ror 
om 
PHILLIDA AND CORIDON. 111 
ciated too long and too intimately with men, 
and have fallen far away from their primal in- 
nocence. There is no need to describe their 
actions. The vociferous and most unmannerly 
importunity of the suitor, and the correspond- 
ingly spiteful rejection of his overtures by the 
little vixen on whom his affections are for the 
moment placed, -— these we have all seen to 
our hearts’ discontent. 
The sparrow will not have been brought over 
the sea for nothing, however, if his bad behavior 
serves to heighten our appreciation of our own 
native songsters, with their “perfect virtues” 
and ‘‘ manners for the heart’s delight.” 
The American robin, for instance, is far from 
being a bird of exceptional refinement. His 
nest is rude, not to say slovenly, and his gen- 
eral deportment is unmistakably common. But 
watch him when he goes a-wooing, and you will 
-begin to feel quite a new respect for him. How 
gently he approaches his beloved! How care- 
fully he avoids ever coming disrespectfully near ! 
No sparrow-like screaming, no dancing about, 
no melodramatic gesticulation. If she moves 
from one side of the tree to the other, or to the 
tree adjoining, he follows in silence. Yet every 
movement is a petition, an assurance that his 
heart is hers and ever must be. The action is 
extremely simple ; there is nothing of which to 
