תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

of your mind, and soar upward, as the martin does his bodily wings, and use all your powers, as he does, as God directs you, you will be rising higher and higher, till you will come to Him. And you will also know to whom and where you go, and who gives you all your powers; but the martin knows nothing of this. The martin must go and come at such a time, and do just as all other martins have done; but you are free to choose for yourself, and to take the right and happy way, because you know it is the right way, and the path to heaven.'

At this moment, the clouds that had been pouring forth their treasures of rain upon the thirsty ground, lifted up and discovered the setting sun just sinking in the west. All the children with their mother ran out into the piazza, to look at the beautiful sky. The ragged edges of the clouds had a bright golden hue, and the light seemed poured like a flood on every valley, hill, and tree, and every grassy blade, drooped with a diamond at its head.' Then appeared the glorious rainbow, spanning the whole opposite arch of the heavens; —'O, mother! mother!' said the children all at once, how beautiful! how splendid!' And

the birds could not be happier, and the martins could not be more noisy and merry than they all were, as they shouted their welcome to the sun, and their joy at the sight of the beautiful rainbow.

THE WILD PIGEON OF AMERICA.*

We hope that some of our young readers may remember the Rainy Afternoon, and that they felt so much interested in the little travellers that we then gave some account of, that they will like to join us again in a visit to that same lady and her boys and girls, and ask her to tell us more about the travellers of the sky, of which there are such a number and variety. The children who heard the history of the martin did not forget it. Edward begged

his father to let him have a martin box put up against the next season; his father consented, and Edward devoted much of his leisure to watching it, and he insisted upon it that he saw some martins go and examine it carefully,

The following account is taken from the Notes on the Habits of the wild pigeon of America-Columba migratoria-by John James Audubon, Esq. F. R. S., Edinburg, M. W. S. &c, &c, and member of the Lyceum of New York-published in the Edinburg Journal of Science.*

[ocr errors]

inside and out, and that they appeared so satisfied and made such a chattering, that he had no doubt that they would come and take possession of it the next spring, and then,' said he, . as it is so near my chamber window I shall always be sure to get up early in the morning.'

[ocr errors]

Not long after the rainy afternoon, he and his brother and sisters gathered round their mother, at that happy hour after supper, just before children and birds go to their nests, and Edward, who was spokesman, begged her to tell them about some other wonderful travellers. 'Yes,' said their mother, you have all been very good today, and I will tell you what I have been reading about.' And now you must imagine them all, Edward, Elizabeth, James, and Fanny, very still, and listening attentively to their mother; little Fanny, the youngest, was sitting in her lap. 'I have been reading,' she began, of some birds who travel all over the United States, sometimes from north to south, sometimes from east to west, they have not, as martins have, regular seasons for going and coming; but as they trav el more to obtain food than to escape the winter, when they find a sufficient supply, and a place they like, they sometimes remain in

6

[ocr errors]

6

the same part of the country for two or three years.' 'Mother,' said Elizabeth, 'you described birds you know, so as to make us think they were men; I wonder if you are not describ1ing men now so as to make us think they are birds?' No,' said their mother, it is really and truly the wild pigeon of America, that I am describing. But what made you think so, my dear?' Why,' ,' said Elizabeth, it seemed more like men for them not to go regularly, but to stay as long as they pleased and could get food in one place. That is very true, Elizabeth, and this is a remarkable circumstance in the history of these birds; and the reason of it is, that there are such immense numbers of wild pigeons, that it is difficult for them to get food enough to keep themselves alive; indeed if it were not for their great power of flight they must many of them starve to death. As a proof of how fast they can fly, a pigeon has been killed in the neighborhood of New York, with rice in his crop, that must have been collected by him in the rice fields of Georgia, or Carolina.' How could any body

know that, mother?" said Edward. 'That, my dear, is the nearest point at which he could have got such a supply; it is a well ascertained fact that their power of digestion is so great,

« הקודםהמשך »