JULY. 181 



So, sitting here, within sight and hearing of the mist- 

 enveloped wheel, I spent the long torrid summer after- 

 noon. Perhaps he who thought to play a joke upon me 

 became frightened at my non-appearance and imagined 

 me dead or helpless in the gloomy depth, as he pictured 

 it. I have not yet had sufficient curiosity to ask him 

 what he thought ; but when I met him on my way home 

 in the cool of the evening, his astonishment rendered him 

 speechless as I descanted upon the wheel-room's merits 

 and thanked him for his suggestion. 



It was one of the unpleasant features of a recent out- 

 ing to see a bird and not be sure of its identity. Perhaps 

 it was a mocking-bird, a partially albino cat-bird, or a 

 Southern shrike. I incline now to the latter opinion. 

 They are much like their Northern cousins, the butcher- 

 birds, in every habit, and not very dissimilar in appear- 

 ance. The bird I saw came from over a wide reach of 

 meadows and flew directly to the nearest woods. There 

 it alighted upon an exposed branch of an oak, and from 

 where I sat I could see it, but not so distinctly as to deter- 

 mine its colors. The shrike, if this it was, seemed restless 

 and uncertain as-to its movements, and impatiently jerked 

 its tail, as though it would shake it off. Presently it dived 

 into the thicket beneath, and at once there was a commo- 

 tion among the small fry. Sparrows, warblers, and tits 

 appeared in numbers, chattering vehemently. This, more 

 than all else, makes me think that the bird was a South- 

 ern shrike. 



The great Northern butcher-bird is also more likely 

 to be seen about the creeks than in any point of the up- 

 lands. The character of the winter does not affect its 

 movements, but in December, if not earlier, it comes, 

 be the weather moderate or cold, and in April it departs. 



I remember one, demure as a scheming crow, with eyes 

 half shut and with not a trace of treachery or cunning in 



