SIGNS OF AUTUMN 229 



lady, who loves the pretty birds. That half- 

 opened beak wanted a few crimson berries ; but 

 man has filled it with a redder stream. It is 

 strange how clean are the feathers of this wanderer, 

 except for these new stains ; even the slender feet, 

 unprotected from mud and dirt, are hardly soiled. 

 That downy breast has often been smoothed 

 daintily, now stained for the first time. Often 

 has the little head been sheltered in the covert 

 feathers of the wing. The woods have rung to the 

 summer strain that told of the commencement of 

 another day of toil and love and care ; they 

 echoed the passionate challenges of the slender 

 beak then haughtily upraised, and now shedding 

 a sad stain upon the ground. Was it for this that 

 two tender creatures reared their fledgling in a 

 northern nest, showed him the wealth of the 

 landscape, and taught him to perceive at a distance 

 the evil glide of the falcon ? Is this the end of 

 his song to satisfy with a juicy morsel the palate 

 of his destroyer ? 



Daylight steals over the hills and down the 

 valleys, penetrating the mist and revealing the 

 bronzed tints of elms glowing masses recalling 



