80 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



society like rooks, five or six hundred nests being 

 often found on one tree. 



Tell Marianne not to confound the tailor bird 

 with these, as^I did, for it is quite different of 

 a different family, and very superior to the baya 

 in beauty ; it even resembles some of our hum- 

 ming birds in shape and colour. There is the 

 prettiest mixture in the male bird, of blue, pur- 

 ple, green, and gold. In order to conceal its 

 nest, it first selects a plant, or bush, with large 

 leaves, then gathers cotton, spins it into a thread, 

 by means of its long bill and slender feet, and 

 sews the leaves neatly together, as if with a 

 needle j so that its nest is joined to one leaf, and 

 covered over by the other. 



3\.st. Mary has been a very patient arith- 

 metical mistress 5 I have endeavoured to be very 

 diligent, and we are both now rewarded, she says, 

 by my progress. I begin to understand the 

 reason of each process, and there is some hope, 

 therefore, of conquering my difficulties. My 

 uncle said, I ought to trample on them and I 

 resolved to do so like the boy, without a genius, 

 in " Evenings at Home." 



My uncle frequently puts arithmetical questions 

 to us, which we work in our minds, without the 

 aid of pencil or paper. This requires some ex- 

 ertion, and was very difficult at first ; but I 



