Interpretations 



tention, robins, blue-birds, song-sparrows, the 

 cardinal, Carolina wren and crested tit have 

 not been quiet except after sunset and not al- 

 ways then, and an hour before sunrise every one 

 is up, about and tuneful. Killdee plover, too, 

 have been trooping over the house and whether 

 or not they had a message for me, I heard their 

 clear whistle and interpreted it as a hint to be 

 as wide-awake as every bird about me. 



There were other birds, to say nothing of 

 crows, hawks and blue-jays, but let that pass. 

 The day's incidents are major and minor and 

 the former claim our attention; perhaps too 

 closely, for not always the loudest noise is full- 

 est of suggestion. The quiet remark of a 

 thoughtful man may be weightier than the 

 clamor of a thoughtless crowd. Because it is 

 the custom to be guarded in assertion, I sug- 

 gested the probability mechanically. So much 

 for being a slave to custom. The truth is, the 

 clamor of a crowd has as little import as the 

 steady hum of children's voices when at play. 

 Boys shout when they rush from school. It is 

 the expression of pent-up energy and addressed 

 to no one. I think not one boy in a hundred is 

 aware that he has shouted. So with the clamor 



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