. The bird . The pole-cat stole fromthe valley-depth, the ermine descended from the rock, the pine-marten quitted his nest, the fox prowled among the bushes. Allthese enemies the poor little one watched during this terrible his tree, on the earth, in the air—destruction menaced him onevery side. How long, how long were the hours when, not daring tomove, his only protection was the young leaves which screened him !And now, how great the pleasure to ply his unfettered wing, to livein safety, protected, defended by the light! 328 ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES. The chafEncli raises with all his ener
. The bird . The pole-cat stole fromthe valley-depth, the ermine descended from the rock, the pine-marten quitted his nest, the fox prowled among the bushes. Allthese enemies the poor little one watched during this terrible his tree, on the earth, in the air—destruction menaced him onevery side. How long, how long were the hours when, not daring tomove, his only protection was the young leaves which screened him !And now, how great the pleasure to ply his unfettered wing, to livein safety, protected, defended by the light! 328 ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES. The chafEncli raises with all his energy his clear and sonorouenote; the robin sings from the summit of the larch, the goldfinchamid the alder-gToves, the blackbird and the bullfinch beneath theleafy arbours. The tomtit, the wren, and the troglodjte mingle theirvoices. The stockdove coos, and the woodpecker smites his far above these joyous utterances re-echo the melodious strains ofthe woodlark and the inimitable song of the Page 185. Migrations.—For the Arab, the lank in-habitant of the desert;, the an-ival of the migrating birds, weary andheavy at this season, and, therefore, easy to catch, is a blessing fromGod, a celestial manna. The Bible tells us of the raptures of theIsraelites, when, during their wanderings in Arabia Petrsea, fastingand enfeebled, they suddenly saw descending upon them the wingedfood : not the locusts of abstemious Elias, not the bread with whichthe raven nourished his bowels, but the quail heavy vsdth fat, deliciousand yet substantial, which voluntarily fell into their hands. Theyate to repletion; and no longer regretted the rich flesh-pots ofPharaoh. I wUlingly excuse the gluttony of the famished. But what shallI say of our people, in the richest countries of Europe, who, afterharvest and vintage-time, with barns and cellars brimming full, pursuewith no less fury these poor travellers ? Thin or fat, they are equallygood: they would eat even the swallows; t
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