356 
RURAL HOURS. 
a solitary robin. The .locks of summer birds have now entirely 
disappeared ; only a few stragglers are seen, shy and solitary, as 
though they had been forgotten. We frequently throw out seeds 
and crumbs for the birds at this season ; but it is seldom, indeed, 
one has the pleasure of seeing the little creatures eat them. As 
long as there are berries on the vines and bushes, and seeds on 
the flowers and weeds, they prefer to forage for themselves. 
They often alight near the birds-seed and bread thro^vn on the 
gravel, without touching a crumb ; and the provision thrown out 
for them Avill lie unheeded until the snow falls upon it. Having 
made up their minds to leave us, they are not to be coaxed into 
staying by any friendly attentions. Perhaps our robin, in par- 
ticular, may be more shy than that of Europe. We hear of the 
European red-breast being frequently fed upon crumbs about 
farm-houses in cold weather. Christiana, in tlic Pilgrim’s Prog- 
ress, thought they lived entirely on such food : “ Then, as they 
were coming in from abroad, they espied a robin with a great 
spider in his mouth : so the Interpreter said, ‘ Look here !’ So 
they looked, and Mercy wondered ; but Christiana said, ‘ What a 
disparagement it is to such a little pretty bird as the robin red- 
breast is ! he being also a bird above many, that loveth to maintain a 
kind of sociableness with men. I had thought they had lived 
upon cinimbs of bread, or upon other such harmless matter. I 
like him worse than I did.’ ” 
We have no right to complain, however, if robin prefers spiders 
to bread, since Ave in our turn are capable of making a very good 
meal of robin himself ; and so, after abusing him for neglecting 
the crumbs, we give a pretty anecdote, much to his credit ; it is 
