270 VIRGINIA 



— while her mate hovered about, squeak- 

 ing in the most affectionate manner. Then 

 away they flew in company, and after a long 

 absence were back again for another turn at 

 building. They were making a joy of their 

 labor, the male especially ; but it is true he 

 made little else of it. With him I was at 

 once taken captive, — so happy, so proud, 

 and so devoted. A paragon of amorous be- 

 havior, I called him ; having the French 

 idea of " assistance," no doubt, but a lover 

 in every movement. Never was the good 

 old-fashioned phrase " waiting upon her " 

 more prettily illustrated. Birds are imagi- 

 native creatures, says Richard Jefferies, and 

 I believe it ; and this fellow, I am sure, had 

 endowed his spouse with all the graces of 

 all the birds that ever were or ever will be. 

 In other words, he was truly in love. The 

 nest was already shingled throughout with 

 bits of gray lichen, laid on so skillfully that 

 Father Time himself might have done it. 

 That is the right way. Let the house look 

 as if it were a growth, a something native 

 to the spot, only less old than the ground 

 it rests on. The gnatcatcher's nest is always 

 a work of art. Gnatcatcher eggs could 



