IN THE OPEN [ [ 



peculiarities, as men are drawn to solitude or 

 society. 



The hidden, the subtle, find voice in the veery. 

 His is perhaps the most spiritual strain of all, him- 

 self the high priest of the mystic lore of the forest. 

 Of the thrush family he is the consecrated mem- 

 ber, as the robin is the worldling among them. I 

 believe there is no other bird voice so mysterious; 

 so impersonal is it, so spiritlike, it appears to 

 emanate from a world of higher motive than ours. 

 In the devotional strain of the hermit, the forest 

 prayer is breathed on the mountains. No hymn 

 could be less impassioned, less material, more truly 

 spiritual than the song of this thrush ; it is nearest 

 the speech of angels. Of all instruments the organ 

 and the harp are alone capable of producing any 

 such effe6t. On rare occasions I have heard the 

 veery indulge in a reverie never to be forgotten. 

 It appeared to be wholly inspired and original as 

 though the bird were improvising like some Abt 

 Vogler at his organ, rearing a palace of music. 

 The motive was complex and involved, and sung 

 so pianissimo as to be just audible, like the love- 

 song of the catbird, a rapt utterance which ad- 

 mitted one to the sacred arcana of Nature. 



44 



