JULY. . 181 



So, sitting here, within sight and hearing of the mist- 

 enveloped wheel, I spent the long torrid summer after- 

 noon. Perhaps he who thought to play a joke upon me 

 became frightened at my non-appearance and imagined 

 me dead or helpless in the gloomy depth, as he pictured 

 it. I have not yet had sufficient curiosity to ask him 

 what he thought ; but when I met him on my way home 

 in the cool of the evening, his astonishment rendered him 

 speechless as I descanted upon the wheel-room's merits 

 and thanked him for his suggestion. 



It was one of the unpleasant features of a recent out- 

 ing to see a bird and not be sure of its identity. Perhaps 

 it was a mocking-bird, a partially albino cat-bird, or a 

 Southern shrike. I incline now to the latter opinion. 

 They are much like their Northern cousins, the butcher- 

 birds, in every habit, and not very dissimilar in appear- 

 ance. The bird I saw came from over a wide reach of 

 meadows and flew directly to the nearest woods. There 

 it alighted upon an exposed branch of an oak, and from 

 where I sat I could see it, but not so distinctly as to deter- 

 mine its colors. The shrike, if this it was, seemed restless 

 and uncertain as to its movements, and impatiently jerked 

 its tail, as though it would shake it off. Presently it dived 

 into the thicket beneath, and at once there was a commo- 

 tion among the small fry. Sparrows, warblers, and tits 

 appeared in numbers, chattering vehemently. This, more 

 than all else, makes me think that the bird was a South- 

 ern shrike. 



The great Northern butcher-bird is also more likely 

 to be seen about the creeks than in any point of the up- 

 lands. The character of the winter does not affect its 

 movements, but in December, if not earlier, it comes, 

 be the weather moderate or cold, and in April it departs. 



I remember one, demure as a scheming crow, with eyes 

 half shut and with not a trace of treachery or cunning in 



