NATURE'S CHOIR. 71 



that float away as if breathing new life on the 

 leafless trees, and inspiring with love the whole 

 tenants of the grove." List to him in the gloamin' ! 

 What ventriloquism ! Do these soft sweet strains 

 proceed from beneath the cope-stone of the wall, 

 or the trunk of the tree on which he is seated ? 

 No ; it is his powerful song, pent up, and given 

 in passionate whispers to the ear of his mate ; 

 his tongue as if every now and then striking 

 a silver bell, and his whole articulation suited 

 to the hush that reigns and the close proximity 

 of the object of his affections. With the rising 

 sun he wakes the earth, calling into tune thousands 

 of smaller tongues, and alone, in the last rays 

 of dissolving evening, he closes with unrivalled 

 eloquence the grand concert. Often in the 

 evening have I sat and listened, entranced by the 

 loud, clear, mellow notes of rival birds perched 

 on the top of the spruce trees. 



" Oh, come with me into the summer woods : 



They call and beckon us ; oh, hark and hear 

 How yon brave Thrush upon the alder floods 

 The world with song triumphant, silvery, clear." 



