far removed from the woods. In the empty 

 street, beneath the silent, shuttered walls, with 

 something still of the mystery of the night winds 

 in the bare trees, the scene, for an instant, was 

 touched with the spell of the dark and the un- 

 tamed. 



After a swift warming walk of fifteen minutes 

 I returned to the roost. There were signs of 

 waking now : a flutter here, a twitter there, 

 then quiet again, with no general movement 

 until half-past four, when the city lights were 

 shut off. Then, instantly, from a dozen branches 

 sounded loud, clear chirps, and every sparrow 

 opened his eyes. The incandescent bulbs about 

 the border of the roost were moon and stars to 

 them, lights in the firmament of their heaven 

 to divide the night from the day. When they 

 blazed forth, it was evening— bedtime ; when 

 they went out, it was morning — the time to 

 wake up. 



The softness of dusk, how unknown to these 

 city dwellers ! and the fresh sweet beauty of the 

 dawn! 



Morning must have begun to break along 

 near four o'clock, for the cold gray across the 

 [100] 



