THE THRUSH. 
languidly indeed, and the men and boys spoke to each other in 
whispers. Suddenly every mouth was ajar with terror, all the 
hair in the wood- shed rose on the heads of its owners, for, 
pealing through thq place, was heard the familiar tnne “ Wil- 
liam at the Garden Gate,” in the unmistakeable whistle of the 
dead wood-chopper ! The men and boys rushed from the place, 
and went and told the widow ; then they returned all together, 
and, just putting their heads inside the door, listened. With the 
exception of blocks, and choppers, and billets, the shed was 
empty ; still, from invisible lips, issued “ William at the Garden 
Gate,” clear, shrill, unearthly ! Neither for love nor money 
would man or boy venture within the shed to split another 
billet. 
The place was haunted. Sometimes the most profound 
silence would reign in the shed for hours, and then would come 
a sudden burst of the ghostly whistling, scaring away listeners 
from chinks and keyholes. The widow advertised the busi- 
ness, but no man was found bold enough to buy it. So passed 
on three months, and the poor woman was fairly on the road 
to ruin. One day, however, while seated at her window, she 
saw a bird fly from a neighbouring copse, alight on the roof of 
the deserted wood- shed, and immediately pipe up the now 
dreaded tune. Thus the mystery was cleared up. It was a 
thrush, who, attracted by the wood- chopper’s music, had 
listened until he had learnt it, and, proud of the accomplish- 
ment, returned to the same spot every day to publish his 
scholarship. 
The Thrush’s Cage. — A lark-cage of the largest size is best 
for the thrush. Always take care to have the floor of the 
cage well strewn with coarse sand, and never neglect the 
water-glass for his drink, nor the water-pan for his bath. 
Bear in mind how constantly the thrush exhibits his love 
