206 CONVERSATIONS ON 



but still he will read them, and very often 

 learn from them things very useful to him in 

 his business. Newspapers are valuable things, 

 and I think it is always best for a country to 

 have a great many of them spread about in it. 

 But they will not, of themselves, make a man 

 a politician ; and if you should ask the per- 

 sons who print them, whether they expect 

 them to teach men all about governments, 

 they will tell you, No : but they will teach 

 people what is doing in all the governments 

 in the world. No good government, boys, 

 will ever be afraid to let the people have 

 newspapers. They are always fewest where 

 the government is hardest upon the people. 

 But let us go back to the birds. Can you tell 

 me now why some people call the fly-catcher 

 a politician ?" 



" Oh, yes ; because he has so many bits of 

 old newspapers about his nest." 



" That is the reason, boys. There is an- 

 other kind of fly-catcher, called the hooded 

 fly-catcher, and it weaves its nest of flax and 

 strings pulled from the stalks of hemp : but 

 the best weaver in this country is the Balti- 

 more starling. This bird chooses the ends of 

 high bending branches for his nest, and he 

 begins in a forked twig, by fastening strong 



