SCRAPING ACQUAINTANCE. 139 



And yet, for all the unstudied ease and sim- 

 plicity of the veery's strain, he is a great master 

 of technique. In his own artless way he does 

 what I have never heard any other bird at- 

 tempt : he gives to his melody all the force of 

 harmony. How this unique and curious effect, 

 this vocal double-stopping, as a violinist might 

 term it, is produced, is not certainly known ; 

 but it would seem that it must be by an arpeggio, 

 struck with such consummate quickness and 

 precision that the ear is unable to follow it, and 

 is conscious of nothing but the resultant chord. 

 At any rate, the thing itself is indisputable, and 

 has often been commented on. 



Moreover, this is only half the veery's tech- 

 nical proficiency. Once in a while, at least, he 

 will favor you with a delightful feat of ventril- 

 oquism ; beginning to sing in single voice, as 

 usual, and anon, without any noticeable increase 

 in the loudness of the tones, diffusing the music 

 throughout the wood, as if there were a bird in 

 every tree, all singing together in the strictest 

 time. I am not sure that all members of the 

 species possess this power, and I have never 

 seen the performance alluded to in print ; but 

 I have heard it when the illusion was complete, 

 and the effect most beautiful. 



Music so devout and unostentatious as the 

 veery's does not appeal to the hurried or the 



