ut, unhappily, neither of us was at hand to give him a cheer. I
trust that he and his mother were not hurt in their feelings by the
oversight. The whole family (minus the father) was still in the
apple-tree; the mother full, and more than full, of business, feeding
one youngster after the other, as they sat here and there in the upper
branches.

Twenty-four hours later, as I stood in the orchard, I heard a hum of
wings, and found the mother over my head. Presently she flew into the
top of the tree, and the next instant was sitting beside one of the
young ones. His hungry mouth was already wide open, but before feeding
him she started up from the twig, and circled about him so closely as
almost or quite to touch him with her wings. On completing the circle
she dropped upon the perch at his side, but immediately rose again, and
again flew round him. It was a beautiful act,--beautiful beyond the
power of any words of mine to set forth; an expression of maternal
ecstasy, I could not doubt, answering to the rapturous caresses and
endearments in which mothers of human infants are so frequently seen
indulging. Three days afterward, to my delight, I saw it repeated in
every particular, as if to confirm my opinion of its significance. The
sight repaid all my watchings thrice over, and even now I feel my heart
growing warm at the recollection of it. Strange thoughtlessness, is it
not, which allows mothers capable of such passionate devotion, tiny,
defenseless things, to be slaughtered by the million for the enhancement
of woman's charms!

At this point we suddenly became aware that for at least a day or two
the old bird had probably been feeding her offspring in two
ways,--sometimes by regurgitation, and sometimes by a simple transfer
from beak to beak. The manner of our discovery was somewhat laughable.
The mother perched beside one of the young birds, put her bill into his,
and then apparently fell off the limb head first. We thought she had not
finished, and looked to see her return; but she flew away, and after a
while the truth dawned upon us. Thereafter, unless our observation was
at fault, she used whichever method happened to suit her convenience. If
she found a choice collection of spiders,[12] for instance, she brought
them in her throat (as cedar-birds carry cherries), to save trips; if
she had only one or two, she retained them between her mandibles. It
will be understood, I suppose, that we did not see the food in i