Atalapha, a Winged Brownie 
none propelling but his own strong nervous force, 
with quick codrdinate life in every film and fibre 
of his frame, with exquisite sensibility of power 
and risk and change of breath, with absolute con- 
trol of every part and move. What greater joy 
could there be to Old Mother Nature’s slow-made 
perfect flying thing than this the perfect joy of 
perfect flight ? 
Men have so long been envious of the flies and 
birds for their mastery of the air and pictured theirs 
a life of Paradise restored, they have forgotten 
that there is still another higher creature, a being 
nearer to ourselves whose babes are born alive, 
whose brain is on a higher plane than that of any 
bird, whose powers perceptive are of exquisite 
acuteness, whose make-up is attuned to sounds 
and senses we labor hard to prove; that nature 
made many a blundering trial with the scaled and 
feathered folk, but all her finished summing up of 
flight she centred in this her favorite, the high- 
born, cave-born Bat, that clad in exquisite furs, 
mounted on silent silken wings, equipped with 
wonderful senses, has so long led his blameless 
life so near our eyes, and yet so little on our ken. 
With strength in his body and courage in his 
heart, Atalapha now led the twilight host that 
sallied forth from hollow tree or bosky hemlock 
169 
