60 BLUE BIRD. 



The ploughman is pleased when he gleans iu his train, 



Now searching the furrows — now mounting to cheer him ; 

 The gard'ner delights in his sweet, simple strain, 



And leans on his spade to survey and to hear him ; ■ 

 The slow ling'ring schoolboys forget they'll be chid, 



While gazing intent as he warbles before them, 

 In mantle of sky-blue, and bosom so red, 



That each little loiterer seems to adore him. 



When all the gay scenes of the summer are o'er, 



And autumn slow enters so silent and sallow, 

 And millions of warblers, that charmed us before, 



Have fled in the train of the sun-seeking swallow ; 

 The blue bird, forsaken, yet true to his home, 



Still lingers, and looks for a milder to-morrow, 

 Till forced by the horrors of winter to roam, 



He sings his adieu iu a lone note of sorrow. 



While spring's lovely season, serene, dewy, warm, 



The green face of earth, and the pure blue of heaven, 

 Or love's native music have influence to charm, 



Or sympathy's glow to our feelings are given, 

 Still dear to each bosom the blue bird shall be ; 



His voice, like the thrillings of hope, is a treasure ; 

 For, through bleakest storms, if a calm he but see, 



He comes to remind us of sunshine and pleasure ! 



The blue bird, in summer and fall, is fond of frequenting; 

 open pasture fields ; and there perching on the stalks of the 

 great mullein, to look out for passing insects. A whole family 

 of them are often seen thus situated, as if receiving lessons of 

 dexterity from their more expert parents, who can espy a beetle 

 crawling among the grass at a considerable distance ; and, 

 after feeding on it, instantly resume their former position.* 

 But whoever informed Dr Latham that " this bird is never 



* The very habits of our European Saxicoloe are here described ; they 

 invariably seek the summit of some elevation, a hillock, a stone, bush, 

 or some of the taller wild plants, and if occasionally on a tree, the top- 

 most branch is always preferred ; there they perch, uttering their mono- 

 tonous call, which increases in anxiety and frequency as we approach 

 the nest, or the young before they are able' to fly ; or they alight at 

 intervals, run for some distance, and again remount to a fresh station. 

 "When not annoyed, they retain the same elevated situations, looking 



