-'54 



A Word for the English Sparrow. 



It is very certain that death would soon 

 have put an end to all her misery, had not 

 something happened one day which made 

 life seem worth having again. 



As she sat on her perch one morning, 

 listlessly looking at the soft clouds which 

 were floating across the sky, she heard a 

 voice which thrilled her with delight. 



It was the earth child, and in another 

 moment she was at Ruby-Throat's side. 



"Poor prisoned Star," said the gentle 

 voice, "wouldst thou seek again thy home 

 in heaven? Then fly, Beam of Day!" and 

 before she could think Ruby-Throat found 

 that the barrier that had kept her in had 

 disappeared and that she could indeed fly 

 out toward the drifting clouds that she had 

 watched with such longing. 



The earth child fled, too, her light foot- 

 steps scarcely echoing through the gloomy 

 stone courts, and how Ruby-Throat re- 

 gained her freedom w^as a puzzle to her 

 captor as long as he lived. 



But the princess never forgot, and re- 

 mained faithful to her child friend while 

 life lasted. Her presence was sweeter to 

 her than the flowers, and her voice dearer 

 than the voice of the sweetest bird, as she 

 talked to her of the time when she too 

 would be a beautiful spirit with wings to 

 fly through the clear air, and how they 

 could roam together through that wonder- 

 ful country of their dreams, where the sun- 

 light lay always golden, and no harmful 

 thought ever came to mar its loveliness and 

 peace. 



Henrietta Christian Wright. 



A WORD FOR THE ENGLISH SPARROW 



THE English sparrow is generally re- 

 garded with so much disfavor that 

 it is almost accounted treason to say a word 

 in his defense. Yet he has his virtues as 

 well as his vices, like his defamers. 



I feel that I am qualified to make this 

 assertion, as I have been an interested 

 watcher of a colony of sparrows which have 

 made their house in a large tree in my 

 garden, and as the branches overshadow 

 my window, I am able to keep myself well 

 informed of their proceedings. 



How quiet they are now in October com- 

 pared with their summer mood. I notice a 

 number of small birds in the tree — mem- 

 bers of the warbler family I think — but the 

 sparrows do not molest them, for their 

 jealously guarded young have flown, and 

 the nests are empty. 



Early in the season, however, disagree- 

 ments would arise, and I have heard loud 

 talking between rival claimants for some 

 eligible building site. Occasionally the dis- 



putants would come to blows, and settle the 

 question of proprietorship by a r<?///^/<' ///«///, 

 in which the whole community would join, 

 while the spasmodic jerkings of their tails 

 showed the intensity of their emotions. 



But I am glad to say that this aggressive 

 spirit was not the prevailing one among 

 them, and when the rights of property 

 holders were secured the general harmony 

 was seldom disturbed. 



These little failings in Passer domesticus 

 have gained him many enemies, but he has 

 another side to his character, and I will now 

 speak of his virtues, which consist in de- 

 stroying insects, but with this he is never 

 credited, and the fact that he rears his 

 young on insect food, which I have ascer- 

 tained from personal observation, is also en- 

 tirely ignored. As the nesting season ex- 

 tends from May till September, it is incal- 

 culable the number of insects that one pair 

 of sparrows will destroy in a season. 



Our little brown friend is also very intel- 



