BIRD PARADISE 67 



success. The first sentence he muttered was a 

 bold assertion of winged thought that carried him 

 bodily nearly over to the little red schoolhouse. 

 Think of it, a complete novice in every sense of 

 the word, touching all he was doing, and yet 

 doing it with the utmost ease — utterance in word 

 and gesture — bird elocution at its best. Number 

 two followed, but put his first stroke in the direc- 

 tion of the rising sun. Away he soared, astonish- 

 ing the whole audience, but himself more than 

 all. "When he finally paused he found that his 

 zeal had carried him to the front door of my 

 neighbor's cottage. Time was given him to con- 

 tinue when all seemed favorable in his judgment, 

 which he did, with renewed success. Number 

 three came from the door of the tree temple — 

 announced with the loud calls of the entire 

 faculty. With just the semblance of a bow he 

 threw himself into his part, completing the first 

 sentence far down in the park. He spent an hour 

 or more in that locality, shouting and clapping 

 his hands in true flicker fashion. 



The bobolinks seem to be out in a little more 

 than full numbers in the meadows beyond my 

 garden. This morning they appeared to be hold- 



