218 STOEIES ABOUT BIRDS. 



account which, the doctor received from his 

 friend was this: The nests had been occupied 

 during the year previous. Before the return of 

 the swallows to their old haunts in the spring 

 of the year in which Dr. Clarke discovered that 

 the nests had no door to them, some sparrows 

 had come, and taken possession of the whole 

 territory. On the arrival of the lawful owners, 

 attempts Avere made to turn the intruders out 

 of doors. But it was not so easily done. The 

 sparrows maintained their ground, and the 

 swallows at last concluded it was no use to try 

 any longer to drive the little rascals from the 

 premises. What was to be done ? That was 

 the question. The whole army of swallows 

 assembled on the roof of the house, and sat for 

 some time, as if in grave deliberation. Then 

 they seemed to have hit upon some other plan. 

 At any rate, they all flew away, and, in a few 

 seconds, returned with their bills full of mud, 

 with which they closed up the holes of the 

 nests, and buried the sparrows alive. " That 

 was returning evil for evil," said one of the 

 doctor's friends, when he told him the story. 

 "Not exactl}^," was the answer. "I think the 

 swallows did right enough. K a man were to 

 enter my house, take possession of it, and turn 

 my wife and children out of doors, should I 



