30 ON BOS To COMMON. 
a stone which had just whizzed by his ear. 
Everybody that came along stopped for a few 
minutes to witness the sport, and Beacon Street 
filled up with carriages till it looked as if some 
holiday procession were halted in front of the 
State House. I left the crowd still at their 
work, and must do them the justice to say that 
some of them were excellent marksmen. An 
old negro, who stood near me, was bewailing 
the law against shooting; else, he said, he 
would go home and get his gun. He described, 
with appropriate gestures, how very easily he 
could fetch the bird down. Perhaps he after- 
wards plucked up courage to violate the stat- 
ute. At any rate the next morning’s newspa- 
pers reported that an owl had been shot, the 
day before, on the Common. Poor bird of wis- 
dom! His sudden popularity proved to be the 
death of him. Like many of loftier name he 
found it true, — 
‘*The path of glory leads but to the grave.” 
