THE TREE OR HOUSE SWALLOW. 



The Swallow family long ago made a Swallow, who in ancient times, and be- 

 very strong impression on mankind, and fore this country was inhabited by the 

 appear in the literature of every age, civilized man, built his nest in the hol- 

 more or less, for many centuries. low trees and hollow limbs, but since 



It could not have been for their musi- man has come to this country and built 



cal qualities, for they only utter short homes, these little happy spirits of the 



snatches of song, or rippling twitters air have abandoned their homes in the 



while on the wing. wildernees and taken up their abode and 



They are not at all pretentious in their reared their young wherever they could 

 plumage, and, withal, may be said to find a place in a house to build, and man, 

 be quite modest, plain folks, but never- seeing this disposition of neighborly love 

 theless they have in some way impressed and confidence on the part of the swal- 

 themselves upon the poets, artists and low, at once responded to it, and con- 

 writers of song. structed miniature churches and houses 



A landscape seems more to pulsate and set them on poles in the yard, or on 



with life, when the artist has placed a the roofs of houses, which the Tree 



swallow on the wing in his picture, and Swallow soon occupied, and until the 



the poet uses with excellent effect the last half century they had no one to 



rollicking acrobat of the air to illustrate disturb them, only now and then the 



his grandest flights of poetic beauty. little scolding house wren who would 



The sculptor caught a fancy for their fancy their houses and attempt to get 



graceful motion and carved them on the possession, but usually failed, and finally 



obelisks of ancient Egypt to represent took up with a gourd shell that hung in 



some beautiful thought, not yet inter- a tree near by, or a hole in some old limb 



preted. of a tree. 



Just why this little plain, democratic But when that pest, the English spar- 

 bird should occupy a prominent position row, came to our country, with the per- 

 in the world's doings can only be guessed sistent pluck of the Englishman in his 

 at; but somehow, in some way, he has veins, and the Anglo-Saxon motives in 

 touched a responsive chord in man's soul, his head, without any very great cere- 

 who has taken him into companionship mony or compunction, he pre-empted 

 with his grandest thinking. every Swallow's home in sight, and when 



The swallow in turn seems by peculiar the Swallow returned in spring from 



instinct to have recognized that man had their winter home, he found the Saxon 



a fondness for him, and for centuries freebooter in full possession, and, seeing 



has abandoned his wild haunts and taken the hopelessness of his condition, re- 



up his abode near the homes of his ad- turned to the wilderness and the hollow 



mirers. tree, and now one rarely sees a Tree 



The cliff swallow has abandoned the Swallow in city or village, 

 wilds and the rugged, rocky cliffs, and The same has happened to the mar- 

 now builds his nest and rears his young tin, a charming social bird, who occupied 

 under the eaves, or on the rafters of similar houses as the Swallows, which 

 barns in the country, rarely ever intrud- could be seen on every signpost that 

 ing upon the hospitality of the eaves of stood near country and village store or 

 the dwelling, though nearby. tavern. They have also been driven 



The same can be said of the Tree away by the sparrows, although they 



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