46 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



And all the sound we hear is the rus- 

 tle of the breeze. 



The Kildeer and the Plover, that once 

 were here so tame; 



Their cheerful notes are lacking; the 

 place is not the same. 



In our early youthful days, we 



thought it wrong to kill 

 Any living creature to simply show 



our skill. 

 That all created things had some right 



to live; 

 And we therefore thought it wrong to 



take the life we could not give. 



In this our present day, how different 



from then; 

 Instead of heartless ruffians, it now is 



sporting men 

 Who kill our feathered songsters with 



double-barrelled gun; 

 It seems to us most cruel, although 



they call it fun. 



The present generation will surely 

 never know 



How cheerful were the songs of birds 

 of long ago. 



The birds are now suspicious and flee 

 from human sight; 



Now their cheerful songs have chang- 

 ed to shrieks of fright. 



Then the Robin built her nest wher- 

 ever she might choose, 



Thinking only thieving hawks would 

 her this right refuse; 



Not only ragged urchins, but men as 

 hunters dressed, 



Are banded now together to give the 

 birds no rest. 



A flood of sad reflections is o'er my 



spirit cast, 

 When mentally comparing the present 



with the past; 

 Are all our present comforts really 



worth the cost 



Of Nature's sweetest music, that now 

 to us is lost? 



There surely is a reason, without a 

 shade of doubt 



How this change of sentiment was 

 really brought about. 



After due reflection we possibly may 

 find, 



That truly "Education forms the com- 

 mon mind." 



With higher institutions we have no 

 fault to find, 



Because it is their province to educate 

 the mind; 



But our modern primaries from the 

 very start, 



Force the mental faculties and disre- 

 gard the heart. 



Farewell to these reflections, and lei 



them not alloy 

 The comforts of the present, which 



we so much enjoy; 

 We are but fleeting mortals, and have 



not long to stay, 

 So let our present blessings cheer us 



on our way. 



But the mournful silence in the wood 



and field. 

 Chills our hearts with sadness that 



cannot be concealed; 

 And this our last petition would be to 



ask the State. 

 To save remaining innocents from 



their impending fate. 



CAPT. L. H. STOVER. 

 Brunswick, Me. 



A BIRD TRAGEDY. 



Dr. A. E. Bessey of Waterville, tells 

 the editor of an incident which scores 

 against the red squirrel. 



In the month of June, 1900, while 

 the doctor's family were located at 

 his summer cottage on the shores of 

 Great Pond, in the town of Belgrade, 



