INTRODUCTION. II 



the east, whilst yet Arcturus, and Wega, and Altair were 

 shining brightly in the sky. 



" Upsprings the lark, 



Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of mom ; 

 Ere yet the shadows fly, he, mounted, sings, 

 Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts 

 Calls up the tuneful nations." 



I thought, as I listened, that at that hour, all through 

 the length and breadth of the land, these sweet and 

 innocent voices were praising God ; and I could fancy 

 that the ear of the great Creator was bent down to listen 

 with pleasure to those glad hymns of praise. Were they 

 the only songs of praise from poor unhappy Ireland 

 that pierced the skies, in that serene and fragrant 

 " morning watch," which I shall long remember ? 



We are told that birds spoke an intelligible language 

 in Ovid's time. Lope de Vega makes one of his charac- 

 ters understand this ; and Lord Holland states that there 

 was a gentleman who could tell from the song where the 

 nest was, whether young ones or eggs were in it, and 

 how many of each ! ! 



Now here a difficulty occurs at once. If you could 

 understand one bird, would you understand all ? Does 

 the hiding Hawk, when he hears the Sparrows talking, 

 learn where they are to meet in the evening, and say to 

 himself, " I shall be there for dinner too " ? Does the 

 roving Cuckoo hear that the Hedge Sparrow's nest is 

 almost ready, and say, " How fortunate ! for my egg 

 must soon be laid"? If I am acquainted with the 

 language of the Tomtit, shall I also be able to under- 

 stand " sparrowese " or " thrushian " ? 



It is probable that " bird language is an elliptical one, 



