UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 61 



turning its neck quite round from side to side ; 

 and it also has the power of erecting the feathers 

 of the head like a jay. I have seen it feeding 

 on antSj which it dexterously transfixes with the 

 sharp bony end of its tongue ; and the country 

 people say, that the young ones, while in the 

 nest, make a hissing sound like that of little 

 snakes, which deters boys from plundering their 

 nests. 



There is something very cheerful in the notes 

 of the cuckoo and the rail. They serve to mark 

 one of the steps by which this changeful and 

 busy season of spring steals on us with all 

 its gradations of pleasure and interest ; and 

 which, dear mamma, I cannot help thinking 

 preferable to the unvarying brilliancy of Brazil. 



" Now Nature, soothed, assumes her wonted charms, 

 And like an infant, stilled, laughs through her tears, 

 That glittering hang on every bloomy spray. 

 The birds their woodland minstrelsy renew, 

 In chorus universal ; while the sun 

 Gilds ^with effulgence sweet the azure vault, 

 And paints the landscape with a thousand flowers." 



I have seen the mole cricket to-day ; it is a 

 most remarkable insect, endowed with wonderful 

 strength, particularly in its fore legs which are 

 fitted for burrowing. The shanks are broad, and 

 terminate obliquely in four large sharp claws, 

 like fingers ; and the foot, which consists of three 

 joints, and is armed at the extremity with two 

 short claws, is placed inside the shank so as to 



