CHAP Ei th 
OUR FIRST DAY’S OUTING: AMONGST THE 
ISLAND BIRDS. EARLY MAY. 
The heart is hard in nature, and unfit 
For human fellowship, being void 
Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike 
To love and friendship both, that is not pleased 
With sight of animals enjoying life, 
Nor feels their happiness augment their own. 
COWPER. 
WE have arranged to have a boat in readi- 
ness, and as we near the spot we find 
her at her moorings by the bank. A quiet 
place it is, that has not been disturbed for 
months, a veritable paradise for birds, a 
sanctum and retreat for them, though close 
by are the busy haunts of men. The warm 
May sun is glorious to-day, and there is a 
cloudless sky o’erhead. Choosing with some 
care a place well shaded by thick alders, 
