SKYLARK. 123 



shine : those faded pictures of fleeted days ; the cottage, 

 the old mother's tears when he left her without one grain 

 of sorrow ; the village church and its simple chimes ; 

 the clover field hard by in which he lay and gambolled 

 while the Lark praised God overhead ; the chubby play- 

 mates that never grew to be wicked ; the sweet hours of 

 youth, and innocence, and home." 



Methinks "Thou didst not leave Thyself without 

 witness," even there, O God ! 



The Rev. C. A. Johns quotes the following stanza in 

 French, " as equally successful in imitating the song of 

 the Skylark, and describing its evolutions " : 



" La gentille Alouette, avec son tirelire, 

 Tirelire, relire et tirelirant, tire 

 Vers la voiite du ciel ; puis son vol en ce lieu 

 Vive, et semble nous dire : Adieu, adieu, adieu." 



The call-note of the Skylark is a rich inward double 

 note, difficult to describe, and this is constantly heard 

 as the birds fly in flocks ever the fields in autumn and 

 winter. 



The Lark in singing often erects a crest upon his 

 head, and hence has sometimes been mistaken for the 

 Crested Lark, Alauda cristata, which is said to have 

 been observed in this country, and which is common on 

 the Continent, where I have seen it dusting itself on the 

 roads after the manner of our own Skylark. 



The colour of the Lark is decidedly protective, 

 harmonizing so well with its surroundings that the bird 

 will sometimes rise almost from under one's feet with- 

 out having been previously perceived. The Skylark 

 never perches on trees or in hedges ; it may occasionally 



