MONTAUK POINT. 305 



harmonious cadence, and by the low of distant cattle, 

 just shaking off their slothful dreams. Hardly have 

 we disposed our body to the requisite flatness, when 

 a chattering chorus of melody makes our heart leap 

 with eagerness, and our eyes strain with impatience 

 to discern its source. Aha, we have them now! 

 that small, erratic cloud to the eastward, bearing 

 directly before the wind towards our covert, sends 

 a thrill through our being, which the whole " spa- 

 cious firmament on high," even on the loveliest of 

 nights, has, we honestly confess it, never succeeded 

 in imparting. On they come, nearer, nearer, nearer. 

 We pucker up our lips to greet their approach, but 

 the saucy gale renders our rude efforts futile, and 

 we commit our trust to Providence and our painted 

 counterfeits. Now they are within easy range, but 

 somewhat scattered ; with a violent effort at self- 

 command, worthy of a higher cause, we remain mo- 

 tionless, for there are evident indications of a social 

 spirit in that joyous group. They pause, they 

 swerve, they wheel upon their tracks, and with 

 motionless wings and a sweet low-murmured greet- 

 ing, they approach the fatal stools. How rash the 

 confidence ! How foul the treachery ! But, we 

 must also confess, how intense the excitement, as 

 we pull the right trigger at the critical moment, and 

 then, as the deluded victims scatter wildly, with an 

 outburst of appeal against man's cruelty, give them 

 the left barrel, and add three more to the list of 

 feathered martyrs. With lightning speed, their 

 thinned ranks vanish beyond the neighboring sand- 



