New Walks in Old Ways 



hopped off his perch and headed south. 

 He was alone. At first he did nothing 

 differing particularly from what his 

 fellows were wont to do, but soon he 

 began climbing to great heights. For 

 the most part he rose, like Shelley's 

 lark, "higher still and higher" along 

 easy grades, but now and then made 

 short and almost perpendicular ascents, 

 followed by long curving flights to still 

 greater altitudes. He was surely 

 headed for the moon! That was his 

 evident objective. I followed him as 

 far as a human eye of good long- 

 distance power could follow. The air 

 was clear, and now and then I could 

 make out again the tiny speck, still 

 soaring towards the now fast-whitening 

 orb. At last he disappeared entirely. 

 Let us hope he was favored by fortune 

 in his great adventure, and found in 

 the infinite spaces, so daringly in- 

 vaded, that which he had sought. 



Are sky-birds the only folk who leave 

 their nests and wander far and long 



[92] 



