AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



uttered in a tone of voice as if he were sounding 

 an alarm of fire. The bird seemed so uneasy 

 that we finally decided that he was pining for a 

 mate ; so we sent forthwith for a hen, but the 

 result was not encouraging ; indeed, it only 

 seemed to double the difficulty. She would 

 perch beside him, and when he yelled, " Oh ! 

 Al ! " she would give a hoarse croak of approval, 

 encouraging him to renewed effort. 



The Professor arrived one night, and by sun- 

 rise the next morning this pair of big birds were 

 perched upon the porch railing near the natural- 

 ist's window, doing their best to give him a lesson 

 in ornithology. The Professor, however, failed 

 to appreciate their efforts, and did his best to dis- 

 lodge them, but they refused to move, unaffected 

 by either his threats or his blandishments. Then 

 he leaned far out on the window-sill, wild-eyed, 

 his night-dress flapping in the morning wind, and 

 flung the whole contents of his wood-box at 

 these innocent birds. He must have been a bad 

 shot, for he brought down no game, and, his 

 ammunition being exhausted, he was forced to 

 return to his bed groaning in despair. At break- 

 fast-time he told us that he was forced, much to 

 his regret, to return at once to Boston. My 



ii8 



