154 What Birds Have Done With Me 



than I have of what they thought of it after pay- 

 ing him repeated visits. Almost every day he 

 would have visitors, both male and female, com- 

 ing singly, as a rule, and perching upon his cage 

 for about the length of time that is given to the 

 formal call, and my wife and daughter are posi- 

 tive that they kissed at parting. I take it that 

 the calls were more or less formal, for they never 

 brought him any thing to eat, neither did he ever 

 offer to share his grub with them. I confess to 

 having failed to get any key to the mystery of 

 their communication and yet there is every reason 

 to believe that the misfortune of one of their num- 

 bers made quite a lasting impression upon the 

 minds of his Grosbeak neighbors and friends. 

 Proof of this statement will be offered later on. 



When the last bandage was removed, it was 

 found that the bones had knit properly and he 

 had pretty fair use of his wing, but it drooped 

 and could not be held in place and extended 

 flight was still a question. For two weeks more 

 this question kept him in Hospital; the last night 

 came, his splendid progress would demand the 

 opening of the door at dawn, returning him to 

 the blessed earth, the mysterious fellowship of all 

 aerial voyagers, free, free, free ! The ways of 

 life and death are past finding out. The dawn 

 came, but the door was not opened, the good 

 wing and the mended one were equally helpless, 



