114 IN AN OLD DESERTED GARDEN— 
several other birds. It is called a sparrow, 
and is sparrow-like in the colour and markings 
of its brown and yellowish-brown plumage, 
but is really first cousin to the warbler 
and the nightingale. It possesses no song, 
only uttering the notes that have been 
mentioned, but makes up for this deficiency 
by an unadorned beauty and gentleness all 
its own. It has the dark liquid eye of the 
robin, and somewhat of its expression too. 
One cannot help falling in love with it at 
first sight. I was very fond of this bird as 
a boy. When I used to come upon one (in a 
hedge generally), it would exhibit no signs 
of alarm, but seemed to regard me as a 
friend, and remained near me quietly flitting 
from twig to twig as if loth to part company 
with me. I know of no other British bird, 
except the robin, that is so confiding in its 
ways. Its structure is the opposite of the 
bullfinch’s just described. The body is of 
slender outline, and the legs, claws and beak 
are delicate too, so it subsists on such soft 
food as insects, grubs, caterpillars and the 
