THE ROBIN: AN ILLUSTRATION 123 

 and, to a great extent, self-dependence ; but 

 child-like and self-willed, it has not the know- 

 ledge of the parent, and therefore is constantly 

 falling and faiUng, for want of equilibrium, 

 humanum est errare. This is not pure nature, 

 but human nature. 



Now to consider this matter of eqviilibrium 

 from a practical point of view. I can think of 

 no better illustration than that afforded by the 

 commonest bird of our country lawns — ^the 

 robin. Here we have a confiding little bird 

 whose proceedings can be watched at a close 

 range in the open. Let us suppose the lawn 

 set with croquet hoops and posts, though a 

 single hoop and one post is sufficient, in fact, 

 better for our purpose. To ensure steady sight 

 the observer will take up his position in a chair 

 placed sideways, in a line with the hoop and 

 at a convenient distance. He will then keep 

 an eye on the robin, who, in the meantime, is 

 busy hunting for worms in the grass, and who, 

 from time to time, is seen to fly to the hoop, 

 or settle on the post, in order to take observa- 

 tions on his own account. Now this is a very 

 ordinary sight which anyone in the least 

 interested in birds has witnessed a thousand 

 times, but it may not be everyone who has 

 thought to concentrate his attention at the 

 moment the bird alights on the hoop. If he 



