Why this brief vision of 

 golden filigree that seems sud- 

 denly flung across my fancy ? 



What is the talisman ? " I've cheated ye, per chick o pee, per 

 chick o pee." What but the tiny goldfinch that has passed over- 

 head in its looping flight, festooning the ether in glancing drap- 

 ery of black and gold, each embroidered loop pinned with a wisp 

 of song ! The crimson tufts of the thjstle-blooms now seem hov- 



ering there, or in magic fruition, the silvery down 

 9 



jlistens in the 



