52 THE THRUSH. 



The price for common singers is from ten to twenty 

 dollars. For fine singers from thirty to fifty dollars, 

 and for very extraordinary ones even a hundred dol- 

 lars has been refused. 



When we walk out into the woods, how are we 

 cheered with the songs, and gratified with the sight of 

 the birds which surround us. The green grass, the 

 beautiful flowers, and the tall trees of the forest, it, is 

 true, are pleasant to the sight. But these are inani- 

 mate ; they preserve a dead and perpetual silence. 

 They gratify the eye, but the ear would be left un- 

 touched, and the charms of nature but half complete 

 without the feathered songsters. When we walk 

 alone through the solitary forest, they become our 

 companions, and seem to take pleasure in displaying 

 their beauties, and raising their best notes for our 

 amusement. 



Thus, the fowls of the air, by the benevolence of 

 the Creator, add to our pleasures, and lighten our 

 hearts. What child, then, can be so selfish, and un* 

 grateful, as to enjoy these pleasures without thinking 

 WHO it is, he ought to thank for them. 



It is to "our Father in heaven," that we are to give 

 thanks for the innocent pleasures we enjoy, as well as 

 for the more necessary provision of our daily bread. 



