70 Tenants. 



eral large clusters of the bats hung from the rafters of the 

 roof, and when the sun was setting they commenced to 

 click incessantly, and at dusk flew singly and by twos and 

 threes from the slatted windows. 



The English sparrows used to go in and out of the stall 

 windows, which were without glass, but a scarlet tanager 

 coining in that way became confused and flew against the 

 glazed window on the opposite side, beneath which I found 

 its dead body. 



The old man rarely found fault with the creatures that 

 lived about the place, and helped them all he could in 

 their struggle for existence. He once complained that the 

 crows pulled his pears for him — pulled them all off and 

 dropped them on the ground; but he was friendly to the 

 rabbits, and felt much grieved one day w r hen a nest of 

 theirs had been destroyed. " Monday I made hay," said 

 he, " Tuesday I made hay again, and I had two fellows 

 to help me. Up in the orchard they found a rabbit's nest 

 with seven young ones, and they, fools, thought they were 

 rats and killed them with the forks. They might have 

 known by the ears. Anyhow, in the Fall they get shot, 

 so they only die a little sooner." 



Even the woodpeckers that bored into the side of the 

 house, and looked out from their fastness and cackled at 

 us as we stood below, were not regarded as trespassers, 

 though the old man, one Autumn, after they had gone, did 

 nail some pieces of tin over the holes. Nevertheless they 

 came back the next year and reared their young in the side 

 of the house as usual. The wily high-holders knew they 

 had a good residence and were loath to leave, and the old 



