CHAPTER FOURTH 



"THE BUILDUP G OF 'THE 

 J7EST 



'T'HERE are probably very few children 

 ■* who are not more or less familiar 

 with birds' nests, for they are not by any 

 means confined to the country, but are to be 

 found in the shade trees of every village 

 street, to say nothing of the old-time lilac 

 hedges, gooseberry bushes, and homely shrub- 

 bery of fifty years ago. Even in our large 

 cities there are some few birds brave enough 

 to make their homes in or very near the 

 busiest thoroughfares. As an instance, it 

 was not so long ago that a yellow-breasted 

 chat — a shy bird — nested in the yard of the 

 Pennsylvania Hospital, at the corner of Eighth 

 and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia, and soon 

 learned to mimic many a familiar street sound. 

 Such instances as these were more common 



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