NESTS OF BIRDS. 17 



Shall upward grow, will prompt his mind 

 To all that's good and great — refin'd; 

 And when, perhaps, my voice is mute, 

 When silent hangs my minstrel lute, 

 Awaking only to the breeze 

 Some fitful strains, not such as these ; 

 When all that may remain of me, 

 You in my thought, my song shall see, 

 You will remind him, that 'twas I 

 Who struck these chords of minstrelsy. 

 Simple, in sooth, they are, and trite, 

 Yet will, I hope, the mind excite 

 To pleasures simple as my lay, 

 Yet pure as truth — as sunshine gay. 

 You will remind your favourite boy 

 I lov'd him — wish'd him every joy; 

 And, should he listen to my strain, 

 I, Lady! have not liv'd in vain. 



Oh teach him, when you will know best, 

 To love, admire the warblers' nest ;* 



* The structure of the nests of birds affords, perhaps, one 

 of the most agreeable lessons in Natural History. 



Among the most curious nests of our English birds may be 

 named that of the Wren, the Long-tailed Titmouse, the Thrush, 

 the Goldfinch, the Chaffinch, the Magpie, and the House Sparrow; 

 to these may also be added the Swallow's, the Martin's, the Wood 

 Pigeons, and the Wood-Pecker's. Of the nests of Rooks, it may 

 be sufficient to observe, that they are often found to the num- 

 ber of six, or even more, in a cluster. Crows' nests are always 

 solitary; they are similar in structure to those of the rook. 



