THE NIGHTINGALE. 



O doubt those who never hear 

 the song of the Nightingale 

 are denied a special privi- 

 lege. Keats' exquisite 

 verses give some notion 

 of it, and William Drummond, another 

 English poet, has sung sweetly of the 

 bird best known to fame. "Singer of 

 the night" is the literal translation of 

 its scientific name, although during 

 some weeks after its return from its 

 winter quarters in the interior of Africa 

 it exercises its remarkable vocal powers 

 at all hours of the day and night. 

 According to Newton, it is justly cele- 

 brated beyond all others by European 

 writers for the power of song. The 

 song itself is indiscribable, though 

 numerous attempts, from the time of 

 Aristophanes to the present, have been 

 made to express in syllables the sound 

 of its many notes; and its effects on 

 those who hear it is described as being 

 almost as varied as are its tones. To 

 some they suggest melancholy; and 

 many poets, referring to the bird in 

 the feminine gender, which cannot 

 sing at all, have described it as "lean- 

 ing its breast against a thorn and 

 pouring forth its melody in anguish." 

 Only the male bird sings. The poeti- 

 cal adoption of the female as the 

 singer, however, is accepted as impreg- 

 nable, as is the position of Jenny 

 Lind as the " Swedish Nightingale." 

 Newton says there is no reason to 

 suppose that the cause and intent of 

 the Nightingales' song, unsurpassed 

 though it be, differ in any respect from 

 those of other birds' songs; that sadness 

 is the least impelling sentiment that 

 can be properly assigned for his appar- 

 ently melancholy music. It may in 

 fact be an expression of joy such as we 

 fancy we interpret in the songs of 

 many other birds. The poem, however, 

 which we print on another page, 

 written by an old English poet, best 

 represents our own idea of the Nightin- 



gale's matchless improvisation, as 

 some call it. It may be that it is 

 always the same song, yet those who 

 have often listened to it assert that it 

 is never precisely the same, that addi- 

 tional notes are introduced and the song 

 at times extended. 



The Nightingale is usually regarded 

 as an English bird, and it is abundant 

 in many parts of the midland, eastern, 

 and western counties of England, and 

 the woods, coppices, and gardens ring 

 with its thrilling song. It is also found, 

 however, in large numbers in Spain 

 and Portugal and occurs in Austria, 

 upper Hungary, Persia, Arabia, and 

 Africa, where it is supposed to spend 

 its winters. 



The markings of the male and female 

 are so nearly the same as to render the 

 sexes almost indistinguishable. 



They cannot endure captivity, nine- 

 tenths of those caught dying within 

 a month. Occasionally a pair have 

 lived, where they were brought up by 

 hand, and have seemed contented, 

 singing the song of sadness or of joy. 



The nest of the Nightingale is of a 

 rather uncommon kind, being placed on 

 or near the ground, the outworks con- 

 sisting of a great number of dead 

 leaves ingeniously put together. It 

 has a deep, cup-like hollow, neatly 

 lined with fibrous roots, but the whole 

 is so loosely constructed that a very 

 slight touch disturbs its beautiful 

 arrangement. There are laid from four 

 to six eggs of a deep olive color, 



Towards the end of summer the 

 Nightingale disappears from England, 

 and as but little has been observed of 

 its habits in its winter retreats, which 

 are assumed to be in the interior of 

 Africa, little is known concerning 

 them. 



It must be a wonderful song indeed 

 that could inspire the muse of great 

 poets as has that of the Nightingale. 



