WREN. 
575 
no coigne of vantage,” either as a shelter from the weather, or as con- 
cealment or protection from enemies. On the contrary, it faced the 
public pathway, to which it was so near, that it had no little chance of 
being demolished by the first passing lounger who should dangle his 
walking-stick or his umbrella hither and thither, for want of other 
amusement, to keep time with the monotonous pendulum-swing of his 
cogitations. 
If it was the vicinity, however, of the bed of green moss that had first 
attracted the Wrens to this elm-root, calculating on an abundant supply 
from it of building materials, they had afterwards found it too firmly 
matted into the bark to be procured, or otherwise unsuitable for their 
purpose, as they used very little of it in the structure, but carried 
what they wanted from some distance. It might be, indeed, that the 
passengers on the footway so frequently scared them, that they chose 
rather to look for a bit of moss where they could pick and choose undis - 
turbed in the next field ; and it was not a little painful to see the tiny 
creatures hopping from branch to branch of the hedge, carrying a 
bundle of stuff half as bulky as themselves, — anxiously waiting for 
some slow-walking passenger to move away from their vicinity, before 
they ventured to work. For though the Wren is far from being a timid 
bird, as it will allow one to come almost within arm’s length of it, while 
it is hopping about in pursuit of flies; it is no less wary than other 
birds respecting its nest, and will scold most outrageously — calling 
cheek! check!” of course meaning thereby, stop! stop! when any 
one intrudes within its boundaries, and will even pursue a boy or a 
polecat to some distance, with loud manifestations of anger — tantaene 
animis exiguis irse. 
As I was eager to see the little architects at work on their nest, and 
had stationed myself so as to be within view without disturbing them, 
I was tantalised to perceive that more than two-thirds of their time 
was spent in scolding the chance passengers, who had no thoughts of 
intrusion, and cared nothing about the Wrens, nor the little moss-dome 
they were building for their family dwelling. One part of the wall I 
observed them very careful in rendering smooth and firm ; it was that 
portion immediately under the entrance, v/hich, as most people have 
seen a Wren’s nest, it is scarcely necessary to remind the reader is an 
oval or roundish hole, in the side of the edifice immediately under the 
dome. Novv^, it being obvious, that this part of the wall has to support, 
not only the weight of the old birds when at home, and of the nume- 
rous family of young ones when hatched, but the wear and tear of 
passing in and out, it must require to be more firmly constructed than 
