PEWIT FLYCATCHER. 



79 



high, formed by the undermining of the water below, and the pro- 

 jection of two large rocks above : 



There down smooth glist'ning rocks the rivulet pours, 



Till in a pool its silent waters sleep, 

 A dark brow'd cliff, o'ertopp'd with fern and flow'rs, 



Hangs, grimly louring, o'er the glassy deep; 

 Above tho every chink the woodbines creep. 



And smooth-bark'd beeches spread their arms around, 

 Whose roots cling twisted round the rocky steep; 



A more sequestered scene is no where found. 

 For contemplation deep, and silent thought profound. 



In this cave I knew the Pewit to build for several years. The place 

 was solitary, and he was seldom disturbed. In the month of April, 

 one fatal Saturday, a party of boys from the city, armed with 

 guns, dealing indiscriminate destruction among the feathered tribes 

 around them, directed their murderous course this way, and within 

 my hearing destroyed both parents of this old and peaceful settle- 

 ment. For two successive years, and I believe to this day there 

 has been no Pewee seen about this place. Tliis circumstance al- 

 most convinces me that birds, in many instances, return to the 

 same spots to breed; and who knows but like the savage nations 

 of Indians they may usurp a kind of exclusive right of tenure to 

 particular districts where they themselves have been reared. 



The notes of the Pewee, like those of the Blue-bird, are pleasing, 

 not for any melody they contain, but from the ideas of spring and 

 returning verdure with all the sweets of this lovely season, which 

 are associated with his simple but lively ditty. Towards the 

 middle of June he becomes nearly silent; and late in the Fall 

 gives us a few farewel and melancholy repetitions, that recal past 

 imagery, and make the decayed and withered face of nature appear 

 still more melancholy. 



