206 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIRDS. 
explaining to them tliat it was a necessity of science and its 
accompanying art. 
The buggy was stopped, and out I sprang. lie was but a 
short distance off, swimming and bounding on " the billows 
of sweet sound." My wife said, as I left her : 
" Be sure you get him, he is a splendid creature, just the 
specimen that I want." 
" Yes, 3' ou shall see !" said I, faintly. I walked up towards 
him. He did not observe me, he was too much absorbed in his 
hymn. I was now within twenty paces of the low pear tree, 
yet he soared and floated unobservant of the stalking murder 
in his front ; he knew no evil in this hospitable land, and 
music had been "plate of mail" to him. I pointed my gun 
at him three times, but always I would never see the end of 
the barrel, for my eyes grew thick with tears. I could not 
see him, he was — " hidden in the light " — of music. 
I tried, in the desperation of my will^ to pull the trigger 
in that direction^ but the gun would not go off. I could not 
make it go, and found that somehow, it was only on half- 
cock. Even then, after it was on full-cock, and the beauti- 
ful creature undauntedly floated and sang, I found another pre- 
text for dodging my boasted inexorableness. I saw the fe- 
male fly into the same tree, though lower down, and came 
to the instantaneous conclusion that as they must be building 
there, it would be an unpardonable profanity for me to shoot 
the male under such circumstances. I went back to the 
buggy, and although my wife attempted hysterically, to keep 
up her bantering tone, and vowed that if I did not shoot her 
a mocking bird, she would do it herself, because " she must 
have it!" yet 1 felt that her voice trembled in this assertion 
of the inevitable requisitions of art, and not another word 
was spoken between us as we drove back to our hotel. 
A week had passed, and still her studies made it more ap- 
parent that we must have a fresh slain specimen, to enable 
her to complete the drawing contemplated. 
At last, upon one of my well days, we were transported to 
