DRIFT. 19 



from sight. A pair or two of whin-chats, or stone- 

 chats, go through the same ceremony. And now 

 the black-coated flute-players of the woods strike 

 up, singing their full-toned hymn of praise as the 

 sun goes down. Whilst we listen to the rich notes 

 of yon blackbirds, a line of that hymn we sang so 

 lustily in our childhood comes back to us 



" Praise Him all creatures here below." 



These senseless creatures of the woods, as some 

 would call them, who do that without our bidding, 

 might well rebuke man for his forgetfulness. Sun- 

 worshippers some would call the birds ; but they 

 surely praise the Power that makes the sun to shine. 

 They hail him before he rises with their early hymns; 

 thousands and thousands of glad voices, fresh and 

 clear; and they sing, without telling, their vesper 

 song. The lark begins his in the morning before 

 we can see any sun ; but the bird high up in the air 

 can see it. At early dawn and late in the evening, 

 his joyous music will make some of us feel it is a 

 good thing to live. 



In an out-of-the-way spot, completely off the 

 the beaten track, I once stumbled on a long strip 



