d its murderer, flapping its wings,
soared high into the air. On flew the bird over gardens filled with
blossoming fruit-trees, trimly laid-out flower-beds, and gaily-painted
arbors, across the frowning circlet of walls and towers that girdled
the city, over narrow houses with high, pointed gables, and neat streets
bordered with elm, poplar, linden and willow-trees, decked with the
first green leaves of spring. At last it alighted on a lofty gable-roof,
on whose ridge was its firmly-fastened nest. After generously giving up
its prey to the little wife brooding over the eggs, it stood on one
leg and gazed thoughtfully down upon the city, whose shining red tiles
gleamed spick and span from the green velvet carpet of the meadows. The
bird had known beautiful Leyden, the gem of Holland, for many a year,
and was familiar with all the branches of the Rhine that divided the
stately city into numerous islands, and over which arched as many stone
bridges as there are days in five months of the year; but surely many
changes had occurred here since the stork's last departure for the
south.

Where were the citizens' gay summer-houses and orchards, where the
wooden frames on which the weavers used to stretch their dark and
colored cloths?

Whatever plant or work of human hands had risen, outside the city
walls and towers to the height of a man's breast, thus interrupting the
uniformity of the plain, had vanished from the earth, and beyond, on
the bird's best hunting-grounds, brownish spots sown with black circles
appeared among the green of the meadows.

Late in October of the preceding year, just after the storks left the
country, a Spanish army had encamped here, and a few hours before the
return of the winged wanderers in the first opening days of spring, the
besiegers retired without having accomplished their purpose.

Barren spots amid the luxuriant growth of vegetation marked the places
where they had pitched their tents, the black cinders of the burnt coals
their camp-fires.

The sorely-threatened inhabitants of the rescued city, with thankful
hearts, uttered sighs of relief. The industrious, volatile populace
had speedily forgotten the sufferings endured, for early spring is so
beautiful, and never does a rescued life seem so delicious as when we
are surrounded by the joys of spring.

A new and happier time appeared to have dawned, not only for Nature but
for human beings. The troops quartered in the besieged city, wh