A VISIT TO MOUNT AGASSIZ 229 



I left the piazza. The siskins have never 

 been a frequent sight with me in the sum- 

 mer season, and finding almost at once a 

 flock in the grass by the roadside, feeding 

 upon seeds, as well as I could make out, and 

 delightfully fearless, I stopped for a few 

 minutes to look them over. Some of the 

 number showed much more yellow than 

 others, but none of them could have been 

 dressed more strictly in the fashion if their 

 costumes had come straight from Paris. 

 Every bird was in stripes. 



Both they and the crossbills are what 

 writers upon such themes agree to pro- 

 nounce " erratic " and " irregular." Of 

 most birds it can be foretold that they will 

 be in certain places at certain times ; their 

 orbits are known ; but crossbills and siskins 

 wander through space as the whim takes 

 them. If they have any schedule of times 

 and seasons, men have yet to discover it. 

 When I come to Franconia, for example, I 

 never can tell whether or not I shall find 

 them ; a piece of ignorance to be thankful 

 for, like many another. The less knowledge, 

 within limits, the more surprise ; and the 



