THE ANTHEM OF MORN. 113 



During the night the stillness of all things is the cir- 

 cumstance that most powerfully attracts our notice, ren- 

 dering us peculiarly sensitive to every accidental sound 

 that meets the ear. In the morning, at this time of year, 

 on the contrary, we are overwhelmed by the vocal and 

 multitudinous chorus of the feathered tribe. If you 

 would hear the commencement of this grand anthem of 

 nature, you must rise at the very first appearance of 

 dawn, before the twilight has formed a complete semicir- 

 cle above the eastern porch of heaven. The first note that 

 proceeds from the little warbling host is the shrill chirp 

 of the hair-bird, — occasionally vocal at all hours on a 

 warm summer night. This strain, which is a contnraed 

 trilling sound, is repeated with diminishing intervals, 

 until it becomes almost incessant. But ere the hair-bird 

 has uttered many notes a single robin begins to warble 

 from a neighboring orchard, soon followed by others, in- 

 creasing in numbers until, by the time the eastern sky 

 is flushed with crimson, every male robin in the country 

 round is singing with fervor. 



It would be difficult to note the exact order in which 

 the different birds successively begin their parts in this 

 performance; but the bluebird, whose song is only a 

 short mellow warble, is heard nearly at the same time 

 with the robin, and the song-sparrow joins them soon after 

 with his brief but finely modulated strain. The different 

 species follow rapidly, one after another, in the chorus, 

 until the whole welkin rings with their matin hymn of 

 gladness. I have often wondered that the almost simul- 

 taneous utterance of so many different notes should pro- 

 duce no discords, and that they should result in such 

 complete harmony. In this multitudinous confusion of 

 voices, no two notes are confounded, and none has suf- 

 ficient duration to grate harshly with a dissimilar sound. 

 Though each performer sings only a few strains and then 



