206 THE INVITATION. 



When, one summer day, later in life, I took my gun, 

 and went to the woods again, in a different, though, per- 

 haps, a less simple spirit, I found my youthful vision 

 more than realized. There were, indeed, other birds, 

 plenty of them, singing, nesting, breeding, among the 

 familiar trees, which I had before passed by unheard and 

 unseen. 



It is a surprise that awaits every student of ornithol- 

 ogy, and the thrill of delight that accompanies it, and 

 the feeling of fresh, eager inquiry that follows, can 

 hardly be awakened by any other pursuit. Take the 

 first step in ornithology, procure one new specimen, 

 and you are ticketed for the whole voyage. There is 

 a fascination about it quite overpowering. It fits so 

 well with other things — with fishing, hunting, farming, 

 walking, camping-out — with all that takes one to the 

 fields and woods. One may go a blackberrying and 

 make some rare discovery ; or, while driving his cow 

 to pasture, hear a new song, or make a new observa- 

 tion. Secrets lurk on all sides. There is news in 

 every bush. Expectation is ever on tiptoe. What no 

 man ever saw before may the next moment be revealed 

 to you. What a new interest the woods have ! How 

 you long to explore every nook and corner of them ! 

 You would even find consolation in being lost in them. 

 You could then hear the night birds and the owls, 

 and, in your wanderings, might stumble upon some un- 

 known specimen. 



In all excursions to the woods or to the shore, the 

 student of ornithology has an advantage over his com- 



