ACCENTOR MODULARIS. 341 



so well known to every village schoolboy in Britain — 

 reminding ine of Wordsworth's "Poems referring to Child- 

 hood," where, for the first time, 



" Those bright blue eggs together laid, 

 Gleamed like a vision of delight." 



And many besides this then young poet of nature has taken his 

 sister — perhaps his little calf-love sweetheart — to see them 

 lying cosily in their nest, for he says — 



" She seemed to fear it, 

 Dreading, tho' wishing to be near it." 



Some of my young readers may have felt this indescribable 

 rapture when seeing the little blue eggs of the common whin- 

 sparrow for the first time — a rapture that cannot be explained. 

 This handsome but modestly-attired little bird frequents our 

 hedges and gardens, as it likes to be near the dwellings of man. 

 It is also a native, and does not stray far from its birthplace ; 

 only in winter they draw nearer to us — like the robin, but 

 without the familiarity of that red-breasted favourite. It is an 

 early breeder, often begins to sing its love-song when snow is 

 on the ground. On March 3rd, 1889, about six o'clock p.m., 

 when the wintry sun was sinking behind Drumcarrow, I heard 

 one sweetly singing at Govan's cottage out the links when there 

 was seven inches of snow on the ground, showing that birds — like 

 seed-time and harvest — keep their trysts with nature in spite of 

 frost and snow ; and yet I never see our little feathered friends 

 cowering and chittering in a snow-clad hedge without recalling 

 Burns' feeling lines on a " Winter's Nicht," when 



" Ilk' happing bird, wee helpless thing, 

 That in the merry months o' Spring, 

 Delighted me to hear thee sing ; 

 What comes o' thee ? 

 Whaur wilt thou cower thy chittering wing, 

 And close thy e'e ?" 



And also on that similar verse in " Up in the Morning early" — 



" The birds sit chittering in the thorn, 

 A ! day they fare but sparely ; 

 And lang's the nicht frae e'en to morn, 

 I'm sure it's winter fairly :" 



And yet, before winter is done, and before the leaves are on the 

 hedges, they begin to breed and lay those glossy, greenish-blue 

 eggs — the lawful prize of every nest-hunting schoolboy, who 



