The BlackhirtVs Bath. 147 



own beauty'. He must somehow have read Shake- 

 speare, for he seems quite aware of his ' orange tawny 

 bill' and deep black hue. He might really know tluit 

 he figures in a famous ballad, and that four-and- 

 twent}^ of his species were considered a dish to set 

 before a king. 



It is a sight to see him take his bath. In a 

 meadow not far from the house here is a shallow 

 but clear streamlet, running down a deep broad 

 ditch overshadowed by tall hemlock and clogweed, 

 arched over with willow, whose leaves when the 

 wind blows and their under-side is exposed give the 

 hedge a gray tint, with maple and briar. Hide your- 

 self here on a summer morning among the dry grass 

 and bushes, and presently the blackbird comes to 

 stand a minute on a stone which checks the tiny 

 stream like a miniature rock, and then to splash the 

 clear water over head and back with immense energy. 

 He repeats this several times, and immediately after- 

 wards flies to an adjacent rail, where, unfettered by 

 boughs, he can preen his feathers, going through his 

 toilet with the air of a prince. Finally, he perks his 

 tail up, and challenges the world with the call already 

 mentioned, which seems now to mean, ' Come and 

 see Me ; am I not handsome ? ' 



On a warm June day, when the hedges are cov- 

 ered with roses and the air is sweet with the odor 

 of mown grass, it is pleasant to listen to the black- 

 birds in the oaks pouring forth their rich liquid notes. 

 There is no note so sweet and deep and melodious as 

 that of the blackbird to be heard in our fields ; it 

 is even richer than the nightingale's, though not so 

 varied. Just before noonday — between eleven and 



