JOY AT LAST 75 



that assure me a fellow creature finds joy in 

 living, and makes me know that his life is 

 not passed in constant terror. 



" Oft may you thread the woods in vain 

 To see what singer piped the strain. 

 Seek not, and the little eremite 

 Flies gayly forth and sings in sight." 



So it proved here ; I had given up my 

 search and at once I found my bird. His 

 soft peculiar notes and calls echoed all about 

 me, and his strange conversational recitatives 

 resounded from the tree-tops. 



Still greater happiness was promised. The 

 very next morning a bird-loving friend, who 

 has what I lack, the gift of finding nests, 

 met me with the announcement : 



" I 've found a nest for you ! " 



And so he had : a nest of the olive-backed 

 thrush, with four eggs and the bird sitting. 

 Joy at last ! 



I hurried down to the spot. The nest was 

 in a tangle of young spruces, and not well 

 placed for study. Birds do not consult our 

 convenience ; in fact, I 'm afraid they care- 

 fully consult our inconvenience, selecting the 

 most inaccessible situations. The tangle was 



