JUNE. 165 



in my ears ! Bring me some hot tea ! There I was, not 

 writhing with choleraic pain, as she supposed, but oh ! so 

 hot ! Drenched with scalding perspiration, tormented by 

 the shrill chirping of the young swifts, and exhausted by 

 my frantic efforts to down the old ones. Visions of a 

 bubbling spring on the hill-side and the morning breezes 

 had been faintly floating before my eyes whenever I 

 paused for a moment's rest, and at such a time and when 

 in such a mood to be asked, " Shall I bring thee some hot 

 tea?" 



My reply shall forever remain unrecorded. No one 

 knows it, for my hostess did not catch the words ; but I 

 was sobered by the interruption, and passed the remaining 

 hours until dawn regardless of the fluttering swifts or 

 their chirping young. Instead, as I crouched by the 

 little window, hoping for cooler air, I considered the 

 swifts in the chimney. There seemed to be a hundred 

 of them, and each as active now as in broad daylight. 

 As I interpreted the sounds, they came and went in just 

 such an intermittent stream as characterizes their diurnal 

 flights. Is this true ? Dr. Brewer remarks : " The chim- 

 ney swallow is crepuscular, rather than nocturnal, in its 

 habits. . . . When they have young, they often continue 

 to feed them until quite late at night. They are not, 

 however, to be regarded as nocturnal, as they are only 

 known to do this during a brief period." This did not 

 hold good this memorable June night. There was posi- 

 tively no difference between 9 p. M. and 3 A. M. The birds 

 left and returned with the same frequency at the later as 

 at the earlier hour. Nor have I found that this evidence 

 of activity at night occurs only when there are young 

 birds. It appears rather to be a common habit from 

 April to November, but more pronounced during May 

 and June. But then the demands of the young are not 

 confined to these two months. Several times I have 



