AN EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE. 45 



dulged in a fuller repertoire. I seized pencil 

 and paper, and noted down phonetically the dif- 

 ferent notes as they were uttered. This is the 

 record : " Rat-t-t-t-t " (very rapid) ; " quit ! quit ! 

 quit ! " (a little slower) ; " wh-eu ! wh-eu ! " 

 (still more deliberately) ; " chack ! chack ! 

 chack ! " (quite slow) ; " ere, ere, ere, ere " 

 (fast) ; " hu - way ! hu - way ! " (very sweet). 

 There was a still more musical clause that I 

 cannot put into syllables, then a rattle exactly 

 like castanets, and lastly a sort of " Kr-r-r ! 

 kr-r-r ! " in the tone of a great-crested fly- 

 catcher. While this will not express to one 

 who has not heard it the marvelous charm of it 

 all, it will at least indicate the variety. 



Hardly waiting to dispose of breakfast, I be- 

 took myself to my " woodland enchanted," re- 

 solved to stay till I saw that bird. 



" All day in the bushes 

 The woodland was haunted." 



The voice was soon on hand, and once more I 

 was treated to the incomparable recitative. 



This day, too, my patience was rewarded; 

 the mystery was solved ; I saw the Unknown ! 

 While my eyes were fixed upon a certain bush 

 before me, the singer incautiously ventured too 

 near the top of a twig, and I saw him plainly, 

 standing almost upright, and vehemently chant- 

 ing his fantasia, opening his mouth very wide 



