THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 269 



about a yard long, and of such breadth that the two lovers 

 can amuse themselves, or promenade side by side beneath 

 the shelter of its shade. 



So soon as ever the arbor is finished, the amorous couple 

 think about embellishing it. For this purpose they wander 

 through the country in every direction, and appropriate 

 every brilliant object they meet with in order to decorate 

 the entrance. Gleaming mother-of-pearl shells are special 

 objects of predilection ; hence the outlets of the bower are 

 provided with a thick shining layer of them. 



If these novel decorators find any beautiful birds' feathers 

 in the fields, they collect and hang them up like flowers 

 to the dry twig-ends "of their abodes. One thing is quite 

 certain ; every brightly colored or shining object on which 

 the sun has accidentally cast its rays is immediately carried 

 off. Mr. Gould even told me that, in the districts where 

 these birds build, if a traveller chance to lose his watch, his 

 knife, or seal, it is useless to look in the place where they 

 have been dropped : they are certain to have been carried 

 off by the bower-birds of the district, and are always to be 

 found in the nearest of their bowers. 



The discovery of this arbor of love being quite an unex- 

 pected fact in ornithology, Mr. Gould was afraid that his 

 narrative might be received in Europe with suspicion ; he 

 was accordingly anxious to bring proofs for it. For this 

 purpose, having carried away one of these promenades, or 

 " runs," he contrived, by dint of infinite care, to transport 

 it to the British Museum, where it can now be admired. 



So soon as people became acquainted with the work itself 

 they wanted to make trial of the workmen. One of these 



