DYING MUSIC 181 



And he the wine that overflows 

 To lift us with him as he goes : 



He sings the sap, the quickened veins ; 

 The wedding song of sun and rains 

 He is, the dance of children, thanks 

 Of sowers, shout of primrose banks 

 And eye of violets while they breathe : 

 All these the circling song will wreathe. 



A very early bird which has much more music than he is 

 often given credit for is the starling. Soft whistles and 

 whisperings and little bouts of song, imitative of thrush and 

 lark, may be heard in the hollow elms well before dawn, and 

 in many English homes the tune is the most characteristic 

 of waking songs. For the starling enjoys the neighbourhood 

 of houses only less than the sparrow, which wakes us at any 

 hour when light is once indicated. 



When dawn is obvious the whole choir starts ; but notice 

 is given, the gong is rung, by blackbirds and that most 

 humble persistent little singer the hedge-sparrow. But 

 these two early birds differ as widely as any two so far as 

 seasonal singing goes. You may hear the hedge-sparrow as 

 early as the first week of February. The blackbird is as late 

 to begin as any native bird, but when he does begin he is 

 supreme and dominant. There are houses even in the 

 nearer London suburbs where sleep to the deepest sleepers 

 is quite impossible after a certain hour in the morning. 

 The Jubilate of many blackbirds is much too jubilant for that. 

 Of course all birds are morning singers. They prefer the 

 dewy hours just after dawn for their activities. They build 

 then and feed then and sing then with the greater energy. 

 But singing is general till sunset. After sunset a few of 

 those we may call the day singers still refuse to take the 

 hint of twilight. The thrush is the ' longest ' of our singers 



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