204 BRITISH BIRDS. 



feet, to the ground. And now the imagination of the 

 reader pictures him stretched out as dead, or at least 

 with broken limbs ; but this was not the case. At the 

 moment of his fall, he was holding the birds by their 

 legs : in one hand he had three, and in the other two ; 

 and as they felt they were falling, they naturally flut- 

 tered their pinions. The boy too wore, at the time, a 

 carter's frock, tied round the neck ; this, filled with air 

 from beneath, buoyed him up, and he descended easily 

 to the ground. This he had no sooner reached, than, 

 thinking of the unjust demand of his companion, he 

 looked up, and exclaimed, " Now you shall have none," 

 and ran away, without the slightest injury, to the asto- 

 nishment of the passers-by at the time, who, with inde- 

 scribable feelings, had witnessed his most extraordinary 

 descent. 



A deliverance so marvellous, through the gracious 

 interposition of the God of Providence, may also cau- 

 tion the young reader against a thoughtless choice of 

 associates. If any are to be taken unscrupulously as 

 companions, the evil that may arise is beyond all calcu- 

 lation. In the present instance, we see intercourse 

 leading to engagement in unlawful pursuits ; and an act 

 arising from this which cannot be contemplated without 

 horror. It was as murderous in the sight of God as if 



