CtAss II. RED-BREAST WARBLER. 50^ 



Against the window beats ; then, brisk, alights 



On the warm hearth ; then, hopping o'er the floor, ^ 



Eyes all the smiling family askance, , 



And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is : 



'Till more familiar grown, the table-crumbs 



Attract his slender feet. 



The great beauty of that celebrated poet con- 

 sists in his elegant and just descriptions of the 

 economy of animals; and the happy use* he 

 hath made of natural knowledge, in descrip- 

 tive poetry, shines through almost every page of 

 his Seasons. The affection this bird has for 

 mankind, is also recorded in that antient bal- 

 lad, "f The babes in the wood ; a composition of 

 a most beautiful and pathetic simplicity. It is 

 the first tryal of our humanity : the child that 

 refrains from tears on hearing that read, gives 

 but a bad presage of the tenderness of his fu- 

 ture sensations. 



In the spring this bird retires to breed in the 

 thickest covers, or the most concealed holes of 

 walls and other buildings. The eggs are of a 

 dull white, sprinkled with reddish spots. Its 

 song is remarkably fine and soft ; and the more 

 to be valued, as we enjoy it the greatest part of 

 the winter, and early in the spring, and even 



* Vide our Preface. 



f Reliques of antient English Poetry, Vol. iii. p. I70. 



