84 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 



in search of the showj lady's shpper, which grew in this 

 locality. Suddenly a gush of tender melody broke the 

 stillness of the place, and held me spellbound b^^rits 

 magic strain. I followed the sound through bushes and 

 brambles, over fallen logs and treacherous bogs, stopping 

 occasionally to take breath and to listen to the oft- 

 repeated song. Presently, only a few yards away, the 

 little bird dropped down from a higher to a lower 

 projection of the root of an upturned tree, and with 

 flutter of wings and vibrating bod}^, continued his 

 song. 



During an hour that I remained in the vicinity, he 

 sang almost continually, often moving from place to 

 place, and all the time apparently courting attention, 

 much in the manner of the house wren. Probably he 

 had a nest and mate near by, but I failed to find them. 

 I am confident these wrens breed in this vicinity, as I 

 have often found them in pairs and heard them sing in 

 this immediate place during the months of May, June 

 and July, and for several years in succession. 



With the exception of the thrushes, I could better 

 spare any other vocalist of the woods. He delights me 

 in such out of the way places, and in haunts to most 

 unknown. When I persuade a doubting friend to go 

 with me to his retreats, he is quite sure to reward my 

 faith by making his appearance, and always with harp 

 tuned for music. It is a curious phenomenon that when 

 we have discovered something for which we have longed 

 and searched, how frequently the object appears to us 

 afterwards. So, too, objects rare to most people appear 



