240 RIVERSIDE LETTERS xxxi 



of emendation and correction, and I gladly 

 avail myself of the opportunity, which the 

 kindness and courtesy of these correspondents 

 has afforded me, of setting right certain 

 blunders which I made through ignorance. 



Alluding to some rather disparaging 

 remarks of mine as to the character of the 

 sono- of the blackbird Sir George Grove 



O O 



writes thus : 



"Are you quite right in what you say 

 about the blackbird? He is a very old 

 friend of mine, and unless I have been wrong 

 for thirty years it is the thrush and not he 

 that is to blame for the ' reiteration in his 

 song.' The thrush gets 



a short phrase, such as -P q=J=prz 



Tty * t | * T~~[~ 



of two or three notes, 



and then gives it over and over again six 

 or seven times very brilliantly, but merely 

 over and over ; whereas the blackbird is quite 

 different, he selects a spot where he is 

 within hearing of a comrade ; and then he 

 begins quite at leisure (not all in a hurry like 



