IO MY GARDEN ACQUAINTANCE. 



Silently they flew back and forth, each giving a vengeful 

 dab at the nest in passing. They did not fall-to and delibe 

 rately ^ destroy it, for they might have been caught at their 

 mischief. As it was, whenever the yellow-birds came back, 

 their enemies were hidden in their own sight-proof bush. 

 Several times their unconscious victims repaired damages, 

 but at length, after counsel taken together, they gave it up. 

 Perhaps, like other unlettered folk, they came to the con 

 clusion that the Devil was in it, and yielded to the invisible 

 persecutions of witchcraft. 



The robins, by constant attacks and annoyances, have suc 

 ceeded in driving off the blue-jays who used to build in our 

 pines, their gay colours and quaint noisy ways making them 

 welcome and amusing neighbours. I once had the chance 

 of doing a kindness to a household of them, which they re 

 ceived with very friendly condescension. I had had my eye 

 for some time upon a nest, and was puzzled by a constant 

 fluttering of what seemed full-grown wings in it whenever I 

 drew nigh. At last I climbed the tree, in spite of angry pro 

 tests from the old birds against my intrusion. The mysteiy 

 had a very simple solution. In building the nest, a long 

 piece of packthread had been somewhat loosely woven in. 

 Three of the young had contrived to entangle themselves in 

 it, and had become full-grown without being able to launch 

 themselves upon the air. One was unharmed ; another had so 

 tightly twisted the cord about its shank that one foot was 

 curled up and seemed paralyzed ; the third, in its struggles 

 to escape, had sawn through the flesh of the thigh and so 

 much harmed itself that I thought it humane to put an end 

 to its misery. When I took out my knife to cut their hempen 

 bonds, the heads of the family seemed to divine my friendly 

 intent. Suddenly ceasing their cries and threats, they perched 

 quietly within reach of my hand, and watched me in my 

 work of manumission. This, owing to the fluttering terror 

 of the prisoners, was an affair of some delicacy ; but ere long 

 I was rewarded by seeing one of them fly away to a neigh 

 bouring tree, while the cripple, making a parachute of his 

 wings, came lightly to the ground, and hopped off as well 

 as he could with one leg, obsequiously waited on by his 

 elders. A week later I had the satisfaction of meeting him 

 in the pine-walk, in good spirits, and already so far recovered 

 as to be able to balance himself with the lame foot. I have 



