126 Clear Skies and Cloudy. 



fresh woods and pastures new ; even after all 

 this, can we say that we have a thorough knowl- 

 edge of these birds? I think not. We have 

 as deep waters to fathom as when we deal with 

 mankind, and not only as deep, but different. 

 Bird-nature is not our nature, and it is an open 

 question whether or not it is in our power to 

 rightly interpret the motives of the birds about 

 us. To slaughter them that we may count the 

 fibres of a particular muscle or determine the 

 precise tint of a feather gives us no clue to 

 what most concerns us, what birds do and why 

 they do it Perhaps we shall never know ; but 

 our present ignorance, of which we are aware, 

 is not painful or at all irritating, when we are 

 striving to overcome it, but really a source of 

 pleasure. We are drawn the more to the birds 

 because of it, ever hopeful of a solution of the 

 problem at last, and if doomed to die, as is 

 probable, without that full light to which we 

 aspire, we have at least had the pleasure of 

 listening, while we labored, to " Music, good 

 music, all day !" 



Though almost hourly in evidence, the elm- 

 tree oriole did not overshadow the other birds. 



