hey had hatched a
second brood, and, just now, these last required their constant
attention, although they hoped that by the end of the month their young
ones would be able to fly a little. This brood had proved more
refractory than the first one, and they were continually getting into
trouble and mischief. One of them tumbled into a pool of water, and was
as nearly as possible drowned; another was pursued by a cat and had his
leg very much hurt; while a third, alas! a poor little fellow, tumbled
right out of the nest one morning, fell on the hard ground, and never
breathed again.

But although the Blackbird had his troubles, and serious ones they were
too, the beauty and luxuriance of the season rejoiced his heart. The
country was in its richest summer garb, even the porch of the old gabled
house was covered with pale pink roses. A splendid yellow rose, a
_Gloire de Dijon_, clustered round the library window, and a white rose
peeped in at the drawing-room. White and yellow jasmin, varied here and
there by clusters of deep crimson roses, covered the west side of the
house and the old bay window, and the garden below was gay with
bright-coloured flower-beds.

Every tree was in full foliage, and the avenue of limes was sweet with
small white blossoms, and musical with the murmur of myriads of
contented bees, who found some of their sweetest nectar there. The
newly-mown hay was falling on all sides, and the trees gave a very
grateful shade to the tired haymakers during the noon-tide heat.

The spot, however, which most attracted the Blackbirds, was the kitchen
garden. What ripe red strawberries were hidden away under the thick
leaves on the long slope of the upper garden! what cool green
gooseberries, and what a variety of currants, were fast ripening in the
lower garden! The Blackbird would often retire with one or two of his
young people to this favoured region. They would first settle themselves
at the strawberry-bed, though it must be confessed that this part of the
feast was attended with some peril. They felt a certain degree of
nervousness, a sense of insecurity, for a horrid net had been stretched
over this particular bed, and sometimes the dark feathered heads got
caught in it.

One day the Blackbird had a most terrible fright. He and his wife, and
some of the young ones, had been hard at work on the ripe strawberries.
They had been so busy that they did not hear stealthy footsteps
approaching on the sandy gr