know what charm- 

 ing songsters they are, differing vastly, both in 

 manners and qualities of voice, from the British 

 import. One day while talking with a friend in 

 his study, I suddenly sprang to my feet and 

 exclaimed : 



" Oh ! listen to the songs of those sparrows. 

 How delightful ! " 



My friend lives on the outskirts of a country 

 town. 



" Sparrows ! " he echoed, sarcastically. " Those 

 sparrows are the biggest nuisances in the country." 



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