180 EXTRACTS FROM HIS WORKS [oh. vii. 
solitude, for now he is not solitary; but he sings 
because all his wants are satisfied, his whole frame 
glowing with health, and because his Maker has 
gifted him with the power of uttering sweet 
sounds .—British Birds, vol. ii., pp. 89, 90. 
13 .—The Song of the Thrush. 
The song thrush is associated in my memory 
with the Hebrides, where it is perhaps more 
abundant than in most parts of Britain. There, 
in the calm sunyner evening, such as for placid 
beauty far exceeds any that I have elsewhere 
seen, when the glorious sun is drawing towards the 
horizon, and shedding a broad glare of ruddy light 
over the smooth surface of the ocean; when the 
scattered sheep, accompanied by their frolicsome 
lambkins, are quietly browsing on the hills; when 
the broad-winged eagle is seen skimming along the 
mountain ridge, as he wends his way toward his 
eyry on the far promontory; when no sound comes 
on the ear save at intervals the faint murmur of the 
waves rushing into the caverns and rising against 
the faces of the cliffs; when the western breeze, 
stealing over the flowery pastures, carries with it 
the perfume of the wild thyme and white clover ; 
the song of the thrush is poured forth from the 
summit of some granite block, shaggy with grey 
lichens, and returns in softer and sweeter modula¬ 
tions from the sides of the heathy mountains. 
