384 INSECTI VOILE. 



but in different states of the atmosphere, the task is more 

 laborious, and then the song ceases. It is true that, even at 

 those times, a solitary one, here and there, may be heard 

 singing with all his might ; but the probability is, that that 

 is some one who has been unsuccessful in his wooing, or 

 widowed of his mate. Even in the latter case, however, the 

 song is anything but a lament. The poets have, indeed, said 

 so, and given it to the female, as the most pathetic way of 

 putting it; but poets are not the best of philosophers, and 

 the song is one of invitation, which will slacken whenever it 

 has answered its purpose. We sing in many moods; but 

 birds sing only when they are merry. It is probable that 

 the loss of the brood may also bring the male a second time 

 into song; but the subject is one upon which it is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to get accurate information. What we know 

 of nightingales, farther than that which we hear from them- 

 selves, is collected chiefly from the observation of them in a 

 state of confinement, and that can throw but little light upon 

 their habits as denizens of the wild woods. 



It is just as difficult to get a fair estimate of the song of 

 the nightingale, compared with the songs of other warblers, 

 as it is to get a satisfactory account of the manners of the 

 birds. 



Under every circumstance, the song is a delightful one ; 

 and, with the exception of the time at which it is heard, it 

 is perhaps the most spirit-stirring and gleesome in nature, 

 much more so than that of the skylark, though the lark has 

 the odds of the bright sun and the clear sky, against the 

 gloom of the woodland shade and the night. To hear it in 

 the morning, especially for the first time, and to be awakened 

 by it upon one of those balmy mornings in May, when every 

 leaf is freshness, and every breath young perfume, is inde- 

 scribable worth more than a whole musical festival ; but 

 yet it owes much to the time, and the absence of other 



