THE CHAFFINCH. 



" The low, sweet singing of a bird, 

 The murmur of the breeze, 

 How soft would glide our fleeting hours, 

 Blest as the sunshine and the flowers, 

 And calm as summer seas ! " 



Amelia. 



THE CHAFFINCH. Who that has ever read the 

 letter of Michelet to his good wife, in his work en- 

 titled "The Bird," could have failed to read his 

 vivid description of a poor blind chaffinch that was 

 offered for sale in the great bird auction rooms in 

 Paris ? This bird had been a pet ; and poverty in 

 the family had compelled his sale. This bird is one 

 of the many European song-birds, and for the sweet- 

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