134 PEP ACTON 



size it is about a third smaller, and this is the most 

 marked difference between them. With the nobler 

 bipeds, this would not have been any obstacle to 

 the union, and in this case the lark was evidently 

 quite ready to ignore the difference, but the sparrow 

 persisted in saying him nay. It was doubtless this 

 obstinacy on her part that drove the lark away, for, 

 on the fifth day, I could not find him, and have 

 never seen nor heard him since. I hope he found 

 a mate somewhere, but it is quite improbable. The 

 bird had, most likely, escaped from a cage, or, 

 maybe, it was a survivor of a number liberated some 

 years ago on Long Island. There is no reason why 

 the lark should not thrive in this country as well 

 as in Europe, and, if a few hundred were liberated 

 in any of our fields in April or May, I have little 

 doubt they would soon become established. And 

 what an acquisition it would be! As a songster, 

 the lark is deserving of all the praise that has been 

 bestowed upon him. He would not add so much 

 to the harmony or melody of our bird-choir as he 

 would add to its blithesomeness, joyousness, and 

 power. His voice is the jocund and inspiring voice 

 of a spring morning. It is like a ceaseless and 

 hilarious clapping of hands. I was much interested 

 in an account a friend gave me of the first skylark 

 he heard while abroad. He had been so full of the 

 sights and wonders of the Old World that he had 

 quite forgotten the larks, when one day, as he was 

 walking somewhere near the sea, a brown bird 

 started up in front of him, and mounting upward 



